faqs, how chiropractic works, what is health, central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, subluxation

Health is not merely the absence of infirmity or disease, but the fullest expression of your body's ability to express its fullest potential. While there are many facets to good health, the role of the nervous system is a vital one.

The body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism. Body function is controlled and coordinated by the brain, the spinal cord and the nerves that branch throughout the body.

The 24 movable bones of the spine protect vulnerable communication pathways of the nervous system, including the spinal cord and the delicate nerve roots and spinal nerves exiting between the segments of the spine. A loss of normal motion or position of the spinal segments can irritate or impair nerve function, resulting in malfunction of the tissues and organs throughout the body. This altered spinal function and its effect on the nervous system is known as as the Vertebral Subluxation Complex.

Sensory information from your eyes, your ears, your skin, and your other senses enters your nervous system at an incredible rate, and must be analyzed to determine an appropriate response. About 99.9 per cent is discarded as "unimportant" at the moment. At the same time, the body's many organs and functions must be tirelessly monitored, directed and unified. This is all accomplished by the integration of the body's nervous system.

The Central Nervous System is composed of the brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord is a direct downward continuation of the brain stem, that starts at the upper border of the uppermost vertebra (called the atlas), and ends at the lower border of the upper lumbar vertebrae in the low back. The brain is protected by the skull, while the spinal cord is protected by the 24 movable bones of the spine, called vertebrae.

The Peripheral Nervous System connects the Central Nervous System with all the organs, tissues, and virtually every cell of the body. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves exit the spine and form a very complex network of nerves reaching out to every part of the body, relaying messages and signals from the tissues of the body back to the brain and vice versa. Chiropractic's unique clinical concern is the unobstructed transmission of these nerve signals as they travel back and forth from the brain to the tissues of the body.

The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), also known as the "involuntary" nervous system, controls the unconscious activities of the body. Examples of body functions under involuntary control are your heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, blood circulation, and digestion.

Spinal malfunction, or subluxation, adversely affects all parts of your nervous system. Chiropractic works with all three parts of your nervous system to bring about positive changes in your body. A nervous system that is free of interference - a spine with movement and energy - these are the ways chiropractic helps improve your health.