It’s that time of the year again and everyone seems to be getting sick. Kids are back in school, the weather is changing, holiday parties are in full swing – where the consumption of food and drink outside of our typical diets is commonplace. It’s like clockwork. If you read/watch the news, then you know there’s the potential for a “TrIdEmIc.” Insert eye roll emoji here.
The weather changing has people coming into our office as congested as could be. I myself have noticed I have been sneezing more than normal in the past week even though I do not have allergies. This is the joy of living in Southern California. Temperatures in the high 60’s over the weekend, 92 degrees on Wednesday, and then back to the 60’s the following weekend. No wonder people are a mess.
There’s a host of things that can be done to help fortify your immune system during this time. A few of those immune boosters are as follows:
- Prioritizing good sleep
- Drinking enough water
- Eating good food
- Taking quality supplements (Vitamin C, Vitamin D, etc)
- Getting sunshine when possible (vit D) – take advantage of sunny San Diego!
- Cold plunges (if you’re like me)
- Getting adjusted!
The final suggestion is what we do here at Future Generations, so let’s talk about it! We make sure your body is running optimally so it can adapt to the stresses that come with “flu season.”
I cannot tell you how many, and I’m sure Dr Stan will confirm, people have told me their allergies have diminished, or their immune systems have gotten stronger since they have begun getting regularly adjusted. We see huge improvements in kids with chronic immune issues. We see adults who have had allergies “my whole life” experience relief. My favorite of these I have been told is from my aunt.
My aunt is as medically minded as they come. She is a wound care specialist and has been a nurse as long as I can remember, but always battled with allergies. She took over the counter products which helped in the moment, but never provided long term relief. She also had chronic upper mid back pain. If I told you that area of the spine had influence on your lungs and immune system, would you believe me? I’ll let you in on a secret, it does have an impact on your immune system, who knew? I recommended she go see a Chiropractor, which I do to everyone who asks me about something. She actually ended up going to a Chiropractor who practiced more in the conventional model of pain relief, twice per week for a few straight weeks.
Then it happened.
She called me and wanted to know if getting adjusted could have an effect on her allergies/breathing. I asked what she was experiencing since she had been getting adjusted. Amazingly to her, all of her congestion/breathing issues were GONE.
I’d put money on her practitioner not explaining the role of the nervous system to her, so I broke it down. I shared with her how the immune system is directly impacted by stress on our nervous system, and by adjusting those areas of interference/stress, you allow the body to work normally, and then optimally. To this day, her allergies are still gone, and she hasn’t been adjusted in years. She loves telling this story, which I appreciate, because it shines a light on how beneficial chiropractic can be for the vast majority of people.
It is rare for us at Future Generations to go over scans with someone and see no visible stress to some part of the immune system. I would also say it is rare for someone who is under our care, to not see any improvement in their immunity.
I rarely get sick. If I do end up down with something, it is typically because I’m out of my routine, perhaps I’ve been consuming food I do not typically eat, or I’m on a trip where my sleep suffers. However, my first year of working at Future Generations was an experience. It seemed like clockwork that every 3 months or so, I’d come down with some deep congestion which would lead into a runny nose. Up until FG, it was rare for my (adult) patients to cough/sneeze in my face. That’s the norm here with most of our patients being kids, and seems to be constant. Once I hit the one year mark though, I have not been sick since. It is like my body is now comfortable with all these runny noses that walk into our office, and is functioning optimally.
Every part of your spine plays a role in the immune system. Our upper cervical spine has interactions with our ears/nose/throat/sinuses, our upper mid back is connected to our lungs, and our low back is in charge of our gut-immune system. Making sure all these are in alignment and functioning optimally is the key to making sure we do not get sick. When we throw in all those other things I mentioned as optimizers earlier, then we really set ourselves up for success.
In conclusion, one of the absolute BEST times to get adjusted is when you are not feeling well. This was the norm BC(before covid), but then fear perpetuated our society. Fortunately, we are starting to see patients feel more comfortable coming back in when they are fighting something. I say it is best to get adjusted at that time because we want to ensure your body is working at its highest potential to fight whatever bacteria/virus/fungus/pathogen, or whatever the news is telling us to be scared of on any given day.
So, if you or someone you know could benefit from getting adjusted, do not hesitate to contact us at Future Generations so we can see how your body is working!