Q. Why do I need to go to a chiropractor?
Unfortunately, most people are unaware of the need to maintain the health of their spines or that the health of their spines have a huge impact on their general health. Vertebral Subluxation (VS) is a condition that is a severe detriment to a person’s spinal and general health. Chiropractors are the only health care professionals specifically trained in the art and science of correcting Vertebral Subluxation.
Q. What is a Subluxation?
In simplest terms, a subluxation (a.k.a. Vertebral Subluxation or VS for short) is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves. Spinal nerves are the nerves that come out from between each of the bones in your spine. This pressure or irritation then causes those nerves to malfunction and interfere with signals traveling over them.
Q. How does a Subluxation affect my life?
Your nervous system controls and coordinates all the functions of your body. Your spinal cord and spinal nerves are the link between your brain and your body. If you interfere with the signals traveling over the spinal cord and spinal nerves, parts of your body will not get the proper messages and will not be able to function 100% of their innate abilities. In other words, some part of your body will not be working properly.
Q. What causes Vertebral Subluxation?
In the simplest terms, Vertebral Subluxation, is caused by the various stresses of life. There are major categories of stresses in a person’s life.
- Physical – These are easiest to identify and include: Car accidents, slips and falls, and repetitive use or overuse injuries (e.g. the mailman walk miles everyday with a heavy sack hanging from the same shoulder for many months or years). Less obvious members of this category include, undetected birth traumas, mothers carrying their children, The small falls of childhood (children are estimated to fall 3,000 times before their third birthday), the impacts and bumps of sports, and many more.
- Mental/Emotional Stress – To understand how this type of stress might effect our spines, picture a cat when it feels threatened or is about to fight. Emotional stress creates a change in our posture and muscle tone that can change the position of our spinal bones. Examples of these kinds of stresses include: financial stress, work stress, stress with family or spouses, lose of a loved one, moving of your home, pressure for adolescents and children to fit in, and many more. It is not unusual for a person to carry specific stresses with them for many years or even decades.
- Chemical – In our everyday lives we are exposed to toxins that are irritating and poisonous to our bodies. These toxins include: preservatives in our food, spoiled foods, second hand smoke, fumes, dust and chemicals in the work place. Exposure to such toxins can create stress responses in the body similar to those described above.
Q. What are some signs that I may have Vertebral Subluxation?
These are some outward signs that Subluxation is present in a person.
- Postural changes – What many people call bad posture is really your body’s attempt to take pressure off of one of more regions of the spine. Examples of this are:
- Craning forward of the head, shoulders that are held high, are uneven, and/or are rounded forward.
- Loss or exaggeration of a low back curve. Buttocks appear flat or overly rounded.
- Uneven hips. One hip is held higher than the other, or when lying belly down, one hip is pushed backward further than the other.
- Uneven legs. One leg is longer than the other.
- Head tilt/ rotation. When viewing a person head on, their head appears to turn slightly or tilt to one side.
- Loss of range of motion – Examples of these are: inability to turn one’s head when backing out of a parking space. Inability to straighten up (one feels stooped over)
- Injuries that don’t heal – This includes muscles spasms that are constant, or come and go, in the same area of the body. Numbness and tingling that comes and goes. Tightness in the neck, back, shoulders, or hips.
- Loss of Vitality or Energy