neck curvature and its affect on ms, multiple sclerosis and chiropratic

What You Didn’t Know About Your Neck and MS

We bounce through life, rarely thinking about a part of our body until it hurts or causes problems. The natural curves of the neck and spine act as God-given shock absorbers, helping us through the impact of our bouncing. Have you had your neck’s curve checked by a chiropractor lately?

The angle of the cervical vertebrae protects the spine by keeping it at rest. A decrease in the curve causes tethering and elongation, or abnormal stretching. Tethering means that tissue attachments limit the movement of the spine. It also decreases the blood flow, meaning the spinal cord isn’t getting all the nutrients it needs. When the curve is lost, it puts the spine in tension, pulling on the nerve root, which is an invitation to damage and pain. When it worsens, the vertebrae become curved in the wrong direction, which is a recipe for pain and disease.

Study of Birds

A fascinating study in 2005 examined the difference between game fowl who had a normal curve to their necks, who had straight or fused vertebrae and those with a reverse curve. The researched found that not having the correct curve caused demyelination or a degeneration of the nerve tissue in lesions. The spinal cord was basically rotting at the points were it was obstructed.

This study was interesting as birds are bipeds, like humans, also carrying their heads parallel to the ground. It seems their spinal cord vascular system is also similar to humans. It was noted that spinal cord compression created microscopic changes in the spinal cord.

In people, this reverse curve to the cervical vertebrae has been called a “text neck” because of the modern habit of hunching over a screen. Lesions on the spinal cord, like those found in the birds, have also been observed, and the condition is known as multiple sclerosis or MS for short.

MS Lesions and Chiropractic

Multiple Sclerosis is a fairly common autoimmune disease. It can have various neurological symptoms as the brain has trouble communicating with the rest of the body along the damaged nerves of the spinal cord. Some symptoms may include: blurry vision, other vision problems, tingling and numbness, bladder and bowel trouble, clumsiness and lack of coordination, fatigue, muscle spasms, and others.

In Dr. Ryan Dopps’ practice, he has seen how beneficial chiropractic can be to correct the curve of a patient’s neck. As the pressure on her spinal cord was relieved, her body’s nervous system could function better and heal itself. Her MS lesions actually began to heal and even to disappear.

Chiropractic involves finding where vertebrae are misaligned and adjusting them. Often over the course of multiple adjustments, the bones find their place and the muscles and tendons begin to hold them there; and so the curve of the neck begins to come back. Restoring the correct angle of the spine between the brain and body is a restoration of life, as blood flow returns with nutrients and better communication is enabled between the body and brain.

Let Your Life Force Flow

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Call 316-636-5550 to make an appointment with Drs. Ryan and Denise Dopps, DC at their Wichita office, Dopps Chiropractic NE on Greenwich and 21st. If you are not in the area, contact them for a referral nationwide to another principled chiropractor at admin@drdopps.com.

You can connect with Dr. Denise on Instagram (@ddopps) where she promotes health through nutrition and exercise. You can also find Dr. Ryan on Instagram (@drdopps) where he lives out a chiropractic lifestyle and @letschalkaboutchiropractic posts fun, humorous snippets of information with colorful illustrations.

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