Question
Hi doctor, just last week i saw a chiropractor for the first time just because of some minor neck pain. My husband insisted me to get it checked up since he is getting cured by the same chiropractor for the back pain. They took some Xrays and found out that my neck bones are misaligned to the left side, starting from C5 to C1. I dont know much about the degree but the doc said that its pretty bad and it may not be fixed 100%. I dont remember any recent trauma or anything happened to my neck in past several years so he is assuming that it may be there for years and cant be fixed totally. I am really worried now, i am only 31 yrs old and what else would be happening to my health over the years if its not been fixed. What is the worst case senario? I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 6 months ago and still losing lots of hair. My vision also changes every 8-10 months or so. Is is all because of my neck bones subluxation? What do i need to do to take care of this problem? What precautions i should be taking while sleeping or doing normal activities? I feel more comfortable sleeping on my left side, but i don't know if that's what i should be doing?

Answer
Isabella,

Everyone's bones are misaligned to some degree.   It's a flawed concept that the visualized assumption of what's misaligned has corellation to pain or health.   It does not.  It has more to do with the function of the joints, regardless of alignment, and more to do with the quality and tone and strength of the soft tissues surrounding the joints, e.g. muscles, tendons, and fascial connective tissues.  There is no known connection bewteen your neck bones and your thyroid.  While there has been a few articles that showed some changes in the visual field following neck joint manipulation, it is not known if these changes are transient or if there are any other changes in vision.  People who go to chiropractors still wear glasses...   Odds are that the simple act of chiropractic joint manipulation will alleviate your minor neck pain, and not becuase it is aligning anything.  For most folks, the combination of joint manipulation, manual soft tissue therapy (e.g. massaging/stretching), and a few exercises is all that is needed to change neck symptoms.   If your minor neck pain is not significantly improved withing a handfull of treatment sessions, then your DC has to change what he is doing;  If all goes well you won't have to worry about which side you sleep on.

'Hope this helps.

Dr. G