World Spine Day is every year on October the 16th, and this year’s theme is Back on Track. Before we pat our selves on the back for being the beautiful homeludens, let’s also take a moment to celebrate our fellow vertebrates.
Interestingly more than a few vertebrates are living on this planet, and all with spines that all have striking similarities. Think about it, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, humans and even some politicians have a spine. We Vertebrates are recognised because of our paired muscular system and a central nervous system partly enclosed within the backbone.
People often think sea creatures were the first to develop a spine. Chordates may be the first group of sea creatures known of that created what we consider to be a spine. The name Chordates implies, a chordate possesses a stiff, supporting rod “the notochord” not a piece of music but a cartilaginous skeletal rod.
As you know, fish are vertebrates; they appear in weird and wonderful ways, and they adapt their shape and size depending on the needs of their environment.
Amphibians, meaning “double life” live in water and on land. From the eggs wriggle out the young animals, called tadpoles and looking like small fish: later on, the tadpole from a larva becomes a fully formed adult.
Reptiles, the word “reptile” comes from the Latin reptilis, which means “creeping”. These animals that best represent snakes; however, Reptiles also include such quadrupeds as tortoises and crocodiles.
Birds are also vertebrates and have perfectly formed themselves for flying. Their skeleton is very light because their bones are pneumatised, i.e. contain air.
Mammals (which means “bears mammary glands”) refers to one of our distinguishing features. There are more than 5,500 species of living mammals, which come from about 125 families. Mammals like you and I owe many of our capabilities to the complex structure of the spine. Movements, such as walking, running, climbing, and deep breathing, digestion and thinking are all related to your spine.
You, may not connect those abilities to your backbone. Imagine what life might be like without a spine???
Use it or lose it – Your Spine Health.
What does it feel or look like to experience spine or nerve system dis-ease?
Some common signs and symptoms include low back pain, neck pain, arthritis, osteoporosis and injuries. In fact, Low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world. It is ranked sixth in terms of the overall burden. Most people will feel back pain at some point, and the severity of symptoms ranges from one person to the next.
Previously I’ve written lots about wear and tear on the spine and the health of your nerve system. Because this is what the Healthpraxis is passionate about. And if you’d like, click the links below you can refresh your understanding anytime you like.
It’s Just a little Arthritis… Right?
How coordinated do you feel, getting in and out of bed, your car, up and down from the floor? How much energy do you have? What is your general sate of health?
Spine Trauma
Trauma comes in many forms, and there’s always stress from the physical world, to deal with. For example, birth trauma occurs by the use of forceps pulling the head of a child through the birth canal. Because of the strong pulling action on a yet fully formed spine, this experience often leaves clinically significant neurological marks on a child.
As you may have already experienced, mechanical trauma because it comes in many forms: such as falls, strains from lifting, postural stresses, occupational distortions, car accidents, etc., too numerous to list.
In Chiropractic, we consider, how unresolved micro-traumas in the spine and nerve system cause dis-ease. Dis-ease is unresolved trauma, and it’s irritating, and your nerve system registers this irritation. What this becomes is “nerve interference”, and the results of nerve interference and adaptation to nerve interference are the binding of energy and information in your body.
Interestingly, one of the oddities of nerve function shows us that a strong stimulus over a short time produces reactions like pain and muscle contractions. And lesser irritants over longer times are also detrimental to the integrity of the structure.
It is also well known that nerve irritation is often not sufficient to reach your conscious awareness. Even when it’s producing dys–trophic changes in some areas of the spinal cord (neuromere) and tissues that are functionally related.
Chiropractic Adjustments
Spinal manipulation has existed for at least 2,500 years, and what you and I know as the Chiropractic adjustment began in 1895.
The term “chiropractic” combines the Greek words “cheir” (hand) and “praxis” (practice) to describe a treatment done by hand. Chiropractors are widely celebrated as providing the safest drug-free, non-invasive service available for vertebrates who want more from their life.
In 2004, Sean Hannon, BA, DC, wrote in his article and described how Chiropractic adjustments help people. Healthy spines allow for many health benefits, to all people, regardless of the presence of symptoms or not. His review found statistically significant improvements for people in areas such as:
1. Respiration
2. Range of motion
3. Heart rate variability
4. Autonomic function (organs)
5. Endocrine function (glands)
6. Cardiovascular
7. Immune function
8. Muscle strength
9. Overall athletic ability
10. Neurocognitive function
11. Reaction times
12. Information processing
13. Visual acuity
14. Stress hormones
15. Reproductive hormones
16 Healing/recovery time
17. General health in senior citizens
18. Reduced labour time in pregnancy.
What are you waiting for? Get yourself booked in and let’s get your spine in motion and your life adjusted. Because, every day is spine day. Nuff said…
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