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| What is a Subluxation? |
A vertebral subluxation is a serious spinal condition that interferes with the health of the nervous system, the vertebral column (spinal column) and the general health of the entire body as a whole. It is a condition that chiropractors spend four years in chiropractic college learning how to locate, analyze and correct.
In order for a vertebra to be subluxated it has to have four qualities:
- The vertebra is out of proper alignment with the other vertebrae in the spinal column, the skull or the pelvis.
- There is narrowing of a canal through which the nerves lie.
- There is impingement of nerve tissue as a result of the above canal narrowing. This may occur in the spinal canal, causing irritation or impingement to the spinal cord which contains millions of nerve fibers or it may occur between the vertebrae causing irritation or impingement to spinal nerves that exit the spinal cord and travel to body tissues.
Sometimes the term 'pinched nerve' is used, but that is an inaccurate, if somewhat useful description.
- There is interference with nerve messages between the brain and the body. Nerve messages are what regulate your bodily functions: breathing, digestion, heart beat, excretion, hormones, glands-if nerves are irritated your brain's ability to communicate with and regulate your body is affected.
The above four criterion make up a vertebral subluxation. However, they may be present separately on occasion.
For example, nerve messages may be interfered with by drugs. The common drug aspirin interferes with nerves so that pain messages cannot get through to the conscious brain. As a matter of fact, nearly all drugs work by affecting the nerves. They may stimulate or inhibit nerve functions so as to alter bodily functioning. All drug makers are aware of the important role that drugs play in body functioning.
Drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, heroin and even coffee affect the chemicals in the brain to interfere with normal brain functioning.
Other ways to interfere with nerves is by trauma like cuts or burns or by freezing, as occurs in frostbite.
Nerves may be impinged by broken bones, arthritis or tumors. Nerves are also damaged and their transmission ability diminished in neurological diseases such as muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, polio and cerebral palsy.
There can be slight narrowing of the nerve canals without danger. However, every time you turn or twist your body you are slightly occluding vertebral openings in your spinal column, but fortunately nature permits a certain amount of safe leeway.
Misalignment can occur without nerve damage, as often occurs in scoliosis. A person with scoliosis may, and most likely does have subluxations in many parts of the spinal column but may be surprisingly subluxation free in some areas of the curvature.
However, the most widespread and common cause of nerve irritation and interference is the vertebral subluxation.
Subluxations are so very common they can be considered an epidemic: a hidden epidemic of vast proportions. Nearly everyone is affected by them and few do anything about it.
Sometimes it is said that those who suffer from neck, back and other spinal problems are the lucky ones. They are aware of the spinal nerves being irritated and they (hopefully) go to chiropractors for correction. While they are getting their spine checked for impingement in the areas where they feel pain the chiropractor is throwing in an added bonus: he is checking their entire spinal column for nerve pressure, even the areas that don't hurt. It's sometimes the subluxations you can't feel that are causing the most damage. Many times the area in pain isn't even where the subluxation is-that's just the area reacting to the nerve pressure.
Chiropractors are especially worried about the many, many people who never pay any attention to their spines. In fact, most people take better care of their cars than their spines.
For that reason periodic spinal examinations to locate and correct vertebral subluxations should be a part of every family's health routine. Correcting silent subluxations today could save you and your family from noisy diseases later.
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