So….what causes a subluxation anyway?

This is often the question we get when we go over the findings of a new practice member’s exam.  When people start to understand what is actually causing their pains and other dysfunction, they want to know what they need to do to fix it and get healthy again.  

Subluxation is an interruption or interference in the nervous system that leads to decreased function.  In response, the spine—which houses and protects the central nervous system—shifts and re-aligns (“subluxates”) in an attempt to remove the interference and restore function.  The chiropractor is there to release the unnecessary pressure and tension, helping the nervous system restore balance and optimal function.

Now, we often hear chiropractors talk about “The 3 T’s” as the cause of subluxation.  Traumas, Toxins, and Thoughts.  These three things play a role in interrupting proper nervous system function.  I have said this many times in my practice, and it would seem to make sense.  If you fall down or get into a car wreck, something in your body probably isn’t going to work right.  And science has shown time and again that our thoughts play a critical role in our overall health, down to the cellular level.

But here’s the thing….

THE 3T’S DO NOT CAUSE SUBLUXATION!  

What?!?  How can that be, you might ask?  Chiropractors for ages have been saying this…and it’s wrong?!?

Not quite…let me explain…

ADIO

Ask almost every chiropractor if germs cause disease and they will answer with a resounding “NO!”.  Chiropractic was founded on the philosophy that health comes from Above-Down, Inside-Out.  The short way of saying this is “ADIO.”  Nerve signals come from the brain (above), through the spinal cord (down), from inside the body (inside) to all the various parts of the body (out).  This is how you do all the things you do in a day and never have to think about!  This process is mediated by Innate Intelligence, which operates optimally without any interference over or through the nervous system.  The end result of this is HEALTH and your fullest expression of LIFE!

Contrast that to the medical model where the body is seen as weak and in need of outside intervention to make the body healthy.  Often, health is defined as the absence of symptoms instead of optimal functioning.  Dr. B.J. Palmer, the developer of the chiropractic profession, would call this approach Outside-In, and Below-Up.  This refers to interventions coming from outside the body (pills, injections, procedures) to silence the symptoms.  We are familiar with this model and have grown to believe this model will improve our lives.  In reality, it is a futile attempt to regulate Innate and bring about true health and expression of life.

But what does that have to do with the three T’s??

I have often heard other chiropractors say—and I have often said myself—that the 3 T’s cause subluxation.  On the surface, it makes sense.  It fits within the model of thinking that we are most familiar with –the OUTSIDE-IN, BELOW-UP way of looking at health.  

However, this way of thinking doesn’t fit with what health actually is—ABOVE DOWN INSIDE OUT.  The 3 T’s are POTENTIAL causes of subluxation.  Any trauma, toxin, or negative thinking that we face has the POTENTIAL to cause subluxation.  If they are present, there is no guarantee the body will subluxate.  Subluxation will only occur if Innate Intelligence cannot adapt to these forces.

Most of the time, your Innate Intelligence recognizes these forces and sets forth a plan to adapt and restore normal function as soon as possible.  If there is no interference in the nervous system or no limitations of matter in terms of structure or permanent disability, your body will deal with these outside forces and use them for constructive purposes (i.e., return to optimal health).  It is only when your body cannot adapt to them is when vertebral subluxation will result.

Okay, so if it’s not the 3 T’s, then what causes subluxation?  How do I achieve the health I really want?

THE KEY IS ADAPTATION. 

Your body adapts to the best of its ability when Innate communicates through the nervous system without interference.  If subluxation is present, your body cannot adapt.  When your body cannot adapt, it subluxates.  Dis-ease and dysfunction set in.  That’s when you get aches, pains, and all other health issues.  

When I see my practice members in my office, I check them for subluxation at every visit.  If it is present at that time, I remove it.  With each chiropractic adjustment, they become more adaptable to the forces of their everyday life.  Moment by moment, day by day, they experience better health and their best quality of life.

Isn’t that what we are all looking for?