Like any healthcare service, chiropractic care providers receive many questions regarding the efficiency and side effects of their services. One of the most popular inquiries we receive at Paxton Family Chiropractic is, “Could adjustments make my spine too loose?” In short, the answer is no. Adjustments don’t loosen the spine at all. This common misconception stems from the knowledge that chiropractic care adjusts certain joints, allowing them to relax and realign in their natural state. To further explain this answer, let’s break down the process and purpose of an adjustment.
Chiropractic Adjustments: An Overview
In an adjustment, a chiropractor locates and adjusts spinal joints and other aspects of the vertebrae for the following reasons.
- Spinal joints are misaligned
- There is a loss of motion within the spine
- Spinal joint position is interfering neurologically with the surrounding nerve tissues
Each of these adjustment reasonings disrupt the natural functions of the spine itself. If left untreated, it can affect the function of the neurological system. However, when the adjustment process is complete, the spine can become realigned. Therefore, it improves motion and protects the neurological system. The main goal of an adjustment is to correct the spine’s dysfunction and reform it into a stable, functional state.
Once we achieve this natural state of alignment, the spine does not loosen or become any less durable than before.
Could Adjustments Make My Spine Too Loose?
A large portion of the time, consistent adjustments of the spine are necessary to restore alignment. Think of repeated adjustments as “practice” for your spine. A recently aligned spine may convert to its previous misaligned state due to poor posture, awkward sleep positions, or improper aftercare by the patient. The more adjustments the spine receives, the more it’s encouraged into staying in its state of alignment. Once the spine is used to its natural range of motion and desired fit in the body, adjustments can become fewer and more spaced out. Once again, repeated adjustments never loosen the spine, Instead, adjustments encourage it to reform into its natural alignment, reaching increased range of motion with the rest of the body.
Adjustments Correct & Improve the Spine
Visiting your chiropractor regularly creates an opportunity to meet the desired fit of your spine. Every adjustment you receive helps to remove any possible interference between the mental messages traveling from your brain to your body, as all body-to-brain communication travels through the spine and neurological system before meeting its destination. When spinal misalignment and limited range of motion occur, these signals between the brain and the body become less effective, which decreases the function of the neurological system as a whole.
By receiving regular chiropractic adjustments, you reconcile the relationship between your brain and your body, as well as optimizing your spine’s natural state – never loosening it. To begin the healing process between your brain and your body, contact Paxton Family Chiropractic.
