Subluxation or more accurately a Vertebral Subluxation Complex occurs when one or more of the bones in your spine shifts out of position and gets stuck. This leads to swelling and irritation of the joints and/or disks, tightness or spasm of the supporting muscles, irritation to the nerves and nervous system, and over time to degeneration in the joints and/or disks.
There are three main causes of subluxation; mechanical, chemical or emotional stress to your body.
Mechanical stress occurs with trauma such as an accident, injury, slip, or fall. Mechanical stress also happens from postural stress to our bodies from the way we sit, stand, move, and sleep.
Chemical stress comes from what we put into our bodies. The foods that we eat and drink, medications, alcohol, and caffeine can all excite or depress our nervous system.
Emotional stress can be good or bad stress. Having stress about your job, your family, commuting, your community, or the weather can adversely affect our nervous system. Even the excitement of happy events can put stress on our nerves and nervous system and may lead to subluxations.
Chiropractors are the only health care professionals specifically trained to detect and correct subluxations.