Author: Dr. Bryce Hendy, DC, DNCert
Often when people think about brain health, they think of things like nutrition, sleep and brain exercises. While those are all great practices for helping the brain, there is one thing that is often overlooked; the connection between your brain and your body, and the role our spine plays in this relationship. Our brain does not work alone in isolation, it relies on constant communication to our body through our spine via the nervous system.
Our brains are in charge of just about everything in our bodies, like: movement, focus and concentration, mood and stress response, coordination and balance and recovery and healing. Our brain can only function as well as it can communicate with our body, and if there is interruption in the communication system (nervous system), this can affect how quickly and efficiently our brain processes and responds to information.
Our spine is not just structural, but plays an important functional role as well. It protects the spinal core, which houses nerve pathways and helps with movement and sensory input into our central nervous system. When the spine becomes restricted or is not moving properly this can increase tension in surrounding muscles, alter sensory input to the brain and create stress on the nervous system. With long standing dysfunction of the spine this can limit or impair how the brain regulates movement, stress and overall function.
Chiropractic care focuses on restoring motion of the spine and the nervous system function. This can help brain health by improving signals sent from the muscles and joints to the brain, which helps with motor control of body regions and balance and proprioception. This also helps to better regulate our nervous system, by helping ease or shift from the fight or flight state to a more relaxed state. Improving nervous system function and spinal mobility also helps to reduce physical stress, which can also help to decrease mental load and stress.
Everyday brain health plays an important role for individuals from all walks of life; athletes, professionals and families. For the athlete improved brain health lends to faster reaction times, better coordination of movements and improved recovery times. For the professional workers it can reduce tension from desk work, improve focus and mental clarity and improve stress management. For families it can help kids develop coordination and posture and for parents helping manage daily stress and fatigue.
The bottom line is your brain and body are constantly communicating and the spine is the main line for that communication. Chiropractic care helps to support that communication by improving spinal motion and reducing stress on the nervous system; which can help your brain function more efficiently. When your brain and your body are in sync and the communication pathway is clear, everything functions better.
