For a long time, chiropractors have been talking to their patients about how injuries in their spine may be negatively affecting their health. We get it, and our patients get it. Whats even better, is that the results clearly show that we get it. To some in the medical community however, the results needed investigation. How are chiropractors getting such positive patient outcomes, by simply treating the spine? Que Ivey League (PENN) medical doctor, Dr. Henry Windsor. He asked the simple question; "How do chiropractors and osteopaths get people better without drugs and surgery?". The real goal here was not to find additional evidence to back chiropractic. It was the opposite.
To answer his question, Dr. Henry Windsor planned a unique experiment. The plan, was to dissect human and animal cadavers to investigate the possible relationship between the health of the spine and any diseased organs in the body. In a series of three IRB (independent research board) approved studies, he was able to dissect a total of 75 human cadavers and 22 feline (cat) cadavers. In all, they found a total of 221 diseased organs. The question: was there a relationship between the diseased organs and the spine?
His findings, were that, "[Of the 221 diseased organs] 212 were observed to belong to the same sympathetic [nerve] segments as the vertebrae in curvature…. These figures cannot be expected to exactly coincide … for an organ may receive sympathetic filaments from several spinal segments.
This means that Dr. Windsor found a nearly 100% correlation between “minor curvatures” of the spine and diseases of the internal organs. Some of the diseases and their related spinal or vertebral segments are:
Heart Disease—All twenty cases of heart and pericardium conditions had the upper five thoracic vertebrae (T1-5) misaligned.
Lung Disease—All twenty-six cases of lung disease had spinal misalignments in the upper thoracic (T1-4) area.
Stomach Disease—All nine cases of spinal misalignment in the mid-thoracic (T5-9) area had stomach disease.
Liver Disease—All thirteen cases of liver disease had misalignments in the mid-thoracic (T5-9) area.
Gallstones—All five cases of gallstone disease had spinal misalignments in the mid-thoracic (T5-9) area.
Pancreas—All three cases of pancreas disease had spinal misalignments in the mid-thoracic (T5-9) area.
Spleen—All eleven cases of spleen disease had spinal misalignments in the mid-thoracic (T5-9) area.
Kidney—All seventeen cases of kidney disease had misalignments in the lower thoracic (T10-12) area.
Prostate and Bladder Disease—All eight cases of prostate and bladder disease had misalignments in the lumbar (L1-3) vertebrae.
Uterus—The two cases of uterine conditions had L2 misaligned.
The obvious take home, is that Dr. Henry Windsor’s insights and research were prophetic. The medical profession has largely ignored Dr. Windsor’s work (surprise!). However, his studies have been expanded upon by scientists working in many disciplines who continue to research the complex relationship between the vertebral subluxation complex and internal organ disease. This field is one of the fastest growing and most exciting areas of research in the healthcare sciences—and chiropractic thrives as one of its leading advocates.
The nerves connecting your internal organs to your spine must remain free of spinal stress, interference or blockages. If these nerves are stressed or impinged because your spine is out of alignment your health could suffer. It's something that makes so much sense, it's almost insulting. If the only thing protecting your spine and nervous system is injured or unhealthy - then clearly your nerves and nervous system would suffer the same.
You may not know it or feel it right away, but if you have joint damage in your spine your internal organs may be slowly weakening and could eventually malfunction and become diseased. Remember from our previous blogs - health isn't about how you look and feel! Remember the blind spots in your health!
Why wait until you have a kidney, heart, lung, prostate, liver or other problem before you get your spine and structural system checked for stress? Why allow someone you love to have organic disease before their spinal health is assessed? It doesn't make sense to wait for something that you may not be able to do anything about once it arrives!
Dr. Windsor certainly did not set out to bring more evidence to the science behind chiropractic... but we can certainly thank him for doing so!
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