Chiropractors

Typically most people think the adjustment moves the bone from an abnormal position back into place. This is not precisely what happens. A vertebra is not fixed; it is a bone-joint complex that has a normal range of motion. With a subluxation, the bone can't move properly. Either it's locked outside its normal range, or it has been patterned into an abnormal way of moving. The adjustment is designed to unlock the joint from its locked position or abnormal way of moving. It does this by gently pushing the joint beyond the lock, to the limit of its passive range of motion. At times when the joint is pushed beyond the lock you'll hear a slight popping sound, as if you were cracking your knuckles. This is nothing to worry about; it simply indicates a release within the joint. The sound is often followed by a sensation of relaxation. If you've ever done stretching exercises, either yoga or part of a warm-up routine, you know how it feels to stretch a muscle to its farthest point and then go a little bit farther. That's similar to what the adjustment does. It helps the joint remember its normal range of motion.

To see what we mean, try this experiment. Take one of your hands and point your index finger straight up at the ceiling. Now, try to arch your finger back as far as you can. It probably doesn't go fara couple of degrees. This is called the active range of motion. Now, use your other hand to push gently back on that finger. How much more can you arch it back? You can probably take it another 20 to 30 degrees without any pain. This extra movement is referred to as the passive range of motion. In virtually all joints the passive range of motion is greater than the active range. If you push into the passive range of motion, it doesn't hurt anything, because it's within the realm in which the joint is designed to function.

When somebody has a subluxation or a fixated joint, it's typically fixated in less than its active range of motion. In other words, you can't even move it as far as you normally would by using your own muscles. Limiting movement in this way is one of the body's means of protecting itself from pain. However, a limited range of motion causes the formation of disorganized scar tissue and results in ongoing abnormal motion in the affected area. To heal the cause rather than the symptom, you need to restore normal range of motion to the joint. The chiropractic adjustment takes that joint and moves it back into its active range of motion and then to the full extent of its passive range of motion.

Here's the good news: If the normal range of motion is restored quickly following an injury, it will affect the way new tissue forms in the injured area. Instead of a chaotic mass of scar tissue, the new cells are laid down in lines associated with the stress of normal motion. Reintroducing motion helps the joint heal better and stretches the new cells as they are forming. The new tissue forms in a way that accommodates proper functioning of the joint.

The other symptom commonly associated with a fixated joint is muscle spasm. When a joint becomes locked, the muscles around it lock up, too, holding the joint even more firmly in place. The thrust and motion of the chiropractic adjustment interrupts the muscle spasm, breaking the feedback loop and allowing the muscle to relax. Once the loop is broken, the muscle can then return to its normal state, allowing the joint to move more freely.

Finally, and most important, the adjustment also helps to flush out the inflammatory soup and restore normal communication between nerves and the spinal cord. It's almost like pushing the reset button on your neural computer, because it normalizes the neurological function in the area. As the spine and the nervous system heal, Innate Intelligence once again flows clearly, quickly, and cleanly throughout the body, as it was meant to. The body naturally begins to let go of stored pain and disease. And you can start to experience the level of health and vitality you were always supposed to have.