The Misaligned Spine
In a misaligned spine, abnormal gravitational stresses will typically weaken and damage weight bearing structures over time. These structures include the spinal discs, the vertebral joints, the joints of the pelvis, and the muscles that support the spine against gravity. Damage to any of these structures can produce spinal pain. The spine also houses the nervous system. Impingement or irritation of spinal nerves can result in pain, dysfunction, or altered sensation in the arms, hands, legs feet, body and head.
The primary cause of spinal pain and dysfunction is spinal misalignment and imbalance. The leading therapeutic intervention for any spinal condition must therefore be the restoration of optimal spinal alignment and balance. The spine cannot be truly healthy unless it is in a proper relationship to gravity. To understand how the spine can become misaligned, it is important to understand how the body maintains upright posture and to understand the important role that the top-most area of the spine, the upper cervical spine, plays in the orientation of the body against gravity.
