A vertebral subluxation is a slight misalignment of the bones of the spine. This misalignment interferes with the ability of the nervous system to carry the vital messages that are necessary for the proper functioning of your body.

Any force to your body that it can’t adapt to can cause a vertebral subluxation. For example, a difficult delivery when you were born, falls off swings or bikes or the climbing bars at school; car accidents; the jolts and jars associated with a lot of sports; heavy lifting, maybe with your work, or occasionally around the house; awkward or poor postures, like vacuuming, or sleeping in an unusual position; or having to maintain the same posture for long periods.

So whether it’s standing watching your child’s football game, sitting driving for long periods, or sitting in front of a computer all day, the tasks of daily living can all result in vertebral subluxations. Emotional stress is also a very common cause of subluxations. When you get stressed and uptight, your muscles tense and they can pull the spinal bones out of their normal position. So any of the stresses of everyday life may cause vertebral subluxations.

Having said that, your spine copes very well with the constant stress it is subjected to on a daily basis, but there is a limit to how much it can cope with, and that’s when vertebral subluxations occur.