Chiropractic - Key Principles

The Vitalistic Principle

Vitalistic principle holds that the human organism can keep itself healthy if there are no barriers to full expression of all its vital functions. The body has the innate ability to heal itself from within.

The life force (or Innate Intelligence) emanates throughout the body through the nervous system. The nervous system, in a sense, is the conduit of the life force. By manipulating the spine and other joints through which the life force passes (the spine itself is a series of joints}, chiropractors see themselves as removing barriers or obstacles to the full expression of this life force, thereby allowing the functioning necessary for health.

The vitalistic model distinguishes chiropractic from the conventional medical model. Unlike in allopathy and western medicine, chiropractors do not directly treat disease. They facilitate the body's own restorative powers. The vital force cannot be measured scientifically. But it is something chiropractors believe in. Like chi in Chinese medicine, prana in Ayurveda, and the vital force in homeopathy, vital force is a major premise of chiropractic.

Holism

Another important principle of chiropractic medicine is the notion of holism. Holism suggests that the body is a network of systems all interpenetrating and influencing one another. Within this context, the nervous system is the master system that mediates the functioning of all other systems. Any obstacles to perfect function of the nervous system can have potentially far-reaching effects. Chiropractic's focal point of concern is the integrity of the nervous system.

Subluxation

The focus of treatment of chiropractors is subluxation.

A subluxation (or Vertebral Subluxation) is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and put pressure on or irritate spinal nerves. Spinal nerves are the nerves that come out from between each of the bones in your spine. This pressure or irritation on the nerves causes the spinal nerves to malfunction and interfere with the signals traveling over those nerves

Your nervous system controls and coordinates all the functions of your body. If you interfere with the signals traveling over the nerves, parts of your body will not get the proper nerve messages and will not be able to work properly

The American Association of Chiropractic Colleges has defined subluxation as "a complex of functional and/or structural and/or pathological articular changes that compromise neural [ nervous system] integrity and may influence organ system and general health." The cause of this spinal misalignment is considered to be anything from poor posture, a muscle spasm, an accident, or a sports injury to a birth defect.

Thus subluxation refers to a partial dislocation in a joint comprised of two vertebra. There is a misalignment of the vertebra in the joint, but not severe enough to cause a complete dislocation.

The basis of chiropractic theory is that subluxations alter the normal neurophysiologic functioning in the person. Palmer, founder of modern chiropractic, coined the term subluxation to describe a misalignment of vertebra that results in undue pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. Another term sometimes used to describe this condition is "segmental dysfunction," referring to a segment of the spine.

To Palmer a subluxation was a joint problem in the spine in which the flow of Innate Intelligence is disturbed or impeded.

The inappropriate pressure on nerves (nerve "reflex") caused by subluxation is what causes disturbance in the bodily functions supplied by those nerves and can make the person more vulnerable to disease processes.

Chiropractors look for interferences in the nervous system in the form of subluxations and remove those interferences to allow the nervous system to function at a higher level. When the nervous system functions at a higher level, the body will begin to heal itself.

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