In this article, I will present a summary of one out of many research papers that have studied NSA care. This research was ground-breaking at the time and conducted at Irvine College of Medicine. At that time, it was the largest study ever to investigate the field of well-being and quality of life change effects from a single treatment modality.
This study has special value to me, because I chose to become a chiropractor, only after I was shown how it could help me be able to improve people’s overall health, not just reduce their pain. I hope that tidbit of personal history helps you to understand why my focus at the Body Mind Empowerment Centre, is to utilise NSA care because I have found it able to provide a remarkable ability to enhance overall health.
Chronic pain: NSA care can also provide people who experience severe long term pain with sustained pain relief. If this is able to be provided, it is achieved by analysing for dysfunction & correcting it. NSA care is a particularly gentle, 'low force' method which most people find to be very comfortable and in fact, look forward to their NSA entertainment sessions.
“In a large percentage of individuals, Network Care (NSA) evokes a spontaneous self-perpetuating contraction of the paraspinal muscles. The movements may be very sutble, barely perceptible, or very obvious and may involve the arms and legs.”
NSA care is a form of neuroplastic treatment. Neuroplasticity referes to the brain & nervous system's ability to change. NSA care uses gentle touches to the spine in order to stimulate the nervous system's capacity to learn what professor Blanks called "A strategy of self correction". Professor Blanks is the first author of the study I am about to share with you. This method trains the brain and nervous system so that the body can learn to reduce or even eliminate abnormal function that may be the cause of symptoms such as pain, but also many others such as weakness, numbness and tingling.
From Symptom Relief to Overall Well being
While I can't guarantee any specific results, I've also seen many cases, where NSA care has profoundly improved chronic high levels of tenderness such as that which occurs in fibromyalgia and repetative strain injury (RSI). I was particularly interested to see the the positive impact upon quality of life associated with NSA care which the Irvine study reported. These researchers found NSA care could also be an ideal way to create noticeable improvement in overall well-being. For example, this retrospective study of 2818 people reported 59% of patients improved on the overall quality of life index, and over two-thirds of patients showed significant clinical improvements in all of the following: physical state, mental/emotional state, stress evaluation and life enjoyment indices.
For me, the implications of these findings, is that people seeking relief from various significant health problems, may not only achieve it but may also have those problems replaced by a more optimally functioning body. This then could enable them to experience a greater sense of well being and increased productivity.
Another very encouraging conclusion of the Irvine study was that 95% of respondents reported their expectations had been met with NSA care. Below is a summary of the published study conducted within the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, College of Medicine, and Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine, California.
This study included people receiving NSA care in the U.S., Australia and other countries. It revealed than an increasing percentage of patients reported progressively greater improvements in the areas assessed overtime. That means, the longer they stayed in care, the more they improved in those measures. The subjects were studied for over three years, and the researchers did not find any 'ceiling' to the results over time. By that they mean, at the end of the study people were still improving. The benefits reported were evident as early as 1 to 3 months under care, and continued to progress. Further, investigators concluded that "... within the boundaries of this design, these findings provide substantial evidence that Network care should be included among those practices with established health benefits."
This now may still represent the largest wellness study ever to assess such a wide range of patient reported health and wellness benefits.
This study found the following health and wellness benefits for NSA care in a statistically significant number of participants:
1. IMPROVED PHYSICAL STATE RELATIVE TO:
Less physical pain
Less tension or stiffness of spine
Improved allergies, eczema, skin rashes
Fewer incidences of colds and flu
Fewer headaches
Less menstrual discomfort
2. IMPROVED MENTAL/EMOTIONAL STATE
Improved positive feelings about self
Less moodiness, angry outbursts and depression
More interest in life
Improved ability to think and concentrate
Less anxiety and concern about vague fears
Improved ability to stay on task - focus/concentration
Less distress about pain
3. IMPROVED RESPONSE TO STRESS & LESS STRESS RELATIVE TO:
Family
Significant relationship
Health
Finances
Daily problems
Work
General well-being
4. IMPROVED LIFE ENJOYMENT RELATIVE TO:
Positive feelings about self
Interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle
Incidence of feelings of joy or happiness
Confidence when dealing with adversity
Experience of relaxation and well-being
Compassion for and acceptance of others
Feeling open when relating to others
Openness to guidance by "inner voice"
5. IMPROVED OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE RELATIVE TO:
Personal life
Oneself
Extent one adapts to change
Handling of problems in life
Actual life accomplishments
Life as a whole
Overall contentment with life
Significant other
Job
Life being what one wants it to be
Romantic life
Actual work done
Co-workers
Physical appearance
In addition to these categories, the study also found that NSA care resulted in a significant increase in health promoting practices and a decrease in health detracting practices.
Engaging the power of neuroplasticity
NSA 'teaches' the body how to make its own corrections. The chiropractor uses a range of gentle finger pressures in specific locations along the spine and body in order to stimulate a response. Just like with anything we want to learn, the more we practice the better we get. Therefore, these responses typically become more complex and effective over time. In summery, NSA care utilises our nervous system's neuroplastic capability to learn more sophisticated ways of coordinating a wide range of functions of the body in order for us to be able to heal & perform more effectively. The highlights from the Irvine study listed above, provide evidence for the role NSA practitioners can play as partners in the overall health care arena.
Who usually receives this type of care?
The Irvine college of medicine study reported that the following health & wellness benefits from Network Care appeals to highly motivated individuals who are interested in alternative care as a means to achieve holistic health enhancement.
95% of respondents reported their expectations had been met; and
99% wished to continue Network Care.
Other research on NSA
Other research has now been completed that helps us to understand the physiological mechanisms enabling NSA care to achieve the above reported results. Three research papers supporting this are presented here.
Ways to evaluate and understand health
The Irvine study divided healthcare into two quite different approaches:
Biomedical model
Holistic or Wellness model
The Biomedical model considers the symptoms of a person and his/her laboratory test results to assess the condition or disease.
The Holistic or Wellness model considers the symptoms of a person and his/her extent of function, perceptions, and overall quality of life. This is very much in keeping with the definition of health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity," which was put forth by the World Health Organisation in 1948.
Jason W. Barritt B.Sc (Hons) DC
Chiropractor
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References:
1. Blanks, R.H. Schuster, T.L., Dobson, M.A., Retrospective Assessment of Network Care Using a Survey of Self-Related Health, Wellness and Quality of Life, Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 1997, Vol. 1, No. 4, p. 15-31.
2. The WHO definition of health is a part of the preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946, entered into force on 7 April 1948.