SOUTH SHORE FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC
Monthly News - October 2005

Scary Movies and Rush Hour Traffic
It seems most people are well aware of the fact that physical forces can create subluxations in their spines. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out car accidents, falls, improper posture, heavy lifting and repeated use of particular muscles can create these misalignments that cause interference in your nerve system.

Many people however, grossly underestimate the affect of emotional forces on the spine and consequently on their expression of life. Fear isn’t the only emotion that evokes a kind of full-body response. Anger, worry, sadness, even excitement, anticipation and hope can and do have a significant effect on our entire body. They can affect our heart (cardiovascular system), our ability to fight off a cold (immune system) or even to conceive a child (reproductive system). So it should come as no surprise that they also affect our muscles and consequently, the bones of our spines (musculo-skeletal system).

A researcher at Georgetown University Medical Center recently suggested that ALL bodily functions can be affected by our emotions. This isn’t so difficult to understand really. Merely recalling a silly joke, or a ridiculous situation, can result in laughter or reminiscing of a loved one who has died can bring us to tears. Clearly then, our thoughts and emotions have a physical effect.

Researchers at Carnegie-Mellon University demonstrated last year that we are 5 times more likely to catch a cold or flu when we’re stressed. After all, we’re exposed to germs and viruses all the time but they only occasionally challenge our immune system. Similarly, emotions of all kinds force our bodies to adapt—chemically and physically. Changes in muscle tension can easily pull on the bones of the spine and cause subluxation, especially under sustained or chronic emotional states. What is more, as long as subluxation exists in the spine, the body will be less able to normalize itself even when our emotions return to normal.

We can ensure that emotions don’t wreak havoc with our nerve systems by having our spines checked regularly by a chiropractor. By keeping our nerve systems clear of interference we gain the added benefit of controlling our emotions as well as possible and who knows maybe one day we’ll just wave and smile at the person who’s just got to be in front of us in traffic.

- Dr. Bill