In basic terms, a subluxation is when one or more of the bones of your vertebrae or spine move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves. Spinal nerves are the nerves that come out from between each of the bones in your spine. This pressure or irritation on the nerves then causes those nerves to malfunction and interfere with the impulses traveling over those nerves.
What are symptoms of subluxation?
- Pain, tenderness, soreness and stiffness in the neck and/or back
- Headaches
- Dizziness or balance problems
- Spinal muscle spasms, tightness or weakness
- Reduction in spinal mobility
- Pain, numbness or tingling in the extremities
- Joint pain or stiffness
- Low energy
- Poor overall health
- Reduced ability to heal tissue
What causes a subluxation?
Trauma – This is the leading cause of subluxations and we are generally referring to jarring types of accidents which can be as simple as falling, tripping or stumbling. Trauma can also be caused by sports activities which can cause extreme motion in the body such as tennis, golf and of course contact sports which involve heavy physical contact or contortions such as football or soccer.
Additional trauma related causes are obvious like car accidents, but others can be as simple as pulling a child by their arm.
Posture – Simple everyday activities like driving or riding in a car, working at a computer for long periods, poor sleeping posture, and even leg crossing are all things that can create subluxations in the neck, low back, hips, and knees.
Pregnancy – Because of the hormones released in pregnancy to relax ligaments and the pelvis for childbirth as well as increased weight and altered gait pattern, adds stress to weight bearing joints and allows for changes in spinal alignment.
Why is a subluxation a problem?
The nervous system controls and coordinates the functions of your body. If you interfere with the signals traveling over nerves, parts of your body will not get the proper nerve messages and will not be able to function at their optimum levels. In other words, some part of your body will not be working properly.
When you have misaligned vertebrae which results in pressure on nerves, this can result in changes in the surrounding soft tissues. Changes then develop in tendons, ligaments, blood supply, and other body tissues. These reactions can also cause chemical changes in the body resulting in poor health and body conditions.
Additionally, subluxations are a problem because they do not always manifest themselves in direct pain symptoms. Even without these direct pain symptoms, they may however be causing damage to specific parts of your body or your general health. This is why it is important to visit us at Innovative Health and Wellness for a general or “baseline” exam.
At our chiropractic office in Woodstock we locate subluxations, and reduce or correct them to alleviate the current and potential dangers to your overall health. This is done through a series of chiropractic adjustments specifically designed to correct the vertebral subluxations you may be experiencing.
Contact us at 770-926-4646 to schedule your chiropractic consultation and begin the journey to better spinal and overall health.
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