According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control, at least six million women in the United States are infertile and more than nine million employ some form or other of fertility service. According to research papers published in the JVSR (Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, http://www.jvsr.com), chiropractic adjustment, targeting nerve interference caused by spinal distortions, has proven useful in combating the infertility problem.
The twelve studies in the series found chiropractic care an effective treatment for infertile women regardless of age, medical history, or how long they’ve been experiencing infertility. One of the most surprising cases involved a thirty two year old woman who had gone twelve years without menstruating. She had undergone several medical treatments meant to solve her infertility and nothing proved effective. Finally, after just two months of chiropractic care targeting her lumbar region, her menstrual period corrected itself and she became pregnant shortly thereafter.
All of the women studied were found to be suffering from vertebral subluxation. The causes for these subluxations included scoliosis, vehicular accidents, normal childhood injuries and everyday physical stress. Other causes of infertility included mental stress at work or home and blocked fallopian tubes.
Chiropractic care primarily affects fertility by correcting these subluxations and allowing for better communication for the nervous system. A subluxation can prevent the nervous system from keeping the brain up to date on the body’s condition, making it harder for the various areas of the body to get what they need, or as the study’s director, JSVR editor Madeline Behrendt, D.C. says “Essential to all processes of life is the nervous system, which perceives the environment and coordinates the cellular community’s biological response to the impinging environmental stimuli. It is reasonable to consider that a system that is properly functioning to its potential may resist destructive forces more successfully and with less damage.â€
Even without this study, though, improved fertility would come as no surprise to chiropractic care professionals and patients. The nervous system, being dependent on the musculoskeletal system, almost invariably sees improvement after a person has received chiropractic care from a trained professional. As the nervous system improves, blood flow and communication to various parts of the body improves.
Besides the obvious direct effects that chiropractic care can have on the body, the method can also, by improving blood flow, digestion and several other basic everyday body functions, decrease mental and physical stress. Stress can actually prevent menstruation all on its own and chiropractic care can improve fertility by something as simple as helping the hopeful mother to be to relax.