By Dr. Adam Dixon

The gate theory of pain states that the two sides of the sensory neurological pathway are set up in such a way that they tend counterbalance each other.  The pain pathway is directly inhibited at the spinal cord level by neurons from proprioceptors and mechanoreceptors.  Proprioception is your brain’s awareness of where your joints are in space, and is partly responsible for coordination.  Without proprioception, we would have no balance and no understanding of how far we can push our joints without injury.  Also, these little guys inhibit pain and inflammation.  Genuine research has proven that the adjustment excites both proprioceptors and mechanoreceptors, and thus inhibits pain and inflammation.

However, if these little guys are left alone without stimulation, then our joints risk segmental dysfunction, which basically means that a joint is not working properly and the inflammation pathway goes relatively unchecked.  The ligaments around non-moving joints tend to tighten and further restrict motion. It therefore takes more effort from the muscles and surrounding joints to cover for the non-working joint’s “laziness”(, and to perform the actions that the joint alone normally should.)  And this is just the beginning of the downward spiral.

When you receive an adjustment, your sensory neurons are launched into mechanoreceptive and proprioceptive bliss.  (It’s as if the joints adjusted are now awakened to the brain.)  The joints are now more responsive to input from the brain, and they also move more easily( from forces put on them from the muscles around them.)  Your brain understands better where joint “end-range” is, meaning that the joints can better get the job done without injuring themselves.  (The ligaments around the moving joints loosen just enough for proper movement.)  When these adjustments are complimented with core strengthening and stretching exercises, the benefits multiply. (Where proprioception is increased, so is balance; where balance is increased, there is less risk of falling.  Interestingly, there is a strong correlation between balance and back pain.  Also, if a joint is moving properly, there is less strain put on the structures around the joint.)  Healthy joints are moving joints, and this is a part of what we chiropractors at Dixon Center do.  We help keep your joints healthy.  And there is so much more to what we do.

If you’d like to experience the science behind chiropractic, just schedule an appointment with us at Dixon Center of Chiropractic.  Call (615) 646-1003.