The Big Take-aways
- – Your nervous system is a super complex system that continuously sends signals back and forth from the brain to the rest of the body and vice versa.
- – The nervous system can be hindered by subluxation resulting in dysfunction.
- – Chiropractic care helps remove subluxation and restore function.
What is the Nervous System
Ultimately the nervous systems main job is communication within the body. It sends and receives messages to and from the body. Some of which we can consciously control and some of them we do not.
Consciously, we learn how move or trunk, neck and limbs when we are young. We learn how to coordinate these to begin to hold our head up, roll over, crawl, walk, and run. Additionally, we learn what fine motor movements too. Being able to grasp things, write with pencil and use a fork to eat. All of which is controlled by the nervous system.
When it comes to things we don’t have to consciously control, our body is innately wired to be able to keep our hearts beating, digestion moving, kidneys working, etc. These functions begin to develop in-utero and the complexity of which we could talk forever about. The one thing we should understand though is the function of the nervous system directly correlates to the function of all other parts of the body.
Two Major Divisions of the Nervous System
The nervous system is comprised of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord. The PNS consists of all the nerves adjacent to the brain and spinal cord.
CNS
The brain controls thought, stores memories, regulates emotion, controls movement. This is super important in kids because during development it is setting the foundation for the rest of their lives. Supporting learning, coordination, and growth.
PNS
Think of this as the middle man. What gets from point A (the brain) to the point B (other body part) or vice versa? It’s the peripheral nerves.
How Does It Work?
In simplest terms, it is a never ending feed back loop. A stimuli, such as touching something cold is sensed and relayed back to the brain. The brain then decides what you do for instance pulling your hand away from that cold object. Your brain sends that signal back down through the peripheral nerves to pull your hand away.
Nervous System and Chiropractic
Where does chiropractic fit into this? Specifically, nervous system focused chiropractic care is objectively measuring the function of the feed back loop above. When hindered, the nervous system can skew the stimuli coming in that the brain reacts to.
Subluxation
This is what hinders our nervous system. Think of our nervous system functioning at less then 100%, subluxation is what causes it. Subluxation is caused by stress, all stress can be categorized into one of three forms:
- 1. Physical stress: think slips, falls, posture, bad mattress, things of that nature.
- 2. Chemical stress: things put in our body such as food or polluted air.
- 3. Emotional stress: anything from loss of a loved one, work stress, or school stress
When we have one of these or a combination of them, our bodies can either resolve the issue if small or our body will adapt to that stressor being there. If we adapt to that stress, it will hinder function of the nervous system.
How do we fix this?
Specific chiropractic adjustments are how chiropractors do this. Think what would be the best way to influence the nervous system without drugs or surgery? The spine or more specifically the spinal cord which is being protected by the spine.
Conclusion
The nervous system is the body’s master communication system. It controls everything from movement and coordination to digestion and heart function.
When this system is functioning properly, the body is better able to grow, adapt, and heal.
Understanding how the nervous system works provides valuable insight into why maintaining its health, especially during child development, is so important.
