Last time I talked about subluxations. I discussed what they are, how they occur, what symptoms they can produce, and why it is important to seek chiropractic care as soon as possible when you know you have one. The problem is, oftentimes, you don’t know you have them!!! I ended the last blog stating that the only thing worse than knowing you have a subluxation, is not knowing you have a subluxation. It’s hard to believe that with all the pain and discomfort they can cause, that you wouldn’t know when you have a subluxation. Let’s talk about that.
You’ll recall the different components of a subluxation from last time. NONE of them are good. To me though, the worst component is the effect a subluxation can have on the nerves. Certainly the pain produced by a “pinched” or irritated nerve is horrible. Anyone who has experienced sciatica can attest to that. Perhaps worse than that, however, are the insidious effects they can have on the nerves. This is because not all nerves are designed to carry pain. In fact, most nerves carry some type of information other than pain.
Everything in the body is controlled directly, or indirectly, by the nervous system. When you tell your arm to move, it moves because your brain sends a signal down the nerves telling thearm what to do. The brain is constantly sending and receiving information/messages/instructions through all of the nerves that travel down and out of the spinal canal. How does your arm move?...Nerves. How does your pancreas know how much insulin to secrete to keep your blood sugar where it needs to be?...Nerves. How does your heart rate increase with activity?...Nerves. How does your body temperature stay at 98.6 degrees?...Nerves. Why do you develop a fever when you are sick?...Nerves communicating with your immune system. Think of essentially anything going on in your body right now and it is being controlled directly or indirectly by your nerves or nervous system.
It’s a great design. Just imagine if you had to consciously think about every process in your body at all times; you couldn’t do it. Your nervous system does it for you on “auto-pilot”. That’s great! Factor in however, that most of the nerves that are taking care of these functions do not carry pain signals. That’s fine, until a subluxation occurs. Without a pain signal, how do you know something is wrong? As an anology, think of a garden. If the hose supplying water to the garden were somehow kinked or “pinched”, the hose would still deliver water to the garden, just not the usual amount. There is a good chance you wouldn’t notice right away. The garden would continue to grow, just not as well as it could grow. The garden may survive,but not thrive. It may take you a while to recognize that there is a problem and if you don’t recognize it soon enough, the damage will be done and the effects on the garden will become irreversible.
So it goes with subluxations. If the subluxation irritates a nerve involved in the function of your immune system, digestive system, circulatory system, etc., there is a good chance youwon’t know, because there often isn’t any pain signal. In fact, it is quite likely that this will not result in any immediate perceptible symptom at all. Your immune system will still function, just maybe not as well as it could. Your digestive system or circulatory system, etc. will still function, just maybe not as well as they could. Will you recognize this soon enough? I hope so.
One way to help detect these subluxations is to give us a call. We specialize in finding and adjusting subluxations…ones you can feel, and ones you can’t. The next time you “pull a muscle” or “pinch a nerve”, think about the last blog…these are signs of a subluxation. Then think about this blog…subluxations can have insidious effects. Just because the initial pain from the subluxation may go away, does that really mean everything is OK? Something else to ponder… it’s commonly accepted as a good idea to get your teeth checked twice a year for cavities, even if you don’t have any pain (toothache). Perhaps it’s a good idea to get your spine checked for subluxations, even if you don’t have any pain. Encourage those you care about to do the same.
- Dr Paul Aalderink
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