Immunity and Chiropractic
What does Chiropractic have to do with immunity? When it comes to all things Chiropractic, it starts and ends with the Nerve system.
The Nerve system is the Master system that controls all our movements, regulates all body organs, senses everything we feel and relates us to the outside world. It controls these functions by sending and receiving nerve messages from the brain to all parts of the body. The Nerve system is in direct communication with the immune system through these messages.
The immune system is made up of specific organs and cells. These include the tonsils, adenoids, thymus, bone marrow, spleen, appendix, Peyer’s patches, lymph nodes and white blood cells. The immune system's main function is to defend the body against infection and protect the body’s cells.
Immunity as an operation involves many different physiological, psychological and sociological factors. To simplify this discussion, we can say that immunity is the body’s ability to resist infection. It is a functional quality of the immune system.
The Nerve system commands and controls our body’s response to infection through sensitive communication with the immune system.
Dr. Robert Ader, a psychologist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, discovered 3 important links in the connection between the Nerve and the immune systems.
Nerve endings are found in the tissues of the immune system. Nerve fibers are found linked directly to bone marrow and the thymus, where immune cells are produced and developed. Nerve fibers are also found directly linked to the spleen and lymph nodes, where immune cells are stored.
Changes in the Central Nerve system alter immune responses and triggering an immune response alters Central Nerve system activity. An immune response activates nerve cells in the hypothalamus, an important region for homeostatic control. Also, brain cell activity peaks at precisely the same time that levels of antibodies are at their highest.
Lymphocytes are chemically responsive to hormones and neurotransmitters. Immune cells have receptor-molecular structures on their surface that allow them to receive information from the Nerve system and other parts of the immune system.
