And all machines benefit from tune-ups
“It is riddled with holes, and yet contains 15 gallons of water and a pint of hydrochloric acid. It has more protein than 70 pounds of peanuts. It has enough carbon to fill a thousand pencils and enough phosphorus for 3,000 match heads. What sounds like a collection of chemicals in a leaky bag is the most complex structure on our planet – the human body.”
That’s the introduction to a documentary that ran a few years back on the Discovery Channel, Hidden Wonders of the Human Body. It’s an excellent exploration of the wondrous machines that we all inhabit.
Take, for example, the skeleton, “an ingenious structure that is incredibly strong, and yet, it is ultra light.” It keeps us upright, it gives our muscles something to which to anchor, it protects vulnerable organs. We tend to think the skeleton is an unchanging and rigid structure, but would you believe that the skeleton you have today is not the same one you had 10 years ago? It’s true, and it applies to everyone – regardless of your age.
That’s because our bones are constantly responding to stress. Impacts during contact sports, exercise, daily activities – anything that puts stress on your bones has a cause and effect. For example, when an area of bone is subject to stress, new bone cells form to make that area stronger. Meanwhile, other cells use hydrochloric acid to shave material from areas where the same strength and resiliency isn’t needed. Your body is constantly adapting to external forces, to be strong where it needs to be and light where it can afford to be.
Your body is always adapting and renewing
That’s how a bone like your thigh bone can endure the half ton of force or more you subject it to when you jump – force enough to shatter granite.
If you think that’s cool, consider your largest organ, your skin – you generate an entirely new skin every two to three weeks. Or take your blood – give a standard blood donation of a pint and your body will regenerate that lost volume within 24-48 hours. Even internal organs go through this constant renewal at the cellular level – you get a new liver about every six weeks.
In fact, studies at the Oak Ridge Atomic Research Center found that 98 per cent of the atoms in your body are replaced every year. It raises interesting questions about whether the person you see in the mirror today actually existed five years ago, and vice versa.
Whether you believe all this is solely the result of physics and chemistry, or intervention by some higher power, is beside the point. Either way, it illustrates just how amazing our bodies are with this power to constantly renew themselves.
The things we take for granted – being able to fight the common cold, digest food, adjust our vision to different light conditions – all these things are truly awesome when you take time to think about it.
That’s why it important to appreciate the body’s ability to heal itself, provided it’s maintained in peak operating condition to perform at its best.
Keeping your body’s master controller in top shape
As we have written before, every function of your body below your chin, every breath, every heartbeat, every movement and reaction to the world around you, even the activities within individual cells, is governed by the signals that pass from your brain down through your spinal cord. The spinal cord is this incredible machine’s master controller.
When misalignments of your spine impair your spinal cord, its function, its ability to convey information, is affected. This may cause pain, tingling, or numbness in other parts of the body. It may inhibit the healthy function of organs and aggravate conditions such as asthma.
That’s why it’s important to address such misalignments when they occur due to the stresses and strains of everyday living, and adjust harmful behaviours such as too much time in front of a desk with poor posture.
When you come in for your regular adjustment, we are addressing more than the obvious complaint that brought you to our door. Your body, and your overall health, is likely benefiting in other less obvious ways, too.
Here’s a post we did about a year ago that proves this point with highlights from a 2015 study.