How can chiropractic save you from the latest pandemic like the coronavirus? Many will wonder where the connection lies? It is important to know that scientific studies done both inside and outside of chiropractic have determined a direct correlation between spinal alignment, the function of the immune system, and fighting off illness and infection.
As an example, in 1974, physiologist Dr. I.M. Korr proposed that “spinal lesions” (similar to the vertebral subluxation complex) are associated with exaggerated sympathetic activity, a division of the autonomic nervous system.1 Sympathetic activity has been shown to release immune regulatory cells into the blood circulation, which alters
immune function. Drs. Murray, Irwin, and Reardon were the authors of the report that stated: “Growing evidence suggests that immune function is regulated in part by the sympathetic nervous system. Sympathetic nerve endings densely innervate lymphoid tissue such as the spleen, lymph nodes, and the thymus, and lymphoid cells have beta 2 adregenergic receptors.” 2
The coronavirus, flu, or other viral pandemics are often compared to the St. Louis 1918 (Spanish) flu epidemic. This 1918 flu-infected and killed radically more people than any similar outbreak in history, killing many Americans and riddling the country with fear. It has been estimated that 20 million people died throughout the world, including about 500,000
in the U.S.
In the midst of the Spanish Flu epidemic, the health care community discovered that the death rate of chiropractic patients was radically lower than that of non-chiropractic patients! In fact, it was chiropractic’s success in caring for Spanish Flu victims that led to the profession’s licensure in many states.
During that 1918 flu, researchers in Davenport, Iowa found that out of the 93,590 patients treated by medical doctors, there were 6,116 deaths — a loss of one patient out of every 15. Chiropractors at the Palmer School of Chiropractic adjusted 1,635 cases, with only one death. Outside Davenport, chiropractors
in Iowa cared for 4,735 cases with only six deaths — one out of 866. During the same epidemic, in Oklahoma, out of 3,490 flu patients under chiropractic care, there were only seven deaths. Furthermore, chiropractors were called in 233 cases given up as lost after medical treatment and reportedly saved all but 25. In another report covering 4,193 cases by 213 chiropractors, 4,104 showed complete recovery.3,4,5 These results are
part of the proven, critical link between the body’s central nervous system and the immune system.