Chiropractic and AIDS Interview with Adrian Wenban, Doctor in

Chiropractic and AIDS

Interview with Adrian Wenban, Doctor of Chiropractic. Author of a study analyzing the relationship between chiropractic care and the improvement of quality of life in HIV-positive individuals. He is about to begin another research project focused on the impact of Chiropractic on the autonomic nervous system and, by extension, on the cardiovascular system, for which he has received a grant from the AEQ.

“The AIDS reflects the problems of society”

-Why AIDS as a subject of study?
AIDS is a disorder of the immune system that incapacitates the body to defend itself against external aggressions. AIDS affects millions of people worldwide and reflects societal issues. We were interested in studying how Chiropractic improves and influences the quality of life and well-being of individuals who have developed AIDS.
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-Does chiropractic care increase the quality of life for these patients?

The goal of Chiropractic is to detect and correct subluxations, the nerve interferences, in the spine. One possible explanation for why HIV-positive individuals notice an improvement in their quality of life with chiropractic care is that subluxations cause our sympathetic nervous system to become hyperactive.

An overstimulated autonomic nervous system weakens the body’s immune system. Since Chiropractic strengthens and treats the nervous system, it acts on the immune system by enhancing defenses and the body’s ability to defend itself, thereby substantially improving the quality of life of patients, especially in cases like acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, where the disorder itself weakens the immune system.

-The study reveals that the use of so-called alternative and complementary medicines to alleviate disorders related to AIDS is very high.

Among these, Chiropractic is one of the most valued. Why?
Chiropractic does not aim to compete with allopathic medicine. The ultimate goal of both is different.

The final objective of chiropractic care is to optimize each person’s health potential and educate them to maximize their quality of life. It is important to remember that the quality of life levels in countries around the world do not always coincide with the efforts and resources dedicated to improving and promoting it.

It is absurd that in countries like the United States, 97% of resources are allocated to medicine and only 3% to promoting well-being, an important fact considering that in the last hundred years, the life expectancy of the Western population has doubled.

It is essential to consider other factors such as climate, diet, family and emotional environment, or genetics, as improvements in the environment and living conditions have been the true drivers of increased life expectancy and health levels.

Only 10% of problems have been medically resolved. Chiropractic takes all these variables into account, and by impacting the health of our nervous system, it directly strengthens the immune system, which is severely weakened in both patients who have developed AIDS and those who are carriers of antibodies.

-There was a statistically significant improvement in the quality of life of individuals before starting chiropractic care and after six months of weekly adjustments.

After three months, patients already experienced improvement, and this trend solidified after six months under chiropractic care. It is unfortunate that the study had to be limited to a number of patients and could not be extended over time to obtain more accurate results regarding this correlation and gain the endorsement of the international scientific community.

We must also not forget that many patients do not inform their allopathic doctor that they have visited a chiropractor or that they have combined their care with other alternative or complementary therapies. But the results obtained are a correct pathway that confirms the general trend and serve as encouragement to continue researching the efficacy of Chiropractic.

In this type of study, many patients drop out halfway, and it is very difficult to persuade them otherwise because the researcher cannot control the process directly and individually; they work with data provided, mainly through questionnaires. For Chiropractic and chiropractors, these results are an encouraging success that could be extrapolated to other types of ailments, such as oncological ones.

-You have received a grant from the AEQ for a new study. What will be the focus of this study?

This grant will allow us to purchase a machine called Powerlab 4/20 (Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability) that will measure the effect of Chiropractic on the nervous system and thus study to what extent chiropractic care acts on it and to what extent it reinforces and impacts heart rate and rhythm.

It will be a high-level and far-reaching study for which I will need about 40 collaborators. In Japan, a similar line of research has been initiated that has demonstrated that of the two analyzed groups, the one that received chiropractic care improved the quality of its nervous and cardiovascular systems compared to the group that was treated with a placebo.

I will also begin another study on my own with the aim of analyzing the benefits of chiropractic care in the maintenance phase. I am interested in investigating, in the phase following intensive care, to what extent Chiropractic increases quality of life and well-being and its impact on socio-economic and health aspects.

-Is it very difficult to research in Spain?

Research is very difficult everywhere. It is challenging to balance research with the daily practice of the profession. In Spain, since there are no chiropractic universities, it is complicated to study because, unlike what happens in the United States or England, there are no stable working groups or any specific and updated chiropractic literature to refer to.

It is also more difficult to obtain funding for projects and studies. For now, here in Spain, researching is part of our ethical option and is an act of voluntariness and respect towards Chiropractic and towards the people who entrust us with the care of their health.

Marc Bony, DC .bcchiropractic.es