Why Your Misaligned Spine Causes Back Pain! From Your Eatontown, NJ NUCCA Chiropractor

Do you have back pain?  Research shows that most back pain comes from a misalignment of the spine.

Let’s look at the three things your spine does for you.

FIRST IS MOTION.

Motion occurs anywhere in the body where two bones meet to form a joint. In the adult spine, there are 26 vertebral-like segments, which create 87 freely moveable joints. EIGHTY-SEVEN! And each one of them is designed to provide maximum motion, while preserving a safe degree of stability. If any of these bones misalign, joint motion is altered, leading to dysfunction and eventually pain. Restoring proper vertebral and spinal alignment is critical in maintaining a healthy spine.

SECOND IS SUPPORT.

Hundreds of muscles, ligaments, and tendons attach to the spine. Without this, your body would be less able to perform dynamic and complex movements like running, jumping, or playing sports.

The shape of the spine and the bones within it create our upright body position. It also differentiates us from apes, chimpanzees and other 4-legged animals. Our bone structure allows us to easily walk in an upright position, whereas for most animals it is difficult and wastes precious energy. An upright body position is one of the largest leaps in humankind evolution. Walking upright allowed us to use our energy more efficiently when traveling and hunting for food. This gave us the freedom to be more nomadic and less dependent on one area of resources.

THIRD IS PROTECTION.

Our spine protects something very precious to us, our nervous system! The nervous system is composed of the:

  • Spine
  • Brain
  • Spinal Cord
  • Spinal Nerves

Together, the brain, spinal cord, and spinal nerves control every organ, tissue, and cell in the human body. They control your thoughts, your actions, how you feel, and how you function. They are in control of whether you are happy or sad, or in a state of sickness or health.

The nervous system sends messages from the brain to every system in the body. Take the heart and cardiovascular system for example. When you exercise, the nervous system helps convey a message to the heart to beat harder and faster to pump more blood through the body. The lungs do the same thing. When oxygen is low in the blood, the nervous system relays a message to the lungs to inhale more air more rapidly, to replenish the oxygen deficit.

If you eat food with more bad bacteria than the stomach can handle, the nervous system signals the stomach that this food is not beneficial and will cause harm. Next the nervous system tells the stomach to send the food back out, causing you to expel the food. In this case, vomiting is not a sign of sickness or disease. It is a sign the nervous system is functioning well to keep you healthy. What an amazing system of checks and balances!

At this point, there are two big questions that need to be answered.

1. WHY DOES THE NERVOUS SYSTEM (BRAIN, SPINAL CORD, AND NERVES) STOP DOING ITS JOB?

The most common reason why our nervous system can no longer perform properly is spinal misalignment. As we mentioned, the spine is designed to surround and protect the brain, spinal cord, and spinal nerves. But, what happens to the underlying nerve tissue when the spine shifts from its proper position, and takes on an irregular shape? The answer to this question is SUBLUXATION! Subluxation is the scientific term for a spine that misaligns and places pressure, stress, or irritation upon the brain, spinal cord, or nerves.

Is spinal misalignment the most common reason my body has health problems, or becomes ill? Yes! Let’s look at a few of many problems that arise when spinal misalignment stresses the nervous system:

Neck pain                                          Headaches                             Epilepsy

Middle and Low back pain            Migraines                               Otitis Media

TMJ dysfunction                              Stomach ulcers                      Colic

Rotator cuff dysfunction                 GERD                                     Tinnitus

Torticollis                                           Dysautonomia                       Vertigo

Spondylolysis                                    Sciatica                                    Dystonia

Disc Herniation                                 Multiple Sclerosis                 Cold hands & feet

Tight muscles                                    Hip Pain                                  Knee Pain

Bursitis                                               Shoulder Pain                        Plantar Fasciitis

If you are putting two and two together, you realize that these problems frequently resolve on their own, after the spine is put back in balance. This is also why Chiropractors do not claim to heal their patients of these health conditions. Their role is only to facilitate the movement of the spine back to a balanced and stress-free position. Once balanced, the nervous system operates without the interference of “subluxation” and heals the condition naturally, without the need of outside intervention. This concept is critical to understanding how the body functions and how to remain healthy.

Now let’s look at the “Western Medicine” healthcare model. Before we dive a little deeper, it is important to know the flaw is not in the doctor. The United States and the hospitals here are filled with wonderful and talented doctors who are passionate about helping people get well. However, the system that is in place for medical doctors to help their patients is simply predisposed for poor outcome, partly for its reliance on drugs and surgery.

Focusing on spinal conditions, a common medical procedure to correct severe arthritis in the spine is a spinal fusion. During a spinal fusion, the surgeon drills screws into multiple vertebra of the spine, and secures them together with metal plates. This procedure has been popular over the last thirty years. However, a large retrospective study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that fusing segments of the spine had almost no long-term benefit. The study even recommended that surgeons no longer perform the operation, due to the additional spinal disease caused by the fusion itself.

Today, many medical doctors recommend a safe and non-invasive treatment like Upper Cervical Chiropractic before considering more invasive treatment options. And with your new knowledge on the subject of spinal health, aren’t you glad there is a safer way of treating health conditions that does not involve long-term Rx drug use and ineffective surgeries? This is why 30 to 40 million Americans see a chiropractor for their health concerns!

2. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM (BRAIN, SPINAL CORD, AND NERVES) STOPS DOING ITS JOB?

We’ve already introduced “subluxation” but now we probe further. It’s important to know that the spine does not misalign one bone at a time. Wait a minute, how can that be true? Don’t people usually feel pain in one part of the spine, but the rest feels fine? Well sure they do, but the latest studies show that when the spine misaligns, it misaligns as a whole…or as a “complex”. This misalignment starts at the top bone of the spine, the Atlas. Therefore, an “Atlas Subluxation Complex” refers to this misalignment throughout the spine.

The Atlas is unique for many reasons, but mostly for its location in the spine. It surrounds the brainstem and is the control center for spinal balance. For this reason, Upper Cervical Chiropractors specialize in correcting the spine at the Atlas level. This type of correction does not pop, crack, or twist the spine.

Although the spinal correction takes place in the neck, it influences the whole spine and all body systems. This allows the entire body to heal and function the way it was designed. A spine in balance allows many health conditions to resolve without the need of drugs or surgery. Of course, there are illnesses and conditions that cannot be eliminated, but with a balanced spine, the body will begin to adapt to them, making daily pain and symptoms reduce.

The final message is…your body is brilliant! The important role of the spine in movement, support and protection of the nervous system can only take place if there is no interference or subluxation of the spine. Upper Cervical Chiropractic makes sure the spine is corrected at the Atlas, nerve interference is removed, and the entire spine is in position to support a healthier body with less pain, fewer drugs and free of surgery.

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Molland Spinal Care doctors are Eatontown Upper Cervical Chiropractors trained by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA).  Our NUCCA Clinic has helped many people find natural relief from post-concussion syndrome in Eatontown, New Jersey.  As NUCCA Chiropractors we are uniquely trained to correct problems in the Upper Cervical Spine (upper neck).  This vital area is intimately connected to the central nervous system and problems in this area have been shown to be an underlying cause of a variety of different problems.  More information can be found on our website at https://www.mollandspinalcare.com

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