Have you experienced being so down, but felt so much better after being hugged by a friend or a loved one? This is a very good example of the healing power of touch.
Since the evolution of man, physical touch has been a key piece of our overall health and wellbeing. As infants, we instinctively need to be held by our parents to feel safe. And as adults, we need it more than ever to thrive. We need it to feel connected with other people, to feel more energized, and to feel happier.
The scientific explanation of why we feel this way lies in our genetic processes. When you are being touched by a person you trust or love, it boosts powerful neurotransmitters and feel-good hormones in your brain. It increases Oxytocin (a.k.a the love hormone) which is a natural anti-inflammatory agent that protects you from infection and stress; Dopamine (a.ka. happy hormone) that makes us feel good; and Serotonin, another hormone that helps in regulating mood and increasing happiness. Because touching generally makes us feel good, we naturally crave for it.
And true enough, this is one of the reasons why most people respond positively to chiropractic— because it utilizes the power of touch.
For those who do not know, Chiropractic literally means “done by hand”, and chiropractors have to use their hands to perform spinal adjustments. There are a lot of benefits that come from chiropractic adjustments like pain relief and posture correction but probably the thing that makes people come back for more is that amazing feeling that comes every after adjustment session. It’s not that surprising, considering that adjustments do help in releasing feel-good hormones from the brain to your body.
Related Article: Toxic Release from Chiropractic Adjustments
In fact, this 2019 study has shown that cervical spinal adjustments have an immediate effect of increasing oxytocin and neurotensin levels in the blood of individuals with neck pain. Oxytocin has already been explained earlier so that leaves us with Neurotensin. It is considered to be a hormone that works to reduce the amount of pain felt in the body, especially any pain that is related to stress. Since it interacts with levels of serotonin (the hormone that increases happiness) in the brain, neurotensin is an amazing hormone for helping you keep calm even during a stressful situation, or when you are experiencing pain.
With all these being said, just imagine how beneficial chiropractic would be for people suffering from pain. Not only does it give an emotional boost, but it can also be beneficial in reducing tension, soreness, and stress in the body. And what’s more, this feel-good effect is all-natural!
We want to help you heal and feel happier.
It has always been our team’s mission to bring individuals to optimal health and to do that, we want to help you correct the problems that interfere with your natural state of health and happiness. If you are experiencing pain, stress, mobility issues, posture problems, and the like, you may have come to the right place.
Most of the new patients in our practice come in because of the level of pain and stress they are under. But after a couple of visits, you will be able to see that the same people are now happier and they smile and laugh more often. This is simply because people become better and happier after their interference has been removed. And of course, we’d be happy to give you that kind of happiness too!
References:
[1] E.B. Lohman,a G.R. Pacheco,a L. Gharibvand,b N. Daher,b K. Devore,b G. Bains,b M. AlAmeri,a and L.S. Berkb,c. The immediate effects of cervical spine manipulation on pain and biochemical markers in females with acute non-specific mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. J Man Manip Ther. 2019; 27(4): 186–196.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7025692/