I received this question Tuesday night from a concerned mom who’s daughter was having recurrent ear infections. Since this is a common question, I wanted to answer it in a blog for all of us to benefit.
The short answer is Absolutely Yes! Chiropractic can help with ear infections.
Chiropractic adjustments physiologically affect ear infections by influencing three areas: The Eustachian Tube, blood flow to the Middle Ear and the Immune System.
Today we’re discussing the second of these three areas: Blood Flow to the Middle Ear. (If you missed part one, you can catch up here.)
Before we get right to it, we need to set the stage a bit.
All of us have a decent understanding that the Circulatory System is the transportation system that gets oxygen to and wastes away from our tissues. It also transports immune system cells, glucose, hormones, building materials, etc. It is the network of superhighways (major blood vessels), state highways (large vessels), FM highways (small vessels) and neighborhood streets (capillaries) our body uses to maintain our tissues.
Secondly, unlike the highways we drive on, the vessels change in size all day long allowing for greater traffic (vasodilation) or for less traffic (vasoconstriction). This allows the body to route more blood to vital tissues for survival in times of emergency (fight or flight) or for faster processing (digestion after a big meal). This change in size is controlled by the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS).
The brain uses the SNS to closely regulate this because our tissues begin to suffer and die without enough oxygen and nutrients. Have you ever awakened to find your arm was missing. Then discovered through the weird tingly feeling that it wasn’t actually gone. It just “went to sleep” from lack of blood flow. The health and function of all tissues of the body, including the middle ear, slow down when the blood supply is reduced below the needs of the tissue.
Now, let’s put this all together: Blood supply, Ear infections and misaligned vertebra.
All the nerve fibers of the SNS pass through one of a series of nerve fiber super highway interchanges called the Sympathetic Chain Ganglia. These Ganglia are on both sides of each of the vertebra of the rib cage and are pictured here as the string of yellow swellings next to the vertebra.
A misaligned vertebra can put pressure on the Sympathetic Chain Ganglia and the fibers that regulate the size of the blood vessels of the middle ear. This interference with these nerve fibers limits the blood supply to the middle ear and the body’s ability to combat the bacterial infection. Nutrients and immune cells are arriving too slowly and the waste products are not carried away fast enough. This results in a prolonged infection and/or a reoccurring one.
Also, when a vertebra is misaligned it may put pressure on both the left and right Ganglia or just one of the two producing an ear infection in both left and right ears or only one of them.
A corrective adjustment of the misaligned vertebra removes this pressure allowing optimal blood supply to return to the middle ear. This speeds up the transport of nutrients, immune cells and the removal of wastes. Thus, initiating a faster recovery from the infection as well as a return to proper function and health of the middle ear and increased prevention of the reoccurrence of future ear infections.
If your child has an ear infection or is prone to ear infections, call today to schedule an appointment to have their spine evaluated. I promise to explain, answer your questions and gently correct any misalignment found. If you are not in SW Houston, contact me and I’ll help you find a Chiropractor in your area for your child.
Dr. K