Joint dysfunction is the primary condition that chiropractors treat except we use a different word for it; we call it vertebral subluxation. Chiropractic is usually focused on the joints of the spine, and a subluxation is when one or more of the bones actually gets misaligned with respect to the vertebrae or the bone above it and the bone below it.
The reason this is so significant is that your spine actually protects your central nervous system. The spinal cord runs all the way down through the hollow tube of the spine, and then coming out in between the vertebrae are the delicate spinal nerves. Unfortunately, stress, tension, poor posture, accidents, and falls can cause misalignments of the joints which we call subluxations (or what a medical doctor might call joint dysfunction). So, when the joints are not moving properly through their range of motion, they are misaligned and they are pinching or irritating the nerves, that is going to affect how your body works. Since the nerve system is the master system and it controls everything else that goes on in the body, any pressure or irritation on the nerve system will affect how the body functions.
That classic example I use is Christopher Reeves. Here is a guy who was healthy until he fell off a horse, broke his neck and created a massive amount of interference on his nerve system. Now, he never injured his legs but he couldn’t use them because the communication from the brain to his legs was shut down. He never hurt his lungs in that instance however the communication from his brain to his lungs was damaged and his lungs didn’t work properly and he had to be on a ventilator.
So, understanding the relationship between your nerve system and healthy function is imperative. When the joints misalign and pinch or irritate the nerves, of course it can cause pain or discomfort. But more importantly, it can interfere with the body’s ability to communicate with itself and affect how the body works. So joint dysfunction, if left alone, certainly can cause pain or discomfort, but these subluxations have a much more far-reaching effect on your overall health. That is why chiropractic is often referred to as holistic in its practice. That’s really what we like to share with our patients. We let them know that it isn’t just about their back pain and neck pain, it is truly about your nerve system function and the better your nerve system functions, the better you function. That is why chiropractic is important for people whether they have pain or not. Whether they are experiencing pain in the joints or not, it is important to get checked and any minor misalignments can be corrected before they become bigger problems.
Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein, D.C., is a midtown Manhattan chiropractor with over 20 years of experience providing customized chiropractic treatment services to a wide range of clients in the Midtown Manhattan/West New York City area. Dr. Gregg Rubinstein and 57th Street Chiropractic can be reached at (917) 534-6484 and is located at 119 West 57th St. in New York, NY.
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