NeuroStructural Resilience

Resilience is a term used in psychology to describe an emotional state in which people recover quickly from difficulty. It is a space where we maintain our integrity to a true self, allowing us to bounce back from the ups and downs of living.

A fighter that gets knocked down but keeps getting up is resilient. A person who faces down negative life circumstances to see goodness in the world and make a difference in the lives of others, is resilient. A cyclist who pumps the continued pace of a long trans-continental trek is resilient.

Resilience also has a structural meaning. If a structure is able to bounce back into shape after stretching, bending, twisting and compressing, it is resilient. A golf ball is resilient. The bridge to Long Beach Island is resilient.

With chiropractic care, both of these meanings, the neurological state and the structural state, are applicable to your body’s function and capacity.

Structurally, when your spine (the pillar at the structural center of your body) undergoes sitting, twisting, driving, and generalized stress, how well does it bounce back? Do you have regular self-care focused on restoring your natural state of alignment, motion and ease? Answering this question is one of the fundamental questions I ask every patient when I do their functional evaluations.

And every time you come in to get your spine checked, there is an element of neurological resilience as well. Have you eliminated sleeping on your stomach? (This is often more of an emotional question than structural one.) Have you changed stress relieving patterns to no longer build up emotional tension in your shoulders? Keeping awareness on the emotional factors of instability patterns in our body is as relevant as any healthcare conversation.

The union of both of these worlds is in your spinal cord. It is the superhighway of neurological communication of the body directly in the center of the structural pillar of your spine. Distortions in spinal function can distort communications, hormones and ease of emotional states. Irritations can weaken support in ligaments, over-work and create over-dependence on muscles, and are the precursor to unforeseen injury.

Every day I adjust NeuroStructural Instabilities in a person, I am in tune with the fact it is a physical act. There is a physical touch, a physical adjustment, a physical response in every patient. There is also a deeper meaning for many of the people who are adjusted week after week, month after month. Many patients use their chiropractic care to ensure they are mentally sharp during the workweek, and able to relax on the weekends. Others use care to balance difficult emotions, or feelings of immobility in life. Luckily, many people also use chiropractic care to keep their family strong, resilient to the challenges of living in our day and age.

No matter how you use NeuroStructural Stability care, remember that it holds a place in self-care that unites many levels of your human body. Next time you are adjusted, consider whether you are more resilient as a result of your care. We will be happy to observe your progress.