Spinal Hygiene

You are certainly familiar with the field of dentistry and the concept of dental hygiene. From a very young age, we learn that dental hygiene is critical to our oral health, and even our overall health. Studies show correlation between dental health problems and serious issues like heart disease. We know the procedure very well. Regular dental cleanings (at least twice per year) combined with home maintenance (brushing, flossing, and not eating sugar) prevents early tooth decay.

I am going to introduce a new concept for you and it is going to follow the exact same model that dentistry follows. This concept is even more important to your overall health and your quality of life than dental hygiene.

The concept is spinal hygiene.

The spine is the intricate structure of bones, joints, muscles, and most importantly nerves that comprise your backbone. The spine serves several functions. First, the spinal bones protect the delicate nervous system from physical damage. The spine also is designed to MOVE. Yes that is correct, the spinal joints are precisely structured so that you can move through all ranges of motion (bending, twisting, turning, etc). The spine is a dynamic structure. Bone remodels itself in response to stresses and muscles get stronger or weaker the same way. Joints deteriorate with excessive wear and systemic inflammation.

As the spine decays, function is lost. The most basic loss of function is decreased motion. We know one thing for sure, joints that do not move decay faster than ones that move well. When joints and discs decay, they can compress nervous system structures like nerve roots or the spinal cord itself. When this happens, function begins to decrease on a larger scale. Remember that the nervous system regulates the function of all other body systems, thus interference at this level can result in more serious problems.

You may remember that one of the big things that the chiropractic adjustment does is restore normal motion to the spinal joints. As you can see from this article, this can have a huge impact on how you function. Keeping spinal joints moving well helps to prevent spinal decay, which in the long run further protects the delicate nervous system. Compare the chiropractic adjustment to a dental cleaning. You brush and floss daily, but there is still buildup around the teeth that needs to be addressed. Similarly, you exercise and eat fairly well, but there is still subluxation (nerve interference) and restricted movement in your spine.

Let's revisit this scientific research chart which we have used in other posts.

As you can see even people in their 20s show signs of spinal decay. All of these individuals in this study did not report any pain! You can see how functional losses start to occur long before pain shows up, just like a cavity develops silently until it starts to irritate the surrounding nerves.

Let's also remember from previous blogs that back pain is the number 1 cause of disability and missed work in the United States. Clearly we need a shift in our approach.

Enter the Spinal Hygiene model.

Spinal hygiene is very similar to the dental hygiene model. Regular chiropractic adjustments "clean" the spine, keeping joints moving and decreasing overall nervous system tone. At home, mobility and stability exercises are individually designed to address your spinal needs. Combine this with a diet low in sugar and processed foods and your risk of spinal decay decreases greatly. With better spinal hygiene, you avoid the need to see our physical therapy department, or worse yet an orthopedic surgeon for serious and dangerous procedures. You also help to avoid pain and function better. The spine is much more dynamic and is the victim of a lot more stress than our teeth, so naturally regular adjustments are needed more often than regular dental cleanings. I get adjusted once per week regardless of whether I have spinal pain or not. I encourage patients to get on similar programs and most end up coming in about once per month at a minimum.

There is a common saying in chiropractic, "If your spine was on your face, you would take much better care of it." Due to the near-epidemic proportions of spinal problems, a new model of spinal care is needed, and it is here and waiting for you.

In health,

Dr. Joel Ardner