Brumfield Chiropractic

12/31/2025

🩸 It’s not just a bruise—it’s a biological switch.

We’ve all seen the purple circles.

From Olympic swimmers to your favorite CrossFit coach, cupping therapy has been trending for years.

Most people assume it’s just for deep tissue release or pain relief.

But a groundbreaking 2025 study just completely changed how we look at those marks.

Researchers published their findings in PLOS ONE, focusing specifically on university baseball players.

They wanted to see if cupping did more than just loosen tight shoulders.

They split the athletes into groups: one received real "dry cupping" suction (-400 mmHg), and the other got a "sham" version with barely any pressure.

They measured them for 8 weeks during intense preseason conditioning.

The results were wild.

The athletes who got the real cupping didn’t just feel better.

Their bodies physically recovered faster at a nervous system level.

The study found that cupping significantly improved the recovery of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

Specifically, it helped the athletes switch out of "Sympathetic" mode.

That’s your body’s "fight or flight" stress response—the state that burns energy and halts recovery.

And it switched them into "Parasympathetic" mode.

That’s the "rest and digest" state where actual growth and repair happen.

In the high-stress world of athletics, the ability to flip that switch quickly is the difference between burnout and a breakthrough.

So the next time you see those purple circles, don't just think "pain relief."

Think of them as a remote control for your nervous system. 🧠

References: Chen, C. L., & Tang, J. S. (2025). Effects of dry cupping on exercise, autonomic activity and sleep in baseball players during preseason and in-season conditioning. PLOS ONE, 20(2), e0319479.

12/29/2025

12/27/2025

https://youtube.com/shorts/cPBIJIUoDXY?si=paYIoRDm7NCODgK_

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

12/23/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17mB2cGLs2/?mibextid=wwXIfr

12/22/2025

12/21/2025

https://youtube.com/shorts/RIFIA7E1S3k?si=n5HqfLnMjkQc97Wo

At some point in your 20s, someone will warn you that the sun is dangerous, that you should avoid sunlight at all costs, and that being outdoors is somehow h...

12/15/2025

11/14/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRCnH7gDvwv/?igsh=N3dlZ2ZlZjE5b2ps

11/05/2025

This new study from American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025 just dropped some eye-opening data on melatonin—a popular OTC sleep aid—and its potential ties to heart health. Let’s break it down factually, with context.

In a retrospective analysis of 130,828 adults (avg age 55.7, 61% women) with chronic insomnia, those using melatonin for at least 12 months had a ~90% higher risk of developing heart failure over 5 years compared to non-users (4.6% vs. 2.7% incidence). They were also nearly 3.5x more likely to be hospitalized for heart failure (19% vs. 6.6%) and almost 2x more likely to die from any cause (7.8% vs. 4.3%). The researchers validated this with a sensitivity analysis requiring at least two prescriptions filled 90+ days apart, showing an 82% increased risk.

Melatonin, a synthetic version of our body’s natural sleep hormone, is widely used for short-term sleep issues but isn’t FDA-approved for chronic insomnia. This study, led by Ekenedilichukwu Nnadi, MD, from SUNY Downstate, used 5 years of electronic health records. Participants were matched on 40 factors (age, s*x, comorbidities, BMI, etc.) to minimize bias, excluding those with prior heart failure or other sleep meds. Heart failure affects ~6.7M US adults , and with melatonin’s unregulated status in the US, this highlights a data gap on long-term CV safety.

This shows association, not causation—melatonin might not cause heart issues; it could be a red flag for underlying factors like severe insomnia or unmeasured confounders (e.g., depression, anxiety severity). Data relies on prescriptions, so OTC users in the US may be undercounted as “non-users.” Hospitalization codes could inflate diagnoses, and the abstract lacks full clinical nuance. Bottom line: Don’t panic—short-term use is likely fine for most, but chat with your doc for chronic needs. More RCTs needed.

Check out my simple sleepy mocktail recipe for natural sleep support for a natural melatonin alternative that I reccomend for my telehealth patients:

https://drwillcole.com/what-science-says-about-the-sleepy-girl-mocktail/

10/14/2025

So often we want to ‘get back’ to normal. But healing asks us to grow into something new.

It’s about moving forward with new awareness by nourishing your cells, calming your nervous system, and supporting your body in ways you never did before.

Forward is where healing lives.

09/16/2025

Are beets a regular part of your diet?

08/21/2025