When most people hear about chiropractic care, they immediately associate it with back or neck pain. While it is certainly true that the spine forms the basis of all chiropractic medicine, its benefits are not limited to just that region of the body. In fact, chiropractic adjustments can treat a wide range of health conditions, from allergies to bunions. Furthermore, chiropractic care can be part of an ongoing wellness lifestyle that includes regular exercise and a balanced, nutritious diet. Regular chiropractic adjustments to the spine can actually keep your bodily organs performing at their peak. While this may seem to be a bit far-fetched, the reasoning behind this connection between your spine and your organs actually makes sense.

Your Nervous System

Your spine does more than just help keep you upright. It houses your spinal cord and your central nervous system, which connect your brain to every other part of your body, sending signals back and forth that work to sustain you, even in ways that you may not be aware. Not only do those signals allow you to walk and talk, but they also keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing. Essentially, your central nervous system is responsible for your entire bodily function. At different locations in the spine, there are nerves that branch off from the spinal cord to reach various parts of your body, including your organs, to carry signals back and forth from the brain. This network of nerves that leads out from the spine is known as the peripheral nervous system.

Spinal Misalignment and Organ Function

The individual vertebrae that comprise the spine are aligned in a particular manner in order to best allow the spinal nerves optimal access leading in and out from the central nervous system. If these vertebrae become misaligned, such as through injury or poor posture, they can place pressure on the spinal nerves, restricting their ability to properly send signals between your body and the brain.

The vertebrae in the middle, or thoracic, part of your spine hold the spinal nerves that are responsible for reaching most of your organs, such as your heart, lungs, stomach, liver, and spleen. For example, if some of your thoracic vertebrae are out of alignment, they may compress the spinal nerves leading to the stomach, restricting signals telling the brain to produce enough stomach mucus. In turn, this may lead to ulcers, which are caused by not enough mucus in the stomach lining.

Adjusting the Spine

The basis of all chiropractic care is in adjusting the individual vertebrae to put them back into proper alignment. These spinal adjustments can be done with either the hands or a specialized instrument. The goal is to open up the space between the vertebrae so that they shift back into proper alignment. Putting the vertebrae back into alignment will then release pressure on the spinal nerves, once again allowing proper signaling back and forth between the brain and the body organs. In the example of the stomach given above, once the spinal nerve responsible for relaying messages regarding stomach function is no longer compressed, it will then be able to signal for the stomach cells to produce more mucus, thus reducing the chance of forming stomach ulcers.

You may think that chiropractic is only about “cracking backs.” The truth is that it’s about an entire wellness lifestyle that can support your organ function. In combination with regular exercise and a healthy diet, regular chiropractic adjustments will keep your body working at peak performance levels.