Spinal Hygiene

Subluxation

Interference to the nervous system. Most commonly recognized and treated by chiropractors as joint dysfunction.

Chiropractic

The correction and prevention of interference to the nervous system.

Chiropractor

A doctor who facilitates normal physiology, particularly that of the nervous system by the correction and prevention of subluxation. A doctor of physiology

What is Spinal Hygiene?

It may not be intuitive for many people to put the words Spinal and Hygiene together. Hygiene, as defined by Dictionary.com being a science or practice that deals with the preservation of health. And spinal of course refers to the “backbone.” So, have you ever considered that your “backbone” or vertebral column requires maintenance to preserve its health? Unfortunately, unless you are already familiar with the practice of Chiropractic, it is unlikely that you are aware of this concept.

Our kin the Dentists

More than likely you are; however, familiar with the concept of Dental Hygiene. The practice of dental hygiene is commonly taught at a very young age and sometimes even at school. So why is hygiene of the teeth so popular yet that of the spine is not? We’re not sure. Although, it may have something to do with the fact that your teeth are part of your face… and you can see them. We can’t help but think as chiropractors that people might take better care of their spines if they wore them on their face!

There are many aspects of dentistry that are analogous to chiropractic. Both deal with the preventative aspects of hygiene to ward off degeneration. One being degeneration of the mouth. This can occur via cavities in the teeth, or gingivitis, which can result in “rotting” of the teeth. The spine can degenerate as well. When this happens the vertebrae themselves can grow sharp thorn-like pieces called “spurs,” the vertebral disc can likewise shrink or deteriorate, and in severe degeneration the spine can even fuse together. The dentist will his tools by means of a filling or a root canal to save a tooth from degeneration. A chiropractor will likewise use what is called an “adjustment” to restore motion to the spine and prevent spinal degeneration (much more enjoyable than most dental work, thankfully). You might accurately call your chiropractor a "Spine Dentist!"

Which between these hygienes do you suppose is more important. If you had to choose (and we are not recommending you do) which do you think is more beneficial to your body? There are some important differences to note. For one thing… you can replace your teeth. All of them. You cannot; however, replace your spine. More importantly, the nerves which control and regulate every process in the entire body go through the vertebral column. It is our belief as chiropractors that degeneration and irritation to the vertebral column, through lack of movement or misalignment has a detrimental effect on the nervous system.

Movement is Life

Movement is an important theme, not only in health but also physics. All matter is constantly moving. You may look at something that seems very still, like your desk. The desk may seem solid to us, but are actually made up of atoms that are very small, which have lots of space in between them. The atoms themselves have components like protons and neutrons and electrons that are all also constantly moving. A body of water that does not move may be the source of filth and disease; whereas a moving body of water like a river may be a rich source of a healthy ecosystem. Our bodies are meant to move. The spine is meant to move. Lets introduce some concepts to illustrate this.

Wolfe’s Law

Wolff's law is a theory developed by the German Anatomist/Surgeon Julius Wolff (1835-1902) in the 19th century that states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads it is placed under. If loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger to resist that sort of loading. The converse is true as well: if the loading on a bone decreases, the bone will become weaker due to turnover as it is less metabolically costly to maintain and there is no stimulus for continued remodeling that is required to maintain bone mass. In the case of the spine, Wolfe’s law helps explain the concept of spurring. In the picture below, note the extra growth of bone in the Osteoarthritic spine. Notice the “lipping” that occurs at the edge of the vertebral body. These bony changes can be the result of altered spinal biomechanics. This could be due to lack of movement or malalignment in the case of subluxation.

Imbibition

The Inter-Vertebral Disc is an important component of the spinal column. Together the discs compose one third of the height of the column. They function to provide bouiancy and stress handling properties. The disc itself is made of collagen, and cartilage. These soft tissues are produced by cells which also help make “glycose-amino-glycans.” What are those? Protein sugars essentially.

An important aspect of the disc is that it has no vasculature. It has no blood vessels. The only process by which it can receive nutrients is via imbibition. Imbibition refers to the exchange of fluid via movement. Compressive and flexion/extension forces on the vertebrae create a pumping action for the disc. This serves to pump nutrients like oxygen and glucose in to the disc, and toxins such as carbon dioxide out. This is very important for a healthy disc.

From these two concepts alone, wolfe’s law and imbibition, it should be evident that it is very important for the spine to move and move well.

The Effects of Immobilization Include:

Joints

• Shrinks joint capsules
• Increases compressive loading
• Increases synthesis rate of GAGs
• Increase in periarticular fibrosis
• Irreversible changes after 8 weeks immobilization (reversible with care)

Ligaments

• Lowers failure or yield point (easier injury)
• Decreased thickness of collagen fibers
• Disk Biochemistry compromised
• Dec. oxygen
• Dec. glucose
• Dec. Sulfate
• Inc. lactate concentration (waste products)
• Dec. Proteoglycan content (degeneration)

Bone

• Dec. Bone Density
• Eburnation (arthritis)
• Osteophyte (bone spur) formation

Muscle

• Dec. collagen fiber thickness
• Dec. oxidative potential
• Dec. Muscle mass
• Dec. sarcomeres (muscle cells)
• Dec. cross-sectional area (size of muscle cells)
• Dec. mitochondrial content (cells’ ability to make energy)
• Inc. connective tissue fibrosis (adhesions)
• Type 1 muscle atrophy (fast twitch fibers)
• Type 2 muscle atrophy (slow twitch fibers)
• Loss of strength

Cardiopulmonary

• Dec. Max. heart rate
• Dec. VO2 max (amount of oxygen intake)
• Dec. plasma volume
• Inc. Platelets (increases blood clots)

Similar to the effects of the modern industrialized diet on our teeth, the modern industrial activity and postural patterns cause decay of our spines, our fitness levels, and our overall neuro-musculoskeletal, visceral, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual health. Poor posture from sitting is particularly devastating. It creates toxic somatic and autonomic patterns as well as deficient proprioceptive input required for homeostasis.

Subluxation is a manifestation of the physiological effects of inactivity!

Chiropractic restores homeostatic spinal motion and function so that the neurological, biomechanical, cellular, biochemical, muscular, and energy benefits can be perceived and translated into homeostatic physiology.

It is not backpacks that are damaging spines, it is sitting!

Innate Intelligence

Perhaps the theme most central to chiropractic is that of the body’s natural healing mechanism. In chiropractic we refer to this as “Innate Intelligence.” Strange at first but quite significant, Innate Intelligence is a remarkably accurate way to view the body and how it works. Put simply the philosophy of innate intelligence teaches us to look to those processes which are “physiologically compatible” with the body. These are things that are congruent with the natural mechanisms of the body. Aspirin, for instance while sometimes necessary in critical situations is not physiologically compatible. It has side effects that result in things like bleeding from the stomach and eventually ulcers. Things like omega 3 fatty acids and chiropractic adjustments do not have such side effects; rather they simply promote the body to undergo its physiology. The questions you ask determine the answers you get, and the first question in chiropractic is always “is this physiologically compatible?” This profound perspective is by and large what makes chiropractors such effective physicians