Chiropractic Cuts Blood Pressure
Study Finds Special 'Atlas Adjustment' Lowers Blood Pressure
Reviewed by
Louise Chang, MD
March 16, 2007 -- A special chiropractic adjustment can significantly lower
high blood pressure, a placebo-controlled study
suggests.
"This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure
medications given in combination," study leader George Bakris, MD, tells
WebMD. "And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side effects and
no problems," adds Bakris, director of the University of Chicago hypertension center.
Eight weeks after undergoing the procedure, 25 patients with early-stage
high blood pressure had significantly lower blood pressure than 25 similar
patients who underwent a sham chiropractic adjustment. Because patients can't
feel the technique, they were unable to tell which group they were in.
X-rays showed that the procedure realigned the Atlas vertebra -- the
doughnut-like bone at the very top of the spine -- with the spine in the
treated patients, but not in the sham-treated patients.
Compared to the sham-treated patients, those who got the real procedure saw
an average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number in
a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood
pressure (the bottom blood pressure number).
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