Chiropractic

Cells are the basic building blocks of the human body. The nerves in the body are made up of long cells called neurons. The nerves when bunched together form a nerve. The job of these neurons is to carry signals from one part of the body to another. This is done by passing the signal from neuron to neuron, since neurons form a network throughout the body by being attached by their ends. The brain is also a cluster of nerves, and these nerves work in tandem to maintain different bodily functions. Messages are passed from the brain to other cells of the body through the nerves.

At the base of the skull, in which the brain is located, lies the spine. The spine is made up of small bones called vertebrae. Each of these vertebrae has a hole in it. The vertebrae are assembled over each other in such a way that the holes of the vertebrae stack up to form a tunnel that extends throughout the spine. Most nerves in the human body start in this tunnel and spread out to various parts of the body.

The front portion of the individual vertebra has no holes, and when stacked up, the vertebrae get separated by a cushion called a disk. The topmost vertebra is fitted into a hole at the base of the skull. Now we begin to get an idea of the complicated organization of nerves in our body.

Between each vertebra is some space from where nerves originating in the brain spread to other parts of the body like the heart, lungs, stomach and limbs. The nerves are tunneled through the spine from the base of the brain, from where they go to their target body area.

The spine gets it flexibility from the movement of the vertebrae. The vertebrae can move a little by shifting slightly from its place on the vertebral column. This allows us to bend, twist and move our back in different directions.

But sometimes, due to stress, injuries and incorrect postures, one of the vertebrae may no move, or become “stuck” in a spot. This leads to a condition called subluxation, where the stuck vertebra puts pressure on a nerve leaving from the spine by closing the space between the vertebrae.

The result of this pressure on the nerve is that it is not able to carry the signals to its “target” area, whether the stomach, legs, heart, or whichever part of the body it goes to. This causes problems in that area, since it is not able to receive the signals from the brain.

A second type of subluxation occurs when pressure is put the nerves of a part of body other than the spine. This means that the brain cannot receive signals from these parts of the body. So if there is a subluxation in the finger, then the brain will not get the signal when the finger touches something. This means that the brain has to work with incomplete information.

The only way to treat the problems arising out of this signal interruption from the nerves is to treat the subluxation. This is done by bringing the stuck vertebra back into place so it can move again. This alignment is known as adjusting. This adjusting is done through chiropractic. A person who provides chiropractic therapy is a chiropractor.