Cumberland Valley Chiropractic

What is Subluxation?In simplest terms, a subluxation (a.k.a. Vertebral Subluxation) is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves. Spinal nerves are the nerves that come out from between each of the bones in your spine. This pressure or irritation on the nerves then causes those nerves to malfunction and interfere with the signals traveling over those nerves.How does this affect you? Your nervous system controls and coordinates all the functions of your body. If you interfere with the signals traveling over nerves, parts of your body will not get the proper nerve messages and will not be able to function at 100% of their innate abilities. In other words, some part of your body will not be working properly. It is the responsibility of the Doctor of Chiropractic to locate subluxations, and reduce or correct them. This is done through a series of chiropractic adjustments specifically designed to correct the vertebral subluxations in your spine. Chiropractors are the only professionals who undergo years of training to be the experts at correcting subluxations. At our chiropractic center our examinations procedures are geared toward detection and correction of the "Vertebral Subluxation" (click on this link for more information on subluxations). The procedures we use are therefore specifically selected for your spine and nervous system health. There are a couple of things that you should expect when you have a first visit at our clinic.Our Examination consists of a thorough spinal and nervous system exam which includes "Palpation". Palpation essentially is checking your spine by hand. With this exam the doctor can feel areas of your spine that may be involved with subluxations problems. Spinal position, curvatures and muscle tone can also be examined as it relates to possible spinal subluxations. Your examination may also include some specialized equipment designed to better access your spine and nervous system. This examination could involve several components.The first part of this examination process may involve reading spinal heat differences from one level of the spine to another, as well as from one side of the spine to the other. Heat is a byproduct of circulation, which is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. From this we can see how subluxation may be affecting these functions of your nervous system. In the second part of this examination scans may be performed on the surface of your spinal area to evaluate surface electrical impulses and measure them along your spine. This helps measure the effect of subluxation on the motor nerve system and the affect subluxations may be having on your muscles.The importance of each of these tests will be explained to you at your Report of Findings. However, it is important to note that this examination helps scientifically understand the subluxation processes going on in your spine. It also gives us a baseline for future tests so we can accurately measure your progress to see how your spine is correcting and your nervous system is functioning. Using these examination procedures is much more accurate than just depending on "how you feel" on any given day. Spinal X-rays may be taken depending on your age, and situation. There are many reasons why we would not take x-rays on certain patients including pregnancy, most children, recent usable spinal x-rays and some other various situations. Aside from these situations, x-rays are a common part of the examination process when looking for vertebral subluxations. X-rays give us important information including the position of the spinal bones, and the quality of the spine and safety of adjusting it. X-rays also tell us the relative length of time subluxations may have been involved in your spine. Commonly, most patients receive three spinal x-rays at the beginning of care.With this important information we can make more thorough recommendations of care.