Bones out of Place and Structural Health

Published on 24th August 2016

Discover the true cause for why bodies go squint

When we discussed the shape of a healthy spine, we observed that it has a series of curves that look like a double-S shape.

We also discussed a variety of misaligned spinal shapes, such as head-forward carriage (“goose-neck”), hyperkyphosis (“humpback”), hyperlordosis (“hollow back”), and scoliosis (sideways curve).

Now let’s look at how these changes are created and what this means for the health of your spine, nervous system, and body overall.

“Forward” bones and compensatory twisting

When a force acts on your body, bones in your spine can get moved around slightly. This may or may not be a problem, depending on the direction in which the bones get moved. Your body has muscles that can pull them back into position from most directions – except one. If bones in your spine get moved out of place in a forward direction, there are no muscles to pull them back where they belong. It does not take much force to cause these misalignments. Obviously, something like falls, accidents, or carrying out hard physical labour can cause this. But bones may also get moved forward by a friendly slap on the back, sitting in an unsupportive seat for a long period of time, sleeping on a soft mattress, getting a firm massage, or having people push down on your back while you are face-down.

Gently patting babies on their backs to help with burping may also cause this, so you can see that it really doesn’t take much force to move bones!

If a bone gets pushed forward, your body leans forward above that point and becomes unstable against gravity. Your brain notices this and instructs your spinal muscles to fire. They try to pull you into a more upright position – the only problem is that none of them pull in the exact direction needed to fix the original problem. Yet they all pull and become tight and achy and suddenly you have back pain. Your body shifts again, trying to get rid of some of that pain by twisting up elsewhere, pulling another bone “forward”. And you may go for another massage, sit in an unsupportive seat again, or go dancing all night in high heels. And your body adds another layer of “forward bones” and compensatory twisting. Over time, the problems just build up like layers of onion skin.

The normal spinal curves then gradually change. Flat spots and twists are created as your body tries to compensate for a problem it can’t fix by itself. Over time, your posture deteriorates and you may develop a “humpback” or a “hollow back”.

Spinal cord pulling and meningeal adhesions

Because your spinal cord is anchored to the bones from the inside of the spinal canal, it has to follow all these postural changes. This causes an enormous amount of tension and stretching of your spinal cord and nervous system that may interfere with spinal cord function, as we have already seen here. In addition to changes to your body’s motor or sensory function, nervous system tension may affect other parts of your body. The stretch may pull all the way up to your brain and affect breathing, heart rate, etc., which are all regulated in your brainstem (the lowest part of your brain).

Your body really doesn’t like it when there’s constant pulling in that area!

We already explained here and here that your brain and spinal cord are surrounded by layers of protective tissue. These are called meninges (men-in-geez) and can be seen in the green outline in the graphic below. They are very thin, yet extremely strong.

At the bottom end, the meninges attach to the tailbone. At the top end, they attach to the big opening (foramen magnum) at the base of the skull. The meninges go around the inside of the skull – the back of the head and the inside of the upper half of the face.

The white part (sclera) of your eye is actually an extension of the same tissue!

By the way, if these protective coverings get attacked by bacteria or viruses, that is called meningitis, a word you may be more familiar with than the underlying word meninges.

We already discussed how the meninges not only protect your delicate spinal cord and brain but also provide stability by holding the spinal cord in place. In 2015, scientists discovered that the meninges house tiny channels which facilitate the direct communication of the lymphatic system to the brain.

The lymphatic system is an important part of the immune system, so the meninges play a key role in keeping your body and your brain healthy and protected!

What does this have to do with my posture?

As your posture deteriorates, the spinal cord and meninges get stretched and twisted up inside the spine. Because of this, they get stuck where they should be moving freely. Now you may understand why we ask you about any falls or accidents you may have had, about the kind of chair you sit in, and the mattress you use. We want to find out whether they may have caused changes to your spine and meninges.

For example, a fall on your back or tailbone could have caused changes, even if it did not send you to the doctor at the time.

The impact dissipates throughout your spine and may cause bones to get shifted out of position in various places. The resulting misalignments can directly contribute to the tension on your spinal cord. This may cause the meninges to get stuck. Years later, you will probably have forgotten about this particular event; yet it may be the underlying cause of your current pain-related or postural problem.

Advanced Biostructural Correction™ can fix this

The good news is that all this can be fixed. When we take care of the bones out of place, we reduce the tension on your spinal cord and meninges. We also address the meninges directly, right at those places where they got twisted up and stuck.

Without treating those areas, your body will continue to be stuck, and it cannot progress in its healing process.

This is because the stuck meninges are holding your bones out of place.

We first test for whether a problem in the meninges is showing up on a given visit. If we find one, we address it.

This means releasing part of it by stretching your spine out a little bit farther than you think it can go. These full-body stretches may seem weird, startling, or perhaps even a little scary but they generally do not hurt. They may feel uncomfortable, but the discomfort usually only lasts a brief moment; by the end of your treatment on a given day, it should be gone.

The more you relax during the procedure, the easier it becomes, and the faster we can do these stretches.

Your body can now begin the unique healing process produced by Advanced Biostructural Correction™. We call this process Unwinding and will discuss it in a future post.

In the meantime, take advantage of our free consultation to see how we can help move those “forward bones” back into place in your body!