Health and Wellness
For the Whole Family
NetworkSpinal Chiropractic
How Does This Stuff Work Anyway?
Our Most Common Question — Answered by Dr. Barry S. Weinberg, DC
It’s actually quite simple… once you understand a few concepts.
Our Three Brains
Did you know we have three brains? Actually, we have one brain made up of three integrated parts.
The first brain is the Brain Stem, or Reptile Brain. This is the Survival Brain. It controls all functions responsible for our survival — as an individual and as a species. It controls such things as hunger, thirst, heartbeat, breathing, digestion, immunity, and sexual drive. It is the basic, primal part of us that is in all animals — Give Me Food… Give Me Shelter… Give Me Sex! Most importantly in regards to this article, it initiates the Fight-or-Flight Stress Response.
The second brain is the Limbic System, or Mammal Brain. It is in all mammals and is composed of such interestingly named parts as the amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus. This is our Emotional Brain. It controls all functions related to emotional aspects of survival — memory, behavior, pleasure and pain responses, and the experience of all emotions. Most importantly in regards to this article, it maintains the Fight-or-Flight Stress Response and initiates the Defense Posture.
The third brain is the Cerebral Cortex, or Human Brain. It is in “most” humans and is evident in other mammals, especially apes, dolphins, and whales. This is the Thinking Brain. It controls all functions related to higher thought — decision making, attention, awareness, language, judgment, reading, writing, and more. Most importantly in regards to this article, it is impaired by the Fight-or-Flight Stress Response and Defense Posture.
The Fight-or-Flight Stress Response
Every moment, our brain is assessing the world around us and asking one question: “Am I Safe?” This question is asked on all three levels: Intellectually, Emotionally, and for Survival. If at any moment the brain determines you are in danger on any of these three levels, it sends out an alert to the body and the Fight-or-Flight Stress Response occurs. Mechanisms of survival are activated by the Brain Stem to prepare you to face the situation or run away. This occurs whether we are being chased by a lion, taking a final exam, or seeing flashing lights in our rear-view mirror. It occurs any time the brain determines, “Danger!”
Here is the Stress Response in a Nutshell:
- Adrenalin Released → More Energy
- Blood Sugar Elevates → More Energy
- Blood Pressure Rises → More Oxygen to Muscles
- Pulse Increases → More Oxygen to Muscles
- Shallow, Rapid Breathing → More Oxygen to Muscles
- Muscles Tense → Ready for Action
- Pupils Dilate → See More in Less Light
- Immunity turns off
- Digestion turns off
- Sexual Function turns off
These three functions use a lot of energy and are not necessary for our immediate survival.
These are all appropriate responses to survive an attack from a lion or any other danger. However, once the danger is gone and the stress is over, these body functions should return to a state of balance and the body should move into a state of safety.
This is the most important paragraph in this article — so pay attention: If during these stressful events the Emotional Brain or Limbic System is involved (we feel fear, anger, resentment, etc.), it then sends a message to the Brain Stem to maintain the Stress Response to keep us safe, just in case such a situation ever happens again. Over time, this develops into what is called Defense Posture.
According to the Center for Disease Control, this is the cause of 95% of all disease and is directly what NetworkSpinal Chiropractic addresses. NetworkSpinal helps people move from Stress Physiology and Defense Posture to a state of Safety and Growth.
The Cause of 95% of Disease — How Come?
If you look at the list of responses in Stress Physiology, it is immediately apparent that long-term, these are our most common chronic ailments:
Long Term Stress Response Effect
- Adrenalin is Released → Anxiety / Depression
- Blood Sugar Elevates → Diabetes
- Blood Pressure Rises → Hypertension
- Pulse Increases → Cardiac Arrhythmia
- Muscles Tense → Fibromyalgia, Neck and Back Pain
- Pupils Dilate → Far-vision
- Immunity turns off → All immune-related diseases
- Digestion turns off → Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Indigestion
- Sexual Function turns off → Impotency, Infertility
When the body and brain are locked in stress physiology and defense posture, we react as if the stress that caused it is still occurring, even though it may be decades in our past. In this state, health and healing are impossible, and our quality of life and degree of wellness greatly diminishes.
Not only does this affect us physically, it affects us emotionally and mentally as well.
So, the degree of tension and stress in our body is of utmost importance in our aim to be healthy and have optimal well-being. This is why chiropractic care is so important, especially NetworkSpinal Chiropractic. By keeping your spine and nervous system properly tuned, you are guaranteed a healthier life and well-being!
A Brain is a Terrible Thing to Waste
When our brain and body are locked in Defense, blood supply to the Cerebral Cortex is diminished. Our ability to experience higher thought, make decisions, and place our attention on those things that are important to us is impaired.
When our Limbic System is locked in Defense, we are more apt to experience fear, anger, and sadness than we are to feel joy, peace, and love. We experience a higher degree of separation from ourselves and those around us. We become numb to what we are feeling in our bodies and our hearts.
Since we are still reacting to stresses and events from the past, we lose our ability to respond and adapt appropriately to changes in the present. We feel stressed out all the time and we get sick often and easily. We may feel locked in a job, relationship, or other circumstance that we cannot change. As Thoreau wrote so eloquently, we begin living lives of “quiet desperation.”
The Solution — Enter the Spinal Gateway
Help the brain and body develop new strategies to self-assess and regulate its own tension, move from defense into safety, and more effectively adapt to stresses and change so as to cause growth instead of defense.
If you’re working on my spine, why do you always look at my feet and feel my ankles? Why do you always want me to turn my head left and right? Why do you ask me to tuck my chin? All of these actions are part of NetworkSpinal Chiropractic to find a very special point on your spine called the Spinal Gateway.
The Spinal Gateway is a “Heal-ogenous” Zone. In a body that is stuck in the Stress Response and Defense Posture, NetworkSpinal Chiropractic helps us find the one or two tiny spots (Spinal Gateways) amidst the tension on the spine that are free, in safety, and most importantly, possess energy available for healing and growth.
When an area of the spine is locked in defense, we feel tense and tight in this area. The energy is locked up and not available — it is invested in defending us from DANGER!
By placing a gentle force exactly at the Spinal Gateway, for just a moment, the Higher Brain (Cerebral Cortex) is alerted to a place in the body that has been forgotten, but is safe, and has a lot of free energy to share. As we gently touch the Spinal Gateway, the body drops its defenses and realizes we are safe. The areas in defense actually learn from the Spinal Gateway. Suddenly, we may take a deep breath or feel tension release from our shoulders or low back. We may feel tingly or electrical sensations. We may feel a desire to move or take a big stretch.
Over time, with guidance from the NetworkSpinal practitioner through the Three Levels of Care, your brain and body develop strategies of breath and movement to self-assess and regulate its own tension, move from defense into safety, and adapt more effectively to stresses and change — causing growth instead of defense.
The Research
Everything shared in this article is documented by a team of researchers at the University of California Medical School in Irvine. Headed by Dr. Robert Blank, they have found that NetworkSpinal Chiropractic Care:
- Doubles our Experience of Wellness.
- Triples our ability to make healthier choices.
- Helps our Brain and Nervous System self-organize to higher levels of Complexity with each Level of Care — in other words, EVOLVE.