Vertebral Subluxation, Back Pain and Beyond
You've probably heard many times, “Sit up straight!”. “Lift with your legs, not your back! . “Don’t hunch, you will end up looking like an old person."
But do you even know why? Do you even know why your backbone is so important? What is it made up of? If you want to find out why everyone is so hung up on your spine, keep reading. You will soon discover why putting off getting your spine checked could impede not just your pain levels, but also your health.
What comprises the backbone?
Your spine is made up of 5 sections: the cervical vertebrae, the thoracic vertebrae, the lumbar vertebrae, the sacrum and the coccyx. You have in total of 24 moveable vertebrae, plus the ossified sacrum and coccyx, which all function in a concerted effort together. This backbone is your body's central support structure. It connects together various parts of your musculoskeletal system and then everything else kind of hangs off it. Additionally, the vertebral column comprises of two compartments of back muscles; extrinsic and intrinsic. Your spine helps you sit, stand, walk, twist and bend.
Why is the backbone so important? Your spine is essential for a range of processing, including:
Movement
Shape
Holding us upright
Attachment
Protection from trauma/blows
Housing and protecting the central part of the nervous system.
Obviously, our spine is important, but what happens when it doesn’t function well and becomes misaligned or subluxated? This can occur from everyday repetitive actions, poor posture, car accidents, sports injuries, giving birth or even poor sleeping positions.
What is vertebral subluxation?
Your vertebrae are the name given to your spinal bones. Vertebral Subluxation occurs when there is some kind of trauma that your body cannot adapt to. This is essentially a misalignment of the spinal bones. They become jammed, not moving, stuck and this causes a blockage in the nervous system or an interruption in the nerve flow and information getting to the brain is confusing or simply wrong.
Subluxation can present itself through symptoms like headaches, difficulty sleeping, sciatic pain, reduced movement, low energy, back pain and more. When you have vertebral subluxation, it can compromise any part of the Nervous System: motor, sensory or autonomic. How it displays itself in everyone is a little different.
Chiropractors are specifically trained to identify and correct the vertebral subluxations that occur in your spine and nervous system to help you operate without relying on copious amounts of medication and help you function optimally, not just pain free but improve other areas of your life too.
Protection of your Nervous system
As mentioned above, the backbone houses and protects the nervous system which comprises of the Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System.
All of our systems receive information that travels down our spinal cord then through the nerves that come off it to control and coordinate your entire body. The motor system does this for movement, while your sensory system is predominantly for touch, smell, taste and pain. The autonomic system controls your automatic functions- all those tasks your body completes without you having to actively think about it. If so much of your health is dependent on your nervous system, which is mostly protected by your backbone, doesn’t it make sense that having a healthy spine is important to your everyday life?
Your brain needs stimulation to be happy and healthy. The majority of the stimulation to the brain comes from the healthy movement of the spinal joints, and most of that comes from the healthy movement of the neck joints. Evidently, it pays to have a healthy neck!
What is an adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is a spinal alignment. It helps gets the stuck bones moving, helps your nervous system become more coordinated, decreases muscle spasms, improves alignment plus a whole lot more… it also fires up the front part of your brain (called your frontal lobe), which in turn will have all sorts of amazing positive effects – like feeling happier and more alive.
Beyond Pain…
Did you know that the first Chiropractic Adjustment ever given by a man, named DD Palmer, gave another man, Harvey Lillard his hearing back? How cool is that! It reminds us of the power that the body has to heal itself when interference is removed. As Chiropractors, we always need to be prepared for the surprises people walk in the door with.
The amazing thing about chiropractic is that it’s all about helping your body heal better. So no matter what problems you are experiencing, if your body can be empowered to heal itself better, then you are going to be much better off.
As you can see, Chiropractic is not limited only to sore backs. Your Nervous System is the master control system of your body. It is through this system that you coordinate all your body’s functions and movements and adapt to stress. When your spine is out of alignment it decreases your body’s ability to adapt to thoughts, toxins and trauma and impacts your potential to get well and keep well. Chiropractic is about removing this interference and allowing your body to heal like it was designed to. When you better adapt to everyday stresses, your cup is less likely to overflow.
People choose to come into our office for many different reasons. You don’t need a referral from a GP, so the power is entirely in your hands. You can simply call and make your own appointment to find out if we can help you.
Feel free to give us a call on (02) 60090999 or click Book Now on the website to make your initial consultation with our team. We look forward to meeting you in the office soon.
