A spinal sement or contiguous structure that has lost normal motion.

The word “subluxation” comes from the Latin words meaning “to dislocate” (luxare) and “somewhat or slightly” (sub). A subluxation means a slight dislocation (misalignment) or biomechanical malfunctioning of the vertebrae (the bones of the spine).   These disturbances may irritate nerve roots and the blood vessels which branch off from the spinal cord between each of the vertebrae. This irritation may cause pain and dysfunction in muscle, lymphatic and organ tissue, as well as neurologic imbalance in the normal body processes.

There are three causes of this condition: 

Trauma, which may be acute, that is short term such as a sudden fall, auto accident, athletic injury, etc., or chronic which means long term, typically repetitive minor traumas such as keyboarding or continuous bending and lifting or sitting throughout the workday. 

 Toxins, which may be either internal such as too much caffeine, sugar, or chemicals from processed foods such as preservatives, dyes or flavor enhancers, or external such as air quality or chemical exposure at the workplace. 

Stress is the third cause.  This may be the most difficult of all since it involves both mental and emotional factors which many times are out of our immediate control.

In all cases, there is a muscular response/reaction to the insult which results in increased muscle tone or even spasm producing the condition of hypomobility.  The body responds to this lesion with a process called inflammation.

Inflammation produces four classic components:  heat, due to the increased blood flow the local temperature of the tissue is elevated; edema, which is an accumulation of fluids containing repairatory cells (a common example would be a swollen sprained ankle); redness of the internal tissue, again due to increased blood flow, (think of a bruise or pinkish area around a cut or abrasion); and finally, pain which is the brain's interpretation or messages being sent from the site of insult through the nervous system.