Question
I am 53 year old female in good health with exception of my back.
I have a ruptured disc but my main problem is my Xray shows my low back spine is curved not forward of backwards but sideways. My orthopedic doc says this is the worst back he has seen for my age and he recommends extensive back surgery to fuse it.  I am terrified and need to know what options I may have, if any. My left leg is shorter now, and this has been coming on for some 5 years or so.  My left shoulder slumps due to a 20 year ago auto accident where the Clavicle was broken.  I want to help my self naturally through rolfing or chiropractic or braces or anything I can find that makes sense.  I am over weight by 25 pounds and plan on losing that fast to get that weight off my back.  Please help if you will and give any advice for me.  I have a CD with all my MRI and X-rays.  Thank you Chris Mecham

Answer
Dear Chris Mecham,

Thank you for your question.  Yours question is similar to those I have heard from others who are investigating chiropractic.  Unfortunately, though, it is based on some misconceptions.  In order to answer you properly, I抣l first need to give you some background on the chiropractic profession.

There are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation.  The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as work injuries, being born, strenuous physical activity, sleeping posture and mattress condition, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to what may cause the various complaints you describe in your questions or if they may be related to a vertebral subluxation.  Even if it were possible to guess at what may be causing them, it is not pertinent to the matter of whether you will benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person抯 spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone who has had the experiences and complaints you describe be better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.  

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  You need to understand very clearly that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  That would also include advice on such non-chiropractic matters as your surgical needs or choices.

The question you pose is predicated upon the limited therapeutic model.  It would certainly be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor, even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention for your reported complaints.  Non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not an alternative to surgery or any other therapeutic measure.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.

If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please contact me at this site again or directly at [email protected].  

Chris, I wish you the best in understanding what chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.