How Chiropractic Adjustments make you Smarter

How Chiropractic Adjustments make you Smarter

Every function of the body is regulated by the brain, spinal cord and nerve communication pathways throughout our physical frame.

The brain is the control center of all bodily functions. The spinal cord and branching nerves send signals from the brain to control and coordinate the function of all the organs, tissues and systems.

Nerves also send signals from the body back to the brain. This relaying of electrical and chemical signals to and from the brain allows the body to function and adapt to everything that we do and experience.

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.” ― Anaïs Nin.

The brain via our cranial nerves and sensory organs, allows us to experience all that we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and feel. It is also the center for our thoughts, emotions, and behavioral responses, both conscious and subconscious.

The degree of tension in our spine, and the tone of our nerve pathways and the ability for our body and brain to communicate clearly with one another, make up the quality of our lived experience and keep all the physiological processes in our body functioning in harmony.

All organ systems and processes in the body connect to the brain and nerve system including the:

• Digestive system
• Production of hormones
• Skin and sensory perception
• Immune system
• Muscular and skeletal systems
• Heart and blood vessels
• Detoxification and elimination of waste
• Reproductive system
• Respiratory system
• Regulation of body chemistry

These functions are literally, our Vital organs! They keep us alive and thriving.

The delicate brain and spinal cord are protected by the bony structures of the cranium and spine, yet the body must simultaneously allow for complex movement, otherwise we would walk around like stick figures.

So each spinal joint is a complex balance of strength and flexibility, and the movement of joints must be coordinated and controlled by inputs from the brain and position sense, to know where and when and how to adapt to incoming stimulus.

In order for the body to be healthy, it must be able to adapt to internal and external forces we experience and to maintain clear communication lines along the nervous system pathways to and from the brain.

There are limits to how much we can adapt to in the moment, and sometimes we experience physical, emotional or chemical stressors that compromise the integrity of the spinal system and may create distortions of the body's frame, misaligning vertebrae and putting pressure on nerve tissue and diminishing nerve transmission.

We refer to these vertebral misalignments and distortions of the spine, connective tissue and nerve pathways, as Subluxations.

Subluxations are disruptions in the motion of spinal bones with related irritation or dysfunction of nerve pathways which come about because our system cannot adapt to the various forces of life stressors we experience.

Subluxations alter the ability of the brain and nerve system to properly control and coordinate the body, which results in decreased body function, adaptability, and vitality.

These distortions and alterations of tone in the communication pathways of the body are like static in a communication system. Or turning down the dimmer switch on the lights in a room. They prevent the brain from accurately perceiving what is happening in the body and from properly regulating bodily functions.

Often subluxations are present without pain or symptoms. On the outside, though, we can see the effects of Subluxation as slumped posture, constantly stressed muscle tone or flaccid muscles where they should be stabilizing, rigidity of movement and lack of flexibility in spine, and increased tension on the nerves, so for example when you bend forward to touch your toes it hurts.

The Chiropractic adjustment is a process by which your body can recognize and unwind these stored tension patterns in the nervous system and in the physical frame and restore motion and balance to the spine and it’s communication pathways to the brain.

Like a tightly wound string, the body has it’s own momentum to release and unfurl back to an upright and coherent state if given the right pieces of information. Our Adjustments help your body to have that “ Ah-ha” moment. If subluxated vertebrae could talk, after and adjustment they would say “Ah-ha this is how I am supposed to be aligned, thank you!”

An unobstructed nerve system is essential for the body to be healthy and vital and for the lights to be turned on back in the room and communication pathways to be without static.

Using gentle touch to release facial tension and introducing gentle motion into specific segments of the spine, re-tunes your spinal system again, and allows for greater communication between the body and brain. This shifts the tone of your nervous system as a whole toward one geared towards healing and self expression rather than protection and armouring.

In this way, adjustments over time change how we ARE in our bodies and therefore change how we see the world. “Cleansing the lenses of perception” and this allows the body to function better.

When the brain and body function more harmoniously, then we can adapt to life stressors more successfully, and can learn, grow and evolve a little bit more with the integration of life experiences, and ultimately gain wisdom from what life has thrown our way. And that is how Chiropractic Adjustments make you a Smarter, as well as better looking ;).