What do Chiropractors treat? Chiropractors do not treat symptoms, they correct subluxations. Subluxation arises when segments of your spine or other structures have shifted out of alignment which creates stress and tension onto structures surrounding the joints ex: nerves, intervertebral disc, ligaments, bursae, muscles, and/or blood and lymphatic vessels. Stress creates an unsuitable environment for the body to adapt. The inability to adapt to internal and external stimuli contributes to symptoms and dysfunction.
Do you recall any episodes of pain that may become less bothersome gradually over time? The pain decreases because bodies will respond to asymmetry and alter your posture to move away from pain. Altering your center of gravity alleviates your pain but will contribute to subluxations, impeding the communication to and from the brain. Body aches, pain, headaches, fatigue, decrease organ function, radiating pain and numbness are all common symptoms when the subluxation is not addressed. Chiropractic is the only profession that specializes in detecting and correcting subluxations with chiropractic adjustments.
Three major stressors that contributes to subluxation are thoughts, trauma and toxins.
Thoughts
How is your stress level? Are you constantly worrying? Can you shut your brain off? Do you have episodes of anxiety or panic attacks? Do you have shortness of breath? Are you depressed?
You should question yourself in regard to your mental and emotional health. In stressful situations our bodies go into a fight or flight state. Stress changes our behavioral and physiological state to increase its chances for short term survival by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and sympathoadrenal system (SAS).
Activating HPA and SAS systems results in secretion of hormones including adrenocorticotropin, corticotrophin, cortisol, arginine vasopressin, norepinephrine and epinephrine. This inhibits the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the rest, digest, and recover state.
What changes occur when your mind, body and spirit are under stress? Persistent activation of the stress response can change your homeostatic mechanisms, affecting our tissues and biological pathways. If you leave biological pathways unchecked then you may experience chronic pain disorders, immune disorders, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic disease, and behavior disorders. Our bodies react to stress by shortening muscles connected to our skeletal structures. Muscle tightness shifts our bones out of position leading to subluxation! Shortened muscles also decreases our lungs’ vital capacity leading to shortness of breath, which affects our cardiovascular system.
Trauma
Reflect on your daily activities. What is your routine? Is your day repetitive? Are you sedentary? Whether it is sitting at a desk for 10+ hours or performing repetitive motions such as driving, cleaning, painting etc., our regular activities are microtrauma to our bodies. Have you ever paused to check your posture? Human bodies respond to asymmetry and compensate away from pain. Your new posture alters your center of gravity resulting in increased pressure on your intervertebral discs, unbalanced muscles and pressure on your nerves, ligaments and vessels.
You may be unaware of postural changes. Repetitive motions activate muscle groups making them become stronger while antagonist muscle groups become weaker. This can be referred to as upper and lower cross syndrome. Cross syndromes are the common muscular imbalances of the body.
10% of our nervous system is responsible for pain reception. When you wait for 10% of the nervous system to becomes sensitive, you may notice pain in your neck, back, low back, hips, extremities, muscle tension, headaches, fatigue and more. Unfortunately, it is common and convenient for US citizens to turn to pharmaceutical drugs to mask their pain instead of addressing the cause.
According to the World Health Organization the USA is ranked 37th in health. Americans consume over 79% of all pharmaceutical drugs GLOBALLY! Do pills address the cause of your discomfort and dysfunction? Would it be better to address the real cause of why you are experiencing symptoms and learn how to prevent future episodes naturally? Repetitive microtrauma contribute to subluxations and leads to dysfunction. A rewarding challenge for you is to be more aware of how you hold yourself against gravity!
Toxins
Another major contributing factor to subluxation is TOXINS. “The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.” Ann Wigmore. Over forty percent of the American population is obese. The average American diet consists of excess sodium, saturated fat, refined grains, and sugar. Counting calories is a common lifestyle tip to manage your diet. Are those foods considered empty calories? Take note of what your food is made of and what macronutrients it provides. What we put in our body could provide the correct nutrients and energy to maintain homeostasis or disrupt our body’s homeostasis by altering our body chemistry.
External toxins such as air pollution, fresheners, lotion, beauty products, and cleaning supplies also contribute to disrupting our chemistry. Toxins that we ingest and are exposed to create an inflammatory response in our bodies leading to an unsuitable environment to adapt and function properly. Unbalanced homeostasis can cause our muscles to contract, pulling our skeletal structures out of alignment causing subluxation.
Subluxations are not always detectable by yourself. Thoughts, Trauma and Toxins contribute to subluxation. It is best to be proactive and make sure your skeletal system is in alignment and the nervous system is functioning optimally. Give us a call today and schedule an appointment at Better Life Chiropractic LLC. Dr. Lam and Dr. Andrews are here to help you embrace your health and rediscover true strength.
Better Life Chiropractic LLC
Improving Health Naturally
