Your spine is the defender of your nervous system.
Spine
“Our bodies are our gardens – our wills are our gardeners.” – William Shakespeare
The spine, aka vertebral column, is a fundamental structural component of the human body, composed of 32-34 vertebrae arranged in distinct regions.
The cervical spine, located in the neck area, consists of 7 vertebrae and supports head movement while shielding the upper spinal cord.
Below this, the thoracic spine encompasses 12 vertebrae attached to ribs, forming the middle and upper back, safeguarding vital organs, and contributing to the ribcage's structure.
The lumbar spine, with 5 vertebrae, resides in the lower back and bears a significant portion of the body's weight, enabling bending and lifting. The sacrum and coccyx, fused bones beneath the lumbar spine, connect the spine to the pelvis and provide anchorage for ligaments and muscles.
These vertebrae collectively encase the spinal cord within a protective canal formed by the vertebral arches. Intervertebral discs made of cartilage act as shock absorbers between each vertebra, granting flexibility and cushioning while facilitating movement. In essence, the spine's harmonious design provides stability, flexibility, and safeguarding, enabling diverse human activities and preserving the delicate nervous system.
Subluxation
In a healthy spine, each individual joint should exhibit unrestrained and independent movement. If there is a restriction in joint movement within your spine due to misalignment, while the spine might still display overall movement, a particular part of it has lost its operational capacity.
“Prevention is better than cure.” - Desiderius Erasmus
The bones of the spine house and protect the nervous system, which consists of your brain, brainstem, spinal cord, and all the nerves that exit out of your spine to carry information to every single tissue, organ, gland, and cell in your body. Your brain relies on input from all of those nerves to bring information back into your brain, so your brain can coordinate and control your body as needed. It’s this constant feedback loop that relies on input and output, all the time, to dictate what your body needs to do and when. And when the bones of the spine aren’t moving properly, it can impact that feedback loop, and cause a disconnect in brain-body communication.
‘Subluxation’, or joint misalignment, can develop in various ways. In certain scenarios, it arises due to an accident or an injury. Additionally, they can also occur due to repetitive strain or incorrect posture. Factors such as excess weight, smoking, demanding physical labor, and emotional stress can also amplify the likelihood of subluxation.
Over time, a subluxation can hinder the body’s ability to transmit neurological signals, which gives rise to swelling and inflammation, prompting the activation of muscular defenses, which subsequently exacerbates the limitation of movement. Given that the whole spine operates as one unit rather than as distinct components, a constriction of a joint in one particular area of the spine has the potential to adversely affect the entire back as a unified entity or even other regions of the body.
Chiropractors are trained professionals to identify and remove subluxation from the human body with the aim to restore the healing potential of your body.