What is a Subluxation?
A Subluxation is a condition of the spine (back/neck) where one or more vertebrae move out of positoin with each other and cause pressure on, or irritate a spinal nerve. This condition then affects whatever extremity, organ, tissue, gland or cell that the affected nerve controls. It also accelerates the wear and tear on the surrounding spinal muscles, ligaments, discs, joints and other spinal tissues. Pain, palpatory tenderness, inflammation, decreased spinal mobility, and muscle spasm and hypertonicity will eventually follow.
What causes Subluxations?
Vertebral Subluxations can be caused by a great number of things. Typically, however, we can break these causes down into three catagories: Physical, Chemical and Emotional Causes.
Physical Causes include acute trauma to the body, repetitive motions affecting the spine, imrproper workstation habits and design, bad postural habits, and weak or imbalanced spinal musculature.
Chemical Causes include poor dietary and nutritional practices, drug and alcohol use and abuse, and the ingestion of chemical toxins from the foods that we eat to the air that we breath. Chemicals which are harmful to the body reduce the body's ability to successfully adapt to and withstand internal and external stresses - making us more susceptible to spinal subluxations, as well as the consequences of the subluxations.
Emotional Causes come from Excessive Stress and Trapped Emotions. Excessive Stress, or inadequate stress management skills, as well as Trapped Emotions can cause havoc on the body's immune system, making the body more susceptible to injury as well as disease. (Dr. Paul's Emotional Release Technique frees the body of Trapped Emotions, helping the patient to heal at a much deeper and profound level.)
How are Subluxations Corrected?
Dr. Paul has a number of different chiropractic techniques and procedures to correct veterbral subluxations. Most of the procedures involve the application of a chiropractic spinal adjustment to the affected vertebrae.
Chiropractic adjustments involve the application of a quick but gentle corretive force into the "subluxated" spinal vertebrae. The adjustment can be delivered manually through the hands or can be applied through the use of a specialized tool. Subluxations generally require multiple treatments or adjustments for complete normalization to occur. Similar to straightening teeth, correcting malfunctioning and malaligned vertebrae requires time for the tissues to accept the this new position as "normal."
How can I tell if I have a Vertebral Subluxation?
The only accurate way to determine if you suffer from subluxations, is to receive a chiropractic evaluation. However, there are a number of signs and symptoms that are commonly associated with the vertebral subluxation and they include:
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back pain, tenderness, soreness and stiffness
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neck pain, tenderness, soreness and stiffness
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spinal muscle spasm, tightness or weakness
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reduced spinal mobility
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pain, numbness or tingling in the extremities
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joint pain and stiffness
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headaches
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dizziness or balance problems
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low energy
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poor overall state of health
Individuals who are not currently experiencing pain or other discomforts are not necessarily "subluxation free". Subluxations are similar to cavities in that many times a significant amount of damage is present before symptoms such as pain are felt. This is why we recommend, like your dentist, that individuals seek periodic spinal evaluations to check for the presence of subluxations and other spinal abnormalities, even in the absence of pain.