Subluxation- it's a word that chiropractors use to describe interference within the nervous system.
In the previous posts I talked about stress. The first post, 2 weeks ago, was about stress in general, and how it affects the body. The second post, last week, I offered tactics to help you effectively handle more stress. Today we talk about how chiropractors help with stress.
If you remember from the previous articles we have what is called an "adaptive potential", which is our ability to handle a certain amount of stress. If our stress levels stay within that range, our bodies function well; in regards to health, we can heal ourselves of any health concerns (i.e.- exposure to toxins, muscular fatigue, emotional pain). We can expand the boundaries of our "adaptive potential" by utilizing good stressors, such as exercise and eating well; in this manner, we are able to handle more stressful situations. However, if we exceed our adaptive potential, two issues emerge. One, the excess stress moves into our bodies and can start to interfere with normal, healthy function. Secondly, we actually decrease our adaptive potential, and may have trouble handling other stressful situations, which can then attack the body. This is generally not a problem, as the body is a natural healer, and can correct the effects of the overload. Unfortunately, if the "excessive stress" is huge, such as from trauma like an accident, or prolonged, such as poor posture, this can result in long term damage, as the body gets overwhelmed, and can't repair itself.
Luckily, we have a system which literally works like "circuit breakers", and keeps the stress overloads from damaging muscles, organs or glands. They are called joints, and work via the nervous system.
The nervous system, as scientists and physiologists will agree, is the most important system within the body. It allows communication between the brain and the muscles, organs, and glands. Basically every cell of the body can communicate with every other cell of the body via the nervous system. As long as good communication is present, healing is happening. When the communication system breaks down, so does health.
Joints are highly innervated- meaning that they have lots of nerves wired into them. The same nerves that supply a particular joint also supplies the tissues deep to it, such as the muscles, organs and glands. Obviously, the only joints that have organs and glands deep to them are the spinal joints, which is why they are so important. Joints are also the most accessible points to the nervous system, which is why chiropractors are so concerned with them. It's not the spine, per say, but what the spine represents. A gateway to the nervous system, and a gateway to the body, particularly large muscles, organs and glands.
The spinal joints, and to a lessor extent, every other joint in the body, is designed to "take the hit" when the body is exposed to excessive stresses. Liken this to actual circuit breakers of your house. If for any reason there is an overload to the power of your house, what can happen? The excessive power can damage wiring, destroy appliances and electronics, and even burn the house down. A circuit breaker is designed to "trip" when an excessive current passes through it, literally cutting off the power to the house, wiring or appliances, thus protecting the home and its contents from damage. The spinal joints are no different. Excessive stresses- those that exceed our adaptive potential, are noxious stimuli- think, for one example, really loud sounds, like a car horn right next to you! This obnoxious overload can damage large muscles, organs and glands if it is allowed to enter the body, which it does along the communication system, the "wiring" of our bodies- the nervous system. The spinal joint is the protection for the important deeper tissues, and "trips", or shunts this stimuli into the small muscles around it, which normally control its fine movements. These muscles go into spasm- they tighten- and depending on the amount and duration of the stimulus, will stay tight, and thus prevent the overload from going to the deep tissues.
Any muscle spasm that is excessive, or prolonged will have a tendency to stay in spasm, even after the obnoxious stimuli is removed. The circuit breaker stays off, and isn't reset. The communication of the nerves at this level to the deeper muscles, organs and glands is reduced or removed. Because the nervous system can't coordinate communication between the brain and those deeper tissues, health issues can arise. This is the interference which we are talking about, which we chiropractors call "subluxation".
Luckily, every major muscle, organ and gland has input from nerves from many adjacent spinal joints, so if one joint is "tripped", than the communication can be routed through other nerves. Unfortunately, with this reroute the body is no longer functioning at its full potential, and if stress levels stay high, other joints can "blow", which further lowers the function. If communication is significantly reduced or lost, major health issues can happen. Again, any joint in the body is capable of functioning as a "circuit breaker" and protecting the tissues beneath it, or around it, but the spinal joints are special because of their relationship to the more important organs and glands of the body.
Think again of our one example. Ever sit at a traffic light after work- tired, anxious to get home and relax, and a little zoned out? Then the guy behind you leans on his horn, as you suddenly realize that the light you've been sitting at had turned green and you hadn't noticed. The loud noise is like getting hit. You tense your shoulders in your startled reaction, your head jolts forward, and you "death grip" the wheel. This is a noxious stimuli, an excessive stress. Your joints, particularly your neck and upper back joints, absorb this shock, and subluxate- they work as circuit breakers and "trip", saving the deep muscle and organs and glands from damage. After you resume driving, you notice that you neck and upper back are tight minutes after the horn had blared. If this was just one incident that exceeded your "adaptive potential", you'll notice that after a few minutes, those muscles start to relax- good news- your body has healed itself! If you have been under a lot of prolonged stress, then those muscles may take a long time to relax, if at all. If they don't, they may trigger a migraine, or a sinus attack- your system has lost some of its function, and some of it's ability to heal itself.
Chiropractors are experts at finding and correcting subluxations, which "resets" the circuit breakers- the spinal joints- and restores or improves the communication to the nervous system at that joint. I have equipment and testing that measures the functioning of your body, and tells me is your nervous system is compromised by subluxations- tripped circuits that stay off. Chiropractors use "adjustments"- specific forces applied to only the involved joint that "tripped"- which restores the movement of that joint, as well as reducing or eliminating the spasms of the muscles around it. These forces can be anywhere from the "popping" type techniques to very light force procedures. Its always done to a persons comfort and safety level. By resetting the breaker, we open the lines of communication, and begin again the healing process. As well, correcting the subluxation actually increases the adaptive potential of the body so that it can handle additional stressors.
Remember that if one joint subluxates, there are others around it to continue communication with the deeper tissues- the muscle, organs and glands. Because of that back up system, the body can continue to function, although not at 100%. You may not feel when you have a subluxation; if it occurs at only one or two spinal joints, you may not feel any symptoms at all. However, your function may be compromised. In this day and age, I for one feel that I need all of my resources. It's always a good idea to get checked.
So it seems that this chiropractic thing this isn't just about neck and back pain, is it?