The Bakris Study

The Bakris Study was a pilot study performed by a group of medical physicians in Chicago, led by Dr. George Bakris, M.D., after whom the study is named. Their conclusions are very important for the future of chiropractic. The study demonstrated that a single chiropractic upper cervical adjustment, a specialized adjustment for the C1 or Atlas bone, lowered blood pressure in 25 test subjects with early stages of high blood pressure. The effect of ONE chiropractic adjustment had the ability to lower blood pressure as much as a traditional medical patient using two blood pressure medications in combination. Chiropractors have for a long time claimed that chiropractic care can help with conditions like hypertension. It is a powerful thing to have science, in an experiment run by medical doctors no less, confirm what chiropractors have been saying for many years.

The study was conceived after a local MD in Chicago was sending his patients with hypertension, or high blood pressure, to a chiropractor. It was reported by this MD that after receiving chiropractic care, the hypertension appeared to normalize in his patients. It was this anecdotal evidence that prompted the study. It is interesting to note that according to the Center for Disease Control, heart disease is the number one killer in the United States with over 650,000 deaths a year (iatrogenic death is the number one killer in the US, however that data is not published by the CDC). Hypertension is related to heart disease or dis-ease as the increased pressure damages the heart and can lead to more serious and deadly complications.

In the future it would useful to have much more peer-reviewed science available to chiropractors. Clearly science is a tool and can be used positively or negatively. If chiropractors are able to devise and fund studies concerning the myriad benefits of chiropractic care, then we would be able to more clearly communicate to the world what the profession has known for decades -- that chiropractic works!

Yours in Health,

Andrew

References:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=79865
http://www.nucca.org/files/Hypertension2007.pdf
http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/hypertensive-heart-disease
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/lcod.htm