What is a Subluxation?

Some of you may be wondering what this word SUBLUXATION means. Yeah it is not a word that you hear in everyday medicine because it is a term that is used in chiropractic only. There are many definitions of subluxation and how it functions in the body. Here is a general definition how B.J. defined it. "A condition of a vertebra that has lost its proper juxtaposition with the one above or the one below or both, to an extent less than a luxation, which occludes an opening, impinges nerves and interferes with the transmission of mental impulses from the brain." 

Some of you are thinking, "ah a pinched nerve." But there is a lot more to it than just a simple pinched nerve or a bone that is out of place.
There are many different opinions on what a subluxation is; some chiropractors even differ on what they see subluxation as, some don't even believe it exists. This lack of continuity is what has held us back from a more unified group of practitioners. There is often more debate on why one's practice method or definition of subluxation is wrong then there is on the similarities. For the purposes of this post I will stick with the definition above in the context of upper cervical.
The physiological aspects of a subluxation deal with a bone that has lost its proper position and nerve that is being interfered with, these are core principles to subluxation. This interference is often likened unto a garden hose. As the hose is obstructed, i.e. stepped on the flow diminishes. But subluxation is not just a diminished flow of nerve impulses; there could be too much flow or an abnormal pattern of flow. It all comes down to an abnormal flow of the nerve impulses to and or from the brain.

The nerves are part of a system, there are nerves that take signals from the environment and send the signals to the brain, like the incoming mail. Then there are responses that come from the brain to the environment. Now I want to clarify something here the environment that I speak of could be the skin, the digestive system, the heart or circulatory system, and all the other parts of the body that are controlled and regulated by the nervous system. When there are problems with the flow of the signal to and from the brain the results will have problems and this is the basis for the cause of disease. It all comes together now as you process what a subluxation is and how it works.

In upper cervical it is the top two bones in the neck that are most important. All nerves in the body are associated with this area whether it is direct or indirect, this is a crucial area. They either pass through these two bones, which is every nerve minus the twelve that are called cranial nerves, or they are associated with it by connections or synapses in the area. Minor stress on the tissue can cause a malfunction and again this abnormal flow is what can cause disease.

Subluxation is not the beginning of disease it is again a result of an outside force acting on the body. I am going to talk briefly on what are the possible causes of subluxation. Some are subjective but none the less relevant. The obvious cause is a traumatic force. Slips, a blow to the body, car accident, child birth, and anything that can transfer energy into the body via motion are all things that can cause a subluxation. Now there are the more hidden causes; sleeping on your stomach or sleeping poorly, bad posture, lack of exercise, diet, stress, and many more unknown contributors. These are the root causes of subluxation that in turn can cause disease in the body.

This information is a brief overview of the term subluxation and how it can cause disease in a person. There are many causes of a subluxation and many problems associated with them, but Ihope you have a better understanding of what subluxation is and is it possible that you may have one that you have been living with for years and not known that it could be the cause of you XYZ problem.
For those of you that are visual learners here is a brief clip on what subluxation is.
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Sick of Dealing with Depression?

Antidepressant drug usage is on the rise. One out of 10 women in America are now taking prescription drugs to combat depression.

Millions of stressed out Americans swallow pills daily in hopes that they will work some kind of magic and make their life a little easier, a little less stressed. They think that maybe this pill, that white powder, or these capsules will make them feel better once they dissolve in their stomach, enter the blood stream, travel| to the brain that it will do something, do anything to relieve their present state of dis-ease.

Can anyone miss the heavy advertising on television of the various antidepressants? As you watch these commercials, note the careful language they use in suggesting that depression "may" be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Then they go on to tell you how the medication "can correct” this biochemical imbalance. Antidepressant pharmaceuticals is a multi-billion dollar industry, and what many Americans don’t know is that there has never been definitive research that proves that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. The problem with the theory that depression is a  consequence of a "chemical imbalance in the brain" is that depression can be both triggered by and resolved by life events. In fact, the relationship between brain chemistry and life experience is a two-directional phenomenon: Life experience affects brain chemistry at least as much as brain chemistry affects life experience.

A true diagnosis of major depression involves some combination of most of the following: inability to feel pleasure of any kind, loss of interest in everything, self—hatred or guilt. inability to concentrate or to do the simplest things, sleeping all the time or not being able to sleep at all, dramatic weight gain or loss, and suicidal thoughts or actions. Truly depressed people do not smile or laugh; they may not talk; they are not fun to be with, they do not wish to be visited. They may not eat and sometimes have to be fed with feeding tubes to keep them alive, and they exude a palpable sense of pain. Depression is a thing unto itself, an undeniably physical and medical affliction.

A Growing Trend

More than 17 million children worldwide have been prescribed psychiatric drugs; more than 10 million of these are in the United States. These drugs include addictive stimulants, antidepressants and other  psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs for educational and behavioral problems.

In 2003, the FDA approved Prozac® for treating depression in people 18 years and younger. However, reports of young people committing or attempting suicide while using the drug became too numerous to ignore. The following year, the FDA reviewed 24 studies and concluded that the drugs in question doubled the risk for suicidal behavior. 

By 2004, the FDA ordered that the most serious alerts, called ”black—box warnings,“ be added to all antidepressant drug labels. This warning clearly states that antidepressants raise the risk of suicidal thoughts and hostile behavior in children and adolescents, in spite of the evidence and clear warnings, preschoolers are now the fastest growing age group taking antidepressants.

Health or Money?

David Healy, in Let Them Eat Prozac {NYE} Press, 2004], calls it “a creation of depression on so extraordinary and unwarranted a scale as to raise questions about whether pharmaceutical and other health care companies are more wedded to making profits from health than contributing to it"

Dr. Irving Kirsh, a University of Connecticut psychology professor had to use the Freedom of information Act to extract startling information from the Food and Drug Administration. in over 50% of the trials used by the FDA to approve the six leading antidepressants, the drugs failed to outperform the placebo sugar pill.

Upper Cervical Care

While science has not determined the exact cause of depression, research has pointed towards a likely involvement of the brain stem and upper cervical spine in many mood disorders. in fact, the brain stem (whose lower portion is located in the uppermost part of the spine) is involved in the regulation and control of brain chemistry as well many other vital functions.

Even a mild concussion to the head, neck or upper back can increase the risk of depression. Studies show that depression is a common diagnosis in patients with whiplash, an injury that can directly affect the upper neck and lower brain stem. Following the trauma, mood disorders can be triggered immediately, or they can take months or even years to develop. Exciting new studies show “significant improvement“ in depression test scores after specific upper cervical corrections. This noninvasive and safe alternative should be the beginning point for all who believe that they are suffering from depression.

The goal of upper cervical care is not to treat the disease, but to correct head and neck alignment and restore “brain to body communication” thereby allowing the body to heal on its own without the use of potentially dangerous drugs or surgery.