Chiropractic operates on a very simple premise, that the
body is a self-healing and self-regulating organism. Every single function of
the body, every body system, is under the direct control of the Central Nervous
System, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord. We all have a brain
(some of us may choose not to use it) yet we all have one. So as we work our
way down, the brain descends becoming the brainstem and then the spinal cord.
The cord peels away into branches as it descends and those branches become the
peripheral nervous system (have I put you to sleep with the anatomy lesson
yet?). Think of the nerves as lines of communication that send signals to and
from the brain and body at all times. If there is optimal communication, there
is greatest potential for optimal health and performance. If, however, there is
a disruption in the signal, (think… static on a cell phone) then the body and
brain are not communicating effectively and you lose the potential for health
and performance. This is what chiropractors refer to as, Subluxation.
Subluxation is easiest described as a disruption of
information between your software (your brain) and your hardware (your body)...
Slightly more complicated,
Subluxation is a pattern brought on by your body’s inability to adapt to an
accumulation of stress. Stress is a common word that most people have heard and
think they understand, but most people fail to realize that stress is accumulative.
Stressors fall into 3 main categories: Physical (Traumatic), Biochemical
(Toxins), and Mental/Emotional (Thoughts). The stressors from childhood, adolescence,
early adulthood, and adulthood can, and do, stay with us and build over time.
This accumulated stress forces our body to create compensations or adaptations in order to cope.
For a time, the body wins, which is why we appear with no symptoms, but over
time as we live and engage with life, more stress accumulates and the compensations or adaptations begin to fail. This is usually when we feel symptoms (decreased
range of motion, lack of flexibility, pain, dis-ease, etc). The body tries to
continue to adapt, but the compensations and adaptations become excessive devolving into
patterns of Subluxation (a disruption of information between the software and the
hardware). Ultimately, the body and the brain, the hardware and the software,
begin to miscommunicate, usually in very subtle ways at first. If left
uncorrected, the pattern spirals downward and can lead to a deterioration of
health and vitality.
The objective of Chiropractic is to remove these patterns of
Subluxation by adjusting the spine. It has been observed, over the last
century, the spine is interface between the hardware and the software. By
adjusting the patterns of Subluxation at the spinal level, Chiropractors can
promote a change and the body can begin to return to optimal communication,
optimal health. Because we are dealing with patterns of Subluxation and not the
usually thought of “bone-out-of-place”, corrective care takes time and energy.
Proper diet, adequate recovery, effective exercise, competent positive mental
attitude strategies, and consistent Chiropractic care can correct Subluxated
patterns and return your body to the highest potential for health and vitality.
