From the beginning of the chiropractic profession in 1895, the purpose of hands-on chiropractic treatment has been to improve how the brain runs your body.  It makes sense physiologically that chiropractic would have that effect, and I’ve had many clinical successes that only make sense when viewed in this context.

Still, the bulk of research on chiropractic has been done to support its efficacy in the treatment of back pain. That’s a worthy goal, but we’re still trying to build the bigger picture of how manual therapy helps the entire body become more healthy.

One particular manual treatment method that intrigues me is NeuroTactile® Therapy. This gentle form of fascial stimulation has been one of my major methods since I began practicing in 1981.

About six months ago I began a research project to see if I could demonstrate that NeuroTactile® Therapy (NTT) helps the brain run your body better. The study uses heart rate variability as an outcome measure – if your heart rate variability improves after an NTT treatment, that shows that your autonomic nerves are exerting more effective control over your heart.

I want to thank the sixteen volunteers who each agreed to receive an NTT treatment and have their heart rate variability measured before and after. Now I am analyzing my data and trying to understand the results.

The data points to improvement due to NeuroTactile® Therapy treatment. I’ll write more when my findings are organized in a more coherent form.