The Brain, The Brain... The Center of the Chain.

Public perception of a chiropractic adjustment seems to be stuck on bone out of place, adjust, bone back in place… all better! But what is actually taking place is so much more than that. So let me elaborate a bit, and I will try not to get too science-y on ya.
First let’s establish some facts. The body is controlled by the brain… Fact. Without your brain you would cease to function… Fact. To control the body the brain uses the nervous system… Fact. The nervous system travels through the spine and enters/exits at various levels so therefore its protected by the spine… Fact. If the nervous system is interfered with at any level it can cause changes in how the message is received or sent by the brain and disrupt the bodies equilibrium… Fact. The body is always striving for health… Fact.
Now let’s tie these facts into some new research from Dr. Heidi Haavik and her team at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic.  Dr. Haavik is a chiropractor with a Ph.D in neuroscience so I think it is safe to presume she knows her stuff! What they are showing is that the brain operates based on it’s own reality, and sometimes that doesn’t match up with actual reality. For example in your eye you have a blind spot where the optic nerve enters and exits. But unless you actively try to see the blind spot, your brain will make a well informed guess based on the other sensory information coming from your eyes to fill in the gaps. So if something out of the ordinary is in your blind spot, your brain may never know it is there. This means that the brain’s inner reality (what it thinks) isn’t matching up with actual reality (what is actually there). This can happen throughout the rest of the nervous system as well. When the message either coming or going from the brain is distorted due to a subluxation the inner reality of the brain no longer matches the outer reality.
So, what does this mean for a chiropractic adjustment I hear you ask? Well I am glad you did! Dr. Haavik’s research has shown that a single chiropractic adjustment changes the way the brain perceives it’s body, allowing the inner reality to match up with the outer reality. Let’s go back to our facts to show why this is so important: The body is controlled by the brain. With better perception of what is going on in the body, the brain works more effectively at striving for health. So with regular chiropractic adjustments the brain’s inner reality is more accurate with the bodies outer reality allowing for a more appropriate expression of health. And just to clarify health is not merely the absence of disease, but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.
Hopefully this has given you a better perspective on why regular care is so important for your whole body. OR it could have given you way more questions! Which is totally fine as well, I love questions. Feel free to comment and ask away 
Yours in Health,
Dr. Liz