Healthy @ Home Series: Does Chiropractic Help Immunity?
By: Dr. Joshua Kiely, DC
In the last few weeks, COVID-19 has changed how we communicate, what we communicate about, how we socialize and how we work. The topics of immunity, viruses, and health have been covered heavily in the media, and I’m sure you’ve caught yourself having a few conversations about them as well.
By flattening the curve (blue) we can prevent overwhelming our hospital’s capacity (dotted line).
Since closing my practice to help “flatten the curve”, I have had some spare time on my hands. I’ve been using this time to learn, read and create new content on better ways to move and improve performance. Today I’ve set to work on figuring out what it means to “help immunity” and how we can make an impact on immunity.
What is Immunology?
According to the British Society for Immunology:
“Immunology is the study of the immune system and is a very important branch of the medical and biological sciences. The immune system protects us from infection through various lines of defence. If the immune system is not functioning as it should, it can result in disease, such as autoimmunity, allergy and cancer. It is also now becoming clear that immune responses contribute to the development of many common disorders not traditionally viewed as immunologic, including metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s.”
Before we start, I want to make it clear that as a chiropractor I make zero claims to improve immunity or even affect it. My expertise is managing musculoskeletal issues and informing patients how they can take control of their health and keep moving comfortably and often in order to live long, healthy lives.
Who is Qualified to Talk About Immunology?
Throughout my education, I’ve taken introductory courses in microbiology and immunology, but I have to be honest, it was never my thing. The nitty-gritty of genes, immune responses and learning hundreds of different bacteria, viruses, fungi, eukaryotes, and prokaryotes just never did it for me. My academic passions have been anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and exercise science. That’s why today, I’ll be focusing on compiling what the experts in the topic tell us we can do to help ourselves.
Chiropractors should have nothing to do with immunology in my opinion. It is a complicated, challenging subject with experts who dedicate their entire lives to understanding and applying their knowledge in order to help all of us.
Experts can handle this stuff. It ain’t for me.
There are experts who inform organizations such as the World Health Organization, public health organizations, and the Government of Canada. They are who we should be listening to for the best information.
Can we improve our immune system?
Quantifying an improvement in one’s immune system is difficult. We all hear stories or see ads about how this one secret supplement can boost our immune system, or how our Facebook friend never gets sick ever and they swear it’s the ice-cold showers they take daily in order to “reset” their immune system. You can insert any weird sounding ritual or treatment you want here, the point is the research on these things is usually lacking. I’m not saying the weird and wacky world of “immune boosters” is full of things that absolutely don’t work, but due to a lack of decent evidence, I’m unlikely to recommend pretty much any product or ritual claiming to boost your immune system.
That doesn’t mean that we’re helpless to take care of our health. There are plenty of things we can do that will improve our health, and are much more comfortable than freezing your bits off in an ice shower.
Simple steps to improving our health
I want to stress that I will not be providing any new information on COVID-19, and nothing on this list will “cure” the virus. Maintain social distancing, practice good hygiene and follow the guidance of our public health agencies.
According to the most reliable sources I could find, the following is a list of things experts agree are beneficial and will likely help defend from sickness. As a bonus, most of the strategies on this list are also recommended for reducing our risk of common life-altering conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, so we can stay healthy in the longterm as well.
Health is being able to do your favourite activities at any age, on your own terms.
Without further ado, here are the things we can do right now to take control of our health and get the most benefit from our habits.
Don’t smoke. There are resources available to help quit or reduce tobacco usage and the resources are continuously improving.
Maintain a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Frozen, fresh, canned, however you like them. Fry them, roast them, boil them, puree them. Eat ‘em up.
Exercise regularly. Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend 150 minutes/week of moderate to vigorous exercise. Find a few activities you enjoy, move well and move often. Shameless plug: I maintain an Instagram page with tips and strategies to share exercises and strategies I have found useful in moving comfortably and addressing common issues.
Maintain a healthy weight. BMI is not a perfect system, but it can provide a rough estimate for what a healthy weight looks like. You can find out more about BMI here.
If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. Most of us don’t have to remove alcohol completely, instead, monitor our consumption to avoid potential negative effects.
Get adequate sleep. If there was one thing I could recommend everyone do to improve their health, it would be to improve their sleep. The research on sleep is always changing, but if you want to take a deep dive on the topic, this Ted Talk by Matt Walker really opened my eyes to how worthwhile a good night’s sleep is.
Take steps to avoid infection. Wash your hands. Cook your food properly. Don’t touch your face. Avoid licking doorknobs. You know, the stuff our parents told us.
Learn strategies to minimize and cope with stress. This is different for everyone. Taking time to relax, participating in activities you enjoy and learning to cope with negative emotions can go a long way to improving your health.
Seeing a list that size can be overwhelming, and it’s normal to feel that way. To get started, pick one strategy and work on that for a while. Like any new habit or activity, it can be tough at the start, but most of these strategies provide great short-term benefits and the long-term benefits are huge as well.
Let’s get started.
So there you have it; simple things you can use to improve your health and potentially enhance your immunity. When patients ask me how I can help, I work with them to come up with strategies to keep them moving comfortably and often. I also provide information and stress the importance of these other areas that all of us can benefit from improving in order to live long, healthy lives.
Reach out if you need anything.
I’m here to help. My passion is movement and health, and right now it hurts not being able to go to work and do the things I love. I want to support my community during this time, and I’m open to suggestions on the best way to do that. This is uncharted territory for all of us. Let me know if there is something you’d love to learn about or if there is something your struggling with.
When we work together, we can get through anything, and this is no different.
Cheers,
Dr. Josh
Further Reading:
Canada’s Public Health Agency: Immunity
https://www.smokershelpline.ca/
https://www.immunology.org/public-information/what-is-immunology
World Health Organization: COVID-19
Harvard Health: How to Boost Your Immune System
Canadian Guidelines on Physical Activity
Sleep is your superpower: Matt Walker Ted Talk
No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or another qualified clinician.
