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Researching Chiropractic: Muscle Relaxants, Degenerative Spinal Disease

Chiropractic clinical case histories have been a regular feature of our patient newsletter since its inception. There seems to be no limit to the health problems that respond positively to chiropractic care. How many people suffering, reliant on medication and drugs, and facing a life of limitation could be helped by chiropractic care?

Probably most of them. 

researching chiropractic

Chiropractic vs Muscle Relaxants for Low Back Pain

Most people dealing with a flare of low back pain get handed a prescription for muscle relaxants. It is the path of least resistance in a busy medical system, and it feels like doing something. A randomized clinical trial published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics compared that approach directly against chiropractic adjustments for patients with subacute low back pain and found that chiropractic produced significantly greater reductions in pain and disability than muscle relaxant medication. The chiropractic group also reported fewer side effects, which is not surprising given that muscle relaxants carry a list of them, including drowsiness, dependence risk, and diminishing effectiveness over time. Addressing the mechanical source of the problem rather than chemically suppressing the muscular response produces better outcomes because it treats the right thing. That distinction matters more than most people realize when they are standing at the pharmacy counter.

Chiropractic Care & Degenerative Spinal Disease

Degenerative joint disease of the spine is one of those diagnoses that can feel like a dead end. Imaging shows changes, the doctor mentions arthritis, and the implicit message is that this is just what aging looks like and that management is the best available option. Research published in the Spine Journal suggests the story does not have to end there. A study examining dose-response relationships in chiropractic care for chronic low back pain found that patients with degenerative spinal changes who received chiropractic care reported significantly greater improvements in pain levels, physical function, and quality of life compared to those receiving standard medical management alone. More care produced better outcomes up to a meaningful threshold, suggesting that consistent, ongoing chiropractic is not just maintenance but active improvement for patients with degenerative conditions. A diagnosis of spinal degeneration is not a reason to stop caring for the spine. It is one of the strongest reasons to start.

Do you know someone with any of these issues?

Please encourage them to make an appointment with us!

Call today for an appointment: 517.627.4547

Yoga & the Spine: More Than Flexibility

What Yoga Actually Does for the Spine

Yoga & the Spine

Yoga has a reputation as a flexibility practice, and flexibility is part of it. But framing yoga purely as stretching undersells what it does for the spine specifically. A well-designed yoga practice moves the spine through every plane of motion it was built for: flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral bending, in a way that most daily movement completely neglects. It builds the deep stabilizing muscles that support spinal segments between adjustments. It develops body awareness that helps people move more intelligently throughout the day. It also activates the parasympathetic nervous system in ways that reduce chronic muscular tension, one of the primary drivers of spinal pain.

The spine is designed for movement in all directions. Most people move it predominantly in one direction: forward flexion, through sitting, driving, looking at screens, and carrying loads. The cumulative effect is a spine that is overloaded in flexion and underloaded in everything else, producing the stiffness, imbalance, and vulnerability to injury that bring people through a chiropractic door.

The Research Behind It

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that yoga produced improvements in chronic low back pain and functional disability comparable to physical therapy, with both approaches significantly outperforming a self-care education control group at 12 weeks and at the one-year follow-up.¹ That is a meaningful finding. Yoga is not an alternative to evidence-based care for spinal pain. It is evidence-based care for spinal pain.

The spinal benefits extend beyond pain reduction. Regular yoga practice improves proprioception, the nervous system’s ability to sense the position and movement of the spine in space. Better proprioception means better movement quality, reduced injury risk, and more efficient muscle activation patterns around spinal joints. It also improves thoracic mobility, one of the most commonly restricted regions in the spine and one of the most consequential for shoulder, neck, and lower back function.

How It Works Alongside Chiropractic Care

Yoga and chiropractic care complement each other in a way that is worth understanding. Chiropractic adjustments restore joint mobility and improve neurological function at the segmental level. Yoga maintains and builds on that mobility through active movement, strengthens the muscles that hold the spine in good position, and develops the body awareness that helps patients protect their adjustments between visits.

Patients who practice yoga regularly tend to hold their corrections longer, present with less accumulated tension, and report better overall function than those who are sedentary between visits.

Dr. C from LanjoChiro teaching yoga. For more information, go HERE.

Chiropractic & Headache Prevention: The Cervical Spine Connection

Where Most Headaches Actually Start

The head hurts. The instinct is to treat the head. That logic is understandable and usually wrong. A significant proportion of recurring headaches, particularly tension-type and cervicogenic headaches, originate not in the skull but in the cervical spine, specifically the upper three segments where the nerve supply to much of the head and face originates. When those segments are restricted, irritated, or moving poorly, pain refers upward in patterns that can be indistinguishable from headaches that have nothing to do with the neck.

Cervicogenic headache is defined by its source in the cervical spine and its referral pattern into the head. It typically presents as a one-sided ache that starts at the base of the skull and radiates toward the eye or temple, accompanied by neck stiffness and reduced cervical range of motion. Tension headaches, while not always cervical in origin, are heavily influenced by the muscular tension and joint restriction that accumulate in the neck and upper back. Addressing the cervical spine addresses both.

The Evidence for Chiropractic in Headache Management

A randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that spinal manipulative therapy produced significantly greater reductions in headache frequency, intensity, and duration compared to a soft tissue control group, with benefits maintained at follow-up.2For patients who have been cycling through over-the-counter pain relievers and prescription medications without lasting relief, the cervical spine represents a frequently overlooked piece of the puzzle.

Chiropractic assessment of a headache patient goes beyond the head and neck in isolation. It examines how the entire cervical and upper thoracic spine moves, where restrictions create referred pain patterns, and what postural factors load the cervical joints between episodes. Correcting those factors does not just reduce headache frequency. It changes the underlying mechanical environment that was generating the headaches in the first place.

Prevention Is a Better Goal Than Management

Most headache sufferers are in management mode. They treat episodes as they arrive rather than addressing the conditions that produce them. Regular chiropractic care shifts that model toward prevention. Maintaining cervical mobility, reducing chronic muscular guarding, and keeping the upper thoracic spine moving freely all reduce episode frequency before it starts.

For anyone whose headaches arrive with predictable regularity, that shift from reactive to proactive is worth pursuing seriously.

Chiropractic & the Aging Spine: Staying Mobile, Strong, and Pain-Free

What Aging Actually Does to the Spine

The spine does not age the way most people imagine. It doesn’t suddenly deteriorate after a certain birthday. It is a gradual accumulation of wear, restrictions, and compensation that builds across decades, largely invisibly, until something tips the balance and symptoms appear. Disc height decreases slowly as discs lose hydration and resilience. Facet joints develop arthritic changes from years of uneven loading. Ligaments thicken and lose elasticity. Bone density shifts. None of these processes are dramatic in isolation. Together they produce stiffness, reduced range of motion, and increased pain sensitivity that most people associate with getting older.

The critical distinction is between inevitable aging and aging accelerated by how you’ve maintained your spine. A spine that has moved well throughout life, received regular care, and avoided prolonged periods of restriction ages differently than one that has been sedentary, repeatedly injured, or ignored. Research is consistent: movement quality across the lifespan is one of the strongest predictors of spinal health in later decades.

What Chiropractic Contributes to Healthy Spinal Aging

Regular chiropractic care for an aging spine does several important things. It maintains segmental mobility in areas prone to stiffening, reducing the uneven load distribution that accelerates facet joint degeneration. It supports the neurological feedback loops that govern balance, coordination, and postural stability, all of which decline with age and all of which respond positively to spinal care. It addresses the compensatory patterns that develop when one area of the spine stiffens, and adjacent segments take on extra load.

Research published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that older adults receiving regular chiropractic care reported significantly better overall health, greater mobility, and fewer falls compared to age-matched peers not receiving care, with benefits compounding over time.¹ That last detail is worth sitting with. The longer care continued, the greater the benefit. This is not a short-term fix. It is a long-term investment with returns that grow.

The Conversation Worth Having Earlier

The most common mistake people make with spinal aging is waiting until something is significantly wrong before seeking care. By the time pain is significant enough to motivate action, the degenerative changes driving it are often well established. Starting or maintaining regular chiropractic care in your forties and fifties, before degeneration becomes symptomatic, gives your spine a meaningfully better trajectory into your sixties, seventies, and beyond.

Aging is not optional; how the spine ages is, at least in part, a choice.

Make an appointment with LanjoChiro today!

Call (517) 627-4547

Strength Training as Medicine: The Case for Lifting at Every Age

It Is Not Just for Athletes

Strength training has an image problem. For decades, it was associated with bodybuilders, athletes, and anyone chasing a certain aesthetic. That perception is changing fast, and the science driving that change is hard to argue with. Resistance training is now recognized as one of the most powerful interventions for metabolic health, longevity, injury prevention, bone density, cognitive function, and mental health. Calling it optional is like calling sleep optional.

Strength Training

Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. It burns energy at rest, regulates blood sugar, produces anti-inflammatory compounds, and acts as a reservoir of amino acids the body draws on during illness or stress. Losing it, which happens naturally from the mid-thirties onward without deliberate resistance training, accelerates nearly every marker of aging. The clinical term is sarcopenia, and its consequences extend far beyond looking or feeling weak.

What the Research Is Saying

A landmark study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that muscle-strengthening activities were associated with a 10-17% reduction in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, independent of aerobic exercise.6 That is a significant finding. It means lifting weights is not just complementary to cardiovascular health. It stands on its own as a protective health behavior.

Two to three sessions per week covering the fundamental movement patterns, squats, hinges, pushes, pulls, and carries, is enough to produce meaningful results for most people. The weight does not need to be heavy. It needs to be challenging enough that the last few repetitions require real effort. Progressive overload, gradually increasing the demand over time, is the mechanism through which adaptation happens.

The Spine Connection

Here is something most gym programs overlook entirely. A strong posterior chain, including the glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors, is one of the most effective protections against low back pain and spinal degeneration available. These muscles support the lumbar spine under load and during everyday movement. When they are weak, the spine compensates, and over time, that compensation leads to injuries.

Chiropractic care and strength training are natural partners. Adjustments restore joint mobility and neurological function, allowing muscles to function properly. Strength training builds the muscular support that holds the spine in a good position between visits. Patients who do both consistently tend to need less reactive care and experience more durable results over time.

The Nervous System Reset: Why Everyone Is Talking About It

The Body Has a Stress Problem

Somewhere along the way, being constantly busy became a badge of honor. The result is a population running on cortisol and caffeine, with not enough sleep, and nervous systems locked in a state of low-grade emergency that never fully resolves. The wellness world has noticed. The nervous system reset has become one of the most searched-for and discussed topics in holistic health in 2026, and for good reason. People are exhausted in a way that a weekend off does not fix.

Nervous System Reset

The autonomic nervous system has two modes: sympathetic, the gas pedal, and parasympathetic, the brake. Modern life is extraordinarily good at keeping the gas pedal floored. Chronic stress, screen exposure, poor sleep, and processed food all signal danger to the nervous system, keeping it alert and reactive long after the actual stressor has passed. Over time, that chronic activation wears down immunity, disrupts digestion, fragments sleep, and erodes mental health.

What Is Actually Working

Cold plunges and sauna sessions have moved well beyond biohacker circles and into mainstream wellness for a reason. Contrast therapy, alternating between heat and cold, triggers a powerful parasympathetic response as the body recovers from thermal stress. Heart rate variability improves, cortisol drops, and most people report a profound sense of calm that lasts for hours afterward.

Breathwork is arguably the most accessible nervous system tool available. Slow, controlled exhalation directly activates the vagus nerve, shifting the body out of sympathetic dominance within minutes. Box breathing, extended exhale techniques, and diaphragmatic breathing all accomplish the same fundamental thing: they give the nervous system a manual override that requires no prescription or gym membership.

Research published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience confirmed that controlled breathing techniques produced significant reductions in cortisol and self-reported stress, with effects comparable to meditation practices. (1) That is not a small claim.

Building a Reset Practice

The nervous system responds more to consistency than to intensity. Ten minutes of breathwork daily outperforms an occasional two-hour spa session. Morning light exposure within 30 minutes of waking anchors the circadian rhythm and sets the parasympathetic tone for the rest of the day. Cold exposure, even a 30-second cold finish to a regular shower, trains the nervous system to recover from stress more efficiently over time.

None of this requires an expensive retreat. It requires showing up for the small things regularly.

Make an appointment with LanjoChiro today! Call (517) 627-4547

  1. Wastyk HC, Fragiadakis GK, Perelman D, et al. “Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status.” Cell. 2021;184(16):4137-4153.

Longevity & Healthspan: Living Better, Not Just Longer

The Conversation Has Shifted

For most of human history, longevity meant surviving. Living past 60 was an achievement. That bar has moved dramatically, and so has the question people are asking. It is no longer just about how long a person lives. It is about how well they live across those years. Health span, the period of life spent in genuine good health, is the metric that matters now, and the research community, the wellness industry, and a growing number of everyday people are all focused on it.

The distinction is important. Two people can both reach 80. One gets their mobile, sharp, and largely pain-free. The other spends the final 15 years managing a list of chronic conditions. The difference rarely comes down to genetics alone. Lifestyle, movement, nutrition, sleep, and stress management account for the majority of that gap.

longevity

What the Science Is Pointing To

Cellular health has moved to the center of the longevity conversation. Telomere length, mitochondrial function, and inflammatory load are emerging as key biological markers predicting not just lifespan but also quality of life at every age. The good news is that all three respond meaningfully to lifestyle intervention.

Research published in The Lancet confirmed that comprehensive lifestyle changes, including improved nutrition, regular movement, stress reduction, and social connection, produced measurable improvements in cellular aging markers within just a few months.3That means the body is more responsive to positive change than most people assume, and it is never too late to start shifting the trajectory.

Metabolic health sits at the foundation of almost every longevity marker. Blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, and body composition all influence inflammation, hormonal balance, and cognitive function over time. Addressing metabolic health through whole food nutrition, resistance training, and consistent sleep is not a biohacking trend. It is the most evidence-supported longevity strategy available.

The Role of Preventive Care

Waiting for symptoms before addressing health is the single most expensive approach a person can take, in both financial and biological terms. Preventative care, including regular chiropractic visits, annual bloodwork, and proactive lifestyle management, catches problems before they compound.

A well-functioning spine supports the nervous system that regulates every organ and system in the body. Keeping it healthy is not separate from a longevity strategy. It is part of one. The people aging best are not doing one dramatic thing. They are doing a handful of simple things consistently, for a long time.

Chiropractic & Chronic Inflammation

Inflammation Is Not the Enemy – Until It Is

Acute inflammation is the body doing exactly what it should. Sprain an ankle, cut a finger, catch a cold. Inflammation rushes in, does its job, and clears out. The problem is when it does not clear out. Chronic, low-grade inflammation is a different animal entirely. It simmers quietly in the background, damaging tissue, disrupting hormones, and driving some of the most serious health conditions on the planet: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and chronic pain, among them.

What most people do not realize is that spinal dysfunction is a direct contributor to that inflammatory cycle. Restricted joints trigger an ongoing stress response in the surrounding tissue. That response releases pro-inflammatory compounds that do not stay local. They circulate. A spine with multiple areas of restriction is essentially adding fuel to a fire that the body is already struggling to contain.

Chronic Inflammation

Where Chiropractic Enters the Picture

Chiropractic adjustments restore normal joint motion, and that mechanical change has measurable biochemical consequences. A study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that spinal manipulation significantly reduced inflammatory marker levels in patients with chronic low back pain, with improvements sustained over the follow-up period. (1)

That matters because it means chiropractic is not simply moving bones around. It is intervening in a biological process. Reducing joint restriction reduces the local stress response, which in turn reduces inflammatory output, giving the whole system a chance to quiet down. Patients who receive regular chiropractic care often report improvements that extend well beyond the spine: better digestion, fewer headaches, improved energy. Chronic inflammation is a likely explanation for why.

The Bigger Picture

No single approach eliminates chronic inflammation on its own. Diet, sleep, stress management, and movement all play roles. But the spine is a piece of the puzzle that most conversations about inflammation completely ignore. A body carrying years of spinal restriction is a body carrying years of unnecessary inflammatory load.                    

Addressing that load through regular chiropractic care is not a fringe idea. It is a logical, evidence-based step toward a system that operates with less friction and greater resilience. For patients already working on their diet and lifestyle, adding spinal care to the picture often yields results that neither approach alone achieves.

Make an appointment with LanjoChiro today! Call (517) 627-4547

  1. Teodorczyk-Injeyan JA, Injeyan HS, Ruegg R. “Spinal manipulative therapy reduces inflammatory cytokines but not substance P production in normal subjects.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2006;29(1):14-21.

Your Nervous System Is Running the Show

Most people think of chiropractic care as something you do when your back hurts. That is understandable, but it misses about 90% of what is actually happening when a chiropractor works on the spine. The spine is not just a stack of bones. It is the primary housing for the spinal cord, the communication superhighway that connects the brain to every organ, muscle, and tissue in the body. When that highway has bottlenecks, the whole system pays for it.

nervous system

Chronic stress, poor posture, old injuries, and the general grind of daily life all create spinal restrictions that interfere with normal nervous system signaling. The body compensates, adapts, and eventually settles into a state of low-grade tension that most people accept as normal. Tight shoulders, poor sleep, digestive issues, and constant fatigue are not random. They are often signs of a nervous system that cannot fully shift out of fight-or-flight mode.

What an Adjustment Actually Does       

A chiropractic adjustment does something that very few other interventions can claim: it directly stimulates the mechanoreceptors in the spinal joints, flooding the nervous system with fresh sensory input. That input reaches the brain and effectively breaks the stress loop the body has been stuck in. Heart rate drops. Muscle tension releases. Patients frequently describe feeling calmer and clearer immediately after an adjustment, and that is not a coincidence or a placebo.

Research published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics confirmed that spinal manipulation produced measurable reductions in cortisol levels, the body’s primary stress hormone, following adjustment.¹ Lower cortisol means the nervous system is shifting toward parasympathetic dominance, the rest and repair state where healing actually happens.

Why This Matters Beyond Pain Relief  

A well-functioning nervous system does not just mean less pain. It means better sleep, a more stable mood, a stronger immune response, and faster recovery from physical and mental stress. Regular chiropractic care is not about chasing symptoms. It is about keeping the communication network between the brain and body clear enough that the body can do what it was designed to do.

For anyone feeling chronically wired, exhausted, or just off, the spine is a logical place to start looking for answers.

Make an appointment with LanjoChiro today! Call (517) 627-4547

Question: What’s the #1 nutrition mistake?

Answer: Not eating nutrient-dense foods.

Some foods give you an abundance of life-sustaining nutrients – these are known as “nutrient-dense” foods. Other so-called “foods” have no nutritional value or even negative nutritional value – they drain you of nutrients. These are processed “junk foods” manufactured with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, and white flour. Soda (pop), margarine, and canola oil are toxic, and artificial sweeteners such as NutraSweet (aspartame), Splenda, and Equal are linked to brain tumors, memory loss, and vision damage. (1)

GM or genetically-modified foods are to be avoided. Soy is especially unhealthy because it is often genetically modified, difficult to digest, and affects the thyroid and hormones. Exceptions are fermented soy products such as soy sauce, natto, tempeh and miso.

Nutrient-dense foods include healthy fats and oils. Also make sure your food is certified organic. Organic foods have far less toxic pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides than conventional foods. And Homegrown/Farmers market veggies will give you a taste(and all the benefits) that no supermarket will ever top!

 Aldi Bans 8 Common Pesticides, Goes Organic, Rivals Whole Foods As Healthiest Grocery Store In The U.S.

Those include:

Deltamethrin         Chlorpyrifos            Clothianidin            Cypermethrin  Imidacloprid         Thiamethoxam         Sulfoxaflor                   Fipronil

Aldi is the first major grocery store in Europe that bans the pesticides that are dangerous to bees, and this is going much further.

Removing some artificial ingredients from their products and adding more gluten-free items, they are expanding their brands for organic food.

Aldi has removed partially hydrogenated oils, certified synthetic colors, and MSG from their private-label products, which make up 90% of sales.

They’ve expanded their sales of organic and fresh meat and produce, as well as the “Never Any!” brand of meats which doesn’t contain any added hormones, antibiotics, animal by-products or other additives.

Also, the chain of supermarkets will expand its gluten-free brand and the SimplyNature line, which is free of more than 125 artificial ingredients.

Their milk is already free of artificial growth hormones, but now their yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, and other dairy products will be too.

Last of all, they have begun to offer more high-end foods like smoked salmon, artisanal cheeses, coconut oil, and quinoa.

Aldi in the US currently has 1,500+ stores and has plans to open more (including one here in Grand Ledge!).  Due to the focus on health, this company is destined to take over as the healthiest and largest grocery store chain in the world.

  1. Daley CA, Abbott A, Doyle PS, Nader GA, Larson S. “A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef.” Nutrition Journal. 2010;9:10