Home / About Chiropractic / What Is a Subluxation?
What Is a Vertebral Subluxation?
A vertebral subluxation is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) lose their normal alignment and function, and create pressure on or irritate the spinal cord and/or spinal nerves. That interference disrupts the messages traveling over those nerves.
What Does That Mean for You?
You lose connection
Your brain and body are supposed to be in constant communication. A subluxation interferes with that connection. Parts of your body don't get the messages they need to function at 100%.
You lose coordination
Your nervous system coordinates everything—breathing, digestion, healing, thinking, moving. When messages are disrupted, that coordination breaks down. Your body can't work the way it's designed to.
You lose your natural state of "ease"
Normal body function is ease. Subluxation creates dis-ease—a state of dysfunction. It's not about having something you shouldn't have. It's about missing something you should have: normal function.
The Scary Part: You Usually Don't Feel It
Most subluxations have no obvious symptoms. Try to "feel" your liver right now. You can't. You don't know if it's working perfectly or struggling.
The nerve pathways that control your organs and glands don't transmit pain. So you can have subluxations for months or years and never know it. By the time you feel something, it's often been there for a while.
That's why regular spinal check-ups are so important.
What Causes Subluxations?
Subluxations are caused by stress—anything your body has to respond or adapt to. Stress comes in three forms:
Physical stress
Falls, accidents, the birth process, repetitive motions, poor posture, and even sleeping wrong. The average child falls on their rear about 3,000 times by the age of 3. Contact sports, car accidents, and everyday activities can all cause subluxations.
Chemical stress
The body has a delicately balanced chemistry. Smoking, alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, pollution, and food sensitivities can all upset that balance, irritate the nervous system, and cause muscles to function abnormally—which can pull vertebrae out of place.
Most people are exposed to thousands of chemicals every day. The body can handle some, but when the filter is overwhelmed, subluxations can result.
Emotional stress
This is the most common cause I see. Worry, fear, anger, grief—these emotions cause your neck and shoulder muscles to tighten. When that tension builds up, it can pull the spine out of alignment.
Our fast-paced, always-connected world means emotional stress is almost constant. That's why subluxations are so common.
Usually, it's a combination of all three. A minor physical stress that you'd normally adapt to becomes subluxating when you've also got emotional tension and chemical stress loading you down.
Can Subluxations Clear Up on Their Own?
Sometimes. The body can self-correct things when we bend, stretch, or sleep. But there's no way to know if that's happening or if a subluxation is staying put.
That's why periodic spinal check-ups are necessary. It's like brushing your teeth—you don't wait for a cavity to hurt before you check.
What Can Be Done?
Chiropractors are the only professionals trained to locate, analyze, and correct vertebral subluxations. It's what we do. Years of training, a highly developed sense of touch, and a complete understanding of the spine and nervous system.
When we find a subluxation, we apply a specific, gentle adjustment to help the body restore normal alignment and function. The goal isn't to force anything. It's to help your body get back to working the way it was designed to work.
Subluxations are an impediment to life—plain and simple. Your body works better without them. That alone makes them worth correcting.
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