Introduction
To start off I will say that correcting one’s spine is one of the most crucial health investments one can make for their health and well-being. However, the unfortunate truth is that little is known by the public what spinal correction is or what this process can do for us regarding our health. So I hope with this blog I can enlighten some of you reading this what it is and how it can apply to you.
Simply put spinal correction is like braces. Where braces correct crooked teeth, the spinal correction process corrects a misaligned spine. When looking at the surface of spinal correction, you might be thinking what’s the big deal? But let me explain in detail why spinal correction is crucial to our health.
So remember in my last series I said that the brain is central to allowing for our body’s ability to function properly. One hundred percent function equates to 100% health. If you agree that our brain is our central commander for our body then how does our brain communicate to our body these crucial messages? Most know that it’s through our spine, more particularly our spinal cord. Our spinal cord is the ONLY anatomical structure that communicates messages from our brain. Therefore the health of our spinal cord is absolutely critical when it comes to our health. Based on research there is an ideal spinal alignment that is required to have a healthy spinal cord and if we are misaligned our spinal cord becomes physically compromised. And when our spinal cord becomes compromised, it’s ability to communicate the brain’s messages is also compromised.
To illustrate this point let’s focus on one of the most common forms of spinal misalignments – forward head posture. We develop forward head posture due to the use of computers, cell phones and being in a seated position for hours at a time. Forward head posture (see image below) places unnecessary stress on our spine and spinal cord. For every inch our head is forward add an additional 10 lbs. of weight that your cervical (neck) spine has to carry. In addition, our spinal cord stretches 2-4 cm for every inch of forward head posture. Now on average when I do an initial spinal exam I see 2 inches of forward head posture. That equates to up to an additional 20 lbs. of weight on the spine and 4-8 cm of tethering and tensile stress on the spinal cord. Now the additional weight on the spine leads to accelerated disc degeneration of up to 300% faster. This leads to degenerative arthritis of the spine which can lead to spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) where the spinal cord literally becomes choked. So now the spinal cord is getting choked and getting stretched. Can you see how this will compromise its ability to communicate the brain’s messages? As a result, given enough time, sickness and disease are allowed to manifest in our bodies and health is lost. However, the good news is this is correctable. More on this in my next blog.
To start off I will say that correcting one’s spine is one of the most crucial health investments one can make for their health and well-being. However, the unfortunate truth is that little is known by the public what spinal correction is or what this process can do for us regarding our health. So I hope with this blog I can enlighten some of you reading this what it is and how it can apply to you.
Simply put spinal correction is like braces. Where braces correct crooked teeth, the spinal correction process corrects a misaligned spine. When looking at the surface of spinal correction, you might be thinking what’s the big deal? But let me explain in detail why spinal correction is crucial to our health.
So remember in my last series I said that the brain is central to allowing for our body’s ability to function properly. One hundred percent function equates to 100% health. If you agree that our brain is our central commander for our body then how does our brain communicate to our body these crucial messages? Most know that it’s through our spine, more particularly our spinal cord. Our spinal cord is the ONLY anatomical structure that communicates messages from our brain. Therefore the health of our spinal cord is absolutely critical when it comes to our health. Based on research there is an ideal spinal alignment that is required to have a healthy spinal cord and if we are misaligned our spinal cord becomes physically compromised. And when our spinal cord becomes compromised, it’s ability to communicate the brain’s messages is also compromised.
To illustrate this point let’s focus on one of the most common forms of spinal misalignments – forward head posture. We develop forward head posture due to the use of computers, cell phones and being in a seated position for hours at a time. Forward head posture (see image below) places unnecessary stress on our spine and spinal cord. For every inch our head is forward add an additional 10 lbs. of weight that your cervical (neck) spine has to carry. In addition, our spinal cord stretches 2-4 cm for every inch of forward head posture. Now on average when I do an initial spinal exam I see 2 inches of forward head posture. That equates to up to an additional 20 lbs. of weight on the spine and 4-8 cm of tethering and tensile stress on the spinal cord. Now the additional weight on the spine leads to accelerated disc degeneration of up to 300% faster. This leads to degenerative arthritis of the spine which can lead to spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) where the spinal cord literally becomes choked. So now the spinal cord is getting choked and getting stretched. Can you see how this will compromise its ability to communicate the brain’s messages? As a result, given enough time, sickness and disease are allowed to manifest in our bodies and health is lost. However, the good news is this is correctable. More on this in my next blog.