Question
What Does A Crooked Spine Look Like? And Does It Hurt When It's Crooked? How Does The Spine Get Injured? Can You Show Me A Picture Of Crooked Spine?      Thankyou

Answer
Dear Stephanie Peron,

Thank you for your question.  Your question is similar to those I have heard from others who are investigating chiropractic.  In order to answer you properly, I'll first need to give you some background on the chiropractic profession.  We will also talk a bit about anatomy and physiology.  

It is important for you to know that there are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation. This is not specifically the same as what you mentioned in your question, but they may exist together.  The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without vital brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as accidental trauma, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  In addition, and quite relevant to whether any complaints are related to vertebral subluxation ?including curvature of the spine - the branching of the nerve pathways is quite complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  

To answer your questions individually:

What Does A Crooked Spine Look Like?
Since we've established that this terminology is not synonymous with vertebral subluxation, it may be that you heard this from a source other than a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor.  The most obvious answer would have a basis in geometry - deviating from a midline, for instance ?but I do not have enough information to know if this is what you mean.  

And Does It Hurt When It's Crooked?
Again, since we have no clear definition or context on how this term is being used for you, it is impossible to give you a particular answer with this.  I can tell you, though, that geometric deviation is not necessarily painful.

How Does The Spine Get Injured?
There are countless forms of force that have the potential for damaging someone's spine.  When talking about the causes of vertebral subluxation, we covered the general categories.  Of course, such forces have potential for effects other than vertebral subluxation.  

Can You Show Me A Picture Of Crooked Spine?
Yet again, since we have no clear definition or context on how this term is being used for you, it is impossible to give you a particular answer with this.  It may be that you are addressing simple geometric considerations, in which case there are probably numerous examples available in the science section of any library.or on the web.

In discussing vertebral subluxation earlier in this message, I used the word misalignment.  I am not talking here about a 揷rooked spine,?however, and it is not interchangeable with the term vertebral subluxation.  The misalignment that I address is that of a specific segment of the spine.  Technically speaking, we have to get even a bit more advanced in what is meant by misalignment to make this clear.  The question is, Misaligned with respect to what?  It is possible to describe the body geometrically, reasoning that we are bilaterally symmetrical and concluding that there is a measurable 搈idline?or that our hips and shoulders should be 揵alanced?on a perpendicular line to this proposed 搈idline?or that the body can be presumed to take on a certain geometry in other planes as well.  The problem with this thinking is that it assumes we are simply machines and ignores that we are alive, capable of movement, adaptation, growth, etc.  At any given moment, there is an optimum state for us to carry out life to our best abilities.  That optimum state will vary depending upon the circumstances, both within us and of our environment.  There are many examples to illustrate this.  If you carry something heavy with one hand, you must lean away from it, putting something of a curve into the spine, to keep yourself balanced.  Does that mean the body is failing because there is imbalance or a curve, or is it instead being quite successful in adapting you to the situation?  In another example, consider that those who argue for geometric balance or symmetry would be hard-pressed to explain why the carpenter who swings a 28-ounce hammer all day with his right arm only would have certain physical adaptations that favor his right side.  Should the carpenter have some of the tissue removed from his arm, hand and back so that it is equal to that on the left?  Or is he merely adapted to his circumstances?  The point I'm getting at is that there is an individually determined, innately normal position for the body that cannot be described by geometry.

From the non-therapeutic standpoint, then, an adjustment is not a process with the goal of straightening a crooked spine.  As I said, crooked spine and vertebral subluxation are not interchangeable terms.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person's spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, though, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.  The term for this is 揳djustment,?and can be accomplished in a variety of ways, depending upon the unique vertebral subluxation and the individual person.  

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that non-therpaeutic straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask, then, would be, Is someone with a crooked spine (whatever is meant by that) better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.  So, having one's spine checked for vertebral subluxation is tremendously important, but it's not for the purpose of dealing with crookedness.  In other words, non-therapeutic straight chiropractic can be of benefit to any spine-owner, but perhaps in ways that you may not have considered.  It's not that someone should visit a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor FOR a crooked spine ?a person should visit one in an effort to be free of vertebral subluxations, even WITH a crooked spine.  Non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not about diagnosing and/or treating crooked spines or any therapeutic-model or medical condition.  It is entirely separate in its goal.  

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  Please understand very clearly, though, that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  Realize that the goal in a non-therapeutic straight chiropractic model is not for the purpose of forcing geometric patterns into a spine.  This is not the type of objective that would be used in the proper delivery of non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.  This doesn't necessarily mean it is bad or good, it just means it is entirely different than what I would advise you on.  

All that said, it would certainly be wise to have anyone's spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor, even if that person still elects to have therapeutic attention for geometrically changing their spine.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.  If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please feel free to contact me again at [email protected].  

Stephanie, I wish you the best and hope you may have a clearer understanding of chiropractic.  If you have any more pertinent detail for your specific questions, I would be glad to look at it.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.