The Tribune

By THE BAHAMAS

ASSOCIATION OF

CHIROPRACTIC

BY the time you have disease symptoms, your body could have been in a state of dis-ease for weeks, months, or even years

Some people think pain is the only reason to visit a chiropractor. That attitude is dangerous because vertebral subluxations are often painless. They may remain within you, interfering with your life and health expression for months or years before symptoms finally appear.

Pain or obvious symptoms can often be the last stage of disease, for example: would you go to a dentist who would wait until you were in pain before he checked you for cavities? Or to an internist who told you to wait until you had a stroke before addressing high blood pressure? Or to an oncologist who said the only time to deal with cancer was when the tumours started making you feel sick? Of course not!

In the same way, the best time to correct vertebral subluxations is now, before pain or other symptoms develop. Now you know why chiropractors call subluxations “the silent killer”. You may have them without any spinal nerve or muscular pains or other symptoms. You may say to your chiropractor while he or she is checking your spine: “Wow, what did you touch? I had no idea I had a problem there, I was feeling no pain.”

Patients are often asked to return periodically for spinal checkups, even if the presenting problems that brought them to their doctor of chiropractic have cleared up. Why? Your doctor of chiropractic has good reasons for requesting you to return even if you feel “fine.”

Since vertebral subluxations are often painless, your body may have been fighting them for a long time by the time they are discovered. The “battle scene” may be littered with lots of casualties such as weakened, unbalanced and unevenly worn joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons and discs plus fibrosis or scar tissue.

This damage needs to be cleaned up and repaired if your spine is to heal properly. Fibrosis causes a particular problem since this “gunk” builds up within a few days of subluxation damage. Further, the muscles begin to “learn” abnormal holding patterns that must be “unlearned” before you can hold your spinal adjustments. Can you imagine what your joints would look like after a few years?

Since these tissues are involved in holding the vertebrae in proper alignment, this “gunk” must dissolve if your spine is to heal properly. Until the scar tissue dissolves and tissues rebuild, your body will not “hold” its adjustments well and regular spinal corrections or adjustments are needed.

Why wait until you have a health problem to see a chiropractor? Why not practice preventative health maintenance and have your spinal column checked for vertebral subluxations before you get sick?