Question
I've had a bunch of different health problems, or so I thought, and my Dr.wanted to put me on an anti-depressant. I don't like taking meds and I don't think that is necessary. So I knew I had a small curve in my spine and made an appointment with a chiropractor. He took x-rays,which showed a pretty large curve in my spine, and really wanted to adjust me that day, I said no. I am really afraid of doing this, don't know why I just am. I am suppose to go back tonight with my husband to go over the x-rays in detail and figure out what we are going to do. My question is this: Is it going to help to be adjusted with a curve in my spine? Will it make it worse? and will I have to go a lot?
I hope to receive an answer before I go tonight, I really just want to be informed so that I am not put in harms way just so that someone can make a dollar off me.

Answer
Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for your question about your spinal curve.  Your question is similar to those I have heard from others who are investigating chiropractic.  In order to answer it properly, I抣l first need to give you some background on anatomy and physiology and how they relate to 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.  This is not the same as the finding you mention in your question, though they may exist together with vertebral subluxations.  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, whatever that may be.  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 sports, exercise routines, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, 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, food additives, etc.), which are, unfortunately, uncontrollable and 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 a connection between the spine and specific symptoms of any kind.  Certainly, every part of the body must have connections to the nerve system so that vital information may be transmitted between the brain and the cells.  There are some who would attempt to review the possible nerve connections between a nerve root and specific organs or tissues, but this ignores the multitude of variables that determine the expression of function.  Quite directly to your question, the matter of how your individual body carries out the myriad of activities just to maintain life is enormous and would require your Creator抯 (or creator抯, for the agnostic) knowledge to explain or control, or at least far more than our educated knowledge of the complexities of life.

In discussing vertebral subluxation earlier in this message, I used the word misalignment.  I am not talking here about spinal curves, however, and these are not interchangeable with the term vertebral subluxation.  The misalignment that I address is that of a specific segment of the spine.  Technically speaking, we have to get even a bit more advanced in what is meant by misalignment to make this clear.  The question is, Misaligned with respect to what?  It is possible to describe the body geometrically, reasoning that we are bilaterally symmetrical and concluding that there is a measurable 搈idline?or that our hips and shoulders should be 揵alanced?on a perpendicular line to this proposed 搈idline?or that the body can be presumed to take on a certain geometry in other planes as well.  The problem with this thinking is that it assumes we are simply machines and ignores that we are alive, capable of movement, adaptation, growth, etc.  At any given moment, there is an optimum state for us to carry out life to our best abilities.  That optimum state will vary depending upon the circumstances, both within us and of our environment.  There are many examples to illustrate this.  If you carry something heavy with one hand, you must lean away from it, putting something of a curve into the spine, to keep yourself balanced.  Does that mean the body is failing because there is imbalance or a curve, or is it instead being quite successful in adapting you to the situation?  In another example, consider that those who argue for geometric balance or symmetry would be hard-pressed to explain why the carpenter who swings a 28-ounce hammer all day with his right arm only would have certain physical adaptations that favor his right side.  Should the carpenter have some of the tissue removed from his arm, hand and back so that it is equal to that on the left?  Or is he merely adapted to his circumstances?  The point I抦 getting at is that there is an individually determined, innately normal position for the body that cannot be described by geometry.  

From the non-therapeutic standpoint, then, the method of the non-therapeutic straight chiropractor is not for the goal of straightening a curve.  Adjustments are made if and when a subluxation is detected ?and only then.  Geometric positioning is not within the realm of non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.  There are no procedures that are used within non-therapeutic straight chiropractic to straighten out curves.  

The only way to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation is 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.  The term for this procedure is 揳djustment.? 

I抳e been using this procedure for over 25 years and have had a number of people who expressed a fear at first in having it done to them.  I抳e found their fear to be based on the 搖nknown?factor; i.e., quite simply, they don抰 know what to expect because they抳e never done it before!  I抳e also found that each person would describe their experience with adjustments in a unique way, so that it becomes difficult to tell you exactly what you will experience.  Think of how you would describe the taste of a peach to someone who was afraid of eating a fruit with fuzz on it!  In their mind, this is scary!  You really can抰 tell them how it will taste; it抯 truly that unique!  They just have to take a bite for themselves, at which point they have that, 揂ha, now I know and, wow, is it good!? I know of no other way for you to get over the fear of this procedure than to try it.  I have enough experience with people to expect that you will lose your fear immediately after.  

Notably, 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 pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

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.  .  

Incidentally, it would 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 therapeutic concerns of spinal curves or symptoms, whatever their cause, with another provider, whether that is with a therapeutic mixing chiropractor or some other provider to do so.  I can抰 tell you whether the office you have visited is a waste of your time and money.  It may be that they will offer something of value to you.  It is impossible for me to make that decision for you.  If, however, the chiropractic office you are visiting is attempting to evaluate you on the basis of a curve or some other geometric measure, as you seem to suggest, then you are probably not in a non-therapeutic straight chiropractic office and probably not being checked for vertebral subluxation as we抳e talked about it here.  

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 at [email protected].  You may also visit www.gschiro.com, a site that represents non-therapeutic straight chiropractic organizations on a state level.

Stephanie, I wish you the best in understanding what non-therapeutic straight chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.  I hope this reaches you in time for it to be useful to you.  

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.