We’ve all heard of sympathetic “fight-or-flight” activity, which is a shift in the nervous system toward a heightened stress pattern. In natural rhythms of life, this activity corresponds to the normal day-time rhythm of life, but it can become exacerbated due to acute or chronic stressors in life. There is also the night-time rhythm in nature, where our nervous system down regulates into the familiar parasympathetic state for rest, digestion, and healing.

D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, described chiropractic as an art, science, and philosophy “founded on tone”. When applying this framework of tone to health and wellness, we often hear that chronic, sympathetic activity can lead to a susceptibility for dis-ease. If an individual is in chronic, parasympathetic activity, this can also lead to a susceptibility for dis-ease. The goal remains the same- to bring the nervous system into normal balance and normal tone. This is nature’s harmonious and ideal rhythm.

D.D. Palmer’s emphasis on tone gains profound relevance when we recognize the brain’s intelligent role in creating sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity. At the time chiropractic was discovered, this autonomic shift was unknown in biology. The brain has now been shown to incur particular emotional traumas, which imprint overtop specific brain relays in the form of spherical lesions, causing “fight-or-flight” response. In addition to this shift, an organic cellular adaptation proceeds in the exact, corresponding organ. Imagine the acute stress of being suddenly chased by a tiger.

Subluxations cause change in the nervous system’s tonal expression, either toward a sympathetic or parasympathetic state of function. Chiropractors have long recognized how subluxations can be caused by the inability of normal adaptability to thoughts, traumas, and toxins.

We have realized that there are higher levels of intention behind the nervous system’s shift to sympathetic activity, because the individual is faced with acute, emotional traumas, that imprint in the brain. When we resolve this trauma, we are able to adapt to and overcome the problem in life. The brain and organism naturally transition into a necessary parasympathetic state of recovery, which leads to a rebalancing return of normal tone and health.

HOW CAN CHIROPRACTIC HELP?

The goal of chiropractic is to achieve a normal tone. Just as D.D. Palmer had envisioned, what we now know about brain imprints gives us a natural and vitalistic science for understanding the relevance of tonal shifts in the body and their organ specific cellular changes.

Chiropractic focuses on enhancing the body’s inherent capacity for self-healing and health promotion. Health is not merely the absence of disease but a continuum and improved sense of well-being. It encourages patients to take an active role in their well-being and brings an increased sense of meaning to life. Understanding the interconnectedness of all the systems of their body brings value to their involvement in society. Regular chiropractic care is a proactive approach to health.

Pathways to Family Wellness, Issue 79, Fall 2023