A self winding watch is unique in that it needs to be wound each day to operate. It requires daily motion and believe it or not, this is no different than your spine. Your spine is made up of 24 moveable vertebrae that need motion to function properly. Your spine is “wound” through stretching, exercise, yoga and countless other forms of movement.
An average person wakes up, gets ready for work, sits and drives to the office, arrives and sits all day, gets backs in the car and returns home where they sit and watch television. There is no motion in this routine. Lack of movement translates into misaligned vertebrae which weaken muscles, cause the spine to age prematurely and damage nerves. Now, compare the routine of a human to that of a dog or a cat when they awake. Animals innately know that they need motion in order to work properly which is why they will shake themselves, stretch forward or backward, roll around, etc. These motions keep their bodies moving and operating properly.
The purpose of the chiropractic adjustment is to help you wind your body’s watch – the spine. Exercise and stretching are the ways that you can help to motion your own spine on your own. It is the job of the chiropractor to adjust the 1 or 2 vertebrae that are misaligned and not moving properly due to stress from different aspects of daily life. We call these misalignments “subluxations” and they prevent your spine from working properly and protecting your spinal cord and nerves as it is intended. These nerve disruptions can cause pain and/or decreased function of organs, glands and systems.
To help achieve and maintain better health, each of us should commit ourselves to some form of daily exercise and have a chiropractor check our spines regularly to make sure one of our most vital structures, our spine, is protected.
by Dr. Matt Kenney
www.sptchiro.com
