The Subluxation Complex Part I

The chiropractic profession lives a stormy life. It's claims are proud and strong - that by adjusting the spine health can be restored to the body. Despite being around for over 100 years, chiropractic is still very misunderstood by the majority of people the world over. This blog is dedicated to teaching the world about Health, and thus about the role chiropractic plays in establishing and maintaining healthy vitality throughout our years. It is this author's conviction that only through patient education can chiropractic grow towards its rightful place as a foundational therapeutic aspect of all our lives. This piece is dedicated to the teaching effort.

Chiropractic exists as profession both at the cutting edge of holistic treatment and at the center of controversy. There are those who say it is just a bunch of quackery. However, the fact that chiropractic endures today, without mainstream sponsorship and subsidization is a testament to the effectiveness and importance of adjustive therapy. The free market has carried chiropractic along from its inception to where we are today. The free market is the ultimate test of any product or service. It represents the combined decisions of millions of people over a long time period. We are here today because chiropractic works. Now it is question of communication and education of why it works, and why it is necessary for long term health.

Chiropractors treat the subluxation. It is a complex phenomenon, and one that unfortunately does not yield to simple definition. It is better to consider the subluxation an energetic phenomenon with distinct physical manifestations. Those familiar with this idea will use terms like "sticky" joint, dysfunctional motion segment, restricted motion, tissue abnormalities, etc. to describe their physical palpation findings. We are speaking strictly of joints, for those who are not familiar with this idea. More specifically, the subluxation is when spinal vertebra (or other joints like the elbow or ankle) become dysfunctional and cause system wide adaptation patterns as the body is forced to make changes to survive.

At this point it is important to emphasize several critical concepts that will be necessary for understanding health and chiropractic.

1) The Body Never Makes Mistakes

It is a fact that every action taken by the body is to survive by maintaining homeostasis. Loss of homeostasis means loss of life - its that simple. Every cough, sore throat, allergy, and yes even cancer is an adaptation forced upon the body by some kind of stress (see below). It is hard to believe that the person dying from cancer still has a body making correct decisions, but it is true. When we sneeze, or get a cold, or get a disease, the body is attempting to deal with something that is threatening its survival. The common cold is natures way of getting rid of trash accumulated inside our bodies.

Have you ever realized that a cough, runny nose, and fever all act to remove or destroy microbes inside us? The body raises its temperature to destroy pathogens, then the cough and runny nose, or diarrhea, serve to excrete the toxins effectively. But what are we told by medicine? That these symptoms should be suppressed! How insane is it to think that by stopping the body's natural process of getting ride of trash that somehow we are healthier for it? Remember this always - the body doesn't make mistakes. Those who understand health will support the body's innate intelligence, which is far superior to any doctor, and allow the body to cleanse itself naturally. We can support this excretion/detoxification naturally by stimulating and supporting organs like the kidney, liver, and lymph tissues with chiropactic adjustments and targeted nutritional support.

2) Treating Symptoms Will Never Cure nor Prevent a Single Disease

What passes for healthcare in America is really no different than a teenager who cleans his room by throwing all his junk inside his closet. His room looks clean from the outside, it even feels clean, but just under the surface all the trash is piling up. But hey out of sight, out of mind! The pharmaceutical industry makes ridiculous profits selling us proprietary products (read unnatural) designed to suppress symptoms. The fatal flaw, the source of rampant disease in America, is the widespread use of this symptom-suppression model.

The real price we pay for suppression of symptoms, while never addressing the underlying cause of disease, is that our bodies accumulate toxins and begin to toxify, inflame, and breakdown. Continued suppression of symptoms, which are the body's perfectly intelligent responses to rid itself of disease-causing agents, forces the toxins to go deeper into our bodies. If the body cannot excrete/detoxify itself it is forced to fight the toxins locally. This is inflammation. Inflammation is like wagging a war. Unfortunately for us, like all wars there is collateral damage. And as the body slowly builds up with toxic matter, the body is forced to deal with it by fighting in its own backyard. Think about what war does to picturesque towns when bombs are dropped from above and tanks role through the streets. The same thing happens to our own tissues at a microscopic level. Over time this leads to diseases that are far more serious than just a common cold.

Most every culture on earth utilizes some form of detoxification to aid the body's natural mechanisms. Whether we are dealing with sweats, saunas, mineral waters, clays, etc. each is designed to draw out toxins which helps to lessen the energetic burden on the body. American culture today is arguably the most toxic in human history. Simultaneously we are living without widespread detoxification methods being practiced. This is a major contributor to our epidemic rates disease.

3) Stress is the Ultimate Cause of Disease

While this may seem oversimplified, it is in fact an excellent model for conceptualizing what is going on in the body to produce disease. It is hard to believe that the body doesn't make mistakes, yet we are are collectively a very sick society! Something must explain this discrepancy and stress is the concept that is able to connect the dots into a cohesive whole of wellness understanding.

D.D. Palmer, the founding father of chiropractic, understood that disease was a result of three main ideas: trauma, poisons and auto-suggestion. We can refer to these as physical, chemical (toxic), and emotional stress. This is a common concept in applied kinesiology where patients are treated in regards to the triad of health - structural, chemical, and emotional stress. D.D. Palmer recognized that disease has more than one origin, but the effect is still stress on the system. This stress creates dis-ease in our body by using up and consuming the fuel, or energy, necessary for maintaining homeostasis.

Consider that while energy in the universe is infinite, each one of us has a bucket and that bucket represents our energy account. Our body has a finite amount of energy and must live within its means and budget accordingly (which it does superbly). When we are on a stress-free vacation, enjoying life, feeling great our bucket is leak-free and full. This abundance of energy is perfectly spent by the body on maintaining a "tight ship" and keeping all systems robust, clean, and maintained. We experience low stress and the body spends its energy currency on growth and repair - and we feel great!

Yet for most of us, the majority of our lives are more stressful than we would like. It is the nature of our world today and must be dealt with proactively. That bucket that was full while we were on our care-free vacation now has a leak. Actually it has several leaks. Instead of putting its energy income into savings, for future enjoyment i.e. Health, the body is forced to adapt to the stress by spending energy fixing holes in the bucket. The more stress, the more holes, the more energy spent. This is all fine and dandy as long as the energy coming in is greater than the energy going out. People will have colds, maybe the flu, allergies, and mild symptoms of all kinds in this phase of dis-ease. The body can manage the stress, but at the expense of the immune system working top notch. Unfortunately for us, the immune system is the first thing to weaken when we start to experience stress. It is difficult to guard against outside invaders when there is chaos inside the castle walls.

A critical point is reached when the body is forced to dip into its energy savings to take care of all the energy requirements of dealing with stress. Remember stress is structural, chemical, and emotional so the body is working on many fronts simultaneously. Before this critical point, income was greater than expenses. And just like any business enterprise, when the body must dip into savings to continue to operate, it is operating at a loss. This is an unsustainable course.

As the body dips into energy-savings, it is forced to breakdown less-critical tissue in order to maintain homeostasis. As stress increases, holes in the bucket multiply, and the body must begin to use energy, vitamins and minerals stored in the body to keep up with demands. As the expenses for dealing with stress grow uncontrollably, the body breaks down its own tissue in order to stay alive. The body is still acting correctly, it is just in such a difficult environment it has no choice but to shift into catabolism or tissue breakdown. If calcium is needed to fix the holes in the bucket then osteoporosis results as calcium is taken from bone, where it is stored long term. If cholesterol is needed to reduce oxidation, then hormones are reduced because cell repair is more important than a good sex drive. Continual stress on the body will cause disease as there is no other choice but for the body to start to break itself down to stay alive.

To Be Continued...

Why Chiropractic?

This is a fundamental question. And I am not the first person to have asked. There are many chiropractors who have blazed this trail before. But from the perspective of a student, following the signs where ever they lead, it seems like an important exercise to get some fundamental concepts straight. It is an incomplete list, but nonetheless it conveys the essence of what it is we are all about.

Why Chiropractic?

Because......

1) the nervous system controls the body.
2) nerves must be balanced/healthy to correctly carry out important functions
3) the body heals itself, when properly maintained and corrected
4) the skull and spine are the most complex and critical bony structures in the body
5) our brain also lives inside our spine, irregularities and subluxations interfere with nervous system function
6) chiropractic care is preventative care, designed to keep the body "tuned" much like an automobile
7) investing money today in prevention will save large amounts down the road ("an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - Benjamin Franklin)
8) health isn't free, but it is a lot cheaper than disease

In the end chiropractic is all about LIFE, quality and quantity of LIFE. We study LIFE to learn how to better live it. We study HEALTH to learn how to better create it. We study LOVE to learn how to better give it. We study WEALTH to learn how to better grow it. All of this is self-evident, logical, rational, based on science (asking questions and observing), and firmly grounded in reality. It is what being HOLISTIC is all about.

Chiropractic is all about focusing on what you want more of - LIFE and HEALTH - while avoiding things you want less off - DEATH and DISEASE. Yet despite the self-evident truths above, many in the establishment have yet to embrace the truth that focusing on something will inevitably bring about more of that same thing.

We still invest massive sums of research dollars into studying disease, thinking erroneously that such efforts will yield magical results that can alleviate the chronic diseases that are literally plaguing our society. Would it make sense to study poor, gambling-addicted citizens who have wasted all their resources if we are trying to learn about saving and growing our wealth? What good will it do us to understand mechanistically how all kinds of diseases happen while ignoring how to create health and vitality? We do not want more disease. Yet by focusing on disease and ignoring health, we are getting tons and tons of disease in return.

The Universe works on the principal of electro-magnetism, aka the law of attraction. Basically it should be obvious to everyone that the more we focus on something, the more we will get of that thing. For example, if we go around feeling like we "want" things, the signal we are sending out is that "we don't have enough". Sure enough, the universe oblidges us and will give us situations were we don't have enough. It may not be true in the fullest sense of the word, but our perception of the world will have imprinted the "wanting" feeling which inevitably leads us to live a life of "not enough, not ever enough". You can imagine people who live this way. If they don't have enough, don't expect them to share!

If we expect to get out of our current crisis then my money is on the holistic, vitalistic, quantum energy based healing sciences. Medicine has to shrink....way down. It must be reserved for emergencies, where it is most effective. For most of us we won't need it. Instead we will pay for a service from a chiropractor or other holistic healer who will teach us how to be healthy, grow healthy, and stay healthy.

Creating Wealth: a magical adventure

I thought this was worth sharing. We should all remember that we are in control of our experience. Consciousness has a way of giving back to us what we ourselves give away. Give away fear, and fear comes back to us. Give away Love and Abundance, and ...... well you get the idea :) read! and enjoy.

Love and Gratitude,

Andrew

PS - Don' forget, HEALTH is our greatest wealth...

original article here

"To begin, I would like to introduce a book to you, titled Creating Affluence by Deepak Chopra. I found it, informative, inspirational, spiritual and concise. It came into my experience at an excellent time. I hope you’ll give it a read because I think we can all benefit from this kind of thinking.

Richard Carlson author of “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”, penned the forward and I’d like to share a small portion of that with you. Mr. Carlson states: “Wealth consciousness is so much more than simply having the ability to make money. It's a mindset that involves seeing life, not as a struggle, but as a magical adventure where our needs are met with grace and ease. Wealth consciousness is a state of mind, a sense, not of believing, but of really knowing that what we need is available to us”.

There is one lesson which is very difficult for many of us to integrate into our lives although we do comprehend its meaning on an intellectual level. John Lennon expressed this lesson beautifully when he sang "the love you give is equal to the love you get". If you want to acquire knowledge, love, and wealth, it is necessary to learn how to give the same.

I realize how difficult that can be when you're trying to pay the bills and everyone from Uncle Sam to Aunt Suzie is after you for one thing or another. But giving does not have to be about dollars and sense. There are many ways we can give: every day, all day.

Americans and western civilization in general have been programmed to always be doing something. Movement is equated with success and not moving is equated with laziness. Perhaps we need to stop, listen, and be quiet. “Doing nothing” for 20-30 minutes a day can be as difficult as finding that 30 minutes a day to exercise. But it is important stuff. The crazier this financial/geopolitical mess becomes, the more we will need to find a way to earn money in order to survive. We will need to be creative and often times that creativity emanates from that whisper in our minds that comes when we are quiet.

One final idea from the book and I'm going to paraphrase this concept so as not to get lost in detail. And please think of these “goddesses” as metaphorical entities or whatever best coincides with your belief structures.

A student asks the spiritual master what is the secret to creating affluence?

“The Master answers that there are two goddesses that reside in the heart of every human being and everyone is deeply in love with these entities. However, there is a certain secret that you need to know and I will tell you what it is. Although you love both goddesses, you must pay more attention to one of them. She is the goddess of knowledge. Pursue her, love her, and give her your attention. The other goddess is the goddess of wealth. When you pay more attention to the Goddess of knowledge the other Goddess will become extremely jealous and pay more attention to you.

In other words the more you seek the goddess of knowledge, the more the goddess of wealth will seek you. She will follow you wherever you go and never leave you and the wealth you desire will be yours forever.

There is power in knowledge, desire, and spirit and this power that lies within you, within all of us is the key to creating affluence. Are you still with me!?"

What Is Health?

This simple yet elusive question is one I often return to in order to re-center myself in this effort. Is health a measure of the “absence” of something? Or is it better understood as the presence of something? In terms of absence, we refer to symptoms as a guide. We reduce the human organism to a series of histological, microscopic, and physical findings as to whether dis-ease is present. Orthodox medicine doesn't know what health is, only what the presence/absence of symptoms can tell them. This reductionist approach has resulted in a medical culture seeking methods to remove symptoms, and in their eyes, restore health. But what if there is more to the picture? What if removing symptoms results not in health, but merely the removal of outward signs of disease and dysfunction?

It must be said that symptoms, as commonly recognized by orthodox medicine, often occur near the end of the disease process, preceding many phases of dis-ease and dysfunction. It should be clear then that the removal of symptoms through pharmaceutical drugs or surgery (remove a wounded part of the anatomy and the symptom disappears...) is not what can be described as “health”. Rather, being symptom-free is just the beginning of the journey towards health.

Now if we consider health as the presence of something, a new paradigm of understanding is available for us to utilize. Instead of poking, prodding, and turn-your-head-and-coughing to find symptoms, health professionals with a vitalism approach will have a very different perspective. Looking at health through the lens of holism, determining health would involve gaining an appreciation for a person's physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. A passion for life, loving nature, kindness, generosity might be looked for in the healthy person. Instead of stating what is missing, doctors might diagnose and treat based off a person's energy level, range of motion, cranial symmetry, breathing, and/or spinal structure.

The crux of the matter is that orthodox medicine thinks in terms of what is NOT present. Following that line of reasoning we can view the allopaths as “taking away” symptoms or tissues (often times they take our immune strength and well-being instead). D.C.'s and other holistic healers view the patient in terms of what IS present. They look at the whole person, looking for avenues of giving, seeking ways to give more to the person so that after treatment the person is more “whole”. The underlying reality to this additive, whole-person model is the understanding that within each of us are better, more healthy versions of ourselves. More specifically, the goal of treatment for the chiropractor is to give to the patient in such a way that the patient's own body can more fully express health. This giving often comes in the form of adjustments, using bare hands or simple tools, which help alleviate disturbances in the body's nervous system – the body's master control unit. Chiropractors can also utilize advances in our understanding of nutrition and detoxification, which can help cleanse and nourish patients bodies, giving support to the fuller expression of health.

Health can then be better understood as not only the absence of symptoms but a more complete, full expression of the innate intelligence of the human body. To many this will be easy to understand, as the same forces which create health in our body create balance and plenty in the world around us. To many this concept is too large and too powerful to fit into their narrowed world-view. Health is a journey as we living beings are in constant motion. Health is not some tangible “thing” but a direction toward a better future for humanity. Relieving pain and symptoms is part of this healing process, only it is just the beginning. The destination is not the absence of symptoms but the presence of the innate intelligence of the universe through the human body. This is the foundation of chiropractic.