Our minds influence the key activity of the brain, which then influences everything; perception, cognition, thoughts and feelings, personal relationships; they’re all a projection of you.
— Deepak Chopra

CHIROPRACTIC & BRAIN FUNCTION

 

HOW DOES CHIROPRACTIC CARE CHANGE THE BRAIN?

NEW RESEARCH has demonstrated that WITHOUT A DOUBT, Chiropractic Care changes your BRAIN FUNCTION in the PREFRONTAL CORTEX. These functions include EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS such as, GOAL DIRECTED TASKS, DECISION MAKING, INTELLIGENCE, AUTONOMIC FUNCTION (COORDINATION OF ORGAN FUNCTION),EYE MOVEMENTS, MOVEMENT CONTROL, PROCESSING OF PAIN AND EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO PAINSPATIAL AWARENESS, WORKING MEMORY

OTHER RESEARCHED CHANGES IN THE BRAIN FOLLOWING CHIROPRACTIC CARE INCLUDE, Improvements in sensorimotor function, better joint position sense, improved muscle strength, better pelvic floor muscle control, better ability to carry out mental rotation of objects in space, Faster reaction time

Ref:

1) Lelic, D., Niazi, I. K., Holt, K., Jochumsen, M., Dremstrup, K., Yielder, P., … Haavik, H. (2016). Manipulation of Dysfunctional Spinal Joints Affects Sensorimotor Integration in the Prefrontal Cortex: A Brain Source Localization Study. Neural plasticity2016, 3704964. doi:10.1155/2016/3704964

1) Chiropractic Changes the Prefrontal Cortex

LELIC, D., NIAZI, I. K., HOLT, K., JOCHUMSEN, M., DREMSTRUP, K., YIELDER, P., … HAAVIK, H. (2016). MANIPULATION OF DYSFUNCTIONAL SPINAL JOINTS AFFECTS SENSORIMOTOR INTEGRATION IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX: A BRAIN SOURCE LOCALIZATION STUDY. NEURAL PLASTICITY2016, 3704964. DOI:10.1155/2016/3704964

2) Chiropractic improves proprioception (ankle joint position sense), postural stability (static posturography), sensorimotor function (choice stepping reaction time), multisensory integration (sound-induced flash illusion), and health-related quality of life (SF-36)

HOLT KR, HAAVIK H ET AL, J MANIPULATIVE PHYSIOL THER. 2016 MAY;39(4):267-78 EFFECTIVENESS OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE TO IMPROVE SENSORIMOTOR FUNCTION ASSOCIATED WITH FALLS RISK IN OLDER PEOPLE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.

3) Chiropractic care increases in strength following spinal manipulation due to descending cortical drive to upper and lower limb muscles

HAAVIK, H., NIAZI, I. K., JOCHUMSEN, M., SHERWIN, D., FLAVEL, S., & TÜRKER, K. S. (2016). IMPACT OF SPINAL MANIPULATION ON CORTICAL DRIVE TO UPPER AND LOWER LIMB MUSCLES. BRAIN SCIENCES.

4) Chiropractic care restores impaired early processing and/or integration of sensory input from the neck which influences motor processing in the cerebellum and/or primary motor cortex.

BAARBÉ, J. K., YIELDER, P., HAAVIK, H., HOLMES, M., & MURPHY, B. A. (2018). SUBCLINICAL RECURRENT NECK PAIN AND ITS TREATMENT IMPACTS MOTOR TRAINING-INDUCED PLASTICITY OF THE CEREBELLUM AND MOTOR CORTEX. PLOS ONE13(2), E0193413. DOI:10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0193413

5) A single session of Chiropractic Care increased muscle strength and corticospinal excitability to ankle plantar flexor muscles in elite Taekwondo athletes. The increased MVC force lasted for 30 min and the corticospinal excitability increase persisted for at least 60 min.

CHRISTIANSEN, T. L., NIAZI, I. K., HOLT, K., NEDERGAARD, R. W., DUEHR, J., ALLEN, K., … HAAVIK, H. (2018). THE EFFECTS OF A SINGLE SESSION OF SPINAL MANIPULATION ON STRENGTH AND CORTICAL DRIVE IN ATHLETES. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY118(4), 737–749. DOI:10.1007/S00421-018-3799-X

6)Evidence that Chiropractic Adjustments reduce the TMS-induced cortical silent period and increases low threshold motoneuron excitability in the lower limb muscle, providing support that spinal manipulation can be used to strengthen muscles.

HAAVIK H. J ELECTROMYOGR KINESIOL. 2018 OCT;42:24-35. DOI: 10.1016/J.JELEKIN.2018.06.010. CHIROPRACTIC SPINAL MANIPULATION ALTERS TMS INDUCED I-WAVE EXCITABILITY AND SHORTENS THE CORTICAL SILENT PERIOD.

7) Chiropractic spinal adjustments may alter central processing of pain and unpleasantness.

SCI REP. 2019 MAY 6;9(1):6925. DOI: 10.1038/S41598-019-42984-3. THE EFFECTS OF CHIROPRACTIC SPINAL MANIPULATION ON CENTRAL PROCESSING OF TONIC PAIN - A PILOT STUDY USING STANDARDIZED LOW-RESOLUTION BRAIN ELECTROMAGNETIC TOMOGRAPHY (SLORETA). NAVID MS, LELIC D, NIAZI IK, HOLT K, MARK E, DREWES AM, HAAVIK H.

8) Chiropractic care can be used to strengthen muscles and increase cortical drive in post-stroke rehabilitation.

HOLT, K., NIAZI, I. K., NEDERGAARD, R. W., DUEHR, J., AMJAD, I., SHAFIQUE, M., … HAAVIK, H. (2019). THE EFFECTS OF A SINGLE SESSION OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE ON STRENGTH, CORTICAL DRIVE, AND SPINAL EXCITABILITY IN STROKE PATIENTS. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS9(1), 2673. DOI:10.1038/S41598-019-39577-5

9) 12 weeks of chiropractic care improved suppression of SEPs evoked by dual upper limb nerve stimulation at the level of the motor cortex, premotor areas, and/or subcortical areas such as basal ganglia and/or thalamus

J MANIPULATIVE PHYSIOL THER. 2017 MAR - APR;40(3):127-138. DOI: 10.1016/J.JMPT.2016.10.002. EPUB 2017 FEB 10. EFFECTS OF 12 WEEKS OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE ON CENTRAL INTEGRATION OF DUAL SOMATOSENSORY INPUT IN CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY. HAAVIK H1, NIAZI IK2, HOLT K2, MURPHY B3.

10) Spinal manipulation appears to alter the net excitability of the low-threshold motor units, increase cortical drive, and prevent fatigue.

EXP BRAIN RES. 2015 APR;233(4):1165-73. DOI: 10.1007/S00221-014-4193-5. EPUB 2015 JAN 13. CHANGES IN H-REFLEX AND V-WAVES FOLLOWING SPINAL MANIPULATION. NIAZI IK1, TÜRKER KS, FLAVEL S, KINGET M, DUEHR J, HAAVIK H.

11) Results suggest that adjusting dysfunctional cervical segments in people with Subclinical Neck Pain can improve their upper limb Joint Position Sense accuracy

HAAVIK H1, MURPHY B. SUBCLINICAL NECK PAIN AND THE EFFECTS OF CERVICAL MANIPULATION ON ELBOW JOINT POSITION SENSE. J MANIPULATIVE PHYSIOL THER. 2011 FEB;34(2):88-97. DOI: 10.1016/J.JMPT.2010.12.009.

12) Cervical spine adjustments may alter cortical somatosensory processing and sensorimotor integration. These findings may help to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the effective relief of pain and restoration of functional ability documented following chiropractic adjustments.

HAAVIK-TAYLOR H1, MURPHY B. CLIN NEUROPHYSIOL. 2007 FEB;118(2):391-402. EPUB 2006 NOV 29. CERVICAL SPINE MANIPULATION ALTERS SENSORIMOTOR INTEGRATION: A SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIAL STUDY.

13) Spinal manipulation of dysfunctional cervical joints may alter specific central corticomotor facilitatory and inhibitory neural processing and cortical motor control of 2 upper limb muscles in a muscle-specific manner. This suggests that spinal manipulation may alter sensorimotor integration.

TAYLOR HH1, MURPHY B. J MANIPULATIVE PHYSIOL THER. 2008 FEB;31(2):115-26. DOI: 10.1016/J.JMPT.2007.12.011. ALTERED SENSORIMOTOR INTEGRATION WITH CERVICAL SPINE MANIPULATION.

14)Subclinical neck pain patients have altered Cerebellar Inhibition when compared with healthy controls, and chiropractic adjustment before a motor sequence learning task changes the cerebellar inhibition pattern to one similar to healthy control

DALIGADU J1, HAAVIK HYIELDER PCBAARBE JMURPHY B. J MANIPULATIVE PHYSIOL THER. 2013 OCT;36(8):527-37. DOI: 10.1016/J.JMPT.2013.08.003. EPUB 2013 SEP 12. ALTERATIONS IN CORTICAL AND CEREBELLAR MOTOR PROCESSING IN SUBCLINICAL NECK PAIN PATIENTS FOLLOWING SPINAL MANIPULATION.

15) This study suggests that cervical spine manipulation not only alters cortical integration of dual somatosensory input but also alters the way the central nervous system responds to subsequent motor training tasks. These findings may help to clarify the mechanisms responsible for the effective relief of pain and restoration of functional ability documented after spinal manipulation and the mechanism involved in the initiation of overuse injuries.

HAAVIK TAYLOR H1, MURPHY B. THE EFFECTS OF SPINAL MANIPULATION ON CENTRAL INTEGRATION OF DUAL SOMATOSENSORY INPUT OBSERVED AFTER MOTOR TRAINING: A CROSSOVER STUDY. J MANIPULATIVE PHYSIOL THER. 2010 MAY;33(4):261-72. DOI: 10.1016/J.JMPT.2010.03.004.

16) Manual and surgical methods for correcting obstructions, as well as manipulation of blood and CSF flow, may help to restore or improve faulty craniospinal hydrodynamics in certain cases and decrease the prevalence, progression, and severity of neurodegenerative and other neurological conditions

FLANAGAN M. F. (2015). THE ROLE OF THE CRANIOCERVICAL JUNCTION IN CRANIOSPINAL HYDRODYNAMICS AND NEURODEGENERATIVE CONDITIONS. NEUROLOGY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, 2015, 794829. DOI:10.1155/2015/794829 HTTPS://WWW.NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV/PMC/ARTICLES/PMC4681798/

17) This study demonstrated sympathetic relaxation and corresponding regional brain metabolic changes, as well as reduced muscle tone and decreased pain intensity following a chiropractic spinal adjustment.

OGURA ET AL (2011). CEREBRAL METABOLIC CHANGES IN MEN AFTER CHIROPRACTIC SPINAL MANIPULATION FOR NECK PAIN. ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES IN HEALTH & MEDICINE.

18) Brain processing after Chiropractic Care may lead to physiological relaxation via a decrease in sympathetic nerve activity.

INAMI, A., OGURA, T., WATANUKI, S., MASUD, M. M., SHIBUYA, K., MIYAKE, M., … TASHIRO, M. (2017). GLUCOSE METABOLIC CHANGES IN THE BRAIN AND MUSCLES OF PATIENTS WITH NONSPECIFIC NECK PAIN TREATED BY SPINAL MANIPULATION THERAPY: A [18F]FDG PET STUDY. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE : ECAM, 2017, 4345703. DOI:10.1155/2017/4345703

NEW*** 19) A decrease in conduction velocity suggests that spinal manipulation alters motor unit recruitment patterns with an increased recruitment of lower threshold, lower twitch torque motor units.

ROBINAULT, L., HOLOBAR, A., CRÉMOUX, S., RASHID, U., NIAZI, I. K., HOLT, K., LAUBER, J., & HAAVIK, H. (2021). THE EFFECTS OF SPINAL MANIPULATION ON MOTOR UNIT BEHAVIOR. BRAIN SCIENCES, 11(1), 105. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.3390/BRAINSCI11010105

NEW*** 20) Chiropractic adjustments show increased functional connectivity in the brain in post-stroke patients

STEVEN WATERSTONE, T., NIAZI, I. K., NAVID, M. S., AMJAD, I., SHAFIQUE, M., HOLT, K., HAAVIK, H., & SAMANI, A. (2020). FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY ANALYSIS ON RESTING-STATE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY SIGNALS FOLLOWING CHIROPRACTIC SPINAL MANIPULATION IN STROKE PATIENTS. BRAIN SCIENCES, 10(9), 644. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.3390/BRAINSCI10090644

NEW*** 21) A single session of chiropractic adjustments increases the N30 SEP peak in chronic stroke patients, which may reflect changes in early sensorimotor function

NAVID, M. S., NIAZI, I. K., LELIC, D., NEDERGAARD, R. B., HOLT, K., AMJAD, I., DREWES, A. M., & HAAVIK, H. (2020). INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF CHIROPRACTIC SPINAL MANIPULATION ON EEG IN STROKE PATIENTS. BRAIN SCIENCES, 10(5), 253. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.3390/BRAINSCI10050253

FOCUS BETTER. FEEL BETTER. IMPROVEMENTS IN MOVEMENT & COORDINATION
— Heidi Haavik, PhD Chiro