determines function in the area of engineering, for example.
A hammer has two functions: hammering nails in and pulling them out. The way a
hammer is structured, with a long handle and a head of hard metal, allows it to
function properly. The handle allows the user to easily grasp the tool and its
length allows for a faster swing with more strength behind it. Its metal head
“transmits the force of the swinging hammer into the nail, driving it into the
wood.”[2]
The claw on the other side of the hammer’s head creates a grasping mechanism to
grab a nail, while the handle gives the user leverage to pull it out of the
wood. This is only one of many, many examples of how structure determines
function in everyday life.
Structure, of course, determines biological function as
well. Just as heart valves must be shaped just right for your heart to work
efficiently, so does the shape of your spine. The joints of the spine are so close together that if there is a
fixation or subluxation in one of them, the surrounding joints can compensate
for the damaged joint and take over the workload. Unfortunately, over-compensation
is actually dysfunction and ultimately leads to early breakdown or decay of the
joints. Just because you might be
moving or functioning better, it doesn’t mean your structure has improved at all.
Research has found that chiropractic adjustments affect the
chemistry of biological processes on a cellular level. Chiropractic care can
address not only the immediate spinal misalignments that might be causing pain,
but can also address deeper dysfunction in your body. According to R. Pero, Ph.D., from New York University, “People with five
years of Chiropractic care had immune systems that were 400% stronger than
cancer patients and 200% stronger than those without cancer.” In the case of the human body, structure
dictates biological and even chemical functioning.
Beware of medical doctors that might take a “Band-Aid
approach” to treatment and focus on your symptoms rather than on issues of
structure, which is the root cause of symptoms. In fact, medical errors are the
third leading cause of death in the United States.[3]
One thing that chiropractors and medical doctors do agree upon, however, is the use of established norms to judge a
patient’s health. Your values are compared against “normal” values to evaluate
everything from blood pressure to, in our case, spinal alignment. And that is
where the Ideal Spinal Model comes into play. Be sure to check out my next blog
post on the Ideal Spinal Model for more information.
Working to Restore
God’s Perfect Design in You!
[1] Harrison DE, Harrison DD,
and Haas JW. CBP Structural
Rehabilitation of the Cervical Spine. Harrison Chiropractic Biophysics
Seminars, Inc. 2002, Page 5-6.
[2] Structure Determines
Function, interactive tutorial. Last updated September 27, 2014. http://www.sciencemusicvideos.com/structure-determines-function/
[3] Starfield B.
“Is US health really the best in the world?” JAMA. 2000 Jul 26;284(4):483-5. The Leapfrog Group. “Hospital
errors are the third leading cause of death in U.S., and new hospital safety
scores show improvements are too slow.” Hospital Safety Score. October 23,
2013. <http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/newsroom/display/hospitalerrors-thirdleading-causeofdeathinus-improvementstooslow>.
Frances A. “Why are medical mistakes our third leading cause of death?”
Huffington Post. November 20, 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-frances/why-are-medical-mistakes-_b_5888408.html>.
McCann E. “Deaths by medical mistakes hit records.” Healthcare IT News. July
18, 2014. <http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/deaths-by-medical-mistakes-hit-records>
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