MyAchyBack Potential Pain Solution: Chiropractic
Chiropractic Feature Article
Your Nerve System and You
|
Keeping Your Nerve System Healthy
|
B-complex vitamins are necessary for normal functioning of the nerve
system. B vitamins include thiamine(B1), riboflavin(B2),
niacin B3), and pyridoxine (B6). Thiamine is necessary
to prevent beriberi (causing weight loss, impaired sensation, and pain and
weakness in the arms and legs). Riboflavin deficiency causes sensitivity to
sunlight, glossitis (inflammation of the tongue), and swelling of the throat.
Niacin deficiency causes insomnia, weakness, aggression, and mental
confusion. Pyridoxine deficiency causes depression, anemia, and high blood
pressure. The B vitamins work together to promote health. Good sources of B
vitamins include bananas, turkey, tuna, potatoes, and beer. Vitamin-and-mineral
supplements are also good sources of the daily B-vitamin
requirement. |
Your nerve system is your body's master
communication system. Your brain - your body's central processing unit -
receives information from every other system. Information on sight, sound,
touch, taste, and smell is constantly bombarding your brain. Information on
muscle activity, placement of your arms and legs and fingers and toes, and the
positioning of your joints reaches the brain, nanosecond by nanosecond. Feedback
is constantly being supplied on how many new red blood cells are being
manufactured, how much acid has been secreted into the stomach to help digest
your breakfast, and how much insulin, epinephrine, and other hormones is needed
for healthy functioning.
1 Your brain processes information
faster than the world's fastest computer
2, and you get to have one
for free!
Remarkably, man-made computers are exactly like the human
brain. How information is received, how it is processed, and how instructions
are sent back out again - these activities are quite identical in both the
artificial machine and the living organ.
3 How is all the
information transferred back and forth? Messages coming to the brain from the
body and messages going from the brain to the body are transmitted via the
spinal cord, the tail-like direct extension of the brain itself. The spinal cord
- delicate nervous tissue - is encased in the bony structures of the spinal
canal, housed within the spinal column.
Of course, all systems in the
body are related. Interestingly, problems with spinal mechanics may interfere
with normal activities taking place in the spinal cord. If spinal muscles are
irritated and spinal ligaments are tight, pain signals from these structures
will affect normal signals flowing through the local spinal nerve. Ramped-up
pain signals impact levels of other signals, enhancing some and depressing
others. The ultimate result is that of "wires being crossed". Systems then begin
to break down and the person's health may be affected.
So, mechanical
problems in the spine can lead to many other physical ailments. Tight neck
muscles, headaches, painful lower backs, and even arm pain or leg pains suggest
altered spinal mechanics. How may these health issues be addressed?
Chiropractic health care is specifically designed to diagnose and treat
spine-related complaints. Treatment is gentle and directed toward restoring
mobility, reducing pain and irritation of spinal muscles and ligaments. As these
painful conditions resolve, more normal functioning within the nerve system is
made possible. The result is greater health and improved well-being across the
range of your body's systems.
1Carpenter RHS: Neurophysiology, 4th ed. Hodder Arnold, 2002
2Moravec H: When will computer hardware match the human brain? J
Evolution Tech 1, 1998 - http://www.transhumanist.com/volume1/moravec.pdf
3Lytton WW: From Computer to Brain. Springer, 2002
Chiropractic Articles