'Subluxation' is a word chiropractors use to indicate that a joint is distressed. In the same way that a person who is distressed can still function, but not very well, a subluxated joint still moves but less easily than it should. Depending on its location and severity, a subluxated joint can have a more or less far reaching impact on a person's health and quality of life. The most common symptoms of a subluxation are pain, limited movement and muscle spasm.

The effects of a subluxation can be seen from two different but complementary perspectives. On the one hand a subluxated joint disrupts the integrity of a person's skeletal structure. This can best be seen in the weight bearing areas of the body. The ankle, knee, hip and spine all share the task of bearing weight evenly between the left side and the right. Any pain or restricted motion will compromise the efficiency of this structure. Chiropractic treatment from this perspective is a matter of restoring proper joint mechanics ( or joint 'play') to an elaborate set of levers and struts which just happen to be alive. This view of chiropractic is currently gaining popularity.

On the other hand, subluxations affect the joints of living creatures like human beings whose parts must work harmoniously. Any disruption of structure is also a problem of communication.We human beings are adaptable but after amount of pain and unevenness our nerves can become distressed-- either overexcited or depressed. In this way subluxations can cause or contribute to far reaching problems involving many body systems including digestion, respiration, circulation, reproduction and others. Subluxation of the spinal joints in particular can irritate and interfere with nerves affecting movement and sensation as well as those maintaining organs, blood vessels and glands. For this reason chiropractors in the past have emphasized treatment of the spinal joints.

From my experience, it makes sense to see the subluxated or distressed joint as a central element of a more general complex which also involves muscle tension and abnormal nerve activity. This subluxation complex is like a traffic jam in the body. The chiropractor's job is to calm everybody (muscles and nerves) down and get them going in the right direction (joints).

One of the most intriguing questions in the healthcare field is the nature of this 'traffic.' I.e. what is the liveliness in living things such as ourselves that can be so distorted that the result is pain, decreased mobility and the host of other ills that can befall us?One of the major characteristics of chiropractors is their willingness to accept the importance and relevance of such questions to the healing work that they do.

The traditional chiropractic answer to the question of the essential nature of life is 'intelligence.' In every living thing including human beings there is a natural drive to organize itself meaningfully. Interestingly, anatomists refer to the point where bones meet to form a joint as an 'articulation.' A subluxation can be described as a faulty or 'mis-'articulation . Chiropractors, by restoring proper articulation, enable the true or free expression of a person's nature, also known as 'health.'