The NUHS Alumni Department recently invited Howard Benedikt, DC ’76, MS, DCBCN, to present natural approaches to managing chronic pain to students.
Dr. Benedikt is a respected professional in chiropractic care and nutrition based in Manhattan, N.Y., where he runs his private practice, Howard Benedikt DC, DCBCN. Additionally, Dr. Benedikt is on the advisory board of Functional Medicine University as well as the Hedberg Institute of Functional Medicine. He continues to teach post graduate continuing education to thousands of chiropractors as well as speaking across the country on areas of health, diet and nutrition. He presently serves as president of the CBCN, which certifies chiropractors who wish to obtain Diplomate status in nutrition.
During his presentation, Dr. Benedikt emphasized the role inflammation plays in chronic pain. He stated that most chronic diseases are due to inflammation, and it’s important to find out what’s causing the inflammation in order to manage the pain. Stress is a major underlying cause of inflammation.
“The parasympathetic nervous system is rest and digest, as opposed to fight or flight,” Dr. Benedikt said. “Stress drives inflammation, whether it’s physical stress, emotional stress, or thermal stress, the body can’t tell the difference. It’s going to activate a series of events that ultimately lead to inflammation, and too much inflammation over a long period of time causes autoimmune disease.”
Dr. Benedikt discussed neuroimmune modulation, the process of using neural pathways to modify the immune system, through the vagus nerve as a chiropractic approach to reducing inflammation and ultimately reaching homeostasis.
Along with stress, gut health is a significant factor in inflammation. Understanding how the gut communicates with the immune system is essential for managing inflammation and pain.
“Eighty percent of your immune system is in your gut,” Dr. Benedikt said. “What’s going on in your gut has a profound impact on the health of your intervertebral disc. It’s not simply compression of the disc, it’s wear and tear. That wear and tear causes inflammation. That’s another way your body communicates with your nervous system.”
To reduce inflammation, Dr. Benedikt recommended focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet, stress reduction and gut support supplements, in addition to manual therapy. He stressed that if the resolution of inflammation does not take place, the body will respond by progressing into chronic inflammation. Most chronic conditions that Americans are suffering from are the direct result of inflammation.
“Healthcare is at a crossroads, with more patients presenting complex conditions that need to be addressed by the clinicians,” Dr. Benedikt said. “Chiropractic physicians should be front and center in managing these patients because they truly understand the ideas of structure and function and helping the body achieve homeostasis.”
