Abstract
The stress response is a natural reaction by the body, against potentially harmful stimuli to enhance the chance for survival. Persistent activation of the stress response can cause changes to homeostatic mechanisms. The study of stress neurophysiology, in the evaluation of the manifestation of disease in the body, suggests that these chronic changes have detrimental effects on sub cortical structures. Furthermore, there is much scientific support for the notion that chronic activation of supraspinal systems will lead to maladaptation of homeostatic mechanisms, causing the impairment of processes within the body, and ultimately leading to visceral disorders. The chiropractic profession for many years has alluded to chronic change of neurophysiological pathways as a potential explanation of visceral disorders, but the profession has typically described these in terms of somatovisceral or viscerosomatic reflex activity. Change in supraspinal neurophysiological efferent activity is increasingly being used to explain "stress" related disease. The chiropractic profession should consider investigating such stress responses by conducting spinal manipulative therapy trials that evaluate supraspinal effects of manipulation. Such research may help elucidate key mechanisms associated with the change of visceral disorders noted by some chiropractors following manipulative therapy.
Highlights
Walter Canon offered the first model of homeostasis as the "coordinated physiological processes which maintain most of the steady states in the organism" [1,2,3], and further focused on the "sympathetic nervous system as an essential homeostatic system that served to restore stressinduced disturbed homeostasis and to promote survival of the organism"
Hypothalamic afferents most stress-related information projected to the hypothalamus is congregated to the lateral hypothalamus, where combinations of numerous ascending and descending fibres are integrated from areas including the limbic system, medial hypothalamus, and the autonomic nervous system containing with thousands of interneurons [13]
Sufficient evidence exists to consider stress and its mechanism, in the generation of diseases often seen by chiropractors
Summary
Walter Canon offered the first model of homeostasis as the "coordinated physiological processes which maintain most of the steady states in the organism" [1,2,3], and further focused on the "sympathetic nervous system as an essential homeostatic system that served to restore stressinduced disturbed homeostasis and to promote survival of the organism". Neurotransmitters may render target tissues resistant, instigating the cascade into disease and illness [10] Many pathological processes, such as chronic pain disorders, immune disorders, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic disease and behaviour disorders, may be the result of chronic activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympatho-adrenal system, affecting tissues or biological pathways, contributing to the global nature of disease [11,12]. As stress becomes more prominent in society, trying to understand mechanisms with which it manifests in the body, and potential treatment for these manifestations is imperative to the development of effective chiropractic treatment strategies This commentary attempts to address the development of disease within in the body due to chronic stress activation. This is followed by discussion of how these variables integrate and are potentially affected by the application of manipulative therapy
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