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  --Daniel J. Murphy, DC; Spinal Biomechanics, Harrison, 1992, p.366 

 Before any body part or any body function can be described as “normal” or “abnormal,” healthy or unhealthy, we must first have a clear definition of what “normal” is. For example, if normal blood pressure is 120/80, then a person with blood pressure of 150/100 would have high, “abnormal” blood pressure. In only the last few years medical, anatomical, mathematical and engineering researchers have been able to clearly define “normal” spinal alignment. This research has been published in the world’s most prestigious medical journals and presented at the leading spinal symposiums around the world.

There are two proven ways to evaluate normal or abnormal spinal alignment:

• Postural examination (posture is the window to the spine)
• X-rays
• Normal Spinal Alignment as Seen With Posture

When looking at a person from the front, the spine must be straight. The head, shoulders, hips and feet should be lined up. When looking at a person from the side, the ears should be back over the shoulders and the shoulders should be back over the pelvis.

Abnormal Spinal Alignment as Seen With Posture Your posture and spine are abnormal if:

• Your head is visibly tilted, shifted or rotated in one direction.
• Your head is jutted out in front of your chest and shoulders.
• One hip is higher than the other, turned in one direction, or shifted to one side.
• One shoulder is higher than the other, turned in one direction, or your whole upper body is shifted to one side. In any case of abnormal posture, there is interference or damage being caused to your Central Nervous System.

Normal and Abnormal X-ray Findings

When looking at the front view X-ray, the spinal bones (vertebrae) must also be straight. The bones must not be rotated nor tilted and no curvatures (scoliosis) can be present.

The side view X-ray must reveal three 63-degree arcs. The most important arc is in the neck (cervical spine) and should range between 34 and 43 degrees between C1 and C7 (the first and last cervical vertebrae). This cervical arc is known as the “Arc of Life” because mental life impulses travel directly from the brain down this part of the spinal cord to bring life to the rest of the body. Losing your Arc of Life causes the most severe obstruction to the brain, spinal cord and nerves (Central Nervous System).

If your CNS is unhealthy, you cannot become truly healthy by exercising or eating right alone. You can be healthier, but you cannot be at “normal” or optimal. Any “abnormal” position of the spine, misalignment of the bones, or any changes in these curves indicate a serious problem. It is absolutely vital to understand this point--any changes from “normal” will interfere with and eventually damage the Central Nerve System. Interference and damage to the Central Nerve System will always result in “abnormal” function of the body, improper healing, and poor, abnormal, or less than optimal health.

“ … Posture affects and moderates every physiologic function from breathing to hormonal production.”

--C. Norman Shealy, MD, Roger K. Cady, MD, et al; APJM, 1994, Vol.4p. 36

Corrective Chiropractic Care

If your spine and Central Nervous System are “abnormal,” there is a need for corrective chiropractic care. This type of care will restore “normal” spinal position and alignment. By properly restoring normal curves to the spine and aligning the vertebrae, it will eliminate CNS interference allowing your body to function and heal “normally.” This gives you your optimum chance to be at 100 percent of your God-given potential.

A healthy spine with the right lifestyle program gives you an unbeatable combination for normal, optimal health and your best possible future. It’s simply the way that health is defined.

To find a corrective care chiropractor, look for chiropractic offices that uses both posture and X-ray analysis to evaluate a patient’s spine and Central Nerve System. Spinal corrective care can be compared to orthodontic corrective care. Depending on the severity of the condition, it takes several months to several years to attain maximum correction and then a lifetime of maintenance if long-term normal function and optimal health is your goal.

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Adapted from Mercola.com By Dr. Ben Lerner, Dr. Greg Loman and Dr. Rob Schiffman

- muscles can be permanently shortened or stretched when a slumped over position becomes your normal position. Muscles and ligaments that have been shortened or stretched no longer function as they should.

•Increase discomfort and pain 

- it can often cause headaches and pain in the shoulders, arms, hands and around the eyes resulting from a forward-head position. Rounded shoulders can trigger the headaches at the base of your skull where the shoulder muscles attach.

•Create pain in the jaw 

- a forward-head position can lead to jaw pain. This kind of pain (known as TMJ, temporomandibular joint disease) was once considered only a dental problem. Today we know that TMJ pain also may be caused or aggravated by faulty posture.

•Decrease lung capacity 

- reducing the amount of oxygen in your body can decrease the space in your chest cavity, restricting efficient functioning of your lungs.

•Cause low back pain 

- one of the most common consequences of bad posture. For people over 35, low back pain is often interpreted as a sure sign of age, although it may have been developing since childhood.

•Cause nerve interference - your spine is the basis of posture. If your posture is bad, your spine can be misaligned. Spinal misalignments may cause interference in nerve function.

•Affect proper bowel function - even this important bodily task may be affected by faulty posture. If you have a rounded shoulder, head-forward posture, it may affect your bowels. If your spine arches and sways forward, your intestines may sag and cause constipation.

•Make you look older than you are - when you are slumped over, or hunched over, not standing straight, you can add years to your appearance. For women, the more rounded the shoulders, the more breasts may sag. Any woman, no matter what her age, can help reduce the sag in her breasts by nearly 50% by simply standing tall.