Chiropractic and Thermography in Asheville NC

The Vertebral Subluxation carries many different definitions throughout the medical and Chiropractic fields. A simplified, yet middle of the road definition would be: "A misalignment of adjacent vertebrae that creates an alteration of nerve expression."

The latter point being the most important one. Without a change in the nerve function there is no subluxation. A simple misalignment may be genetic, acquired and compensated for, or not severe enough to cause nerve interference.

Chiropractors in Asheville NC have historically used objective instrumentation such as x-ray and thermography to diagnose their patients for subluxation. D.D. Palmer brought the first x-ray machine from Germany to America. He used his hand to measure temperature differences in the body. His son B.J. Palmer furthered the sophistication of Chiropractic Diagnosis by creating very complex machines to measure bilateral temperature differences.

It has been proven that temperature differences provide evidence of nerve interference. The Sympathetic Nervous System controls the diameter of the blood vessels. These nerve fibers originate only from the lateral horn cells from T1 to L3 in the spine itself. To innervate blood vessels throughout the body they must travel distances within the spine to get to their final destinations. Large groupings of sympathetic nerves called ganglia, are located in the cervical spine. From here these fibers will travel to innervate the head. Other sympathetic fibers will travel with nerves to other places in the body. Every square millimeter is controlled by a sympathetic nerve.

When nerves or nearby joint receptors become stressed, a sympathetic responseis elicited, commonly known as the "fight or flight mechanism." This response causes vasoconstriction to the peripheral nerves, creating a decrease in blood flow. The decrease in blood flow at these levels is seen thermographically as "cold spots".

Chiropractic and Thermography in Asheville NC

Many Chiropractors are looking at only one side of the Subluxation, the misalignment and the effects that are measured without the use of Thermography.  These include range of motion, postural distortions, pain, tenderness, fixation found with palpation etc.   In terms of objective findings the most used test is that of x-rays.  This is a very powerful tool as we can not only see the misaligments, but also the effect of the misaligments over time such as bone spurs,  loss of disc space and the angle of the curves or loss of curves.  It is often found that these same levels are also the levels of tenderness and pain.  Thermography on the other hand has not been as  readily available due to the cost of purchasing the technology. The good news is that with the emergence of more affordable infrared thermography some Chiropractors have began to use thermal imaging systems in their own offices.

In our Asheville Chiropractor office we have been using Thermography to detect the effects of the Subluxation complex on the nervous system for over 13 years.

Call our office today to schedule an appointment at 828-299-4555