Think of your spine as a
bicycle chain. For the most part it has a nice and fluid movement. After a long
period of time the fluidity of the joints in the chain may break down as the
lubrication wears out. If it is not properly taken care of over longer periods
of time, the metal may wear away and it may rust until there is very little
movement left between the links. Once this occurs the bike ceases to work and is
useless, until you buy a new chain for it. So how do you prevent this series of
events from happening? You oil the chain, of course. The same concept holds true
for the spine, with one exception, you cannot replace your spine if it wears
out. You only get one spine.
The spine is comprised of joints that start at the base of your skull and end
at the sacrum. These joints allow us to turn our head or bend forward. Coming
off the spinal cord and exiting the spinal column just in front of the spinal
joints are our spinal nerves, which are responsible for sending information from
our body parts to our brain and carrying commands from our brain to our body
Subluxations occur when spinal joints stop moving properly. This subluxation
interferes with the natural flow of information within our spinal nerves. If
subluxations are left undetected and uncorrected they can lead to problems. The
first of which are degenerative and arthritic changes in the spine. The second,
is dis-ease, which is the inability to maintain homeostasis, or a stable
internal environment where all systems are functioning optimally. If
subluxations to the spine and nervous system are allowed to persist, eventually
our bodies become more susceptible to sickness and disease.
Here you will see how a normal spine can turn into an unhealthy, degenerative and arthritic spine just from leaving subluxations uncorrected. The following are pictures of plastic models and not real.
Click on image for larger view.
What you will feel in this stage is fluid turning and bending. What you see on the model is the disc, spinal joints and spinal nerves are healthy.
|| Stage 1
What you will feel in this stage is impaired turning and bending such as stiffness and tightness. What you see on the model is a loss of normal disc spacing and the disc is also beginning wear down.
|| Stage 2
What you will feel in this stage is reduced range of motion and symptoms such as pain and discomfort. What you see on the model is roughening of the joint surfaces (arthritic and degenerative changes). Bony spurs (osteophytes) form around the edges of the vertebrae. The nerves look unhealthy, the disc is bulging and pressing on the spinal nerves.
|| Stage 3
What you will feel in this stage is permanent loss of range of motion and worsened symptoms. What you see on the model is fusion of bones and joints providing for NO spinal motion. Decreased and dried out discs which no longer provide support or cushion to the spine, and nerves that are very unhealthy.
It is important to keep in mind that regular spinal adjustments will keep your spine closer to Normal rather than the degenerative Stage 3 spine.