Why is it important to get your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) checked?
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 gold standard for assessing health. We can literally observe and see a patient’s adaptability level based on the function of their Autonomic Nervous System.
Why is this important?
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 pain.
How does it work?
The test itself is very simple. 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.
These nerves all originate from the spine.
Not only is proper vagal tone paramount in keeping a person healthy, without it, chronic illness and disease becomes inevitable. This test is a strong predictor of person’s long term health.
So what can you do?
The key first of course is to know where you stand. What does your actual HRV score look like? When a test is done, we provide an interpretation and can print out copy of the scan results if you wanted one. Below is a sample scan reading.
Once we assess your HRV score, we can recommend what you can do. Less stress, meditation, deep breathing, exercise, healthy eating are a few areas that could be worked on. Chiropractic care is also important. Proper care helps restore the normal tone of your central and autonomic nervous systems, which helps keep your HRV score in check. (As an example, the torque release technique method we use specifically targets the autonomic nerves in the spine)
So if you’d like to book this quick 3 min test, let us know. You can also book online. There is a small fee of only $10 for the HRV test.
Let’s start off the new year right!