Mountain Island Chiropractic: April 2019

Friday, April 12, 2019

Chiropractic Care Can Help With Menstrual Pain

Menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea) affects women before and during their menstrual cycles. Often times they can feel not only pain, but lethargy (feeling sluggish), irritability, pain with urination, cramping, nausea, headaches, and vomiting. Pain typically begins in the lower abdomen and radiates thru to the back and even down the legs for some women. Over 50% of reproductive-age women report a reduced quality of life during their cycles because of menstrual pain. Dysmenorrhea and bladder pain syndrome have both been linked to the autonomic nervous system not functioning properly. Our autonomic nervous system and the reproductive hormones which fluctuate during different phases of the menstrual cycle are directly related.
A 2019 study followed 123 participants with a chief complaint of dysmenorrhea or bladder pain with their cycles. All patients had their heart rate variability (HRV) measured to test how well the autonomic nervous system was functioning. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls and regulates heart rate, breathing, urination, digestion, pupillary responses, and is the primary mechanism that controls our flight-or-flight response. In 100% of these patients in the study, they were found to have a lower or dysfunctioning ANS because of a lower heart rate variability response. When the HRV is high, this means that the autonomic nervous system is functioning properly. So how does the ANS become dysfunctional? There are many factors, but the simplest one can be a subluxation or interference on particular nerves that send signals to the bladder and pelvis. Chiropractic care removes these subluxations with specific adjustments to the spine. This assists the autonomic nervous system and specifically the pelvic splanchnictic nerve (S2, S3, S4) to function freely without interruption and therefore removes pain and discomfort associated with the menstrual cycle. Although hormone regulation is an intricate process that the body takes on daily, we can help alleviate issues by removing interference to the autonomic nervous system with chiropractic care. Our office has seen great success in relief of menstrual pain and bladder control issues with just a few visits for specific, gentle chiropractic care.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson, DC

Owner/Doctor

MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHIROPRACTIC

10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101

Charlotte, NC 28214

Tel (704) 394-8556

Fax (704) 395-8556

mtnislandchiro.com

"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." JV

Oladosu, F. A., Hellman, K. M., Ham, P. J., Kochlefl, L. E., Datta, A., Garrison, E. F....Tu, F. F. (2019). Persistent autonomic dysfunction and bladder sensitivity in primary dysmenorrhea. Scientific Reports, 9(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-38545-3.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Ear Infections in Children

Before the age of 3, it is estimated that 80% of children will experience at least one ear infection (otitis media), while over 40% of children will have multiple ear infections by the age of 5. Children often experience pain, irritability, fever, disturbed sleep patterns, loss of appetite, and general feelings of malaise during these times. Most often, viruses are the cause of ear infections, and therefore giving a child an antibiotic will not help relieve the infection. During an ear infection, fluid gets trapped in the middle ear because of swelling in the inner ear or eustachian tube. Fluid then builds up in the middle ear and causes the eardrum to bulge outward, causing immense pain. When we are fighting off a virus, our lymphatic system is trying its best to remove the infection however if the eustachian tube is blocked then you have a backup of the lymph system. Often times you will see an associated bulging of the lymph nodes of the neck and face as a result of a backed up system. When an antibiotic is given for a non-bacterial infection, it simply removes all good flora from the gut and therefore delays the healing time, as well as changes our immune system to become immune to those antibiotics with repeated use over a short period of time.
Chiropractic care offers relief but most importantly prevention of ear infections. How does this work? A chiropractor looks to find subluxations or "blockages" in the childs nervous system, or misalignments of the neck and spine that house the nerves that deliver the messages to the eustachian tubes. By removing the interference to the ear, fluid is allowed to drain properly down the eustachian tube and out of the lymphatic system. A recent research study suggests that upwards of 93% of all children under the age of five receiving chiropractic care showed improvement with ear infections with 75% of those children getting better within the first 10 days. 43% of these children only needed one or two adjustments to relieve the ear problems completely. Want to know more about how chiropractic helps with ear infections? Call our office today!

Yours in Health,
Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson, DC