Vertebral Subluxation Complex – What Is It?

Doctors of Chiropractic are the only health care professionals with the expertise and knowledge to detect and correct Vertebral Subluxation Complex.

Your nerves are the power lines to your body. Chiropractors go to school for years to learn and understand the art of identifying where vertebral subluxations exist. Running up and down the spinal cord between each individual vertebrae are spinal nerves. They weave through the spaces between each vertebrae, forming a cable of sorts that connects the brain to various parts of the body. To simplify, a subluxation is when one or more bones of your spine move out of their normal position and irritate the spinal nerves by putting pressure on them. Any pressure or irritation on these nerves can inhibit or disrupt the signals traveling from the brain, down the spine and out the nerves. Think of your nerves like the fuse box in your house. If you were to go to the breaker circuit and switch off the kitchen breaker, you would stop the electricity from exiting the breaker and flowing to the area of your house it was connected to. In this scenario, the electricity represents the nerve flow and the kitchen is your body. This misalignment represents the subluxation.   There are five components that a Doctor looks for when attempting to detect a subluxation. They are:

1. Spinal Kinesiopathology (the osseous component):

   This means that the bones are out of alignment from their normal position. This can lead to mobility restrictions.

2. Neuropathophysiology (the nerve component):

   Due to the pressure put on the nerve from the vertebral subluxation, the communication system between the brain and the rest of the body is disrupted. This can lead to pain or symptoms.

3. Myopathology (The muscle component):

   The surrounding muscle tissue becomes weak or tight can begin to atrophy or can even go into spasms.  This can result in scar tissue forming in the muscle fibers and affect muscular tone.

4. Histopathology (The chemical component):

   This is where inflammation can set in and results in elevated temperature.

5. Pathophysiology (the soft tissue component):

   Pressure on the nerves can lead to changes in the surrounding soft tissues. This can affect the tendons, ligaments and other tissues; it can occur near the irritation or anywhere along the path of the nerve. This can lead to spinal decay, scar tissue or long term damage and dysfunction.

  There are many causes of vertebral subluxations: car accidents, improper lifting, alcohol, smoking, emotional stress, etc. The primary job of any Chiropractor is to detect and correct these areas of dysfunction through Chiropractic adjustments and restore the potential of the nervous system to its optimal levels.