YOUR SPINE NEEDS TO ADAPT TO MANY EXTERNAL INVASIVE FORCES

If the spine is subject to an external force, which is strong enough to overcome the resistance of the body’s muscles and ligaments, a vertebra will misalign or subluxate. This is a very simple principle. If you tap a nail lightly against a wooden board, nothing happens, because the force of the hammer (the outside force) is not strong enough to overcome the internal resistance of the wood. Strike the nail forcefully, and the nail will move.

There are various kinds of external, invasive forces that affect the spine. They can be put into three classifications: Physical, chemical, and mental or emotional.

PHYSICAL FORCES:
Physical forces are probably the most well known and most easily understood. It is not difficult to see how a physical trauma could cause a vertebra to subluxate. Falling down a flight of stairs or being run over by a truck are physical traumas, which are sure to cause vertebrae to misalign from their normal position and interfere with normal nerve transmission.

The automobile accident that causes whiplash is another such physical trauma. Almost everyone has felt the trauma of walking down two steps when there were actually three, or down three steps when there were only two. All of these traumas are physical forces that could be sufficient to subluxate the spine.

Another physical trauma, which is not easily understood, is subliminal, constant trauma. The mail carrier that carries the weight of the mailbag on only one shoulder is an example. The data processor that sits at a keyboard with his or her heard turned at an angle for hours each day is another. Sitting, standing, and sleeping incorrectly over periods of time are physical traumas, which could also cause subluxations.

CHEMICAL FORCES:
It is an accepted fact that a chemical can affect the tone of the muscles. Remember that the alignment of the spinal segments is dependent upon muscle tone. Lack of calcium, for example can cause muscle spasm. A build-up of lactic acid (a by-product of muscle exertion) can cause cramps, which athletes sometimes experience. Drugs can also affect muscle tone.

Muscle relaxants, for example, are a common treatment for muscle spasms. The body has delicately balanced chemistry. Anything that upsets this chemistry can upset muscle tone and cause a subluxation.

The causes of a chemical imbalance in the body, sufficient to cause subluxation, are numerous. If we were aware of all the chemicals that we place into our bodies, in the water we drink and the food we eat, it would frighten us. The body has the ability to remove many of these poisons, but if sufficient poisons are taken in, even the body’s filtering mechanisms can be overcome.

EMOTIONAL FORCES:
Our society’s lifestyle has caused the emotional factor to be one of the most important factors causing subluxations today. We live in a fast-paced, tension-filled society. If you have ever been in a tense or emotional situation, you can remember how the muscles in the back of your neck and across your shoulders tightened. This muscle tension can cause a vertebra to become subluxated.

COMBINATION OF ALL THREE:
Although each of these three forces can cause a subluxation by themselves, most subluxations are caused by some combination of the three. A slight physical trauma, which ordinarily would not cause a subluxation, does so because of muscle tension due to emotional factors. Normal stress and strain of daily life may prompt muscles that are full of toxins and chemicals to allow subluxations to occur. With all the stresses, physical traumas, and emotional tension as well as the poisons that our bodies are subjected to each day, it is not difficult to see how the spine can become subluxated.

We can and should make every effort to keep our spines free of subluxations. Some subluxations may be prevented by common-sense living but many will still occur. It is important that we have our spines checked regularly by our chiropractor in order to correct subluxations as soon as they occur.

Regular chiropractic care is essential for optimum health. A properly functioning nerve system enables the body to reach its full potential in restoring and maintaining health as well as enhancing other areas of life such as job performance, academic excellence and athletic accomplishment.

When a vertebra misaligns to the degree that it interferes with the proper function of the nerve system (subluxated), the inborn, self-regulating mechanism of the body cannot function, as it should. This results in a decrease in the quality of life. Chiropractors correct these subluxations.

Pruitt Chiropractic
88 East Main Road
Middletown
(401) 847.8889
www.pruittchiropractic.com