What is the Purpose of the Heart Rate Variability test (HRV)?
If you have been a chiropractic patient here before, you likely have had the Heart Rate Variability test done. It is that simple 3 minute test where you put your fingers on that little platform, and literally chill out for a bit.
Why do we do this test?
By looking at the pattern of the heart beats, we analyze the function of your autonomic nervous system. For us chiropractors, this is the holy grail. We can observe and see whether a patient can adapt to stresses on a day to day basis. In other words, an HRV test is an simple way to calculate the adaptability level of a person’s body.
Why is this important?
Well, because our bodies have limited resources, once this is depleted, the body suffers. Among others, poor adaptability leads to low energy, poor sleep, brain fog, poor posture, and of course, pain.
The test itself is very simple. Instead of putting wires on the patient’s chest, we place the hand in a sensor and we collect the timing and the intervals of the heart beat.
We take the calculation of the beat-to-beat interval and can determine whether or not the body’s ability to stay in rhythm is being affected by too much sympathetic activation (coming from the mid spinal area), or too much parasympathetic activation from the vagal nerve (longest nerve in the body) which runs from the neck downwards.
Yes, these nerves all originate in the spine 🙂
What is important is that not only is proper vagal tone paramount in keeping a person healthy, without it, chronic illness and disease becomes inevitable. This test can be considered a gold standard test to help predict a person’s health.
So what should you do?
The key first of course is to know where you stand. What does your actual HRV score look like? We can book one for anytime, and you can book it online as well. As mentioned, the test only takes 3 minutes.
The cost for the HRV test is only $10 (limited time price) which includes our interpretation and a print out copy of the scan. Below is a sample scan reading.
Then once you know how strong or weak your HRV score is, we will recommend to you what can be done about it. Less stress, meditation, deep breathing, exercise, healthy eating are a few areas that could be worked on. Some chiropractic care might also be required. Chiropractic after all, keeps the spine healthy, and helps maintain the normal tone of the autonomic nervous system. In fact, with Torque Release Technique, we specifically target the autonomic nerves in the spine.
If you have any questions or would like to book, simply let us know.
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