What is a Subluxation and what does it do to me?
The simple explanation.
The detailed explanation.

What is a Subluxation and what does it do to me? 

A misalignment of one or more of your spinal bones (vertebrae), which causes interference to your nervous system. If your nervous system is interfered with, your body's natural ability to heal itself and function at it's optimum potential becomes impaired. A subluxation is a perfect example of how structure effects function.

Instead of treating your symptoms, chiropractors treat and reduce VERTEBRAL SUBLUXATION COMPLEXES (aka SUBLUXATION).
The subluxation can be the CAUSE of your symptom. Therefore, chiropractors are more concerned with treating the CAUSE versus the symptom.

Let’s look at the definition of Vertebral Subluxation Complex first.

VERTEBRAL = Concerning the vertebral bones of the spine.
SUB = Less than
LUXATION = A synonym for dislocation of a joint.
COMPLEX = More than one part

Therefore, a SUBLUXATION is a grade below a dislocation of a vertebrae in the spine that has more than one component. So, why is that such a big deal? After all, the vertebrae is not dislocated. It is just slightly misaligned.

There are 5 components to a subluxation. One of those five components is the major focus of chiropractic, we will discuss that one now and all of them farther down the page.

NERVE INTERFERENCE (AKA Neuropathophysiology): We all know that your brain is the computer of your body and that it controls and regulates every single cell in your entire body. We also know that the brain communicates to the body through electrical like signals via the nervous system. When you have a SUBLUXATION you have a nerve interference at the NERVE ROOT (the main off ramps or exits from the spinal cord to the body and the on ramps from the body into the spinal cord and back to the brain). So, what does that mean? Have you ever been on a cell phone with a bad connection? If so, then you understand what your body is going through. With a SUBLUXATION 40% of that signal is lost, never heard. Therefore, four out of the ten words your brain told your body or vice versa is lost. Now you are running at 60% of normal communication. Not too efficient is it?

So, the job of a chiropractor is to find that SUBLUXATION, remove it without drugs or surgery and restore the normal communications between your brain and your body. Therefore, your body can heal and regulate itself.

First, the simple explanation.

In simplest terms, a subluxation (a.k.a. Vertebral Subluxation) is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves. Spinal nerves are the nerves that come out from between each of the bones in your spine. This pressure or irritation on the nerves then causes those nerves to malfunction and interfere with the signals traveling over those nerves.

How does this affect you?  Your nervous system controls and coordinates all the functions of your body. If you interfere with the signals traveling over nerves, parts of your body will not get the proper nerve messages and will not be able to function at 100% of their innate abilities. In other words, some part of your body will not be working properly.

It is the responsibility of the Doctor of Chiropractic to locate subluxations, and reduce or correct them. This is done through a series of chiropractic adjustments specifically designed to correct the vertebral subluxations in your spine. Chiropractors are the only professionals who undergo years of training to be the experts at correcting subluxations.

Now, the detailed explanation.

Subluxations are really a combination of changes going on at the same time. These changes occur both in your spine and throughout your body. For this reason chiropractors often refer to vertebral subluxations as the "Vertebral Subluxation Complex", or "VSC" for short.

In the VSC, various things are happening inside your body simultaneously. These various changes, known as "components," are all part of the vertebral subluxation complex. Chiropractors commonly recognize five categories of components present in the VSC. These five are:

The osseous (bone) component is where the vertebrae are either out of position, not moving properly, or are undergoing physical changes such as degeneration. This component is sometimes known as kinesiopathology.

The Nerve Component is the malfunctioning of the nerve. Research has shown that only a small amount of pressure on spinal nerves can have a profound impact on the function of the nerves. This component is scientifically known as neuropathology.

The Muscle Component is also involved. Since the muscles help hold the vertebrae in place, and since nerves control the muscles themselves, muscles are an integral part of any VSC. In fact, muscles both affect, and are affected by the VSC. This component is known as myopathology.

The Soft Tissue Component is when you have misaligned vertebrae and pressure on nerves resulting in changes in the surrounding soft tissues. This means the tendons, ligaments, blood supply, and other tissues undergo changes. These changes can occur at the point of the VSC or far away at some end point of the affected nerves. This component is also known as histopathology.

The Chemical Component is when all these components of the VSC are acting on your body, and therefore causing some degree of chemical changes. These chemical changes can be slight or massive depending on what parts of your body are affected by your subluxations. This component is often known as biochemical abnormalities.

Chiropractors have known about the dangers of subluxations for over one hundred years. Today, more scientific evidence is showing the dangers of subluxations and the health benefits of correcting them. To be truly healthy, it is vital that your nervous system be functioning free of interference from subluxations. Our goal is to allow your body to return itself to the highest level of health possible by correcting VSC.  Chiropractors are the ONLY health professionals trained in the detection, location, and correction of the VSC.