The nervous system is that system that controls everything that happens in the body. It sounds quite simple, but consider this..... You go off to sleep, no instructions to your heart but it keeps on beating, pumping blood to every inch of the body. We just take all this for granted. We eat whatever our hearts desire and never give it a second thought, but our wise bodies directed by the nervous system allow that food to be digested producing energy and other raw materials that are needed for survival.
To truly appreciate the nervous system, which consists of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, let us look at its role in a simple action. You arrive home and open the door of your car, step out, close the door and walk towards your house. Now let's look at these actions more closely. You are about to get out of the car, so a message is sent from the brain to the muscles in the hands and fingers allowing you to apply just enough pressure to grip the lever and move it to the open position, then you push the door open using just enough pressure to make a wide enough space to get out, then you step on to the pavement without jamming your feet because your brain had calculated the distance, and you close the door again without excessive force because your brain had already calculated the amount of force that the muscles of your arm and hand needed to apply to close the door without slamming it.
Many years ago, before I understood this, I used to give a ride to a girl in my French class. Every evening as she got out of the car, she would slam the door so hard that it would cause me to cringe and cover my ears. Could it have been that she had a dysfunction in how messages were being relayed between her brain and muscles? It is possible. You see, as long as we have function, we tend to feel that everything is OK. Very often, I meet people who tell me how healthy they are. Some will relate how they just saw their doctor, did lab work and received a clean bill of health. Yet as I listen more closely I'll hear tales of constipation, digestive problems, numbness in the extremities, difficulty sleeping, weakness, pain, and more.
I just described a simple action that the nervous system is responsible for coordinating, but there are functions that organs and glands in our bodies must carry out every day. All these functions are completed under the direction of the nervous system. Just take a look at your labwork. All these chemicals must be maintained at a certain level to maintain life. This is no easy feat, considering all that we are exposed to. Can you even imagine what could happen when there is a dysfunction of the nervous system? Can you see the relationship between a properly functioning nervous system and health? Let's get more specific. What if the nerve that supplies the heart, or the pancreas, or the kidneys was not functioning at 100%. Can you see what may occur over time?
You Have A Responsibility To Care For Your Own Nervous System.
Everyone knows that if the spinal cord is severed, all function below that level is lost because there is no communication with the brain. However, in the case where there is loss of only some communication, most people accept the resulting loss of function as being normal and often will live with that loss as long as there is no pain or very little pain. In explaining this to patients, I often test the strength of a muscle. I then give a chiropractic adjustment to allow better communication between the brain and muscle, and retest the same muscle to show the difference in strength. They are usually amazed. I say this to explain that most people are functioning at less than 100% because of neural dysfunction that can be easily corrected by a chiropractor, but they learn to live with the decreased function and are often amazed that they can have better.
The nervous system is kept healthy by providing it with adequate nutrition, and by keeping it free of interference. It is like a network of wires that take information around the body at very high speed using neuro-transmitters. The wires must be in good repair, so we need good fats to maintain the sheath that covers the nerve (myelin sheath). Here Omega 3 fatty acids are of importance and can be found in wild salmon, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts
Proteins are essential to provide the amino acids that make many of the neuro-transmitters, and B complex vitamins are essential in the production and circulation of the neuro transmitters. Dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of the B vitamins. Vitamin B6, B12, and Folic are of particular importance. If the brain, spinal cord, and nerves are healthy but there are interferences in the system, then there will be problems. Chiropractors are the doctors that look for physical interference in the nervous system and remove them. These blocks to proper nerve transmission are caused by spinal misalignments called subluxations. Unfortunately, the majority of the public do not know this because the general knowledge is that chiropractors are back pain doctors.
Consider all the little symptoms that you have learned to live with. Consider even the ones that have been brought to the attention of a health care provider but no answers have been forthcoming. Could it be that you may be experiencing a loss of function because of neural interference? If a symptom is not dramatic, many doctors may just overlook it but you will be the one to pay in the long run, so be in command of your health. I have seen x-rays with blatant misalignments labeled as normal because there are no overt symptoms. You have to be the one to take charge because the system has not yet caught up with the reality of maintaining health. This system is directed towards taking care of you when your body is in a state of failure. It is your body and your responsibility. No one is going to do it for you. You care for your hair, nails, teeth, your car, your garden and your pets. None of these things are essential for maintaining your life. You cannot live without your nervous system, and you live a life of dis-ease and possibly disease when your nervous system is compromised. Take charge and nip minor symptoms in the bud. If you don't, they will go on over time to become big issues and even though hospitals are nice places, I'd rather be in a resort. If you are experiencing headaches, neck and back pain, numbness and tingling in the extremities, sciatica etc. these are all symptoms that may arise from spinal misalignments. If you have children complaining of headaches, they need to be evaluated. Chiropractors are not just back pain doctors, they remove nerve interferences caused by spinal misalignments (subluxations). You should realize by now that subluxations are silent killers.
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