What is a Subluxation?
A subluxation is an irregular positioning of a joint that alters the normal functioning of the body’s nervous system. It is a chiropractic term and is usually referenced as one of the spinal joints, but can actually exist in any joint of the body. It has many different names such as “out of alignment”, “out of place”, “restriction (my personal favorite)”, and “stuck” just to name a few.
Subluxations are caused when there is a stress put on the body. Such stresses can be caused by physical, chemical or nutritional, or emotional instances. Physical stresses include trauma or poor posture, ergonomics, and biomechanics. Chemical stresses include eating junk food or being exposed to toxins such as pesticides in inorganic food or chemicals found in house products. Emotional stress is what most people think of when they think of stress. These include stress incurred from personal relationships, anxiety, or being overworked.
Common symptoms of subluxations include muscle weakness, sensory loss, and pain. Even though pain is what makes most people aware of subluxations in their body, most people don’t realize that being pain free does not mean they are subluxation free! Most people also don’t realize that since all of our organs are connected to the nervous system, a subluxation can decrease the normal functioning of related organs leading to internal problems as well as musculo-skeletal ones.
How to Treat Subluxations
Chiropractors are trained to detect and treat subluxations. Treatment is safe and rarely painful and done by a chiropractic adjustment. It is not uncommon for patients to feel better after getting adjustments and sometimes even get instant relief, even from pain that has lasted for years. As mentioned, since the body’s organs also rely on the nervous system, it is also not uncommon for patients to experience positive changes in their bodies that they wouldn’t normally have associated with chiropractic such as but not limited to improved sleep, resistence to sickness, improved respiration, better digestive function, and lowered blood pressure. When monitored by a chirorpactor, subluxations are usually easy to fix and not that serious to the body. However, if persistent for some time, the decreased functioning of your nervous system can cause implications that usually lead to chronic disease.
