These are strange times we live in. Who would’ve known that the world was going to take a little staycation because of something that many of us, let’s be honest here, thought was just another flu. After spending weeks going through a rollercoaster of fear, disappointment and uncertainty, many of us are slowly adapting to our new reality with all its challenges.

I thought it would be a perfect time to write about the strategies our body innately has to overcome these challenges from an evolutionary and physiological stand point. How we innately defend, adapt and survive.

• Defense: our body has mechanisms in place to defend itself from the millions of microscopic invaders that come in contact with us everyday of our lives.
• Adaptation: this is something the human race has faced over and over and that what makes us resilient and capable of transcending adversity for our survival.
• Survival: this is obviously the end goal of the previous two processes that are integrated into our body.

Did you know that our body is made up of various systems and structures that are intimately organized so that we function optimally? The two systems and structures that I’ll cover in more detail are the immune and lymphatic systems, as well as our thymus, spleen, tonsils and adenoids.

The Immune System

The immune is system is one of the twelve systems in the human body. It is organized in two systems: the innate and the adaptive immune systems. The innate system is comprised of the skin, the lining of the nose, mouth, lungs and digestive system. More specifically it uses chemicals on the skin and hydrochloric acid in the stomach to help kill invaders, as well as partners with different bacteria’s in our gut. Certain types of white-blood cells are also part of the innate system, helping with our overall immune response. Conversely, the adaptive system is a collection of macrophages, dendrites and B-cells (also, white-blood cells, technically) that travel to the lymph nodes to engage the adaptive immune system and assist with defense.

The lymphatic system

The lymphatic system is a network of tissues and organs that help rid the body of toxins, waste and other unwanted materials. The primary function of the lymphatic system is to transport lymph, a fluid containing infection-fighting white blood cells, throughout the body. Contrary to blood circulation (that occurs in an active pumping continuous loop from heart, to extremities, and back to the hear), the lymphatic fluid transportation is passive and is a separate system from the pumping motor of the heart. The lymphatic fluid only flows in one direction – from the extremities to the midline of the body and to the subclavian veins located under your clavicles, or collar bones. From there, lymph fluid is reabsorbed into the venous system and waste is excreted. The movement of the muscles and joints as well as the movement of the diaphragm contributes greatly to lymphatic upward flow. This is one of the reason why being active and breathing adequately is so intertwined with your immune system’s health.

The Thymus

The thymus is an organ located under the sternum, or chest plate. It is large when we are born but shrinks as we age. It is a very important lymphoid organ because this is where white blood cells mature into T-cells. T-cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts specifically to foreign invaders. When I think of the thymus as an Osteopathic Practitioner I am most curious about: babies born with cords around their necks, car accidents and seat belts, chest injuries, and decreased ribs mobility. How much can all these traumas and impedances affect our precious thymus?

The Spleen

The spleen is the largest organ of the lymphatic system. It filters the blood, recycles old red blood cells, stores platelets for blood coagulation and white blood cells. It is a primary site for fighting bacterial infections specifically. You can live without it but it would make you more prone to bacterial infections, such as, strep pneumonia, meningitis and bacterial types of influenza (not to be confused with viral influenza). It is very superficially located roughly under ribs 8, 9, 10 on the left side, which makes it very susceptible to injury and shocks. Again, the Osteopathic Practitioner in me thinks: kids and adult sport injuries, especially the ones involving trauma to the ribs.

The Tonsils and Adenoids

Our first line of defense against invaders are the tonsils and the adenoids as they trap pathogens such as bacteria’s and viruses that enter the mouth and the nasal cavity. They can become enlarged due to chronic throat infections and many people have had them removed. I personally always found it interesting how we would choose to remove something that our body has created to help us, as opposed to addressing the chronic throat infection. Food for thought…

How is the immune system regulated?

It was long assumed that the nervous system and immune system were two independent systems, however, recent studies in neuroscience have demonstrated that they are much more integrated. The central nervous system (CNS) regulates immune function, inflammation, and pathogens responses against host tissues, through the production of inhibitory cytokines, hormones, and other soluble molecules able to signal to the brain, which in turn exerts strong regulatory effects on the immune response.

The CNS uses different pathways to communicate and regulate the immune response, two of them are particularly interesting. When you run away from a lion in the savannah, your immune system is in alert because you might cut yourself on branches or fall on rocks. Studies show that during stressful events – the immune system redistributes its players, such as the different white blood cells, in different areas on the body. The CNS therefore uses the hormonal system and the adrenergic pathway (think adrenaline related hormones) to regulate immune responses. This explain why many of us won’t get sick during a bout of stress because our fight-and-flight response keeps our defenses active. Think of how many people get sick after weeks of getting through deadlines at work leading to the Christmas holidays. Now think of what we are all going through with this pandemic.

Inflammation is a local and temporary response in the immune system. The vagus nerve travels from the head to the chest and abdomen to innervate organs, and plays a very important role in the immune related inflammatory response. The stimulation of the vagus nerve triggers a chain reaction by connecting to the splenic nerves (spleen) to release adrenaline related hormones that in turn activate the immune response. The lack of vagus stimulation can result in chronic and/or excessive inflammation in the body. There is a strong correlation between vagus nerve inhibition and autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s Disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Central Nervous system has long been regarded as immune-privileged because of mechanisms, such as, the blood-brain-barrier that stop pathogens before entering the cranial cavity and the use of glial cells in the cerebral spinal fluid to remove toxins and what would be inflammation elsewhere in the body. The CNS was believed to be free of lymphatic vessels until recently. Simultaneously they found small amounts of white blood cells in the CNS coming from lymphatic vessels. Because of these recent discoveries, it is now hypothesized that diseases such as Alzheimer’s could be the result of an immune reaction to a pathogen in the cranial cavity. Let’s remember that the dura matter is part of the tissues surrounding the brain to protect it against shocks and trauma and helps keeping the brain bathed in cerebrospinal fluid.

So what can I do to improve my immune system?

Go outside (but keep social distancing, please)

There is ongoing research studying the importance of vitamin D in the immune system at the moment because of COVID-19. Vitamin D is known to enable macrophages in the lining of the lungs for an improved first line of defense in our respiratory system, and to improve T-cells and B-cells in the long term immune response. Interestingly, patients with COVID-19 in Spain and Italy were found with low levels of vitamin D, which is ironic due to their geographical location. Optimal vitamin D synthesis happens around noon when the UVB rays in sunlight are at their peak. Research continue to evaluate whether vitamin D supplement can have the same effect and to determine what amount of time would prove to be best for helping our immune system against pathogens such as COVID-19.

Regulate your stress

As you read earlier, the correlation between the nervous system, the hormonal system, and the immune system in undeniable. We have addressed stress in many of our past blogs. Working at establishing balance in our lives cannot be overstated. It will prove to be very important as many of you might be juggling working for home, while home schooling and trying to maintain a romantic life. For others it might be the loss of employment and loneliness due to living on your own. The point is – that actively working at establishing balance can prove to contribute to homeostasis in the immune system.

Exercise

The lymphatic system needs movement from the joints and muscles to create upward circulation, therefore movement is key. Whether you like walking, jogging, biking, working out at home, movement is movement. Staying put for long periods of time is detrimental for the body even outside of a pandemic. Take shorts breaks from the computer, walk around, do a few squats on the spot, do a few walking lunges in the house if you are inside.

The Immune system and Manual Osteopathy

At Ananta Wellness & Osteopathy, Osteopathic Practitioners aim at removing tension and restriction in the body that can affect mechanical and functional movement. This will aid in improve fluid circulation, nervous system balance, auto-regulatory and immune function homeostasis. Here is a list of things to look at during a manual osteopathy appointment to help the immune system:

• The musculoskeletal system: remove restrictions around joints to help the peripheral nervous system
• Looking at head trauma to address dural tension, lymphatic flow, cerebrospinal circulation, venous flow out of the cranium, central nervous system balance
• Looking at the cranium in relationship to communication with the different hormonal glands in the body and addressing the different axis (such as the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis)
• Looking at the different components of the parasympathetic system and the vagus nerve pathway through the body
• The lymphatic system: addressing restrictions around major lymph node plexuses (e.i. arm pits and groin), remove restriction around bones and joints in relationship to lymphatic’s components (long bone trauma, thymus, spleen, tonsils and adenoids)
• Addressing components of the respiratory system and the freedom of the thoracic diaphragm for fluid circulation, lymphatic fluid flow and nervous system balance

Our Practitioners at Ananta Wellness & Osteopathy do not diagnose but we can offer recommendations if further referral or investigation(s) are necessary. If you are concerned about a possible emergency and/or underlining issue, medical pathology or disease – we asked you to consult your physician.