Structural problems can occur from events as traumatic as a car accident or from something as seemingly benign as improper shoes, chairs, and mattresses/pillows.  The primary misalignments in the body happen because bones can and do go out of place in a direction that the body cannot self-correct because there is no muscle or combination of muscles pulling in the direction needed to place them back in the optimal position. 

 

Which misalignments are these specifically?  The misalignment that the body cannot self-correct are when any of the spinal bones (vertebrae) from the base of the neck (cervical vertebrae 7, aka C7) down to the last movable bone in the spine (lumber vertebrae 5, aka L5) gets pushed forward (anterior).  The reason that the body cannot self-correct this type of misalignment is because we do not have a muscle that pulls directly backwards!  

 

DO THIS TEST:  Take a second and feel your back.  The bumps that you feel in the center of your back are your spinal bones.  Directly behind your spine is just your skin and some fascia (tissue)!  Since muscles can ONLY pull, we have no way of correcting a bone that has been misaligned forward. So please do not let anyone push you forward!

 

These forward misalignments lead to compensation patterns (e.g. tight muscles, restricted joints in the back and neck, hips, knees, feet, shoulders, etc.) in the body.  Compensations and compensation patterns distort the body leaving it twisted up mechanically.  The twist in the body affects the bones, joints, and a special covering of the spinal cord and brain called the meninges.  This consistently and predictably happens to people, and it is easily observed in people that have slumped posture.  This forward, slumped posture with rounded shoulders is a common presentation, however, other common presentations are one shoulder or hip higher than the other, a lower back that is flat or curved too much (“sway back”), flat sections of the spine, too much curvature of the spine (the dreaded “hunch back”), a neck that is straight or excessively curved, or many other different deviations of a normal spine.

 

Spine 101 Why we hurt? - Dr. Aberle:  

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How the body works, what others have missed. - Dr. Jutkowitz:

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