One of the most vital areas of our bodies that needs daily stretching is the back. The spine and its connection to the brain control every organ and system. It is dependant on water, as the intervetebral discs provide cushioning for our upright frames. The spine is an “S” curve, which keeps us upright and moves in unison with every twist and turn. When we turn our heads to the right or to the left, our lower back, the lumbar and sacral area, holds steadfast so we don’t spin with the movement. When we take a forward step, the spine maintains an opposing force so we don’t fall forward.

The back, leg, and neck muscles attach to our hips and shoulders, and to the spine, so they can coordinate our movements. Our nervous system is dependant on the alignment of the vertebrae in the spine, and thus the balance of energy within our bodies.

Chiropractors are trained to manipulate the vertebrae, sometimes too forcefully, but more often through soft tissue pressure. The art and science of this manipulation has been in existence for thousands of years. Chinese records from 2700 B.C. show some of the earliest manipulations, and the Greeks recorded leg manipulations to relieve lower back pain.

In 1895, in the United States, Daniel Palmer first performed chiropractic manipulations on a patient who had been deaf for seventeen years after he felt something change in his back. After manipulating the spine in the upper back, the patient reported that his hearing improved.

What we don’t realize or seem to remember, is that we can do many of the same manipulations performed by chiropractors through stretching. We did it as children. We rolled on the floor, brought our knees to our chests, curled into the fetal position, hung upside down from monkey bars, touched our toes without bending our knees, and did push-ups without raising our bellies from the floor. All of these movements have been copied by ancient practices, such as yoga, and helped our backs to remain aligned, strong, and supple.

Of course, as children, we also slept on smaller pillows, exercised more, drank more fluids, and ran on the earth, rather than on concrete. Children today are visiting the chiropractor more often, or worse, having back pain and back surgery because of sublaxations and misalignment. Poor nutrition, soda instead of water, lack of physical exercise, and poor posture are all contributing to the imbalances in our children. Since the spinal nerves connect to all other systems, children’s

diseases, physical and mental, are on the increase and the drug industry is flourishing.

More than seventeen million Americans suffer from asthma, approximately 5 million of them being children. The prevalence of asthma in children has increased more than sixty percent since 1982. We blame this on second hand cigarette smoke or increased urban populations. This is partially correct. Children can’t breathe because their diaphragms don’t expand and their spines are misaligned. The misalignment interferes with the impulses to the lungs, the liver, the intestines, and the endocrine system. Everything in the air becomes an allergen and triggers an asthma attack. They can’t breathe because of psychological or spiritual triggers, sending them into panic attacks that the body is no longer able to cope with. Inhalers filled with steroids and bronchial dilators are carried to school with peanut butter sandwiches, candy and soda. Recess is a hand-held video game and after-school activities are bus riding, television, and computer chat rooms.

Adults can’t breathe because our pillows and beds are too soft, our diets are poor, our shoes (especially women’s shoes), don’t support our spines, and we sit at desks or in car seats or sideways on couches.

In the peripheral nervous system, which is made up of the nerves that run from the brain and spinal cord, there are chemical signals that pass between neurons and muscles or glands. These transmitters either activate or inhibit cell functions. ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is treated with drugs that alter the chemistry of these transmitters, the belief being that the problem is in the brain and that the electro-chemical processes need to be changed. Nowhere in research studies is it suggested that spinal alignment, along with proper nutrition, including healthy water, could be the answer to the behaviors associated with ADHD. In other words, children could be hyperactive, because they are not active.

Animals, except those in unhealthy, domesticated environments, don’t have asthma or ADHD, although many animals are now starting to suffer from environmental and water pollution. Most animals have straighter spines that don’t need to support the weight as humans do, but they still stretch, exercise, and try to drink clean water.

The spine, spinal nerves, and nerve processes don’t need to be fused or surgically altered. They need to be open to allow the electrical impulses necessary for life.

Rayna Gangi - holistic health consultant, therapist, author and teacher.