Your body is a truly amazing organism. You probably never thought of it that way, because you never had to. When you were born, your body put all the right parts in all the right places. Your arms grew at the same rate. You recovered from cuts and colds. It only seemed natural.
That’s just the point. It is natural. In addition to keeping everything running smoothly, your body has the uncanny capacity to heal itself.
To do so, your body depends on a communication system of nerves to get messages to and from your brain. This communication system is called the nervous system. When a part of your body needs help, it sends signals via this nerve system to your brain, which send back the proper signals to provide help.
In fact, these nerves are so important, your body protected them with 24 bones called vertebrae. As you bend or twist, these vertebrae, which make up your spinal column, bend or twist with you. Thick cushions called discs pad each vertebra. Muscles and ligaments help hold them in position. On paper, it all works perfectly.
YOUR SPINE CAN GET OUT OF ALIGNMENT, TOO.
However, occasionally something happens which forces a vertebra out of position to such a degree that even your muscles can’t pull it back. Chiropractors call this misalignment subluxation. The joint between the vertebrae often becomes fixated; it no longer moves as fluidly as nature intended. Any number of things can cause these subluxations, ranging from improper lifting to taking certain drugs to being under constant stress.
Whatever the cause, when vertebrae do become subluxated, they interfere with your nerves’ vital communication back to the brain. Your body, which had functioned so smoothly for so long, starts to betray you.
You develop pain and other symptoms. Your resistance is weakened. And because your brain is not getting the message, your body loses its incredible ability to heal itself.
AN INCREDIBLY SIMPLE SOLUTION
This is where your chiropractor can make getting healthy again seem so simple. By adjusting your vertebrae to remove the subluxation, your chiropractor removes the interference with the nerve, restores fluid motion and allows the nerve to start communicating again with the brain. Your body starts healing itself immediately. Your pain is gone, often within minutes.
The simple fact is, in most cases, your body will heal itself. It wants to heal itself. It was designed to heal itself. It just needs a helping hand from your chiropractor.
You and your loved ones should do all you can to see your chiropractor regularly or whenever you have signs of a problem, to make sure your body is doing all it can to heal itself and keep you healthy.
You see, that’s what chiropractic is all about.
Because of the tremendous dynamics of the body there can be many causes of subluxations in an individual setting the stage for disease and infirmity.
PHYSICALLY-INDUCED SUBLUXATIONS
Obviously, the jolt from an automobile accident could force vertebrae to go out of alignment, or subluxate. In fact, whiplash is one of the most common causes of cervical (neck region) subluxation.
However, you do not need such major physical trauma to cause subluxation. Something as innocent as improperly lifting a child or bag of groceries could cause it. Prolonged straining such as bending over doing yard work or shoveling snow could cause it. Over time, even poor posture could cause subluxation.
The birth process itself, with all the squeezing and twisting, is one of the main causes of subluxation. Healthy, bouncing babies may not be so healthy after all.
CHEMICALLY-INDUCED SUBLUXATIONS
Substances such as tobacco, alcohol, drugs, food preservatives and additives add considerable stress to the body. The FDA tells us, for example, that the average person consumes approximately nine pounds of food additives a year. Little is known to date just how dangerous these additives and preservatives are, but they do seem to affect the body’s carefully balanced chemistry. And anything that affects body chemistry could also effect the muscles, which keep the spine in balance, thereby causing subluxation.
EMOTIONALLY-INDUCED SUBLUXATIONS
Emotional stress can affect more than just your emotions or mental attitude. The death of a loved one, separations from a spouse or any other emotionally-charged trauma often create physical difficulties as well. Pain will occur where it never did before. This is often the sign of an emotionally-induced subluxation.
HEREDITARY SUBLUXATIONS
Unfortunately, you can inherit a spinal problem just as readily as a heart or kidney problem. In other words, you are actually born with it. If you suspect that you might have inherited a spinal problem, check with a chiropractor. They are specially trained in detecting problems like these.
ALL OF THE ABOVE
If you are in a state of emotional difficulty and if your body’s chemical balance has been altered by drugs or food additives, the very slightest physical trauma could cause subluxation. In fact, there are thousands of combinations from birth on that could cause subluxations, which could degenerate into serious physical problems. That’s why it’s so important for you and your loved ones to see your chiropractor regularly for subluxation checkups.