Whether it’s skin care, brain health, aging, energy, or inflammation, the topic of antioxidants has made its way into modern health discussions in a big way. Sadly, we tend to talk a little less about what these anti-oxidants are fighting? What is the problem they seek to solve? And does the answer always need to be something we consume or put on our skin?
Oxidative stress is the answer to the first question. This occurs when there is an imbalance between antioxidants and free radicals – the latter being reactive oxygen species or unstable molecules produced in the body during metabolic processes or from external toxins. Whether it be metabolism, pollution, chemicals, processed foods or more, when the balance is tipped in the direction of free radicals, then damage occurs in cells, proteins and DNA.
What happens then is the subject of many a research paper. The takeaway is this: if you can reduce oxidative stress, you can support health, immune function, cognitive function and much more. This brings us to the second question: does raising our antioxidant levels always have to be through consumables like food, vitamins or creams?
This question speaks to the heart of chiropractic – that health is an “above-down-inside-out” phenomenon based on the body’s innate intelligence. That is, the body is a self-healing, self-regulating system if there is no interference.
That’s why a recent study appearing in the Journal of Chiropractic & Manual Therapies is an interesting one. The study looked at whether a single session of spinal manipulative therapy was linked with any change in blood biomarkers associated with oxidative stress. Furthermore, it examined whether inflammatory mediators were also impacted [1].
The study took nineteen healthy adults aged between 18 and 45 and sorted them into a control group, a target group who received spinal manipulative therapy with a peak force of 400 Newtons, and a target group who received spinal manipulative therapy with a peak force of 800 Newtons. A “newton” is a unit of measurement used to describe the force applied during spinal manipulation (or as we call it in chiropractic circles, an adjustment).
This particular study was beset by a Covid-specific challenge, in that the pandemic interrupted the study and made it difficult to contact some of the participants who had agreed to take part and passed the exclusion criteria. The result was that the sample size was smaller than first intended. Hence, the results can only be interpreted as preliminary and require further studies to confirm. With this said, the preliminary results are interesting indeed.
Blood samples were taken from each participant at pre-intervention, immediately after spinal manipulation, and then twenty minutes after it. For the intervention groups, spinal manipulative therapeutic interventions were focused on the thoracic spine. Researchers were looking at:
- The oxidant system (total oxidant status, lipid peroxidation and lipid hydroperoxide)
- The antioxidant system (total antioxidant capacity and bilirubin),
- Lipid-derived resolvin D1
It was only a single session of spinal manipulative therapy, but still the results were notable. Additionally, the results appear to echo an oft-repeated concept that “the least force for the greatest outcome” may indeed be most beneficial. The 400N SMT appeared to reduce total oxidant status and lipid peroxidation. The 800N SMT intervention appeared to decrease “total antioxidant capacity and lipid-derived pro-resolution (resolving D1) levels in the systemic blood of healthy subjects” [1].
These results may be predictive of the effectiveness of SMT; however, the small sample size suggests that further research is necessary to mitigate the risk of false negatives. With this said, other avenues of possibility also open up: what about populations with higher inflammatory levels prior to their adjustment? What about a longer course of care? Would it mitigate or lower oxidative stress for a longer period of time?
What we do know is that more force doesn’t always equal more positive impact. In this study, the gentler adjustment had the greater effect.
Chiropractic research stands at an exciting point in time. We are beginning to understand more and more how the brain responds to chiropractic care, and how this might impact various aspects of health beyond back, neck and musculoskeletal pain alone. This study gives us some insight into mechanobiology and mechanoimmunology, once again confirming that an adjustment doesn’t just fix pain – it changes things on many levels. In this case, it is literally down to a cellular level.
While this is a step forward in our understanding as consumers of chiropractic and chiropractic research, it is also potentially meaningful for people who just want to be healthy and age well.
In that, it is important for all of us.
Reference:
Duarte, F.C.K., Funabashi, M., Starmer, D. et al. Preliminary insights into the effects of spinal manipulation therapy of different force magnitudes on blood biomarkers of oxidative stress and pro-resolution of inflammation mediators. Chiropr Man Therap 33, 8 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-025-00575-2
