Can chiropractic help with anxiety? Whether we’re discussing you or your child, you know that anxiety can be debilitating.
So, today, let’s discuss chiropractic and its effectiveness in relieving the signs and symptoms of anxiety,
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What is Anxiety?
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issues in the Western world today.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, in the United States, approximately 20% of adults, and close to 32% of adolescents have an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety symptoms can manifest in a number of ways including:
- panic attacks (anxiety attack)
- muscle tension
- disrupted sleep patterns
- high blood pressure
- migraine and tension headaches
- increases in heart rate
- ADHD symptoms
- inability to focus or concentrate
- hyperactivity
Traditional medical doctors treat mental health conditions such as anxiety and depressive disorders with medications.
Causes of Anxiety
The causes of anxiety are plentiful and multifaceted and include:
- unprocessed childhood trauma
- trauma
- chronic stress
- sleep deprivation
- diabetes
- heart disease
- untreated ADHD
- chronic illness
- digestive issues
- withdrawals from drugs of choice
- alcohol
- drugs
- sugar
- prescription medications
- marginalization
- pressure to keep up with unhealthy expectations
- and more
As mentioned previously, anxiety is the most common mental illness followed closely by major depression. It’s not surprising, considering the levels of chronic stress we’re living under as a world culture.
In the end, sustained chronic stress not only impacts our physical health but also our emotional health. Specifically, it’s related to the signs and symptoms of anxiety.
Anti-Anxiety Medications
Unfortunately, anti-anxiety meds such as SSRIs and SNRIs can come with unwanted side effects such as:
- increased feelings of anxiety and agitation
- weight gain
- digestive distress
- diarrhea and/or constipation
- headaches
- insomnia and sleep disruptions
- dry mouth
- decreased sex drive
- drain essential minerals vital for health
- increased risk for bone fractures
Because of these negative side effects and limited long-term effectiveness, anxiety sufferers are looking for alternative anxiety treatments.
Non-Medication Anxiety Treatment Options
Fortunately, there are several non-medication anxiety treatment options available to support significant improvement in common symptoms of anxiety.
Some anxiety treatments include:
- Lifestyle changes
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Sauna
- High-Quality Supplementation
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Adaptogens
- Mental health therapy
- trauma-informed therapy
- EMDR
- Internal Family Systems
- trauma-informed therapy
- Neurofeedback
- Safe and Sound Protocol (Polyvagal Theory)
- Mind-body connection practices
- prayer
- emotional regulation strategies
- mindfulness
- somatic therapy
- deep breathing
- Chiropractic
Today, we’ll take a closer look at regular chiropractor care and its role in supporting lower anxiety levels.
The Nervous System
To understand how chiropractic care can support the symptoms of anxiety, it’s important to understand the nervous system.
The nervous system is comprised of two parts:
- Central nervous system
- Brain
- Brainstem, cerebrum,
- Spinal cord
- A communication pathway that connects the brain with the rest of the body
- Brain
- Peripheral nervous system
- Autonomic
- Sympathetic
- fight or flight
- increase adrenaline, heart rate, and blood pressure
- Parasympathetic
- rest and digest
- releases feel-good calming chemicals to reduce
- adrenaline,
- heart rate,
- blood pressure
- Somatic
- voluntary movements
- Sympathetic
- Autonomic
Because regular chiropractic care emphasizes proper alignment of the spine, most think of the central nervous system when referring to chiropractic.
The Central Nervous System
The CNS includes:
- Brain
- Brain stem
- Cerebellum
- Cerebral cortex
- contains the limbic system which is the emotion and memory center of the brain
- Spinal Cord
- the pathway that connects the brain, nerves, and body
- intimately connected with the Vagus Nerve
- the pathway that connects the brain, nerves, and body
However, just because scientists compartmentalize the central and peripheral nervous systems doesn’t mean they the two act independently from one another.
Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
Everything’s Connected
We cannot separate the peripheral nervous system from the central nervous system.
In other words, the brain, the spinal cord, and all nerves are connected to and impact one another.
So, anything that impacts the spinal cord, such as a misaligned vertebra compressing a nerve, will have an impact on other areas of the nervous system.
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic treatment is a form of health care that uses a holistic approach to support the entire body and mind.
Chiropractors support their patient’s overall health by enhancing the body’s ability to heal itself. They do so by primarily focusing on the relationship between the spinal cord, joints, and the central nervous system.
The cornerstone of treatment involves chiropractic adjustments targeting musculoskeletal conditions, specifically correcting spine misalignment.
However, alleviating physical discomfort is just the tip of the chiropractic iceberg.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care
The benefits of chiropractic treatment include improving the following:
- Physical symptoms of pain related to a number of physical ailments
- neck pain
- chronic pain associated with spinal misalignments
- back pain
- acute injuries
- joint pain
- Muscle tightness
- Muscular tension
- Digestion
- Mental health disorders
- anxiety
- depression
- Poor sleep
Chiropractic sessions can involve spinal manipulation, massage therapy, nutritional support, and targeted physical exercise.
What is Spinal Manipulation?
Chiropractors work to correct subluxations of the spine. A subluxation is a misaligned vertebra that pinches a nerve within the spinal cord.
These misalignments occur for a number of reasons including:
- acute injuries,
- pelvic imbalances,
- scoliosis,
- sleeping in the wrong position
As you can imagine or may have experienced, a misaligned spine causes physical stress on the spinal cord and other muscles throughout the body. Ultimately, this impacts mobility, pain, and often, mental health.
What’s the Spinal Cord Have to Do with It?
It’s not uncommon to hear people use the terms spinal cord, spine, and backbone interchangeably. However, they’re not.
Here’s a quick tutorial to help you better understand the role of the spinal cord and how it impacts every part of the brain and body.
How Does Chiropractic Care Help with Mental Health?
A chiropractic doctor uses sustained pressure on areas of the spinal cord and other joints to correct spinal misalignment.
And while it’s not surprising that spinal manipulation can cause a significant reduction in physical tension and muscle pain, it’s also a great help to those suffering from mental health challenges.
But, how does chiropractic do this exactly?
Glad you asked. Friend, it’s all about the nervous system.
Benefits of a Properly Aligned Spine
Small changes in the alignment of the spine are referred to as subluxations. Subluxations refer to any joint in the body that does not function properly often due to misalignment.
These misalignments can be caused by an acute injury or repetitive motion.
Subluxations of the spine put pressure on nerves that impact the flow of communication between the brain and body.
As such, misalignments can greatly impact quality of life causing physical pain, limited range of mobility, mental health challenges, and decreased performance.
Proper alignment of the spine can greatly improve quality of life by enhancing the function of the entire nervous system.
Anxiety, the Vagus Nerve, and Chiropractic
Any treatment that improves the function of the nervous system has the potential to support overall physiological and mental health.
For example, the vagus nerve is the primary (calming) parasympathetic nerve.
It starts in the brainstem and carries information to and from the central nervous system to several areas within the body.
When functioning optimally, the vagus nerve creates a sense of resiliency. Additionally, it reduces the fight-or-flight response originating in the limbic system of the brain.
However, compression of the vagus nerve due to spinal misalignment can greatly reduce vagal tone.
In other words, the vagus nerve will be unable to effectively do its part to offset the fight-or-flight response commonly associated with anxiety.
Regular chiropractic adjustment can do wonders to fix compressions such as the above Vagus nerve example.
Chiropractic Care and the Prefrontal Cortex
Check out this excellent discussion between Dr. Mindy Pelz and Heidi Haavik.
In it, they discuss recent research that points to the benefits of spinal adjustments to improve brain function.
Specifically, they discuss how proper spinal alignment supports the optimal functioning of the prefrontal cortex. (The prefrontal cortex is the brain region responsible for executive functioning skills often lagging in the ADHD brain).
What Does the Research Say?
In 2020, researchers reviewed the current literature on depression and its accompanying anxiety-related symptoms. They had this to say about chiropractic care and mental health.
Chiropractic therapy and vagal nerve stimulation may possibly regulate the autonomic nervous system through activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, reduction of sympathetic nervous system activity, and synthesis of neuroendocrine factors.
Kiani, A. K., Maltese, P. E., Dautaj, A., Paolacci, S., Kurti, D., Picotti, P. M., & Bertelli, M. (2019). Neurobiological basis of chiropractic manipulative treatment of the spine in the care of major depression.
Namely, a properly aligned spine can have a positive impact on mental health, anxiety, and overall well-being.
In the end, a chiropractor’s job is to improve nervous system functioning to optimize overall health.
Recap: Can Chiropractic Help with Anxiety?
The mind-body connection is undeniable. A healthy body supports a healthy mind and vice-versa.
Chiropractic adjustments are an effective treatment to improve healthy body function, physical health, and mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
So, Friend. Have you tried chiropractic for your or your child’s anxiety? How did it go?
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About the Author:
Lindsay is a trauma-informed educator with a Master’s Degree in Teaching. Her mission is to support moms to equip neurodivergent kids (ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Anxiety) to thrive as exactly who they’ve been created to be. Wait until you hear the story that led to it all…
