Throughout the course of practicing a common asked questions is “how is it possible that something from the back can cause problems with my blood, my moods, my heart, my stomach, and so on”; problems not generally thought of to be a chiropractic problem. The answer comes from anatomy. The nervous system is connected to the bones of the back.

To simplify the matter let’s assume the spine is made up of a bunch of golf balls stacked up in a column. Around this column there is an elastic band that keeps the golf balls in a line and prevents them from falling to the side. At certain golf balls the elastic has a special connection so that the elastic band and the golf balls are anchored to each other (Fig. A).

If the golf balls that are not connected to the elastic come out of alignment the model still maintains its integrity and may realign itself because of the elastic band’s recoil properties (Fig. B). But if one of the golf balls that have a special connection to the elastic band comes out of alignment then the entire model may become distorted and its integrity compromised (Fig. C).

Similarly, in the spine there are special connections from the spinal cord that anchors the brain and the nervous system to the bones of the back i.e. the vertebrae. If one of these vertebrae with the special connections is “out of alignment”, the person will be prone to decreased health, and consequently will get sick.

The type of sickness that a person will experience may not be limited to the back and muscles. The integrity of the nerves going to the organs such as the liver, heart, pancreas, and so on, will also be affected. Problems such as ulcers, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart related problems, and so on, may occur as a result of one of these misaligned vertebrae. Unfortunately by the time the person becomes aware of the condition the problem with the “alignment” has been there for a period of time.

There is hope with chiropractic intervention that the body’s own restorative capabilities may reverse the condition and ultimately return the body to a healthier state.

Dr. Vince De Luca