The most basic communication system in the body consists of the brain and its network of nerves. The central nervous system consists of over 100 billion nerve cells, which connect and control all of the cells and tissues and all of the organs and glands of the body. Information from the brain travels down the spinal cord and out along various spinal nerves to all body tissues.

Electrical impulses that originate in the brain must first travel down the spinal cord on their way to their destinations. The 24 vertebrae, the bones that make up the spine, safely house the spinal cord. In between each vertebra, there is a hole about the size of a pencil where the nerves exit as they branch off of the spinal cord. In the neck these nerves may travel down the arms; nerves branching out in the upper back may go to the lungs or heart; nerves branching out from the mid-back may go to the stomach, and so on.

These nerves are quite tough and durable in most parts of the body. However, at the point where the nerves pass between the vertebrae, they are quite delicate. Unfortunately, sometimes vertebrae become misaligned, and pressure occurs on these exiting nerves. This pressure, although slight, is enough to cause interference in the transmission of nerve impulses. If this condition persists, then the body is weakened, and illness or disease can be the result.

We refer to these misalignments of the vertebrae as Subluxations.  Subluxations of vertebrae in the cervical spine are related to headaches; Subluxations in the low back to low back Pain, and so on. Most people have one or more Subluxations; as a result, their health is endangered, and they probably don't even know it. Unfortunately, Subluxations don't always cause Pain or symptoms. The damage that they cause is often imperceptible, at least at first. How is it possible that and adjustment of the spine could so dramatically improve such a chronic condition? To understand the answer to this question we need to look in detail at the nervous system.

First, you’d have to agree that the brain and spinal cord can be considered to be the computer system of the body. Indeed, the holy grail of computer technology is to create a computer that has the power of the human brain, a feat that may well be impossible. There are a trillion nerve cells in the central nervous system, which brings with it a degree of complexity and organization almost beyond comprehension. Computer scientists have said that using today's technology a computer would have to be as tall as the empire state building and the size of the state of Texas to be able to duplicate what the brain does, but even then it would be a poor imitation.

Information from the brain travels down the spinal cord to the appropriate spinal nerve root, and that information is then routed to its destination. There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves. Some of these nerves carry information to the heart, some to the lungs, some to the stomach, and so forth.

We now come to a weak link in the chain, however. These nerves have to escape from the spinal cord by passing through small holes between the spinal vertebrae. At the point where these nerves are most delicate, only millimeters away from the spinal cord itself, they are also most vulnerable.

Slight misalignments of the spine can occur and cause interference with the spinal nerve roots as they leave the spinal cord. It doesn't take a lot of pressure to cause interference in these nerves. At the University of Colorado, noted researcher Dr. Chung Hah Suh found that 8-10 millimeters of mercury pressure on a spinal nerve could cause up to 60 percent malfunction in that nerve. If you have a quarter in your pocket or purse, take it out and place it on the back of your hand to get an idea of how little pressure this actually is.

Even slight pressure on a nerve root due to vertebral misalignment can then cause interference in nerve transmission and the flow of information between brain and organ. If you have less than 100 percent communication between the brain and the organ, will the organ be able to function at 100 percent? I think you have to admit that the answer must be no. Over my years in practice I've seen an amazingly wide variety of disorders helped through simple adjustments. Indeed, there are research studies that support this observation. In the 1980s a research study was performed in Denmark regarding infantile colic. Any parent who has ever had a colicky child knows what a miserable situation colic creates. Children with colic will cry incessantly. No matter how much the parent tries to help the child by holding them, offering them food or rocking them, the crying will not stop. In this particular research study, a group of 316 infants suffering from colic were given chiropractic adjustments. Within two weeks and after an average of 3 treatments, 94 percent of the infants no longer were suffering from colic.