The human body is designed to be healthy. There is not one area of the body or brain that is responsible for health. It’s not as if we have a “health centre” organ, and that if that organ is working well then we’re healthy and if it’s not working well, then we’re sick. Health is a summation of all the different parts of the body and brain being able to communicate with each other. Without this communication, the various parts, organs, tissues and brain areas can not coordinate to maintain balance.
It’s like when you’re watching any team sport, as soon as there’s confusion between the players on a team, the team breaks down and can end up losing the game.
There are many communication pathways transmitting information from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain. The brain as a whole takes that information but in reality, this information has to be shared between different brain regions in order for there to be a change in function.
Just like the employees, managers and executive need to be on the same page in order for a product or project to be produced successfully, different brain areas need to be on the same page with various parts of the body in order for health to be created.
Many of these communication pathways are in the nervous system. And the spine, which houses the spinal cord (the information super highway), is where you can develop obstructions.
These obstructions occur in response to physical, emotional and mental stresses. They include bony misalignment but more importantly, they also include muscle and joint fixation.
These fixations (focused areas of tension) can end up altering the information that is being carried along the superhighway. This altered information is really misinformation for the brain. The brain then can not accurately perceive what’s happening inside the body or outside the body.
You can have for example an obstruction in the spine from an emotional trauma which can change “trust what you’re feeling” to “you can’t trust this feeling”. This then ends up creating more defensiveness. And instead of living with an open heart, you live a less-than-optimal life.
These obstructions in the spine not only alter the information going to the brain. The latest neuroscience shows that these spinal obstructions can also affect how well different areas of the brain work on their own and together.
Neuroscience research shows that there are various areas of the brain that are responsible for how we pay attention to the world, how we interpret what others are saying or doing, self-judgement, who you think you are and where you fit into the world. There are areas that help us interpret our emotions, the emotions of others, how we’re thinking about ourselves, how we are going to achieve our goals and how we interpret the intentions of others.
When you consider these different brain areas communicating with each other or having conversations, if these areas are not online, the conversations that they end up having can show up as a state of suffering, depression, anxiety or stress.
Chiropractic works by removing obstructions in the spine, and it directly changes how the brain works. Chiropractic helps the brain to have new conversations between different brain regions and between the brain and the body.
In order for us to have a healthy body that works well and that is able to adapt to stress and heal, all of these areas need to be working optimally and communicating well with each other, brain and body.
Just like a computer gets glitchy sometimes and requires a reboot, chiropractic can help reboot the brain and body, helping to recalibrate how the brain and body communicate with each other.
When we have chiropractic care, our brains can more clearly perceive our inner and outer worlds. This helps us to maintain brain/body conversations that support vibrant and healthy functioning.