Chiropractic adjustments help the body create better posture by reducing nervous system stress, increasing mobility, and allowing greater balance and spatial awareness. Improved posture proves to have lasting effects on many aspects of function beyond just musculoskeletal health. Science links improved posture to better breathing, sleep, hormone control, and brain health.

Parents often ask healthcare providers about the effects of bad posture and slouching on their children’s health. A study published in 2019 explained the effects of postural health on fourth grade children. One of the primary objectives of the study meant to find out if bad posture influenced the self-esteem of fourth graders.

The study involved 108 students. Facilitators assigned each student a randomized variable of assuming either a ‘high power’ pose or a ‘low power’ pose. Each student held the posture for one minute. The children were then evaluated using a standard self-esteem assessment.

High power posing consists of the non-verbal expression of power through expansive, open body postures. This stance becomes known as power posing. High power posing links to hormonal and behavioral changes. High power posing affects psychological processes, including feelings of empowerment and other emotional benefits. Students in high power posing showed a higher self-esteem, better mood, and more positive feelings regarding the student-teacher relationship. The findings show consistency with postural intervention effects in children and self-esteem elevation. This study revealed that good posture produced a large-scale effect on school related self-esteem.

The study involved asymptomatic fourth grade children. Improving posture for just one minute resulted in meaningful improvements in mood, emotions and self-esteem. The findings proved consistent with those seen in patients of all ages in Chiropractic clinics all over the world. Improvement of postural distortions through Chiropractic adjustments and postural exercises produce a variety of benefits for patients. This study supports Chiropractic care as a primary source of proactive health care for adults and children. Evidence based research continues to provide a litany of benefits experienced by people who proactively care for their spine, posture, and nervous system. Improving postural distortions represent one of many ways in which overall health improves in patients not experiencing immediate suffering from pain or musculoskeletal complaints.

The outcome traces back to the old adage which speaks to an ounce of prevention being worth more than a pound of cure. Providing the spine and nervous system with regular maintenance radiates improved health and vitality throughout the entire health structure of the body.

Joint Conference of the Sections Developmental Psychology & Educational Psychology September 2019
“Powerful and self-confident children through expansive body postures? A preregistered study in fourth graders.” Robert Korner, Hannes Kohler, Astrid Schuetz

The calendar welcomes the time of the year when coughs, fevers, stuffy noses, and tummy aches become the norm for both kids and adults. Some people wonder why certain individuals remain unscathed and seemingly untouched by the microbes that cause sickness, even among family members living under the same roof. 

Some people get labeled as simply having a stronger immune system than others. The powerful truth actually shows that every person’s body design comes equipped with an amazing immune system comprised of little soldiers with a specific purpose to be on constant lookout for foreign invaders. The location of an invader causes a set of hormones to signal a need for more specific white blood cell fighters to crash the scene and get to work destroying and eliminating the culprits. This process occurs without the conscious awareness of the host/person. The protective procedure occurs automatically under the control of a part of the brain and spinal cord called the autonomic nervous system.

Chiropractic adjustments improve the function of the autonomic nervous system through gentle adjustments that increase movement in the spine. Better alignment and movement in the spine creates better pathways of communication between the nervous system and immune system. The adjustment balances the autonomic processes by reducing stress in the nervous system. Improved nervous system function leads to better hormone balance needed guide optimal immune function. Improved immunity results.

Research conducted in 2010 showed that patients who received chiropractic adjustments increased a specific signaling molecule in the body called Interleukin-2. This molecule regulates the activities of white blood cells responsible for immunity. Interleukin-2 represents part of the body’s natural response to microbial infection and helps the body recognize and create specific responses that neutralize foreign invaders. Evidence of this protein molecule shows to be present in higher quantity in people who received a chiropractic spinal adjustment compared to people who did not.

The primary focus of a chiropractic adjustment does not focus on increasing immunity or treating a symptom or condition. The increased body function from an adjustment serves as an example of a healthy outcome resulting from removing interference from the nervous system. While other professions focus more on changing the environment to minimize microbes in and around the body, chiropractic focuses on strengthening the body from the inside-out.

Four ways to improve immunity:

  1. Stay on track with chiropractic adjustments to keep the autonomic nervous system balanced.
  2. Get adequate amounts of Vitamin D (a major immune booster).
  3. Go to bed 30-60 minutes earlier (inadequate sleep weakens immunity).
  4. Substitute water and healthy snacks in place of sugary foods/drinks (sugar drains the immune system).

Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010
“Interleukin 2-regulated in vitro antibody production following a single spinal manipulative treatment in normal subjects.” Julita A Teodorczyk-Injeyan,Marion McGregor,Richard Ruegg,and H Stephen Injeyan