This question was posed to me by a patient and I wanted to share my response with others if they have a similar question. Always willing to try and answer any question about Chiropractic I can, so please don’t hesitate to ask!

Question: “Can an adjustment correct a subluxation FOR GOOD?”

Response: A subluxation is a vertebra (bone of the spine) that has lost its normal positioning with the other vertebrae around it to the extent that it encroaches on the nerves that pass through the spine. The nerves carry mental impulses (how the brain communicates with the body). This encroachment puts pressure on the nerves and interferes with that mental impulse. Thus, subluxations effect your brain’s capacity to adapt to functional changes within the body and the environment that the body interacts with. This is a keystone feature of health and well-being. Correcting the subluxation allows a better expression of health and well-being.

More often than not, correcting the subluxation with an adjustment is not a “one and done” type of procedure. Just as brushing your teeth once or for a week will not prevent you from getting cavities for good, one adjustment or a series of adjustments will not prevent you from getting subluxations for good. This is because both your teeth and your spine are constantly interacting with the world and daily stresses challenge their integrity.

Even though a series of adjustments will not prevent subluxations for good, the quality of the adjustment itself does play a big role in how often a subluxation can present itself. Specific adjustments tend to have greater “holding power” when it comes to correcting subluxations compared to general manipulations. What I mean by “holding power” is that specific adjustments can provide a greater time span between subluxation presentation and the need for an adjustment to correct it. Other factors effecting the holding of an adjustment and subluxations are: previous damage/traumas, age of patient, and longevity of conditions to name a few factors.

- Dr. Jarek Esarco

Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.