A woman came into the office a couple of weeks ago complaining of neck pain and an inability to completely turn her head. She had experienced this problem several years ago, had undergone less than six chiropractic adjustments, and started feeling better and discontinued care. Recently, she started having the problem again and it had gotten worse. She described the pain and restriction of motion as debilitating when it was at its worst.After her examination and X-rays, I adjusted her. The adjustment was uncomfortable for her, as her muscles had spent much time compensating for this spinal restriction. She questioned why stretching, when the pain was at its worst, did not give her relief. To answer her question and provide information to the public, I will address stretching and its relationship to chiropractic adjustment.A common misconception is that stretches correct subluxations (misalignments of the spine that interfere with the function of the nervous system) and can replace adjustments (the correction of the subluxation). While stretching allows your muscles to relax, decreases tension and provides a feeling of well-being; it does not change the motion of the spine.Chiropractic adjustments are designed to correct the underlying subluxations acquired through exposure to physical, chemical and emotional stress. Adjustments remove interference from the nervous system, so our bodies have the ability to heal.Stretches can reduce the tension in the muscles of our bodies, but they cannot overcome the influence of subluxations once they are present. Stretches can help adjustments hold better, sometimes longer, because they help muscles relax. Many of us spend a good portion of our day in front of a computer. Imagine how much stretching is required to overcome and reverse that negative postural influence. Stretching alone simply cannot do it.When a subluxation is present for many years, it leads to underlying degenerative changes in the joints (osteoarthritis) and additional changes in the discs and other connective tissues of the spine. If you recall seeing stalactites and stalagmites in a cave – they take many years to form. The same holds true for the spurs found on the spine. It can take 20 to 40 years for these to show up on an X-ray. When we examine X-rays, we want you to understand just how long the underlying problem (the subluxation) was there. We want you to understand that the underlying cause for the degeneration was present long before the damage is perceived.The joints of the spine receive their nutrition through movement of the synovial fluid that bathes the cartilage of the joints. If a spinal joint loses its motion, it cannot receive the nutrition it needs to remain healthy. Chiropractic adjustments help the joints retain as much motion as possible. By improving spinal motion, it is possible to slow down the degenerative process; and, in many cases reverse it by allowing the synovial fluid of the joints to bring nutrition to the cartilage.In our society, the majority of us were never taught the importance of taking good care of our spine and our nervous system. We learned how to look after our teeth, our cars, our hardwood floors; but not the lifeline to every cell in our bodies. While stretching can help the spine stay supple between adjustments, it will not improve motion of the bones of the spine and take interference away from the nervous system. Stretching is like flossing your teeth – the more we adhere to good dental hygiene between visits, the better report we get from our dentist and hygienist at our checkups. With stretching between chiropractic visits, the better your adjustments will be and the healthier you will be.Palmer Chiropractic, PC719-494-1395www.palmer-chiropractic.com
