Written by Dr. Meri Rosco
There are many benefits to receiving chiropractic care such as improved circulation, nerve function, and athletic performance. Chiropractic care even supports the immune system.
During the current pandemic of COVID-19, having a strong immune system has proven to be vital to recovery. Receiving regular chiropractic treatment is an important factor in helping your body to build and maintain a strong immune system.
The COVID-19 pandemic is often compared to the 1918 influenza pandemic. Fortunately, chiropractic care helped support the immune systems and improve the body’s natural ability to heal of thousands of patients in 1918. The data below shows the powerful benefit of chiropractic care on the human body.
During the 1918 influenza pandemic, 50 medical doctors in Davenport, Iowa treated 4,953 flu cases. Out of the 4,953 cases treated, 274 resulted in death. In the same city, chiropractors from the Palmer School of Chiropractic treated 1,635 people infected with the flu. Only one of those cases resulted in death.
Out of the entire state of Iowa, medical doctors treated 93,590 cases and 6,116 of those resulted in death. That’s a loss of one out of 15 patients. For the patients in Iowa (excluding those in Davenport) treated by chiropractors, there was a loss of one patient out of every 789 cases (6 patients died out of a total of 4,735). In fact, the national figures show that 46,394 flu patients in 1918 were treated by 1,142 chiropractors. Of these 46,394 cases, 54 resulted in death – that’s one of every 886 patients.
The New York health authorities display the number of deaths per 1918 flu or pneumonia cases in the following table:
| Influenza | Number of Cases | Number that Resulted in Death |
| Under Medical Care | 10,000 | 950 |
| Under Chiropractic Care | 10,000 | 25 |
| Pneumonia | Number of Cases | Number that Resulted in Death |
| Under Medical Care | 10,000 | 6,400 |
| Under Chiropractic Care | 10,000 | 100 |
Dr. Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University, ran a study that showed the positive effect that chiropractic care can have on one’s immune system and general health.
Dr. Pero performed a three-year study on 107 individuals who have been regularly receiving chiropractic care for five years of more and compared their immunity to the general population as well as to individuals with cancer and other serious illnesses.
He found that those patients receiving chiropractic had a 200% greater immune competence than those people who had not received chiropractic care. The chiropractic patients had 400% greater immune competence than those with cancer and other serious diseases. The increased immune system competence of those under chiropractic care did not appear to diminish with age.
Even if not suffering from an injury, receiving regular chiropractic care is important to one’s health. The frequency of wellness care can vary between individuals, but for most people, it’s just one adjustment per month. If you have any questions about wellness care, feel free to give our office a call.