What is a SUBLUXATION? Very simply put, it is a bone that is a little out of place. When this happens, however, this simple misalignment can cause a huge amount of pain and discomfort. It can prevent a joint from moving, it can “pinch” a nerve, it can even effect the flow of blood through the area.

The next question you may have is…”What causes this to happen”?

A subluxations can be caused by almost anything. Poor posture, bad biomechanics (how your body moves), coughing, sneezing, driving, sitting at your desk, even sleeping!

Now you what is it, so what can you do about it? YOU SEE YOUR CHIROPRACTOR! Only a Doctor of Chiropractic is qualified to asses, and treat a subluxations. This is done by having an “ADJUSTMENT”, which is a very quick, very gentle push on the subluxations in the opposite direction which it moved. This allows the bone to go back into position, stops the pain, takes the pressure of the nerve and blood vessels.

So what is the difference between a SUBLUXATION and a DISK BULDGE or HERNIATION?

The subluxations affect the bones. The DISK is a shock absorber found between the bones of the spine. The DISK is very much like a jelly doughnut...soft and gooey on the inside, tough on the outside!

So what happens during a disk herniation? The gooey center begins to push out from the center of the disk causing pressure on the nerves that lie behind it. This pressure can cause a HUGE amount of pain, and even pain to shoot down your arms or legs...depending on the location of the disk.

Do you “need” surgery to correct this? Not in every case! In many cases, conservative (i.e. Chiropractic care) care is enough to reduce the disk herniation, and “re-center” the disk. We then use Physiotherapy to strengthen the muscle and tissues around the area to help prevent the injury from happening again! This type of treatment should always be tried before consenting for surgical intervention.

But, there are those people who have such a large herniation, or a “rupture” who have no other alternative but surgery. If this is the case, you want to make sure that you find a very reputable orthopedic surgeon. You never want to trust your spine to just anyone! Only your doctors can tell you if you need to have surgery (MD or DC)...and their decisions will be based on very thorough testing, MRI, orthopedic, and neurologic testing.

Remember...surgical intervention should be a last resort.