Have you heard of the phrase “spinal subluxation”? If you google it, is a term used to describe a joint in the spine that may be misaligned causing pressure on the nerve roots.
Chiropractors often describe them as ‘silent killers’ because the onset is generally painless. You can have subluxations months or years before you start feeling anything out of ordinary.
But once the pressured nerves have reached their limit, there will be a significant decrease in the function of nerve signals between the brain and body. Pain will start to show, along with other physical symptoms that are not usually there.
If you suspect a subluxation in your spine, please check if you have one of these 4 most common signs:
#1 You are experiencing aches, numbness, and pain
Chronic pain is one of the prominent symptoms of spinal subluxation. Depending on where the misalignment is, it could irritate the nerves in those areas and cause aches and pain through different parts of the body.
For example, when the nerves in the cervical area are inflamed, it could trigger pain in the neck, shoulders, and arms. If the inflammation is in the lumbar region (lower back), it could bring numbness pain in the back, legs, and feet. In other words, spinal misalignment can affect any part of the body, which is something not many people realise. This is also the exact reason why chiropractic checkups are essential, as they can help assess whether your painful symptoms are related to your spine.
#2 Your headaches keep coming back
Headaches can be caused by a variety of factors like dehydration, poor diet, eye strain, and lack of sleep. Once you resolve these triggers, headaches usually go away. However, if you find yourself getting persistent headaches, it might be caused by an underlying issue that needs correction, like a spinal subluxation.
With this said, there is a high possibility of it being present if you have headaches with accompanying neck and back pain (see #1). You see, when there is the presence of spinal subluxation, it can cause pressure and tension to accumulate in the spine. If this tension is not released, it builds up from the back to the neck until it reaches the base of the head, causing headaches. The short-term relief for this is to release the built-up tension, however, your headaches are likely to come back if you do not correct the underlying problem, which is the spinal misalignment.
#3 You get tired fast
This symptom is often overlooked because no one relates fatigue to spinal problems. But tiredness is actually a common symptom of spinal subluxations. When nerves are irritated because of a spine misalignment, you may feel unusually higher levels of exhaustion. This is due to nerve interference, which throws off the internal balance of the body including your hormones. If these powerful chemicals are out of balance, even by a small amount, they can cause a wide range of symptoms like anxiety, tiredness, and trouble sleeping which will just lead to more exhaustion in the long term. If you already experiencing chronic fatigue, you might want to get yourself evaluated for any imbalance.
#4 It’s difficult to move your body
In the previous sections, it is emphasized that having spinal subluxations can cause pain, headaches, and fatigue. If all of these persists, it can severely affect the mobility of a person. It forces you to lay down and be stuck in one position. This can be a vicious cycle because it prevents you from doing essential movements that are needed by your muscles to stay strong and flexible. The longer the muscles get stuck in the same position, the more they get stiff. This is why after prolonged periods of sitting or laying down, there’s always this feeling of stiffness. Over time, this reduces strength and flexibility, making it hard to go back to the activities you are used to doing. So the best way to restore motion is to remove the things that hinder your ability to move. Getting rid of the pain, headaches, and fatigue all boils down to correcting the underlying issue which is the spinal misalignments.
How to Combat Subluxations
The great challenge is that subluxations can happen to you anytime, anywhere, and at any age. Babies can get it when they stumble; children get it from poor computer posture; teens get it from playing sports; adults get it from physical labor and the elderly from spinal degeneration. As long as your spine is constantly under stress (may it be physical, mental, or environmental), chances to get misalignments are always there.
If you want to prevent a lifetime of pain, it is best to address subluxations as early as possible. Listen to your body… What does it tell you? If you already are experiencing some of the signs above, the best course of action is to go for a spinal evaluation. This is the only way you can determine if these symptoms are related to your spine. And if they are, you get to correct it through chiropractic care.
For more info on how chiropractic can help you, please call 022 403 1568 or visit our home page.