Feeling Well ≠ Functioning Well

by Dr. Andrew T. Brady, Chiropractic Physician

Your brain sends and receives roughly 100 trillion bits of information every single second to and from your body. These messages travel from the brain, down the spinal cord, out 31 nerves that branch out and supply life to all cells, tissues, and organs, and then get sent back to the brain. These messages give the brain vital information about how the body is functioning. These same signals are responsible for growth, repair and healing when your body is under physical, chemical or emotional stress.

Only 10% of these signals reach our conscious brain, so if someone is feeling “good” or does not have any symptoms, that tells me that 10% of their body is functioning OK. But what about the other 90%? The other 90% of signals do not reach our conscious brain, which explains why we don’t feel plaque building up in our arteries or cancer cells multiplying and spreading until it’s often too late. We can all think of someone who was feeling great and seemed to be doing well who later found out they had cancer or who died suddenly of a heart attack. Feeling well does not mean you are functioning well.

Spinal misalignments interfere with growth, repair, and healing messages because they compress the nerves exiting the spinal cord. A spinal misalignment is similar to opening your breaker box and flipping one of the switches to the “off” position. Whatever room that breaker supplies is not going to have electricity. If you were to walk into a room and find that NOTHING that is plugged in is working, would you immediately go around and change out all the light bulbs and replace all the receptacles? Of course not. The most logical thing would be to check the breaker first.

Spinal misalignments often fall into that “unconscious 90%,” which is why I recommend having your nervous system evaluated for interference even if you feel good. If misalignments go uncorrected for long periods of time, your body can no longer grow, repair, and heal itself effectively or efficiently. I see patients every week who begin sleeping better, have more energy, get sick less frequently, improve their quality of life, and take less medication, all by restoring the brain-to-body communication by getting adjusted. The human brain, spinal cord, and nerves have more connections than stars in the universe. Think about that for a second. The human body is amazing. Keep it properly connected!

Spine Integrative Wellness Article – Functioning Well | (234) 284-8002