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Nervous System 101--The Role of the Body's Command Center

woman chiropractic adjustmentDid you know that the state of the nervous system plays a significant part in your overall well-being, as it carries communication between your brain and your body?

At Wellman Clinic, there’s a technological device that helps Dr. Ange assess the strength of those communication lines for patients, and she uses it before she starts doing any chiropractic adjustments.

But what does the technology tell her? What are the signs of a healthy or unhealthy autonomic nervous system?

The easiest way to answer is through an illustration.

Stories of Nervous System Health

Imagine a house with three stories: a top floor penthouse, a ground floor, and a basement.

The top floor penthouse is the ventral vagal state. It’s the pinnacle of health, and people here feel safe and calm. The nervous system is functioning at its optimal level, and people can connect with others.

The sympathetic nervous system can be considered the ground floor. It is the mobilizing part of the nervous system that activates the body, pushing people into a “fight, flight, or freeze” response. People on this level experience increased heart rate, heavy breathing, and more muscular tension and anxiety.

Now move down to the basement, known as the dorsal vagal. The nervous system is in a collapsed state at this point, with stressors in life so constant that the body essentially shuts down and becomes numb to pain.

Some Pain, Big Gain

Many assume they are not in the dorsal vagal state if they are not feeling acute pain. But an absence of pain does not mean an absence of problems–in fact, the opposite could be true.

In the dorsal vagal state, the body succumbs to protective numbness. An adjustment may be necessary to shake one out of the stressed shell their body has created. If feelings of pain appear, it may mean you are coming out of a chronic “freeze” response and entering a neurological state that includes better awareness and feeling.

A System of Great Importance

Many people’s nervous system health is either on the ground floor or in the basement. Chiropractic adjustments can bring the body up to the next level in the house–and ideally to the ventral vagal state–if there’s consistency in care.

Without trying to arouse fear, Dr. Ange wants to remind people that the nervous system is the most important system in the body.

Consider getting an assessment and tonal chiropractic adjustments to ensure your nervous system is in the penthouse.
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