Can Chiropractic Care Help with Sleep Apnea?

Apnea is defined as the cessation of breathing for a shorter time period. Experiencing temporary breathing cessation during sleep that affects the flow of oxygen in the blood is termed as “sleep apnea”.

Those with this condition may get enough sleep, but don’t get enough sleep due to time to time interruption caused by the breathing difficulty.

The airways become narrow and blocked and may several troublesome symptoms such as; 

• Difficulty falling or staying asleep   
• Chocking in the middle of the night 
• Daytime sleepiness and drowsiness
• Chronic fatigue
• Waking up with a headache
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mood issues and lowered quality of life

If not treated, sleep apnea can become a dangerous condition and may lead to multiple health complications such as depression, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and heart problems.

Common Treatments For Sleep Apnea

You may have already heard about the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Device) as the most common treatment option for sleep apnea. Although a major inconvenience, the CPAP device is proven to be effective for most patients with sleep apnea. Luckily, there are some other remedies and treatment modalities available that can help re-open your blocked airways and promotes restful sleep.

Chiropractic is one of the safest and effective options doctors recommend trying to ease this breathing difficulty. It helps alleviate the catalysts (hormones, neurotransmitters, and other factors) associated with sleep apnea.

Here’s how it helps;

Chiropractic Adjustments Can Help Treat Sleep Apnea

Spinal stability plays a major role and has a positive impact on your rest ability. Misalignment of the spinal vertebrae causes disorder in the activity of the nervous system and also affects circadian rhythm, including the sleep-wake cycle. These misalignments are usually caused by direct trauma to the spine, poor posture, and a sedentary lifestyle. All these things have a direct impact on the body because it is not able to properly transmit nerve signals to the brain. This further leads to a chain of body disorders, including sleep apnea.  

Chiropractic care corrects misalignments realign the displaced vertebrae and manage subluxations in the spine. It also helps relieve pressure on the pinched nerves from the vertebrae. Correcting these problems can restore the normal functioning of the nervous system and improve sleep patterns. 

Spinal manipulation and alignments can treat sleep apnea symptoms that are secondary to problems with the spinal vertebrae. Chiropractors also recommend certain exercises that help strengthen tissues and muscles surrounding the spine. As muscle tension in the neck can also be a contributory factor to sleep apnea, a chiropractor also helps relieve tension, massage the sore muscles, and stabilize the neck tissues to promote better breathing.

In contrast to the CPAP machine, chiropractic adjustments are a better way to treat this disorder. Studies have shown that regular chiropractic sessions often lead to long-term and better sleep without any breathing difficulty.

Your chiropractor will also recommend doing certain dietary and lifestyle modifications to enhance sleep quality, such as a low-sodium diet, exercises, and proper working and sleeping posture.