Chiropractic Care for Insomnia Treatment

• Taking medications that cause insomnia as an unpleasant side effect.
• Insufficient sleep hygiene (bright light, lack of room ventilation, high air temperature, uncomfortable pillow/mattress, drinking tonic drinks before bed).
• Somatic diseases, pain, and discomfort can also cause insomnia.
• High level of stress, nervous tension, change of environment, work situations.
• Neurological, mental illness, other disorders of the nervous system.
• Endocrine diseases.

Chiropractic care may be the best way to relieve stress and, as a result, eliminate sleep disorders. By interacting with the primary health resources in the human body, chiropractic has a positive effect on the functioning of the nervous system, it allows you to release and eliminate the consequences of psychological trauma suffered throughout life.

Manual techniques for insomnia help eliminate tissue tension in the patient’s body, restore normal bone structure mobility and the correct anatomical position of internal organs, balance the nervous system’s function, and improve the body’s adaptive capabilities and resistance to stress.

Chiropractic care has been used successfully for all types of insomnia. The longest correction time is required to eliminate sleep disorders caused by organic diseases of the meninges or endocrine disorders. With adaptive insomnia and insomnia provoked by acute stress, improvement usually occurs after the first sessions.

The main problem in the treatment of insomnia at present is not so much the insufficient effectiveness of the drugs used but the insufficient safety of treatment with these drugs, especially for older people.

The main disadvantages of currently widely used benzodiazepine sleeping pills are rapid loss of the hypnotic effect, the ability to impair memory, reduce psychomotor reactions, worsen well-being during the day, cause muscle weakness, and disrupt sleep structure. Due to some of these side effects, benzodiazepine hypnotics increase injury in older patients, and their long-term use is associated with a risk of dependence and withdrawal symptoms. This served as the basis for a search for hypnotics that do not belong to the group of benzodiazepines, which led to the creation and widespread introduction into the practice of a new group of drugs that compare favorably with benzodiazepines in their greater safety.

The main difference between these new drugs is their ability to selectively interact with omega-1 benzodiazepine receptors, which ensures a limited range of unwanted side effects. One such drug is Ambien.

The hypnotic effect of Ambien (Zolpidem) is manifested in making it easier to fall asleep, reducing the frequency of awakenings at night, and prolonging the duration of sleep. Unlike benzodiazepine hypnotics, Zolpidem does not disrupt sleep patterns. The drug is well tolerated by patients regardless of age. The incidence of side effects is 1-2%. The most common complaints are nausea, dizziness, and drowsiness. Less commonly reported are headaches, nightmares, and agitation.

Treatment of insomnia is always a close and fruitful collaboration between doctor and patient. The doctor gives each patient recommendations to consolidate the treatment effect and, if possible, eliminate external factors that interfere with deep and restful sleep. It is important to understand that the use of sleeping pills does not eliminate the problem but only temporarily masks it.