Vol. 6

No. 1

The implication is that the way one's body looks reflects one's general health. This idea goes back to the ancient Greeks who appreciated an erect and poised body in athletics and the arts, particularly statuary. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, exhorted: "In all diseases, look to the spine."

The human form is a machine which, when in balance mechanically, runs more efficiently. An automobile, if in proper alignment, does not wear out prematurely. Similarly, when bones, muscles and internal organs are all in their proper position, as nature intended, we live longer and healthier. Orthopedist Joel E. Goldthwaite, M.D., who wrote Essentials of Body Mechanics in Health and Disease, concluded: "The human body resembles in many ways a delicately balanced machine made up of many parts related to the other. What is known as perfect health is simply the result of proper correlation of the many parts of the human body so that all work harmoniously together."

One of the most important natural laws is the Law of Gravity. Day and night, it is pulling everything toward the center of the earth and always in a straight line. When we are not in harmony with this force, undue stresses are placed upon the body-mind which accelerate aging. When the human body is in alignment, all parts are balanced and in line with the force of gravity. Dr. Goldthwaite concurs: "An individual is in the best of health only when the body is so used that there is no strain on any of its parts. When standing, the body is held fully erect, with no strain on the joints, bones, ligaments and muscles. There should be adequate room for the viscera, so that their function can be performed normally."

There are two types of force all humans are subject to on a daily basis: stress and strain. Stress is a normal reaction to the three most common health challenges: injury, dietary imbalance, and emotional tension. Stress is elastic in that we can self-heal at this stage. However, if these challenges are intense or prolonged, simple stress is replaced by strain, a condition in which the body-mind cannot self-heal. Body tissues, including muscles which once contracted and relaxed normally, now remain tight or in spasm.

The strained muscles manifest contractures in the body region where the force of gravity is the greatest: the sacroiliac joint (bottom of the low back), which is the bio-mechanical center of the body. Gravitational forces press upwards from the legs and downwards from the torso and arms and meet at the sacrum, which is constantly altering its position to take the stress and strain off the rest of the skeleton. The sacrum shifts constantly to keep the bones and muscles as relaxed as possible to keep all our internal organs in optimal position. When overload or strain occurs, the body can no longer adjust itself, and the sacroiliac joint goes out of alignment. This distortion of the sacrum not only changes the spine but displaces the internal organs with possible health consequences. If a person has poor posture, there is pressure on the diaphragm, the abdominal organs, the heart or the lungs. We lose our vitality in direct proportion to the amount of distortion present in the sacrum.

Some consider posture to be as vital a sign as is pulse rate or temperature. A study of posture can indicate hidden distortions in the body tissues long before illness manifests. It is, therefore, possible to initiate treatment before symptoms are felt. Corrective measures such a dietary modifications, exercise, and adequate rest can be helpful but are often not enough to bring the spine, muscles, internal organs back into balance. To return to one's innate balance, the sacrum must be restored to its proper anatomical position through manipulative procedures that examine and treat the spine and all the soft tissues as an integrated unit. Only in this way can we hope to achieve the health and harmony we deserve.