The chiropractic fundamentals are based on removing interference to the nervous system so that the body’s Innate Intelligence can operate at full capacity.
Interference comes by way of vertebral subluxations.
Sometimes a misalignment can be mistaken for a vertebral subluxation. For a example, sometimes it is thought that a vertebral subluxation can be seen on an x-ray.
That is incorrect. Only a misalignment can be seen on x-ray, whereas a vertebral subluxation has a far-reaching effect greater than that of a simple bone out of place.
B.J. Palmer cleared up this confusion in the early 1930s when he found that vertebral subluxations have five components to them. They are:
1.) Malposition – This simply means misalignment of a vertebra
2.) Occlusion – This refers to the closing off of an opening that a nerve passes through. In our case, we are referring to the neural canal where the spinal cord travels down.
3.) Pressure – When C1 or C2 is misaligned, this can occlude the neural canal near the brain stem. This can cause pressure or tension on the cord at this level.
4.) Interference to flow of nervous system transmission – With a misalignment, an occlusion, and pressure, there is zero chance for the nervous system to properly communicate to the rest of the body.
5.) Three-directional torqued vertebra – To achieve these four components of vertebral subluxation, the C1 or C2 vertebrae has to shift up or down, left or right, and rotated front or back.
What causes a vertebral subluxation?
Stress. Pure and simple. Various forms of stress bombard our bodies on a daily basis. If not dealt with properly, they can and will manifest themselves in the form of a vertebral subluxation.
For intensive purposes, I will discuss three forms of stress: physical, emotional, and chemical.
Trauma aka Physical Stress
Today we will talk about physical stress. Physical stress always begins at birth. The newborn baby has to wiggle and slither, torque and twist his/her way out of the vaginal canal to enter this world. That’s if it happens naturally.
Many times during a hospital birth, a doctor (or in our case with our third, a nurse midwife) will grab the baby’s head and tug and twist until that baby is yanked free. And we haven’t even mentioned forceps, vacuum extraction, or c-section yet.
The C1 vertebrae is the most unstable vertebrae in our spine, connected only by muscles, tendons, and ligaments. With any kind of extreme twisting, turning, or yanking, that vertebrae WILL misalign in three directions, which will result in occlusion, pressure, and interference.
Beyond birth, once the baby begins crawling, standing, walking, running, and climbing, he/she will fall literally thousands of times by the age of four. My eight month old falls every few minutes. I know because of her lovely shrieking each time it happens.
As we get older, and get into sports, or exercising, or just plain old every day life, injuries occur. For example, getting tackled in football, smacking into the fence while trying to catch a pop fly, slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk, getting T-boned by a semi in a busy intersection, etc. Even natural everyday motion such as walking can have a negative long term effect. Years and years of gravity pulling down on your body will take its toll.
The point is, we can’t afford to go through life without at least getting checked for interference to our nervous system. We haven’t even addressed emotional or chemical stress yet, but physical stress beginning at birth and continuing on into adulthood can and will have long-term devastating effects on your overall well-being.
Next week, we will cover the effects of emotional stress on the body and how that can result in a vertebral subluxation.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post, doc. I like the new site design!
Great Article –
No C2 mentioned…Maybe in Part II.
Thanks guys! I appreciate it.
Loved this article so much I posted it to my Facebook page and blog (with full credit to you as the author and a link to your website). Hope you don’t mind!
Looking forward to part 2 – emotional stress as a cause of subluxations!
This is great information for patients also
Thank You
This was a great post. Very informative and great for patients. Where and when can we find part II? Looking forward to it.
If you just go to the patient education topic and look back at the previous posts, you should find part 2. Also, you can click on e-books at the top and then download the trauma, thoughts, and toxins e-book. I took those 4 blog posts and put them together into PDF format.