The cervical spine–that is, the upper seven of our vertebrae–must surely rank among the most under appreciated yet most vital parts of our body.  Its 37 separate joints allow the head and neck to move atop the torso, all the while obeying constant commands from the special senses and reflex mechanisms.

Look at it this way:  The cervical spine holds up our 9-16 pound heads for between 14-16 hours a day. This is hardly easy.

The head’s weight can become unbearable over time.  If you’d like to get a clearer picture, try this:  hold a 12-14 pound bowling ball in your hand with your elbow on a table for as long as you can. (Few poeple can keep this up longer than an hour.)

That means the cervical spine is a vital part of nearly all our everyday activities.  Speaking, gesturing, sitting, standing, lying down, and breathing involve the cervical spine. Most of what our head can do is thanks to the cervical spine.

That’s why many of the injuries to this are are serious, resulting in paralysis or death. For example, hitting your head on the bottom of the pool can compress the cervical spine and cause grave injury.

You’ll be happy to know that we chiropractors have led the way in recognizing the cervical spine’s uniqueness and careing for it accordingly.

It may surprise you to read that chiropractic doesn’t cure backaches. It doesn’t cure neck pain, headaches, sprained joints or pulled muscles either. It doesn’t treat spinal degeneration, spinal curvature, asthma, allergies, colic, sciatica, carpal tunnel, TMJ, shoulder pain, hip pain, poor posture, ear infections, or any of the countless things many chiropractors claim to treat or cure!

If it does none of these, what does chiropractic do?

Unlike medicine, which attempts to cure disease, chiropractic removes interference so that your body can heal and cure itself. This may sound like mere semantics, but our way of speaking reveals and determines our understanding, which dictates action. For you to make intelligent choices regarding your health care, you need an accurate understanding of how your body works, what can cause disease, and how removing interference promotes health.

Nothing New.

The chiropractic profession has only been around for a little more than a hundred years, but the principles on which it is based are ancient. Hippocrates once said, “Look first to the spine for the cause of disease.” We find spinal manipulation being used in traditional cultures many hundreds and even thousands of years ago.

Today, science confirms the importance of the spine: The vital energy for life travels from the brain to every part of the body via a system of nerves that exit at the base of the skull and travel through the center of the spine. The nerve system also provides! the mea ns for communication from the various parts of the body back to the brain. These nerves connect to every organ, tissue and cell of the body through the bones of the spine. To be healthy, 100 percent of the brain’s energy and communication must reach every part of the body.

The bones of the spine fit closely together in a compact stack that allows freedom of movement as well as firm structure. Over time, gravity and other stresses cause the bones of the spine become misaligned with one another. This alters the spaces through which the nerve system travels causing pressure on and irritation to the nerves. Studies show that pressure merely equivalent to the weight of a quarter can decrease the conductivity of energy through a nerve by as much as 60 percent.

The most common spinal interference is called a vertebral subluxation. A chiropractic adjustment moves the misaligned vertebrae in the direction of proper alignment allowing the body to reposition the bone and restore the energy flow from the brain to the body’s compromised tissues, organs and systems. The result is a return to health. It’s as simple as that — and no other health professional can accomplish what the body can do for itself!