In the same way dentists don’t just do fillings, chiropractic reach goes far beyond simple adjustment techniques. Chiropractors are spine specialists, but this doesn’t mean they are restricted to back pain treatment. Today we’re exploring just how chiropractors adjust the spine to heal the entire body.
The body’s innate intelligence
At Spinal Care Clinics in Brentwood we work with the body and we are in constant awe of its innate intelligence. The process started as two of the tiniest cells originally came together to produce the masterpiece which is you. Through evolution, our body has adapted and evolved to constantly suit our environment and ward off the latest diseases, and history has thrown many in our direction! From TB to Polio, we’ve fought them all. The body wants to heal itself by default, we can say it’s programmed that way, but sometimes a little help is needed to nurture, nourish, and unleash the body’s own wisdom.
Our response to illness or physical trauma has been symptomatic. Powerful warning signals shout ‘Hey! Something’s up!’ and modern medicine has developed along these lines. Pain is scary; it can leave us feeling dominated, or out of control, by taking-up most of our physical and mental space. However, only 10% of the nerves in your central nervous system are dedicated to the perception of pain, while the rest are occupied with bodily function. So most of the changes and pathways happening in the body are completely subconscious. You can go about your daily business on autopilot while your body navigates the map, but sometimes things go wrong. The body responds in a non-symptomatic way and chiropractic masters this domain. Chiropractors are leaders in holistic medicine by treating the whole person, and not just the body parts that hurt.
Unravelling the spine
Chiropractors work with the spine, which acts as a bridge between your brain and the rest of the body. Your spine is essentially a pillar, one that is surprisingly difficult to damage. From school biology classes you might remember that the spine is made of solid blocks of bone known as vertebrae, joined together by softer pads or discs which act as shock absorbers and maintain flexibility. It protects the nervous system and acts as a canal to relay messages. Your body is not hard-wired to stay still for hours on end. In the same way that you know exercise forms part of a healthy lifestyle, your spine needs to keep moving to avoid stiffness and subluxation blocking this canal.
Sublux-what?
Spinal subluxations occur when one, or more, of the vertebrae is out of place. If this happens, it becomes completely misaligned with the rest of your vertebral column and creates stress or irritation on nearby nerves. This blockage prevents your body from fully functioning. The goal of chiropractic adjustment is to remove or correct subluxations, realigning the spine and removing any interference to the nervous system. That way, the canal is once again clear, messages can relay normally and your overall health is restored.
There is no such thing as simple back pain
Subluxation can have direct symptomatic effects generating pain in your entire back space – that’s the lower and upper back, shoulders, neck and head. This can occur for endless reasons: age and bone degeneration, such as arthritis, and other conditions such as scoliosis and slipped discs. Damage can happen from repeated action on the spine, or from bad posture and inactivity. You don’t have to be bed ridden to be inactive. We’re referring to simple actions we are all guilty of, such as sitting all day looking down at your computer or phone. The shock-absorbing pads or discs between the bones of the back can narrow, which triggers stiffness, pain and reduces flexibility triggering subluxations and subsequent nerve compression. Your body’s innate intelligence will sound the alarms and enter inflammation mode. Muscles will tighten in response to nerve interference forming knots or dreaded back spasms.
Remember that only a small part of your brain is dedicated to pain. If the spine is not re-aligned, nerve compression can affect other parts of the body in a less obvious and un-symptomatic way .We tend to treat areas of the body in isolation and like this, you can easily miss the bigger picture. All areas of your body are hyper-connected. So you might be suffering from backache but other parts of your body, such as your digestion which seems totally unrelated to your spine, might be playing-up too!
The nerve pathway is a dual carriageway operating in both directions. Reversely, your back may not respond to spinal misalignment with inflammation and pain. This could have internal or disease-causing effects that could go completely unnoticed.
Chiropractic care
Chiropractors need your full history before beginning chiropractic treatment and getting rid of the dis-ease in your body. Most people do come into the clinic with various forms of back pain but more of you are coming in, with or without pain, for spinal alignment check-ups! We see you as a whole person, complex and beautiful in every way, working with your body’s innate intelligence for you to maintain a healthy lifestyle.