The Relationship between Muscle Tension and Spinal Alignment

As humans, there are a variety of stressors experienced daily. Stress collects in various body areas, most commonly the upper back, jaw, and neck muscles. Stress leads to tension in the muscles. The built-up tension can cause the spinal bones to shift out of alignment, irritating the nerves between the spinal bones. A cycle begins as increased nerve tension causes the muscles to continue to contract/tighten. The extra muscle tension continues to pull the spinal bones out of alignment, making the spine stiff and less flexible affecting posture, balance, coordination, and mobility, causing the spine to become further unstable. Chiropractic treatment at regular intervals is recommended to help realign and maintain proper position.

Why The Spine Goes Out of Alignment

The nerves in the body are intricately linked to the spinal cord, and small distortions in the alignment can cause nerves to misfire and malfunction. When the spine goes out of alignment, the nervous system/brain and nerves get stuck in a stressed or tense state. Even a minor misalignment can cause a series of discomfort symptoms to travel throughout the body.

Causes

Causes of misalignment that creates tension in the nerves and muscles include:

• Previous injuries.
• Unhealthy sleep.
• Stress – mental and physical.
• Physically demanding jobs.
• Overtraining.
• Sedentary habits.
• Foot conditions and problems.
• Unhealthy eating habits.
• Being overweight.
• Chronic inflammation.
• Arthritis.

Chiropractic Treatment

Chiropractic examination procedures:

Palpation

• A chiropractor will feel/palpate the spine to see if the bones are in alignment, move well, or are out of alignment and not moving correctly or moving at all.

Posture Exam

• If the head, shoulders, and hips are uneven or the shoulders and head are pulling forward, the spinal bones are out of alignment/subluxations.

Balance and Coordination

• Unhealthy balance and coordination can indicate the brain, nerves, and muscles are malfunctioning due to spinal misalignment.

Range of Motion

• A loss of spinal movement flexibility can show tension in the nerves, muscles, and misalignments.

Muscle Test

• Loss of strength in a muscle can indicate the nerve signals are weak.

Orthopedic Tests

• Tests that put the body in stressful positions focus on what tissue/s may be injured and the causes.

X-rays

• X-rays look for abnormalities, dislocations, bone density, fractures, hidden/invisible injuries, and infections.

Injury Medical Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic provides personalized treatment plans. These specific therapies are made to generate long-term spine benefits. Spinal manipulation, deep tissue massage, MET, and other manual therapy techniques, combined with exercise, help get the bones moving properly, the muscles functioning correctly, and the spine back into proper form. Treatment relieves muscle spasms, tension, and joint dysfunction, increases circulation, and retrains the muscles to remain relaxed.

The Natural Way to Heal

References

Ando, Kei et al. “Poor spinal alignment in females with obesity: The Yakumo study.” Journal of Orthopaedics vol. 21 512-516. 16 Sep. 2020, doi:10.1016/j.jor.2020.09.006

Le Huec, J C et al. “Sagittal balance of the spine.” The European spine journal: official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society vol. 28,9 (2019): 1889-1905. doi:10.1007/s00586-019-06083-1

Meeker, William C, and Scott Haldeman. “Chiropractic: a profession at the crossroads of mainstream and alternative medicine.” Annals of internal medicine vol. 136,3 (2002): 216-27. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-136-3-200202050-00010

Oakley, Paul A et al. “X-Ray Imaging is Essential for Contemporary Chiropractic and Manual Therapy Spinal Rehabilitation: Radiography Increases Benefits and Reduces Risks.” Dose-response: a publication of International Hormesis Society vol. 16,2 1559325818781437. 19 Jun. 2018, doi:10.1177/1559325818781437

Shah, Anoli A, et al. “Spinal Balance/Alignment – Clinical Relevance and Biomechanics.” Journal of biomechanical engineering, 10.1115/1.4043650. 2 May. 2019, doi:10.1115/1.4043650