We learned so much from the Parker Seminars this year! There were a lot of amazing speakers, but one that stood out to me is Dr. Heidi Haavik. She is a chiropractor and neuroscientist who has been spearheading chiropractic research in New Zealand for the better part of 2 decades, and her discoveries on the impact of an adjustment are profound. I think that because an adjustment seems so simple on the surface, that we tend to minimize the importance of it's effects on the body (myself included sometimes). We have been pigeon-holed into thinking that chiropractic care is only for pain relief, but Dr. Heidi's research shows that there is so much more that we are positively influencing neurologically and it's super exciting for a nerd like me! How, you may ask?
There are these special little muscles called Multifidus Muscles that are the deepest inner muscles. They connect one vertebra to the next vertebra all along the spinal column. These tiny deep spinal muscles are actually not meant for movement (big muscles are responsible for movement and stability), but are for sensory. They help sense what's going on in the environment, tell the brain what's happening, the brain interprets the information and it relays back to those tiny muscles and they then tell the big muscle groups what to do. Those deep spinal muscles are super essential in the brain's understanding of its surroundings and its awareness in space to allow it to respond appropriately. They sense this perception through movement and stretch. What Dr. Heidi has found is that if there is a lack of movement and activity in these deep spinal muscles, the brain cannot properly integrate internal and external input. Simply put, a lack of stimulation of these deep spinal muscles alters the perception of the environment to the brain. Whoa. What that translates to is yes, pain, but also can contribute to reduced resilience, poor adaptability, altered control and lowered sense of overall health and well being to name a few (refer to the right column of the picture below).
Not only that, but it's a self perpetuating cycle. With muscles, if you don't use it, you lose it. This principle is true for all muscles, including the deep spinal muscles. If they aren't stimulated, they will turn off. If they turn off for a long period of time, they will start to atrophy, meaning they will weaken waste away, and turn into fatty tissue. So it is SUPER important that we keep those little guys working!
Because we know that the integrity of these deep spinal muscles are so important, we need to know what can cause a reduction in their activity. As it turns out, they are sensitive to and stop working properly when exposed to physical trauma, stress, and inflammation. Fun fact: Chiropractic has identified the cause of subluxation to the spine as physical trauma, mental and emotional stress, and toxins (which is at the root of inflammation). Isn't that quite the coincidence! It just so happens that these super important deep sensory muscles are found along the spine, and that they are in direct connection to brain activity, and are sensitive to the 3 major causes of subluxation that chiropractic was founded upon! They are an essential component of understanding why a subluxation alters our body's function and why adjustments are essential to restoring and maintaining your well being.
Now that we see the correlation as to why movement is so essential to the spine and brain health, how exactly does an adjustment do? This is where Dr. Heidi's research becomes really interesting. When an adjustment is delivered, the short quick stretch wakes up these special little muscles and they immediately talk to the brain, causing it to pay attention to its environment. That action of the adjustment alone restores perception to the brain, allows it to then recalibrate and respond appropriately. At the same time, the adjustment encourages those muscles to work properly and exercises them, which prevents the cascade of muscle atrophy. The super cool thing that her research found, was that when an adjustment is delivered, it stimulates the part of the brain called the pre-fronal cortex. This is a massive deal because this is what the pre-frontal cortex is responsible for:
It is crazy to think that every time we make an adjustment, we are directly affecting this!
Also, does the concept of brain perception and how it relates to health sound familiar? That made my ears perk up like a puppy because it sounds really really similar to the conclusion that Dr. Bruce Lipton came to as well. You can read more about his particular work in a previous blog I wrote HERE. But that to me was really exciting to connect, because again, it reiterates that doctors in other fields who are up on the latest information are discovering that all the new data reinforces the same principles that chiropractic has been founded upon and that no other intervention thus far has been able to do what a chiropractic adjustment can do. The adjustment has the highest benefits with the least risk of anything out there.
One thing that Dr. Heidi does note, is that we don't have enough data to know that a subluxation can cause any specific diagnosis relating to dysfunction in any of these areas. In other words, we cannot predict if you have a subluxation that you will get a specific symptom or disease, and vice versa. If you have a specific disease or diagnosis, it cannot definitively be caused by a subluxation. The only thing that we do know, is that if we find a subluxation, and we deliver an appropriate adjustment, that we can activate the muscle spindles and golgi tendons found in the deep spinal muscles that can positively influence these areas of the brain to help it assimilate and adapt better each time we do it. And you know what? That's good enough for me. In fact, I'd say that might be reason enough to say that everyone should be under some form of chiropractic care. If you agree with me, I invite you to share this information because currently, only 12% of people see a chiropractor. That means that 88% of the population has never seen a chiropractor. How many of that 88% of people could benefit from a "simple" adjustment?
But what do you think? I'd love to know your true thoughts on this!
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