Explanation of CHIROPRACTIC by Dr. Guy J. Lasich
Here is a semi-simple explanation of what Chiropractic is all about, the nuts and bolts so to speak. The following is how Chiropractic leads to a person functioning properly and living to their fullest health/human potential. There are tens of millions of case studies about Chiropractic helping sick people get healthy. There is now loads of research regarding Chiropractic and how it increases immune function, organ function, energy levels, and vitality among many other things including life span. Before reading on, keep in mind Chiropractic is just as important in keeping people healthy as it is in getting sick people well. Prevention is so very important. Many people ask me how Chiropractic does everything mentioned above, so here we go.
1. The brain and spinal cord control every function of the body. (Keep in mind the spinal cord is nothing but an extension of the brain).
*The brain and spinal cord are the computer system of the human body*
The latest research shows that the brain sends out and receives 20 trillion digital bits of information each and every second. Chiropractors call this information, this intelligence, “Innate Intelligence”. This Innate Intelligence is what builds the human body from the earliest of life and keeps it running in harmony once it is built.
The brain and spinal cord (this Innate Intelligence) controls every cell, tissue and organ in the body. They control the immune system, the biochemistry, EVERYTHING right down to every smallest detail of our human experience. The brain and spinal cord send these digital bits of information out to the body through nerves that exit the spine. The brain, spinal cord and nerves that exit the spine together make up the global nervous system. The nervous system is what creates and carries this Innate Intelligence.
“How amazing is the brain and the potential that resides within us? It has been estimated that it would take a computer, with the latest technologies, the size of the Empire state building to even come close to the computing capacity of your nervous system on a second to second basis. Your brain and spinal cord are the most powerful computer on the face of the planet!
So where does the problem come in that Chiropractors deal with? Why, if we have this awesome computer system designed to function flawlessly, does it short circuit and cause human beings to lose ideal health and vitality? Why is it so many people get sick and cannot live every moment of their one and only life to their fullest potential? Why are we not as a species always full of health, energy, vitality and zeal for life? The problem is that entities called subluxation cause our computer system (our nervous system) to short circuit.
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A subluxation is when one or more of the 24 bones in the spine move out of their proper alignment. When these bones move out of alignment in the spine they, through a number of mechanisms, crush the spinal cord (the extension of the brain) and the nerves that exit the spine which feed the organs, immune system and every other function of the human being. This crushing of the nervous system causes interference to the computer system of the body, which has global ramifications to the health and vitality of the individual. To understand this easily, imagine a person took a fall and hit their head. From the fall, swelling begins to slightly put pressure on (slightly crush) the brain. It is easy for most people to understand how this could cause, again, global ramifications to the entire body. This pressure on the brain could affect the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, or for that matter, any organ of the body. This could very well include immune function and biochemistry of the body. The computer system (nervous system) controls everything. The exact same thing happens when bones move out of alignment in the spine crushing the fragile spinal cord (extension of the brain) and nerves that flow out of the spine.
How dangerous can a subluxation be to your overall health and function? Here I will give you the worst case subluxation, I call this my Christopher Reeves analogy. Christopher Reeves was an actor who played superman in the movies decades ago. One day Christopher was riding along on a horse, fell off the horse and drove his head into the ground. When he did this he had the worst case subluxation possible. He moved his upper neck so far out of alignment causing the spinal cord to be so crushed that his entire body shut down. Not only did he lose the function of his muscles for the rest of his life, he lost the function of his immune system and the normal biochemistry of his body. He basically became a robot. He needed machines to take over the function of his heart, lungs and kidneys. His reproductive organs, intestinal tract, stomach, liver, pancreas, everything stopped functioning for the rest of his life. He crushed his computer system so badly by moving bones out of alignment in his spine that he was never able to recover. He died several years after his accident, even with the best technologies on the planet trying to keep him alive. Of course most of the patients Chiropractors see do not have misalignments in the spine crushing the nervous system as badly as Christopher Reeves, but the reason I use this analogy is to drive home the paramount importance of an interference free nervous system (computer system). Typical subluxations cause pressure to be put on the spinal cord and the nerves exiting the spine, just not nearly to the same extent as with Christopher Reeves. These "typical" subluxations leave our bodies not functioning properly and more susceptible to sickness, disease of any kind and downright lack of potential.
When there is any interference to the nervous system, the body cannot and will not work the way it is designed to, which is perfectly. It will begin to dysfunction and not work at its 100 percent potential.
3. What causes a Subluxation? What causes bones to move out of alignment, get stuck out of alignment, and interfere with the nervous system?
Subluxations are not only caused by major traumas, but also by day to day activities such as lifting, turning, twisting, slipping and falling. Basically, life causes subluxation just as eating causes cavities. Just as simply as if you do not brush your teeth you will get cavities, if you do not keep your spine in alignment you will have subluxations crushing the nervous system. Research has shown that the birth process itself is where the first subluxation occurs. Regardless of c-section or natural birth, the typical birthing process involves the doctor pulling and twisting the baby’s neck with between 30 and 90 pounds of pressure, which is more than enough to subluxate the spine right from the start. Then to make things worse, while learning to walk, the average child falls, on average, between 2000 and 5000 times by the time they are five years old. Another major cause of subluxation is stress, mental stress. Stress from things such as work, relationships, school, financial stress, driving etc. Stress causes all of your muscles, including the muscles in your back, to get extremely tight. These muscles are attached to the bones of the spine. When the muscles get tight they pull on the bones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the stress disappears. This pulling from extremely tight muscles subluxates the spine as well. The problem is, as Americans, we are continually under stress. Hopefully by this point you are starting to see how life causes subluxations.
4. Other problems subluxation cause.
Another ramification of subluxation is spinal decay and degeneration. Within hours of a bone moving out of its proper alignment, the spine begins to degenerate. This is identical to a person who stops brushing their teeth; within 24 hours of not brushing, small amounts of permanent decay have begun. If we leave the teeth without brushing for days, weeks and months the decay continues to get worse and worse. It is the same thing with the spine. The longer the bones are out of alignment in the spine the worse the decay becomes. This is why Chiropractors take x-rays; we want to see not only how the spine is in or out of alignment, but also how much decay is in the spine from the lack of keeping it in proper alignment since birth.
5. Negatives of spinal decay and degeneration from subluxation.
Bone spurs, which are calcium deposits, develop in the spine when it is out of alignment. As if the subluxation wasn’t enough, bone spurs can also crush the spinal cord and nerves exiting the spine. This leads to further nervous system interference, in addition to the actual spinal bone being out of alignment. Crushing of the delicate computer system of the body worsens with bone spurs. If bone spurs get bad enough it can lead to organs completely shutting down and paralysis of the body.
As soon as bones in the spine move out of alignment (subluxate), disk degeneration begins. The disks in the spine separate the bones from each other so the nerves exiting the spine do not get crushed. They also allow for the normal movement of spine. When the disks degenerate, the bones collapse on each other. This crushes the nerves exiting to the body leading to further amounts of nerve interference and a lack of movement, which also promotes the growth of bone spurs. Specific organs are all controlled by nerves that exit the spine. These organs cannot function properly with nerve interference.
Very Important: As soon as the spine subluxates we begin to, over time, lose the curve in our neck. We should have a curve in our neck that is in the shape of a banana. When bones in the spine are subluxated we lose that banana curve and the neck begins to straighten out. This can be seen in the older population who have not kept their spines in alignment over their lifetime. Watch them as they are walking and their head is coming forward. The problem with this forward head posture is as follows; think of what happens if a banana is forcibly straightened. You can probably imagine the fruit on the inside would be crushed. The same thing happens to the spinal cord as happens to the banana if straightened. This further crushes the spinal cord as our necks straighten over our lifetime.
Bone spur formation and disk degeneration in the spine is analogous to rust and corrosion in a machine causing it to seize up. This is why if a person does not keep the spine in proper alignment over a lifetime it becomes harder and harder to move as the years go by. Unfortunately, in the past most people did not see a Chiropractor on a regular basis. So activities such as sports, active lifestyles, and even simple functions as picking up grandchildren become almost impossible in later years. We work our entire lives to enjoy the retirement years. Unfortunately, if the spine is not kept in alignment, the likelihood for great mobility is slim to none. We become imprisoned in a body without the capabilities for health, but also without the ability to move and enjoy life.
A spine kept in proper alignment by a Chiropractor, over a lifetime, should look close to perfect on x-rays in our older years, just as our teeth should be near perfect in our older years if we brush and floss on a regular basis. Our health, energy levels and ability to be active should all still be extremely high in our late 80's and 90's as long as we keep our spine subluxation free.
6. What do Chiropractors do?
Chiropractors adjust the spinal bones that are subluxated, or out of alignment, back into their proper position. Chiropractors put gentle forces into the spine in exact plane lines to, over time, move the bones back into place. As Chiropractors are freeing up the nervous system, they are also stopping the decay process. This allows the computer system that resides inside each and every one of us to begin to first heal, and then function the way it was designed, which is perfectly and without interference. If a person has not stayed in proper alignment from birth it will take a rebuilding process almost identical to orthodontic care to initially get the spine back into place. Just like orthodontic work and braces put forces into crooked teeth to beautifully straighten them, the Chiropractor puts gentle forces into the crooked spine to bring it back into alignment. And just as it takes months to straighten crooked teeth, it takes time to reconstruct a spine. Once a spine is reconstructed, it is of utmost importance to keep it in alignment on a regular basis by a Chiropractor. This is because, as mentioned earlier, life is continually subluxating the spine through its daily traumas and stressors. The spine needs to be kept in alignment to keep interference out of the nervous system and keep the decay process from unfolding. The neurology department at the University of Colorado has found that within 60 minutes of a subluxation up to 60 percent of the nerves carrying capacity can be lost. And again, keep in mind that decay starts within hours of a subluxation, both important reasons to have the spine checked on a regular basis. Whether it is your teeth, your car, your spine or almost anything in life, if not taken care of it will begin to dysfunction. It is of utmost importance to take care of the master control system of your body, your nervous system.
Additional things to keep in mind........
1. It is so very important to have your children under Chiropractic care. The computer system (nervous system/Innate Intelligence) of the body is what builds the body in the first place. Children go through genetic windows, and these windows open and close for proper organ and immune system development throughout the growth process. It is so important to have proper and strong development right from the very beginning of life. Often times, the body developing weaker than its fullest potentiality will not manifest until later in the child’s life.
2. There is a huge difference within the Chiropractic community. There are basically two types of Chiropractors: Back and neck pain Chiropractors and Full Potential Chiropractors. Back and neck pain Chiropractors will see patients just long enough to get rid of the pain. Keep in mind this is not rebuilding the spine or doing anything mentioned above. Full potential Chiropractors are interested in doing everything mentioned above. Their main purpose is to rebuild the spine and keep it how it was designed to be, which is in perfect alignment! This allows for the full expression of the body’s nervous system. Full potential Chiropractic is a lifestyle for the patient who has chosen to live their one and only life optimally.
3. Proper hydration, in addition to keeping a proper schedule seeing the Chiropractor, is a necessity to rebuilding the spine. The muscles, ligaments, tendons and disks around the spine must be kept hydrated and loose to reconstruct the spine and nervous system.
I am a contributing author in a New York Times bestselling book called “One Minute Wellness”. Please look to this book as a resource for more in depth information and research on Chiropractic. Everything mentioned above is simply meant to be a quick, non-research explanation of Chiropractic.
In closing, a quick glance at the Big Idea of Chiropractic: The nervous system controls everything in the body. If we have the slightest interference to the nervous system nothing can work the way it’s designed to. The immune system does not work as strongly fighting disease processes or cancer cells. Between 100 and 10,000 cancer cells are created in the human body every day regardless of age. When the immune system is not functioning as strongly it cannot track, kill and rid cancer cells out of the body as effectively and efficiently.
It is of huge importance to have a strong immune system considering the Center for Disease Control states cancer rates are supposed to double in the next 17 years in the young and old alike. A strong immune system is key in not only fighting cancer, but most all disease processes.
If the lungs are not functioning at 100%, we cannot assimilate oxygen properly which will have negative ramifications on every cell in the body. If the intestines are not functioning 100%, we cannot assimilate food properly which will have negative ramifications on every cell in the body. If our biochemistry is not functioning correctly our body’s chemical makeup will be askew, which leads to many issues including mental disorders. Depression medications have increased 400% since 1998. The nervous system runs every cell, tissue and organ in the body. Each and every dimension of the body must work at 100% for the body to function optimally. This is why full potential Chiropractors go to such great lengths to get, and keep, their patients healthy. They are ultimately concerned about the patients they see living a not only healthy and vibrant life, but a long life as well!
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