M.Tech. / Background: Chiropractic spinal adjustment therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for pain as well as many somatic, visceral and systematic complaints. Its use in the treatment of stress, however, remains speculative. Stress is a normal and healthy human response, but it is detrimental to health in excessive amounts. Salivary cortisol is an effective, accurate indicator of the stress response system. Objective: To determine whether thoracic spine Chiropractic adjustment therapy has any direct effect on salivary cortisol levels and subjective stress tests in subjects who rated themselves as having high levels of stress. Methods: Thirty-one participants, who reported having subjective high stress levels, comprising of male and female adults completed the trial, which was designed as a cross-over study. They were divided into two groups. Groups 1 and 2 delivered saliva samples and completed subjective stress questionnaires. Group 1 was then treated with thoracic spinal adjustment therapy for three weeks whilst Group 2 received no intervention. Both groups repeated the tests at the three-week interval. Thereafter, Group 2 received three weeks of the same spinal adjustment therapy, whilst Group 1 received no intervention. Again, both groups repeated the tests at the end of this second three-week interval. All tests were completed at the same time of day for each participant. Salivary cortisol was measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELIZA). The stress questionnaire was recoded and analysed with descriptive statistics. vii Results: Chiropractic spinal adjustment therapy resulted in a statistically significant decrease in subjective stress levels. It did not, however, significantly change salivary cortisol levels. Conclusion: This study has shown that Chiropractic spinal adjustment therapy does not significantly change salivary cortisol levels, but is successful in lowering subjective stress levels over time. It is concluded that Chiropractic plays a role in the reduction of the subjective experience of stress.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:7206 |
| Date | 13 September 2011 |
| Creators | Meekel, Claire Lauren |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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