Subluxation is one of the most important terms we use at Upstate Specific Chiropractic. What is a subluxation and how does it affect your daily life and health? A subluxation is simply defined as a misaligned joint that puts pressure on the nervous system, especially in the spine, where the nerve roots exit the spinal cord and go out to the body. This pressure reduces the nerve’s function.

Doesn’t sound that bad? Let’s dive into just how vital your nervous system is!

We know that we need certain things for life. As a generalized rule, humans can live for 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food…but how long can you live without nerve flow? Not a single instant. 

The pressure and inflammation caused by a subluxation affects the nerve’s function to varying degrees. However, one thing is clear: it won’t get better on its own.

One of Murphy’s laws says, “Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.” This is why we need to mow the yard, brush our teeth, change the oil in our cars, wash the dishes and laundry. Things fall into chaos unless we intervene with positive energy.

How Chiropractic Adjusts a Subluxation

The brain is the powerful processor of the body and the nervous system is exactly like all the wiring that carries signals to the webcam, speakers, microphone, mouse and screen (our organs, tissues and glands!) 

Your brain and body must be connected in order to communicate! A subluxation interferes with that communication by putting pressure on the nerves. 

Have you had a phone charger that got bent at some point and you had to wiggle it just right to get a charge? 

A chiropractic adjustment specifically identifies which bones need to move, and in which direction, to relieve the pressure and get life-giving information flowing from the brain down to the body. This is how you can express health from the inside out! 

An adjustment DOES NOT fix symptoms, cure a disease or even heal your pain. It restores nerve function through moving the bone specifically. 

With a nervous system functioning at its highest potential, the body can heal. 

 

Chiropractic and Brain Function

Numerous researchers have studied how relieving subluxations can improve your brain’s function. 

One group of people in this blinded 2016 study were given specific chiropractic adjustments. The control group was new to chiropractic and was given only movements without a spinal adjustment. 

The result found that “a single session of spinal manipulation of dysfunctional segments in subclinical pain patients alters somatosensory processing at the cortical level, particularly within the prefrontal cortex.” To interpret, adjusting subluxations improved how their prefrontal cortex worked!

In addition, among the people that had been adjusted, “the majority noted they could feel that the chiropractic session actually changed the way their body felt and functioned.” 

Heart Rate Variability has also been used as a way of measuring the body’s restored function after a chiropractic adjustment. A 2006 study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapies found that chiropractic adjustments improved heart rate variability and pain on the visual analog scale.

So no matter what symptoms you are presenting with, we want to check the spine. We get to source to see where we can help improve your function! 

 

Upstate Specific Chiropractic serves the Greenville, SC area, specializing in pregnancy and pediatric care. To find out how chiropractic can help your family, CLICK HERE to schedule a FREE consultation. 

 

What Our Practice Members Say:

“We were referred to Dr. Megan by our Midwife and Lactation Consultant due to a tongue and lip tie, breastfeeding issues, and having a very fast birth. It was a last minute appointment and they accommodated us like we’d been regular patients! My baby was only 2 days old so like most parents with a newborn you’re nervous over everything. But he was handled with such tender care and Dr. Megan was very vocal about what she was doing and why it was beneficial. I was confident I had nothing to worry about. When we got home we noticed an immediate improvement and are successfully breastfeeding! We’ll be in the office for adjustments every chance we get.” Natona S.

 

Resources:

    1. Manipulation of Dysfunctional Spinal Joints Affects Sensorimotor Integration in the Prefrontal Cortex: A Brain Source Localization Study, Dina Lelic, Imran Khan Niazi, Kelly Holt, Mads Jochumsen, Kim Dremstrup, Paul Yielder, Bernadette Murphy, Asbjørn Mohr Drewes,and Heidi Haavik https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4800094/ 
    2. Effect of Chiropractic Care on Heart Rate Variability and Pain in a Multisite Clinical Study John Zhang, MD, PhD Douglas Dean, PhD Dennis Nosco, PhD Dennis Strathopulos, DC Minas Floros, DC https://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754(06)00054-6/fulltext