Chiropractic 101

The basic concepts of chiropractic care are:

• Your body has a powerful self-healing ability.
• Your body’s structure and its function are related.
• Spinal problems can affect the function of your nervous system.
• The goal of chiropractic care is to normalize this relationship so that your nervous system functions at its best.

Why is the nervous system so important?

Your nervous system is the master control system. It coordinates and controls all the organs, structures, systems and functions of your body. Consisting of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, it is a network of fibers similar to an electrical wiring system. Messages pass back and forth over this network allowing your brain to talk to your body and your body to talk to your brain.

Why is the spine so important?

Your spinal joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons have specialized receptors that provide the brain with information about how the body is positioned and how it moves. This information is sent into the brain where it is analyzed and acted upon.  When these tissues are overstressed they will signal the brain that there is a problem.  The brain will try to deal with the problem by making other areas of your body work harder. For example, if your hips are tight from sitting at a desk for years, your low back will work harder to try to compensate for the hip problem.  Over time your low back will begin to give you symptoms because it is overworked.   One day your back will go “out” when it no longer can handle the increased strain.

What are subluxations?

Subluxation is the term chiropractors use to describe “dysfunctional” areas in the spine. When your spine is working properly it transmits information to the brain about how the body is moving and positioned.  Joints  that have been injured or  stressed turn off these position receptors and turn on pain receptors. The result is information overload to the brain. This ultimately effects the function of the nervous system. When your nervous system doesn’t work right, you don’t work right. And when you don’t work right, you’re sick. Simple as that.

How do I get subluxations?

Subluxations are stress responses to the bumps and bruises we face in our every day lives. Some of these have physical causes (i.e. sitting at a desk all day, falls, car accidents, etc.). Some are from emotional issues (anger, stress, grief). And some are from living and eating in a toxic world (i.e. junk food, caffeine, pollution,  etc.). Most of the time our body  deals with these stressors without us being aware of them. But if our body is overwhelmed  it can change the balance in the nervous system. And if the nervous system is out of whack, we get out of whack.We move from a state of repair and regeneration to the “flight or fight” response where stress hormones are released and our body breaks down.  This long term stress makes us susceptible to illness.

The goal of chiropractic adjustments is to improve the function of the spinal joints so your spine functions at its best. And when you move well, your body will work well.