Somato-Visceral Reflex

What is the somato-visceral reflex? Who knows. From our studies in chiropractic school, this reflex is largely theoretical and controversial. Controversy breeds creativity, as they say, but this theory has caused a lot of grief to the evidence-based chiropractors in the US, mainly due to a select few who "believe" more than they observe.

Somato-visceral reflexes are theorized as inhibition to the viscera due to a somatic (musculoskeletal) problem. Nerve roots are shared throughout the spine and information passes through the nerves and spinal cord largely uninterrupted each day. However, there are nerves that share communication networks that consist of both parasympathetic (resting and digesting) and sympathetic (fight or flight) fibers. It is thought that these networks can effect each other if they become disturbed within the system or if disease plagues the viscera (organs) or the musculoskeletal system.

This idea is very interesting and the subject of current rigorous academic investigation. Controversy exists among providers because this theory has not been proven and providers use it to sell their care.

Our professor, Dr. Sepulveda, tried to push some of these ideas forward in our last lecture of the term yesterday and my initial response was to be upset at him for taking such a radical stance. After some thought, I sorted through these intuitions and decided he wasn't completely wrong to open our eyes to such connections to our work.

Keep in mind, this DC sees a ton of patients every week. I don't know exact figures but he is very competent in his work and he has a vast amount of experience with chiropractic and it's effect on different health conditions.

My own personal experience with the somato-visceral reflex is this: an elderly patient presented with lower back pain incurred 4 days prior from playing golf. Since the onset of the back pain, the patient experienced a 4-day long bout of constipation. No changes to the diet occurred that would explain the constipation and there was absolutely no prior history of constipation. The patient is honest and provides a long list of medications, all of which do not have constipation as a side-effect and they have each been taken for over 10 years.

Did the lower back problem cause the constipation? If so, we are talking about real-world proof of the somato-visceral reflex theory.

It is interesting to see such issues arise due to musculoskeletal problems. I think about other visceral problems that refer pain to musculoskeletal locations and the shared neurological connections, and wonder which created the overall problem.

The rabbit hole continues with low-grade musculoskeletal inflammation and movement restrictions. It doesn't take a professor to see that there is correlation between systemic allostatic stressors and overall health. Discounting musculoskeletal problems as major players in overall health is not only ignorant but foolish.

Health is a biopsychosocial entity and competent doctors of all academic stripes, must abide by this common knowledge in order to serve their patients ethically. Delusional behaviors that are performed to discredit an entire profession, hurt the public and society as a whole.

I hope, through sharing these first-hand experiences on a consistent basis, public perception of modern chiropractic medicine will change and societal limiters will vanish, allowing the conservative nature of chiropractic to impact the lives of more than 7 or 8% of our nation (the current national usage of chiropractic care).

All for now