Every so often the question arise whether the innate intelligence of the body would ever have reason to cause a vertebral subluxation. My first reaction is always the same, “Why on earth would the innate intelligence of the body do that?” Perhaps the question is asked by those who do not understand the metaphysical ramification of a vertebral subluxation. It interferes with the proper expression of the innate intelligence of the body. A vertebral subluxation exists because the innate intelligence cannot move a bone back into the correct position or at least into a position where it can control the bone’s movement. In other words, a vertebral subluxation is a vertebra that is no longer under the control of the innate intelligence of the body. Why would the innate intelligence move a bone into a position where it could no longer control it? That would not be intelligent and innate intelligence is intelligent. People with the last name of Miller, Smith, and Farmer may no longer ply those trades, but innate intelligence is still intelligent.
The intelligence of the body could and probably does move bones into unusual positions, possibly for the purpose of reducing some other stress upon the body. The question then becomes, will being in this unusual position cause nerve interference? And if it does cause nerve interference, is that a vertebral subluxation? That is really the question that people are usually asking. Will the innate intelligence cause nerve interference if that nerve interference is an adaptation (i.e., “lesser of two evils”)? If that is a possibility, then we would have to redefine a vertebral subluxation because as it is the definition only includes loss of juxtaposition, occlusion of an opening, impingement of a nerve, and interference with the transmission of mental impulse. There are a number of issues here. The first is whether a vertebra can move out of its “proper juxtaposition” and not cause nerve interference. We probably all have been taught philosophically that it can. The medical profession would say yes. In fact, they would say it never causes nerve interference! However, as non-therapeutic straight chiropractors, we do not address curvatures unless of course one or more of the individual bones in the curve happens to also be causing nerve interference.
Some techniques maintain that any misalignment is a subluxation, that structure affects function. Are these “global subluxations?” Can twelve or twenty vertebrae misalign? We must keep in mind that any change in structure affects function but as non-therapeutic straight chiropractors, the only function we address is the function of the nerve system. A scoliosis affects function but that is a medical condition (i.e., one that requires therapeutic measures). So that would not be a vertebral subluxation. Just demonstrating one or two components of a vertebral subluxation (i.e., misalignment without nerve interference) does not constitute a vertebral subluxation. There are chiropractic techniques that maintain these global subluxations need to be corrected, that we must realign the entire spine back to a position that has been determined to be normal. But these practitioners are not really addressing the problem of nerve interference, merely the problem of structural distortion and the “normal” is something they have determined which is not necessarily what the innate intelligence of a particular body wants.
Another position would be that of the upper cervical practitioner who maintains that nerve interference occurring from misalignments are simply adaptations, that the innate intelligence puts them there but they should not be adjusted and their cause is in the upper cervical region. They maintain that if the upper cervical subluxation is taken care of, the innate intelligence will correct the adaptations when it wants to. That may have been the exact position that B.J. was espousing in his writings and I failed to pick up on it.
I would like to suggest a third position. Let us say for the sake of argument that the innate intelligence will move a bone into a position that interferes with the nerve system but by doing that it reduces a problem elsewhere. The only scenario I can conceive of is if in moving a bone, another segment will move to create less stress upon the nerve system overall and there is some limitation of matter that prevents the innate intelligence from moving that bone directly. That being the case then we must consider another criteria for a vertebral subluxation that is other than misalignment, occlusion of an opening, impingement of a nerve and interfere with the transmission of mental impulses. That fifth criteria would be that the vertebra besides the above is in a position that the innate intelligence does not have control over it. It cannot move it back to its proper position. So it moves others around it to lessen the effects of that subluxation but they do cause some interferences, just not as serious an effect.
What are our options? We can “adjust” all 12-20 misalignments assuming they are all subluxated or we can adjust one that is the cause and allow the body to correct the rest in its own good time. To do that we must arbitrarily decide that the cause is in one area of the spine all the time or, we must have a technique that will address this new criteria. Can we know that the bone is in a position that the innate intelligence wants it (one of these adaptative subluxations) or is in a place that the innate intelligence does not want it but cannot move it? I believe muscle palpation has indicators that can give that information. I do not know of other techniques that have those indicators. A “working muscle” is an indicator that the innate intelligence of the body is attempting to move a bone, meaning it is in a position that the body does not want it. The fact that the muscle is “working” means the innate intelligence cannot move it (limitation of matter). If it were able to move it, it would have done so and we would never have had the subluxation to begin with. Your thoughts and comments on this or any article are always welcome, on the FACE message board.
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