The Insight Subluxation Station is your best health measurement tool! The first thing I remember from Chiropractic College is that “structure governs function” in reference to the human spine.
Interestingly over the next four years two interpretations of this principle emerged. The most basic is the bio-mechanical. The mechanical focus is the birth place of mechanistic thinking. The simplest example of this is that if you have one leg longer than the other your pelvis will be low on one side causing the spine to deviate away from centre and then because of postural reflexes compensate itself back. From here comes heel lifts and sole lifts to ‘even’ the lengths. BUT WAIT!
What if the inequality of leg lengths is a result of a subluxation and nota structural anomaly?
What?? (We’ll get back to the Insight momentarily). Subluxation is the core of the lifestyle chiropractic care model. Subluxation is a blended energetic – mechanistic concept that broadens the mechanistic concept into its opposite yet complementary energetic premise: “Function governs structure”
The best way to get your head around this is as follows. Let’s look at bones, muscles and nerves in context. Bones have only one function. A bone is a structural component in your body to hang everything else on and to protect vital organs behind a cage of ribs or a skull and spine of movable bones to protect vital nerves and the brain. Bones also serve as levers to allow mobility and feeding. Bones of themselves are inert. Muscles are active. They have two basic tricks. They contract and shorten or relax and lengthen. For example, if you want to raise a glass to your mouth for a drink your elbow must bend as the biceps shortens and the triceps simultaneously lengthens. I f this simple act isn’t coordinated properly you can’t have a sip of whats in that glass! Muscles on the other hand are stupid. They can’t decide what to do and when but must be stimulated or inhibited by a nerve signal. And here is the third player, the nervous system which is interactive. The brain has both the sensory interpretation ability to coordinate the seemingly simple act of allowing a drink of water and the motor stimulation impulses to initiate tissue productivity.
So there you have the basic example of life in action with both its essential yet unique mechanistic and energetic components. Without the inspiration of the brain through nerves, the muscles won’t cause bones to move in deliberate ways. Think of the various type of muscles striated to move the skeleton, cardiac to pump blood and smooth to move materials through the bowels etc. So can you see that a subluxation somewhere along the spinal system causing a nervous disturbance may prevent a muscle from vibrating at its proper and exact frequency is capable of resulting in any number of malfunctions including a shorted leg. Now how far can you imagine from here. Can you comprehend and understand that all of the body’s major organs are producing thousands of chemicals for normal bodily functions: adrenalin, insulin, histamines, digestive enzymes and so many more. Do you see how if a subluxation can undermine ideal muscle tone that it can likewise affect organ tissue behaviours? If you can grasp this then your are beginning to understand why the AMA attempted to eliminate the chiropractic profession from 1973 to 1987 until and when ordered to cease and desist by the highest supreme court in the land.
What is the cause of subluxation? Subluxation is the result of an internal concussion of forces that exceed your body’s ability to adapt. Examples of this would include: TBS or traumatic birth syndrome, repetitive falls during attempts to master walking, upper neck misalignment from repeated diving head first into grandma’s sofa and sports injuries in any or all grades from 4th to 12th. Need I go on?
The spine is designed to allow movement on all planes, forwards, backwards, side bending and rotation in both directions in all planes…a particular headache for golfers. When a spinal bone or vertebrae is out of alignment relative to the bone above or below to the degree that it affects the spinal cord and/or nerve root transmissions this is the definition of a subluxation. The purpose of the chiropractic adjustment is the specific gentle correction of this condition. This is where the sister to mechanistic spin comes forward…We call it vitalism.
Mental health is a big conversation lately. Spectrum Disorders: ASD, ADHD, MID, etc…What do you suspect may result in the brain’s functions over time from ongoing spinal irritations causing stress to the spinal cord. How much brain stress does it talk to inhibit and or overstimulate it?
To be continued…The Insight Subluxation Station – Measuring Real Health
