Allergy and Sinus Issues
Chiropractic care is not a treatment for allergies..so why do so many people with allergies mention improvements with care in our office?
Lets start this post with a little mental exercise. Just imagine if you were to sit down and write out a list of 100 people that you know..just randomly off the top of your head..friends, family, enemies etc… How many of those 100 do you suppose would say they have or do struggle with allergies and sinus issues? These can range from sinus infections to sinus headaches to frequently clogged or runny noses. I don’t know what the exact numbers would be but based on research and our clinical experience, well over half of the population would say yes. During spring and fall times you can always tell when it is “allergy season” because every other commercial on TV will be promoting some type of allergy medication. The question that we always like to propose is WHY? Why are so many people struggling with a chronic form of allergies or sinus issues?
Allergy and Sinus Issues effect more people today than ever before
What causes allergy and sinus issues?
One thing that may come to a surprise is that an allergic reaction to a certain “thing” (pollen, grass, peanuts etc.) is simply the bodies immune system responding to an environmental stressor. In other words..you breath in pollen and it enters your system, your body immediately recognizes this as in “invader” and begins to try and eliminate it. This happens to everyone anytime we take in an allergen. The difference is some of us have a reaction of symptoms and others are not bothered by it. What does this mean? It means that pollen, peanuts, grass ect. are NOT the PROBLEM. It is our bodies inability to take in and filter out these particles that creates the symptoms associated with allergies. It really boils down to allergies = an overburdened immune system. As a result the body does all it can to get rid of the problem, hence why we sneeze, cough, eyes water, skin rashes develop and our nose runs.
The Master System
Your nervous system is the master system that orchestrates your immune system, glandular system, respiratory system and every other system that reacts inappropriately to an allergen. Normally, these systems help you respond and adapt to the world around you. But suffering from uncontrollable sneezing or a constant runny nose while mowing the grass is probably an inappropriate reaction.
If your nervous system isn’t working right, you don’t work right. So, rather than direct our attention to the countless potential allergens, we locate and reduce the disturbances we find to your nervous system.
A Full Bucket
Each of us was born with the capacity to withstand or adapt to stress. If we’re unable to deal with things we eat, breathe or come into contact with it may be because our margin to adapt is used up.
Pretend that your capacity to adapt to the physical, emotional and chemical stresses of life is represented by a 5 gallon bucket. Every stressful encounter your body faces, fills up your bucket.
If your bucket is already full and you encounter pollen, foods or other chemicals, your bucket overflows. When that happens, people say they’re having an allergic reaction. But what they’re really saying is, “I’ve lost my ability to adapt. My margin is used up…or my bucket is overflowing.”
Chiropractic: Nervous System
So, we don’t treat allergies. We look for ways to restore your ability to adapt to allergens by locating and reducing disturbances to your nervous system. Simple, really. Once your nervous system starts working to its God given potential, the ability for your immune system to properly respond to and filter out allergens greatly improves.
We’d love to discuss your specific allergy issue and how chiropractic may help. Give our practice a call today. We can’t wait to meet you!
