A healthy, well-aligned spine plays a vital role in supporting proper body function, nervous system communication, and overall wellness.
You often describe the spine as the body’s circuit breaker. Can you explain how the spine connects to the rest of the body’s systems?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: Sure. The spinal cord is truly the connector, and it connects the brain, which is the master computer, to the rest of the body. Basically, the spinal cord is like the body’s information superhighway or like our internet connection, right, where all the information is stored on a server somewhere is analogous to the brain.
When you really think about it, the spine is designed to protect the central nervous system and keep your posture upright, and it allows your body to move since it’s broken up into segments. Since it’s broken up in segments, sometimes the vertebrae can get misaligned and not go back to their proper position. When that happens, we’ve said a hundred times before, it’s called a vertebral subluxation. That misalignment will put pressure on the delicate spinal nerves that exit from in between the two adjacent vertebrae. That pressure on the nerves will alter the function, and ultimately the connection can be short-circuited, and it keeps the body from functioning properly because there is not proper communication.
Whenever there is a short circuit in a system there is no power that gets to the light bulb and the light bulb doesn’t open up. If we short-circuit the nerves that go to the digestive tract from the brain, well, that child might have a very difficult time digesting food properly. If we short-circuit the nerves that go to the liver, well, how do you think the liver might function? Would the brain be able to monitor all the functions the liver is supposed to do, and make sure the liver produces the right amount of enzymes to help them digest food and fats?
Basically, when I look at the spine, it’s broken up into segments, and when there’s enough stress on the segments, they pop out of place. Just like the circuit panel in my house, it flips over to the other side. It literally moves. For me to correct the circuit breaker, I literally push it back into position, which is exactly analogous to what a chiropractor does. When I find a vertebra that’s misaligned due to a massive amount of stress, it gets stuck in that position, and I make an adjustment. I put some pressure on that delicate vertebrae and open up and get the pressure off the spinal nerve that is shorted out, so it’s simple.
We just do our proper assessment, find out where the misalignment is, make the necessary corrective adjustment to get the bone back into proper alignment, and voila, the power comes right back on. That’s really how chiropractic works. Just like if there’s a problem with the circuit panel in my home, I’m not going to go look at every plug and every light bulb and every switch. I know the problem is coming where the pipeline is coming into the house. If I just find where the interference is, correct it, everything goes back to normal.
What are some signs or symptoms that someone’s spine isn’t functioning properly, even before they feel pain?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: Very often there will be effects on their overall health other than pain. I’ve said it a lot of times, that sensing pain and moving your muscles around is really only 10% of what your nerve system does, and the other 90% is there to control, run and regulate the body, and it plays a major role in healing. Someone who’s tired all the time, slow to heal, having difficulty sleeping, they’re not moving their bowels, those are all signs that someone’s not really functioning properly, right?
When we look at infants, we only expect them to do three things, eat, sleep and poop. If they’re not doing those three things, we know there’s something wrong with that child, whether they have pain or not. Other things that we see in children, they might have difficulty concentrating, low energy, they can become combative, irritable, and especially we’ll see this in young children where they start acting up for no apparent reason, right? They might not even have pain.
It’s interesting, but for years and years and years, people do cancer screenings, right? Every six months, they’ll encourage you to do a cancer screening. Really, if you look at the physiology textbooks, it says that it takes anywhere from seven to fifteen years for cancer to actually develop into a size where it becomes detectable by self-examination or some other diagnostic method.
Checking a child early and consistently will prevent the signs and symptoms, and eventually prevent pain and sickness and dysfunction as they get older. Obviously, if there’s enough pressure or irritation to a nerve, it can cause pain, but that’s not really the primary reason I became a chiropractor. I want to make sure that they’re functioning. If they’re in pain, we know that they’ve had problems for a longer period of time.
How do chiropractic adjustments help reset the “circuit” so that the nervous system can function properly again?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: Oh, well, I love the easy questions too. By simply making a corrective adjustment and breaking up the fixation that’s locking that spinal segment in an abnormal position, and when it’s in an abnormal position, it’s irritating the nerves and putting the pressure on those nerves, and once I make the adjustment and free up the nerve and the pressure’s off, it restores normal function and flow.
It’s just like if my little nephew is standing on a garden hose, and I’m trying to water the garden and there’s only a trickle of water coming out. Well, I cannot really get my garden watered in an efficient amount of time, right? If I just have someone just push him or adjust him off the hose and the channel opens up, the water flows like a flood instead of a trickle, and that’s what we want from the nerve system. The more information flowing freely, the healthier that child’s going to be, and the more efficient body we’re going to see. That’s how we reset the circuit. It’s just simply by removing the pressure or irritation off the nerve and establishing normal flow.
When the spine is healthy, what improvements do patients notice in their energy, movement, and overall quality of life?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: The simple answer is more. They’re going to experience more energy, more movement, and a better quality of life. Your spine is your lifeline. It connects your body to your brain. Your brain just controls everything that goes on in the body through an intricate nerve network. When the brain is giving its intelligent direction over the nerve system, the cells, tissues and organs react exactly as the brain wants it to, and it preserves life and preserves our health. It’s only when these nerve messages are distorted that we see a breakdown in communication from the brain to the body and a breakdown in health, because the brain is no longer in control of the body’s functions. The better the control mechanism, the better the function. It’s just that simple.
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To speak with Dr. Gregg Rubinstein, visit www.ChiropractorMidtown.com or call (212) 977-7094 to schedule an appointment.
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