Chiropractic Spinal Adjustments

One of the questions that I am most frequently asked is, "What's that popping noise?" Whether you've been to a chiropractor or not, we've all stretched at one time or another and heard something go "pop" somewhere in our bodies. In most cases the popping noise was associated with a sense of relief and/or freedom of movement.

Over the years many chiropractic patients have come to associate the popping noise with the spine or some other joint going back into place. This is not the case.

Like a pop gun, the popping noise is nothing more than the displacement of nitrogen gas contained in the ligament and soft tissue capsules surrounding the joints of your body-including the spine. As the joint moves, the gas goes from one section of the joint capsule to the other, and POP!!!

When adjusting the bones of the spine, it is not uncommon to hear several popping noises. If each pop really was some bone n your spine going back into place, I dare say that you would need more than a chiropractor!

So if a chiropractor isn't putting your bones back into place, then what is the chiropractor doing when he or she adjusts the joints of your spine?

Joint mobilization.
With certain body postures and daily activities (or lack of activities...computers, driving, watching TV, playing video games...) some of the joints of the spine and other areas of the body do not move as freely as their neighbors- a condition known as hypo-mobility. Chiropractic spinal adjustment is used to make those stuck joints move freely again. But with this in mind, the problem that the chiropractor is trying to fix is NOT that the joints don't move, but rather the adverse effect these hypo-mobile joints have on the nervous system at large.

When a joint of the spine is jammed and doesn't move freely, it actually causes real physiologic problems and disturbances of the nervous system which can in time lead to pathological diseases in the organs of your body.

The bones of your spine or vertebrae serve as a bony protection of your spinal cord. From the spinal cord come the nerves that control your entire body, and these nerves pass out from between the vertebrae and run to the various muscles and organs of your body.

Let's say a couple of the vertebrae between your shoulder blades are hypo-mobile. In other words, they don't move as freely as the vertebrae above and below. Although this might sound painful, you really do not have to have pain associated with vertebrae that don't move.

Just to name a few organs, from this level of the spine come those nerves that make your heart, lungs, stomach, pancreas, liver and gall bladder work.

So when the vertebrae are hypo-mobile, and do not function as they should, this causes a disturbance of the flow of nerve energy that goes to, as in this example, the organs listed above. In time this disturbed flow brings about a state of "dis-ease" or disease to these organs. Through the nervous system, these hypo-mobile vertebrae cause a significant reduction of blood flow to the organs of the body.

When the cells of the body do not get enough blood, they die. Dead cells lead to dead tissues and dead tissues lead to dead organs, dead organs...well. Basically, every single pathological condition of the body starts with a decrease of blood flow which, according to a recent study of cadavers can be traced back to hypo-mobile vertebrae. In addition to this, hypo-mobile vertebrae lead to a break down of protein in the body, decreased bone mass (osteoporosis) and adversely effects the body's immune system.

So what we are talking about here is a condition, hypo-mobile vertebrae, that can be found in every person on this planet; that may or may not cause pain, but can and will cause to some greater or lesser degree a disturbance of the nervous system- a disturbance that will ultimately lead to tissue and/or organ pathology. A condition that can be helped greatly by chiropractic spinal adjustments and yet, less than 10% of the people on this planet use chiropractic care.

The popping noise is inconsequential. Using adjustments just to get rid of back pain is almost boring. Mobilizing hypo-mobile vertebral segments of the spine to improve nerve function and promote a sense of wellness and living is vital.

Chiropractic spinal adjustments are not just for people with back pain. In fact, if you wait until you feel pain, it might be too late. Pain is one of the last symptoms to present and one of the first to leave. Anyone who has cut themselves or broke a bone can tell you after a few days, they really do not have much pain, although it will be weeks before the body is fully recovered. Chiropractic spinal adjustments should be a part of everyone's total wellness plan.

What, no wellness plan in place? Paragon Chiropractic would be happy to help. For if not chiropractic, then how do you plan on mobilizing hypo-mobile spinal joints and restoring a sense of ease and normal function to your nervous system and ultimately your life?

Call for an appointment:
Dr. David Welch & Dr. Diane Krieger
1-602-230-9292