During the COVID-19 pandemic, two questions came up constantly: what can I do to support my immune system, and what might be working against it? Alongside a lot of useful information, there was also a great deal of misinformation, and claims about chiropractic care and immunity were part of that mix. This article looks at what the research actually shows, including where the evidence is genuinely supportive and where it is not.

How the Nervous System and Immune System Communicate

Your immune system does more than fight off viruses and bacteria. It is better understood as a sensing and signaling network that constantly reports back to the brain about what is happening inside and around the body. The nervous system, in turn, helps regulate immune responses through neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and hormones. This two-way communication between the brain and immune system is well established in the scientific literature.

Because the spine houses and protects much of the nervous system, it is a reasonable scientific question to ask whether spinal function and spinal care could influence this brain-immune crosstalk. That is the question researchers have tried to answer, and it is worth being precise about what they have found.

What the Research Shows

A 2019 review in the journal Medicina summarized the studies on spinal manipulation and the immune and endocrine systems, noting measurable short-term changes in certain biomarkers such as cortisol and immune-signaling molecules (Colombi and Testa, Medicina 2019, PMID 31394861). On its own, that finding is sometimes presented as proof that adjustments boost immunity, but that conclusion goes well beyond what the data support.

The most rigorous look at this question is a 2021 systematic review published in JAMA Network Open, which critically appraised the available studies (Chow et al., JAMA Network Open 2021, PMID 33847753). Its conclusions were sobering and important: the authors found no clinical studies showing that spinal manipulation prevents infection or improves outcomes in people who are sick, and across higher-quality randomized trials, manipulation was not associated with meaningful changes in key immune markers. In short, the claim that chiropractic adjustments measurably strengthen immunity is not supported by current high-quality evidence.

An Honest Bottom Line

Here is the responsible takeaway. The brain and immune system clearly work together, and spinal health is part of overall nervous-system function. But there is no good evidence that chiropractic adjustments boost immunity, prevent illness, or shorten how long you stay sick, and it would be misleading to suggest otherwise. Chiropractic care should never be offered as a way to fight or prevent infections.

What chiropractic care can do is help with musculoskeletal pain and function and support an active, healthy lifestyle. For protecting your immune health, the well-supported basics still matter most: vaccination where recommended, good sleep, regular activity, a nutritious diet, not smoking, and standard hygiene. If you are unwell or concerned about your immune health, your physician should guide your care.