IS IT A BONE OUT OF PLACE?
What is it that chiropractors are really working on? Many people think the problem causing their symptoms is a bone out of place. So they go to a chiropractor who adjusts them and "puts them back in"... or so they think. Many chiropractors will also say, " okay, you're back in place now. Call me when it bothers you again." This is an over simplification of what's really going on, and unfortunately leads to a lot of misconceptions surrounding chiropractic.
Most of the time, it is not a "bone out of place". It's primarily a joint that's lost its' normal mobility. In a healthy spine, every single joint should have totally free and unrestricted motion. That's the purpose of a joint- to allow movement to happen, while (in the case of the spine) protecting the integrity of the nervous system. When you get injured or have chronic stress on your spine, the spinal muscles go into spasm to protect the area from further insult or injury. That muscle spasm "locks up the joint", restricting it's normal movement.
This results in two things: 1. Nerve interference- the nerves become irritated or interfered with, causing altered nerve function which leads to altered bodily function, much of which goes unnoticed. 2. Joint dysfunction (restricted joint motion) also causes joint degeneration... what many refer to as Osteoarthritis (the correct and more accurate term is Degenerative Arthritis). A joint that has lost its' normal, free motion produces more stress on that joint and the nervous system, thereby causing joint degeneration. It's a compensatory reaction. In order to protect itself (the joint and your nervous system), the muscles and ligaments become fibrotic and contractive, and soon calcium deposits are laid down to further stabilize the problem area. This simply creates more joint restriction (stiffness), and the problem worsens.
The static "bone out of place" model leads one to think they are "always going out", and makes treatment seem futile.
The dynamic "joint dysfuction or hypomobility" model explains why pain relief care alone (a couple of visits) never fixes the problem, and in fact, leads to spinal degeneration and a worsening of the problem over time.
