Chiropractic treatments for subluxations

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Q&A: 'Subluxation'

What is a "subluxation"? A misalignment of the bones that house and protect the spinal cord. Any misalignment puts unnecessary pressure on the nerve system and damages the nerve supply to different parts of the body.

How do I know when I am subluxated? It's not easy for most people to feel, although a pain of some kind can be a clue. Abnormal posture -- including one shoulder higher than the other, hips not level, or a head forward past the shoulders -- also can be indicative of a subluxation.

Often, the nerves that are negatively affected because of the misalignment in the spine do not carry pain signals. This means that you can suffer from subluxations for years without painful warning signs. However, allowing subluxations to exist in your body can negatively impact the functions of the organs in your body, which leads to a deterioration of your health.

Subluxations are detected by chiropractors, who use their highly trained hands as well as visual cues.

How did I get subluxated? You can become subluxated in a wide variety of ways. Simple things like improper sleeping, sitting, and standing can contribute to subluxations.

Often, people develop their first subluxation during birth, when the doctors use force of up to 60 to 100 pounds to aid the delivery. Normal childhood activities such as spills from the bike, sledding, playing ball, as well as any other activity that results in a jarring fall -- all of these can result in subluxations.

Because subluxations often do not cause pain, people do not know they are there and thus do not get them fixed until after major damage has been done. That’s when the pain usually begins.

What are the long-term benefits of chiropractic treatment for subluxations? Correcting subluxations opens up a whole new world of wellness and health care because the body is able to function as it was designed.

Without any nerve blockages due to subluxations, the body can boost its immune system and much more effectively fight disease and illness. Relief from back pain, neck pain and headaches, which are the most common symptoms that bring people into a chiropractor's office, might come about from the adjustments, but there are no guarantees.

Living with subluxations, however, is like trying to ride a bike with one hand. You’re only half as effective as you would be if you had the full use of both hands.

Allowing subluxations to exist in your body, even if they are not causing you pain, means you have a reduced nervous-system function and are living with a lower level of wellness and health.

Chiropractic: How it works, what it does

Spine of chiropractic adjustment patient Chiropractic focuses on maintaining optimal health naturally so that the body is better able to resist disease, rather than simply treating the symptoms of disease. Chiropractors use natural, drugless, nonsurgical health care and rely on the body's inherent recuperative abilities.

The goal of Dr. George's office is to ensure adults and children are well adjusted chiropractically and well supported nutritionally, as well as being able to offer the finest in acupuncture and massage, using the most up-to-date methods. In our office, you are the No. 1 priority.

"Chiropractic is a health care discipline that emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs and surgery," The Association of Chiropractic Colleges noted.

"The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system), and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health."

The goal of chiropractic care

Because chiropractic treatments primarily are applied to the spinal region, many people incorrectly assume that chiropractors treat only back and neck ailments. While we do quickly and effectively eliminate back and neck pain, that’s not the only goal.

The objective is to restore and optimize human health.

How chiropractic treatment works

hand of L.A. chiropractic adjustor You may be wondering: How can the same chiropractic treatment that effectively treats my back pain also optimize my health? The answer can be found in the relationship between the spine and the nervous system.

The nervous system is the master controller of all living cells, tissues and organs; orchestrating and coordinating all cellular functions. The spinal column encases the nervous system (spinal cord and nerve roots) and is responsible for its protection.

Because of this intimate relationship, biomechanical and structural problems in the spinal column can irritate parts of the enclosed nervous system.

This irritation can result from noxious inflammatory biochemicals released during tissue injury, or may result from direct mechanical pressure. In either case, the nervous system’s functions are negatively influenced, as are the functions of the cells, tissues and organs that are supplied by the affected nerves.

The resulting ailments depend on which cells, tissues and organs are affected, as well as the extent of nervous-system compromise.

The bottom line

The body's innate recuperative powers are closely linked to the nervous system. Correcting spinal abnormalities that irritate the nervous system can benefit patients suffering from what would seem to be non-spinal health conditions.

More information: Read frequently asked questions about chiropractic treatments.