Subluxation
Atlas Orthogonal Care
AO Instrument
A subluxation is a when one or more vertebra are out of alignment, exerting pressure on the spinal nerves. Spinal nerves carry messages to and from the brain; these messages regulate our bodies. Nerve interference causes a malfunction of the flow of messages between the brain and all other organs of the body, potentially causing a myriad of health problems.
Subluxation causes "domino effect" changes in the body, and is also referred to as Vertebral Subluxation Complex (VSC) because of the complexity of changes occurring both simultaneously and in chain-reaction.
There are five main components to VSC:
- Spinal Kinesiopathology: Abnormal motion or position of spinal bones - the inability to comfortably turn neck, hips, or back in every direction. This can be caused by physical trauma (repetitive motion, falls, car accidents, etc.) emotional stress or chemical imbalances. When spinal joints are not moving enough, they force other joints to move too much causing wear and tear.
- Neuropathophysiology: Abnormal nervous system function - impingement of nerves creating numbness, tingling, pain or pins and needles. This is caused when nerve tissue is stretched, twisted, or irritated by malfunctioning spinal curves.
- Myopathology: Abnormal muscle function - tight, spastic, weak, sore, and/or overly sensitive muscular responses. When muscle function is impaired from too much or too little nerve supply, muscles that support the spine respond in different ways. When nerve impulses are diminished, muscles supporting the spine can weaken, waste away, or atrophy, while over stimulated muscles can become tight and go into spasm.
- Histopathology:Abnormal soft tissue function - swelling, tenderness, painful spots, and other soft tissue problems. When there is spinal joint malfunction, the discs, ligaments, and other connective tissue are affected too. A rise in temperature from an increase in blood and lymph supplies result in swelling and inflammation. While technically you can't have a "slipped" disc, the soft pulpy discs that separate each spinal vertebra can tear, bulge, herniate and degenerate.
- Pathophysiology:Abnormal function of the spine and body muscles, joints, ligaments, and organs that show wear and tear and premature aging. Malfunction or trauma to a joint can cause the body to stabile the area by growing new bone. Bone spurs and other abnormal bony growths are the result. This spinal decay, scar tissue, and long-term nerve dysfunction can also cause other systems of the body to malfunction.
To conclude, VSC can cause illness, disease, and an array of health problems if left untreated. Additionally, pain and symptoms don't usually manifest until subluxations have already caused harm. This is why regular chiropractic check-ups are so important. A chiropractor can locate then treat subluxations when there are no external symptoms.
The Atlas is the top bone of the spine. It is the vertebrae that the head sits on. Orthogonal means at right angles, or square. The Atlas should be sitting level, or square, on the cervical spine (neck), and the head should be square on the Atlas. When the Atlas is in proper alignment, it literally means your head is on straight!
Misaligned spinal bones (vertebrae) cause compression, tension, irritation and damage to the central nervous system. This condition is referred to as "subluxation".
Subluxations can often be deceiving, causing many symptoms to appear far from the point of origin in the body. Simply treating these symptoms alone can be a fruitless effort. The longer the cause of the problem exists, the more difficult it is to correct at a later time. Your care must be based on the doctor's findings, not merely on the symptoms you may be experiencing.
With this in mind, it is very important to follow your Chiropractor's recommendations for treatment. After analyzing the results from a thorough examination, a gentle adjustment is made.
This is performed while the patient is comfortably positioned on a specially designed, adjustable table. With precise techniques, the Chiropractor will then gently realign the vertebrae of the spine.
The pictures above represent a normal Atlas and a subluxated Atlas. In the example on the right, the misalignment (subluxation) and is typical of those commonly seen by the Chiropractor. The weight of the head is shifted, no longer centered over the spine. The vertebrae are also shifted causing a serious structural misalignment. The resulting distortion and stress of the spine may put pressure on the delicate nerves which pass through it causing pain, organ dysfunction, loss of mobility and even the lowering of the body's natural resistance to illness.
Illustrated left is the proper alignment of the head on the vertebrae of the spinal column. The weight of the head is centered and balanced correctly over the supporting vertebrae. The spinal vertebrae are correctly positioned in relationship to each other and the path of the spinal nerves.
The atlas orthogonal precision instrument was designed to deliver a precise chiropractic adjustment based on the specific misalignment findings from your x-rays, Technically, the instrument delivers a percussion sound wave through a metal stylus with a measured force of approximately 3.5 pounds of pressure.
The stylus which lightly touches the patient then applies a portion of the sound wave to the Atlas (1st cervical vertebra) in order to make the appropriate adjustment. The instrument allows the doctor to adjust the Atlas misalignment with a very high degree of precision while applying minimal physical pressure. This unique feature eliminates patient discomfort during treatment.
Following the initial treatment, the doctor confirms the subluxation correction through x-ray analysis.