What Is a Subluxation?

Subluxation is a term used in the chiropractic profession to describe what happens when one of the vertebrae in your spine moves out of position and puts pressure on, or irritates nerves. Pressure on the nervous system reduces a person's ability to function properly and adapt to the environment. Subluxation may ultimately lead to various symptoms or disease if left uncorrected.

Some components of subluxation are:

1. Abnormal motion and position of spinal bones and joints – some areas of the spine can become stuck or ‘fixed’ while others may become more ‘mobile’. Postural indications like head tilt and unlevel shoulders can display the spine in an out of alignment position.
2. Nerve interference – caused by joint dysfunction, inflammation or toxicity. This is probably the worst component and can affect all parts of the body.
3. Muscle imbalance – muscle guarding may occur as the body’s response to protect the spine and nerves. Muscles can spasm or become weak due to improper nerve flow.
4. Soft tissue damage – there can be damage to ligaments, discs, and other supportive tissues around the spine as a result of subluxation.
5. Bone changes – these occur in the later stages of subluxation. The bones try to stabilize a malfunctioning joint and may form bone spurs, bridge joint spaces, and ultimately fuse spinal joints.

Causes

Causes of subluxation can be classified by the 3 T’s – thoughts, traumas and toxins. Thoughts include negativity or stress. Have your trapezius and shoulder muscles ever gotten tight after a long day of work? What are those muscles attached to? Obvious traumas like bumps, falls and daily repetitive bad postures can cause the spine to go back out of alignment. Toxic stresses are usually environmental like the food we eat and the air we breathe.

Correction

Chiropractors are the only health professionals trained in the detection, location, and correction of the subluxation. We as NUCCA chiropractors detect and correct the atlas subluxation because of its devastation to the brain stem and the rest of the entire spine. It is corrected by using a gentle adjustment to the side of the neck that doesn’t involve any twisting, popping, or cracking of the spine.