"We gained a good understanding of the hardware of the immune system... but we know almost nothing yet about the software that runs the system. [It] may be communication... There seems to be a talking back and forth between the brain and the immune system."

            National Geographic, June 1986

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

We have come a long way from Leonardo da Vinci's initial observations into the workings of the frog but some things never change. The nervous system plays a crucial role in our well-being.

Let's take a moment to look at the anatomy of our spines and nervous systems. The neural tube is the first thing to develop in the human fetus. The neural tube then develops into the brain and spinal cord and shortly thereafter, small nerve roots grow off the spinal cord and buds form on the ends of the nerves. These buds rapidly differentiate into your heart, lungs, stomach, colon, etc. and a clear connection is established between the brain and each cell in your body.

Your brain and spinal cord are known as the central nervous system (CNS) and they control and coordinate all of the functions throughout our entire body.

The skull forms around the brain to protect it from injury and spinal bones, known as vertebrae, develop around the spinal cord, protecting it as well.

In an adult, 24 vertebrae make up the spine and these vertebrae have discs that act as shock absorbers and are located between the vertebrae. Joints connect the vertebrae and allow us freedom of movement. Nerves connected to the spinal cord, exit the spine between the vertebrae and attach to each cell of the body, establishing a constant communication between the brain, organ and body part.

When your spine becomes injured or when the vertebrae either misalign or become restricted in their movement, pressure can develop on the nerves which causes the nerves to malfunction.

C.H. Suh, a biomechanics professor at the University of Boulder Colorado, has spent more than 30 years researching spinal subluxations. He stated that when pressure as light as a feather is applied to a nerve, the function of the nerve decreases 60% within 3 minutes. When nerve function decreases, there is a loss of very important communication between the brain and the tissue cells and your health begins to deteriorate. This can cause changes in sensation, loss of muscle strength, muscle spasms and malfunction of internal organs.

The loss of communication between the brain and a body part can occur quite suddenly. This was the case of Christopher Reeves (Superman), when he fell from a horse onto his head and neck and became a quadriplegic. It can also occur slowly and silently, causing a gradual progressive deterioration in your health.

In order to deal with problems caused by subluxations, individuals and insurance companies spend billions of dollar annually for medication and surgery, which in most cases can't cure the problem. They just attempt to control the symptoms but your health continues to deteriorate.

So how is chiropractic going to help? Doctors of Chiropractic are trained to determine if you have vertebral subluxations. We use a variety of diagnostic tools to locate the subluxation(s) and when found, we adjust the subluxated vertebra(e) which some refer to as spinal manipulation. This begins to restore the normal function and/or alignment of the vertebra(e) which, in turn, eliminates the nerve pressure that was caused by subluxation. This allows the body to become healthy again.

As you can see, a healthy nervous system is crucial to your well-being. Don't neglect yourself. Your spine needs to be checked for spinal subluxations regularly. Being pain free doesn't mean you are free from vertebral subluxation, just as not having chest pain means you are free from heart disease. If too much time occurs between check-ups for subluxation, your spine can degenerate and your spine and health problems will become more difficult to correct causing more extensive treatment and healing times.

Healthy Nerve

Healthy Nerve

Pinched Nerve showing Subluxation

The Frog instantly dies when the spinal cord is pierced and previous to this it lived without head, without heart or any bowels or intestines or skin; and here therefore it would seem lies the foundation of movement and life.

                                      Leonardo da Vinci  (1452-1519)

Harvey Lillard

The First Chiropractic Patient