question Before reading this excerpt, it is recommended that you first read what is chiropractic part I, the more philosophical entry.

Now let’s be a little more physical….

When an adjustment or an impulse is put through a joint what happens and what is the large noise that people are afraid of? First the noise; the noise is the       escaping of gas through the joint, it is also known as a cavitation. It is a release of pressure from the the synovial joints, it can occur in any area where there are synovial joints in the body, it is like when someone cracks their knuckles.

*Here is a video of the same concept.

At a mechanical level you are putting a joint through its full range of motion that will allow for full range of motion through that specific joint complex. This will allow proper movement of the spine. This will directly effect degenerative joint disease, disc herniations, facet imbrication, canal stenosis, cervicogenic headaches, hypomobility, and sciatica.

This will also alter your mechanics though out your body, it will allow muscles that have been inappropriately shortened through lack of movement to lengthen and stretch. This will also allow for the joints to begin to move properly as well.

If the mechanics of one part of the body are altered in any way shape or form it will alter the mechanics through the body in many different ways and will bring up many pain patterns that many people will not recognize as originating from another part of the body. As an example; a person has low back pain and finds that leaning forward relieves their back pain. By leaning forward in the low back this causes a hunching forward at the shoulders and the head. This will further a forward head carriage (imagine someone sticking their neck out). This posture will in turn cause shortening of the suboccipital muscles that are found at the base of the skull as well as the scalenes which are found on the front of the neck above the collarbone. This increase in tension will lead to tension headaches and then they will come in saying that they have headaches and never bring up the low back pain because they do not see a relation between the two problems when there is a direct correlation between the two problems.

The adjustment will allow for proper range of motion of the joints, this will also require the need to reeducate the muscles through exercise that will activate muscles that have not been functioning properly to ensure that this increase in motion will be sustained over a long period enhancing overall function.

Author: Dennis Lesniak