THE WHY OF CHIROPRACTIC

Chiropractic is a natural form of healthcare and nothing is more important than your health. All it takes is a significant pain episode or a few sick days to remind you that losing your health can take away everything: time, money, even your life. In over twenty years of practice I have come to realize that overall health can best be thought of as a state of energy or vitality. Your body transforms, stores and expends energy. Examples of incoming energy sources are food, water; sunlight; rest; joy. Outgoing sources of energy are basic body processes like digestion, respiration, circulation; heat production; muscle and brain activity; emotional distress.

If you have a lot of energy and use it efficiently, your body can successfully maintain its internal balance and fight off disease. Most people understand this concept of resistance. A healthy body has good energy and strong resistance. If 100 people are exposed to cigarette smoke, or a fatty diet, or germs, not everyone will get cancer, or heart disease, or infection. The weaker ones will get sick while the stronger ones will remain well. We might summarize this idea by simply saying that healthier people tend to stay healthy (through active prevention).

So what does all this have to do with Chiropractic? Well, your body's frame has a lot to do with your state of energy. We don't often think about the forces acting on our bodies but the compression of gravity is ever present, pulling us down with, what adds up to, tons of force. Think about a time when you had a bad cold or flu and much of your body's energy was being used up to fight the virus. Sitting or standing for just a short time when you are sick can be so tiring you have to quickly lie down again. That's because it takes more energy to be upright.

The normal spine is optimally shaped to deal with the constant stress of gravity while providing the best possible support and mobility. Unfortunately, the average person has been through a few accidents, injuries, and/or long-term postural strains that have changed the shape of their spine, thus affecting its proper movement and position. When your spine, the central foundation of your body's frame, loses its normal shape and agility, its function is compromised and it becomes less efficient. You use more energy everyday to sit, stand, walk, and move about, and therefore have that much less energy for other important needs such as essential body processes, including resistance against disease.

Another consequence of spinal misalignment is wear and tear. Just like our teeth, our spinal bones (vertebrae) can last a lifetime when well cared for. However, if the spine is abused through trauma, poor posture, and lack of care, it breaks down. This process is referred to as degeneration (osteoarthritis / spondylosis) and is usually characterized by focal areas of arthritis, much like a misaligned car tire becomes very worn in one area and hardly worn in another area. Degeneration causes hardening of the bones, joints, and soft tissues. As you might have guessed, a degenerated spine uses more effort, more energy, to help support and move the body. 

Additionally, mechanical tension of the spinal cord, nerve roots and peripheral nerve branches can be adversely affected by the shape and condition of the spine, which directly impacts bodily functions.

Chiropractic methods have been developed to find and improve or resolve misalignments of the spine through adjustments, soft-tissue work, stretching, exercises, and posture awareness. The result is improved position and movement of the spine, and greater ease of use with everyday tasks, so that your spine ages more gracefully and you retain more vital energy for your body to use in good health. Sometimes an energy gain, instead of an energy drain, can make all the difference. My recommended list of good energy essentials includes 1) a positive attitude, 2) quality food, water, and air, 3) adequate rest, 4) regular exercise / mobility, 5) skeletal alignment.