Phone  905-436-6688

     Fax  905-436-6690

Location & Hours

Conditions & Diseases

I

Patient Resources

I

Clinic Tour

I

Appointments

I

Doctors & Professionals

What causes my back to go out of alignment?

 By Dr. Peter Wysotski
 

     Your back has 24 segments or vertebrae that are separated by discs.  Your spinal cord runs through these vertebrae, and branches out at the level of each segment.  Each vertebra can move approximately 6 different ways.  The vertebrae are held together by muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

     Early in life, our spines are subjected to traumas, such as falls or strains or sprains.  As life goes on, there are a least 40 things that can stress your spine and cause the muscles and ligaments to go out of balance, thus causing a mechanical problem that irritates the nerves between the vertebrae. Chiropractors call this situation a Subluxation or spinal dysfunction (i.e. difficult function).  For example, if the subluxation occurs in your neck you will have difficulty with movement of your head; perhaps you cannot turn one way or you may be unable to flex or extend your head.

     Most spinal misalignments result in pain.  The reason being that when vertebrae go out of alignment, the area often weakens, and the surrounding muscles pull “harder” on one side, thus resulting in severe “pinching” of the joints and nerves, and disturbed mechanics (movement).

     Some types of subluxation are not painful, and mainly appear as restricted range of motion, or tenderness in certain areas.  Some silent misalignments cause numbness or tingling at certain times, with no apparent related spinal pain.

     There are many causes of misalignment or subluxation, and the most frequent cause is stress, this can mean emotional, psychological, and physical stress.  When you are emotionally stressed, the muscles around the spine often tighten, and the stronger muscles pull more, thus causing subluxation.

     Likewise, if you eat something that does not agree with you, the messages go from your stomach to your spine and then your brain.  These messages can cause your spine to misalign.  This is physiological stress.

     Finally, a physical stress occurs when you do an action that stresses your spine and muscles.  For example, if you sleep on your stomach, your neck is twisted most of the night, thus causing misalignment due to the forced malposition of the vertebrae.  Often headaches and neck pain follow.

     The second most common cause of misalignment or subluxation is trauma.  A fall can “throw your back out” due to the strain placed on your spines muscles and ligaments.  Also, occupational situations such as repetitive lifting, or working at a computer can misalign your spine.  Muscles often tighten when you have to maintain a certain position or action.  This tightness can pull on your spine and cause nerve pressure, and mechanical dysfunction.

     Furthermore, trauma resulting from a motor vehicle accident can cause “whiplash” and misalign your spine.  The force of the impact strains/sprains muscles and ligaments resulting in imbalance, which causes subluxation and nerve pressure. 

     On the other hand, subluxation can be caused by hereditary factors which weaken the spine and result in instability between the segments, followed by nerve aggravation.

    At the same time, many spinal problems are congenital in nature (you are born with them); for example, scoliosis, spinal malformations, congenital ligamentous laxity.  Each of these conditions can have one or many vertebrae that subluxate or misalign repeatedly, due to the weakness the present.

     Another area that causes subluxation is posture.  There are many causes of poor posture, many of them are learned, and many are due to bad habits, such as sitting on your legs or slouching.  Nevertheless, poor posture stresses the spine and causes misalignments.  Physical fitness and good muscle tone, starting early in life are the best safeguards. 

  Scoliosis is a spinal disease characterized by exagerated spinal curvatures.  Scoliosis can begin early in life, usually around the age of 10-13.   Symptoms from a stress or trauma such as a fall, will often resolve within a few days.   However, repeated damage to the spinal muscles and joints begins to cause small structural changes that can degenerate the spine over a life time.  Poor postural habits such as slouching only further this process.  Scoliosis patients regularly display weakened and shortened muscles around  a curved spine.  If scoliosis is diagnosed early there is treatment that can lessen the degree of the spinal curvature in adolescents that are still growing.  Treatment for adults with scoliosis is aimed more at strengthening and loosening the spinal segments that are curved.       

     Often sports or recreational activities result in subluxation.  An impact or jarring force sustained during a game can easily and almost always cause spinal misalignment.  Many professional athletes have personal chiropractors that help “to keep their spine in line” (Tiger Woods has a chiropractor on the PGA tour).  Many sports involve twisting (i.e. golf, tennis) that can easily overload discs and misalign your spine.

     Finally, many conditions such as pregnancy, obesity, fatigue and deconditioned musculature can cause subluxation.  Obese individuals place tremendous strain on their joints.  Excess loading stress on the spine over the long term aggravates lower back conditions.  Subluxation is caused when the spine assumes positions that are not conducive to normal function.

     In conclusion, as one can see there are many causes of subluxation or misalignment.  Usually the reoccurrence of subluxation or mechanical spinal dysfunction is due to a combination of the elements mentioned above.  Unfortunately, many conditions resulting from abnormal spinal motion lead to permanent changes, such as degenerative disc disease.  Postural patterns form around weakened or deformed spinal segments, which lead to recurrent subluxations in the same regions.  In these cases, chiropractic adjustments help to maintain and manage the patients’ condition, by keeping the area functioning mechanically and neurologically within the patients’ limits.  These patients require periodic adjustments or “tune ups”.  The timing of these treatments varies according to the severity of their situation.  Usually, adjustments would be required no less than once per month.  In the most severe cases, weekly or biweekly adjustments are required.

     On the other hand, patients with less or no degenerative change may still require adjustments once a month or as required, due to their stress level.  If these patients experience an acute “flair up” of spinal discomfort, they should be examined by a chiropractor as soon as possible.

     At the present time, spinal vertebrae are not replaceable, therefore, it is wise to take care of the only spine we will have.  In most cases, we take better care of our motor vehicles (with front end alignments, oil changes, etc.) than we do ourselves.  The majority of us wait until our first episode of spinal pain (usually in the early 30’s), before we seek chiropractic care.  Life is a constant challenge and the responsibility of keeping your spine healthy begins the day you are born!

Previous Articles

Copyright 2008 Lakeridge Chiropractic and Wellness Clinic