NUCCA - THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN
Considered as a whole, the spine, sacrum, and coccyx are called the vertebral (spinal) column. The sacrum is also a part of the pelvic girdle, an osseous (bone) ring to which are attached the articulations for the lower extremities. The vertebral column is segmented and flexible to allow for body movement. The segments, called vertebra, are each joined together, to the one above and the one below. The head is balanced on top the vertebral column. Seven cervical vertebrae constitute the upper portion (neck) and support the head. The next twelve are termed the thoracic or dorsal vertebrae and the five lumbar vertebrae below complete the spine, which rests on the sacrum to which the coccyx is attached. The rib and internal viscera (organs) are suspended in front and the lower extremities are attached to the pelvic girdle below. Throughout the center of the vertebrae runs the spinal canal. It encloses the spinal cord which extends from the base of the skull where it joins the brain stem at the skull opening (foramen magnum) to the second lumbar vertebra, at which point it ends in a filamentous structure, called the filum terminale. (Figure 1) This cord is the pathway for messages to and from the brain, controlling bodily function. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves pass from the spinal cord out between each vertebra, connecting organs, muscles, and the periphery to the brain.
The vertebral column is the NUCCA practitioner's practice domain. It is his/her purpose to restore the misaligned vertebrae to its normal position and thereby normalize the electro-chemical flow over the affected nerves. By correcting the misaligned subluxated vertebrae to their normal position alleviates pain and discomfort caused by the affected nerves.
Each vertebra of the spinal column has its individual location, a position in which it can function without injury to the nerve structure. Each one with its articulations is constructed so that is must align with the other vertebrae. This normal position of the vertebrae is known as the vertical axis of the body. Vertebrae aligned to the vertical axis maintain a normal range of motion about an axis of motion situated on the vertical axis, and are not interfering with the nerves that emit between them nor the nervous structure contained within them. When the vertebrae, individually or in groups, misalign from the vertical axis, they must be returned to the vertical axis so they can function normally without harming the nervous system.
C-1 SUBLUXATION
A C-1 Subluxation in the human body is a physical stressor or "stress on the base of the brain". It distorts the body, causing the spine to deviate from the vertical axis or the normal position, contorting the pelvis, and causing a short leg or imbalance.
When neurological impulses are affected by a C-1 Subluxation, they cause spastic contracture of the body's extensor muscles, and bodily distortion results.
A person who exhibits a distorted spine, a twisted pelvis, or a shortened leg usually has an imbalance within the central nervous system. Everyone, regardless of their health condition, who show bodily distortion should be checked for a C-1 subluxation. The C-1 Subluxation harms the central nervous system, affecting the body's functioning and the patients ability to ward off infections or recouperate from disease. Physical stressors such a C-1 Subluxation makes people more susceptible to disease. It makes people physically unbalanced and subjects the body to unequal muscular forces which also causes poor posture.
When a C-1 Subluxation has been aligned by a correct adjustment, physical stress is remoed from the spinal column. The intervertebral disks of the spine are balanced. The body's center of gravity is restored, and stress is removed from hip joints,knees, and other supportive joints. The patients body can function normally again, given time to heal.
While the direct effects of a C-1 subluxation on the human body are not fully known, NUCCRA research supports the hypothesis that the C-1 subluxation imbalances the facilitatory and inhibitory influences from the Reticular Formation located in the central portion of the brain stem. Evidence in daily practice indicates clearly that C-1 subluxated patients exhibit spastic contracture of the extensor muscles, which is known to be caused by an over-facilitation of these influences. The bodily distortion which results from the over-facilitation is measurable in every case of a Atlas subluxation, and can be produced, altered, or removed by changes in the misalignment factors of the C-1 subluxation. Medical physiologists have found that the Reticular Formation "exerts powerful facilitatory and inhibitory influences on all types of motor activities at all levels of the nervous system." (Mountcastle, Medical Physiology, 13th Ed., 1974)
Vertebral Column & C-1 Subluxation
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Last modified: July 4, 2007