The most common question asked in our office is: “How does Network Work? How does such a gentle touch make such a profound difference? What’s the difference between Network and Traditional Chiropractic?” In this article, I will answer these question and outline the “mechanics” of how it works. To be honest, it is not a simple answer, so I will explain it in 5 stages:
1. The Nervous System and the Stress Response
The first thing to understand is that the brain, spinal cord and nerves control all body function, all muscle movements, all of our senses, our immune system, our hormones, the stress response and our ability to heal and grow. It controls EVERYTHING.
When under Stress, the spinal cord and nerves go into a state of Tension. Like a rope being pulled or twisted. The tension in the nervous tissue initiates the Fight-or-Flight Stress response. This is an automatic primitive response to protect us in time of danger and threat. A body “locked” in the stress response reduces our immune system function, increases blood pressure and respiration, causes muscles to tense and reduces our body’s ability to heal and grow. A body in defense is a body prone to illness, disease and injury….and has a difficult time recovering and healing.
It is the purpose of the Network Adjustment/Entrainment to help reduce tension in the Nervous System, Muscular System, and Joints allowing the body to reduce the Fight or Flight Stress Response and the body recovers and naturally begins to heal and return to normal healthy function. We not only feel positive physical changes, but increases in mental and emotional well-being, as well, when this occurs.
2. The Connective Tissue and Meninges
Throughout our entire body, wrapping around every organ, muscle, bone, tendon and ligament is a strong, fibrous material called Connective Tissue or Fascia. It is part of our skeletal system, providing structure to the body and holding everything in place. Like the nervous system and muscles, when under Stress, the connective tissue also goes into tension. Have you ever felt after a stressful event that you were “tight all over?” This is the connective tissue in tension. It extends from the top of our head to the tip of the toes…and like a marionette puppet, when the “strings” are pulling in one area, the effect will be pulling in all areas.
The Connective Tissue that surrounds the Brain and Spinal Cord is called the Meninges (or Dura). You may have heard the term, “Meningitis,” if this tissue gets inflamed or infected. It is a thick, rubber like material that surrounds the entire brain and spinal cord adding another layer of protection along with the bony, vertebral column or Spine. Between the brain/spinal cord and the Meninges is a nutritious fluid called Cerebrospinal Fluid. In a healthy Spine, free of tension, the Meninges moves with every breath and movement we make causing this Cerebrospinal Fluid to flow up and down the spine. When there is tension in the Meninges, the movement and flow decreases.
When we have a stressful event, the first part of our body that tension begins to rise in is the Meninges and then extends out into the Connective Tissue of the body, resulting in tension throughout our nerves, muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. In the Network Adjustment, this is what we are working with: The Meninges and Connective Tissue.
3. The Network Analysis explained
Within the spine, the meninges attach to the bone in the neck and in the sacrum. Between the upper back and low back, it doesn’t attach anywhere and is loose and free and extends out of the spine with the nerves to the rest of the body to BECOME the connective tissue.
You can experience these connections, by using your shirt as an example. Tuck your shirt tight into your pants. Have someone from behind pull up on the back of your shirt at the neck. Can you feel how the shirt pulls by your lower spine? Because there are no attachments until your pants, the force is transmitted to the bottom of your shirt. This is why neck tension can cause low back pain and tension.
Now have the person pull down at the bottom of the shirt. Can you feel how its pulling on your neck and shoulders? This is why low back and sacral tension can cause neck and shoulder pain and tension and headaches. The cause of a pain or symptoms is not always at the location of the pain or symptoms. Often it isn’t. We have one body, one spine, one nervous system and one connective tissue network and one part affects all others.
Lastly, have the person pull on the upper part of your shirt to the left. Can you feel how its pulling on the right? This why tension on one side of the body can cause pain and tension on the other side of the body.
When I start an adjustment, it begins with a Network Spinal Analysis to determine where there’s tension, where there’s EASE and what is the 1, 2 or 3 specific vertebral levels and side that I can make to make the biggest impact on the body. I look for the Primaries. There are 4 basic parts to this analysis: Palpation or feeling the spine with my hand, the Leg Check, observing respiration and observing the posture of the spine when lying down.
- Palpation: Simply, I’m feeling the muscles, vertebra and connective tissue for hard, tense areas: Defense and relaxed, soft areas: Ease.
- Leg Check: Again, like a marionette puppet, when the “strings” of the spinal cord, nerves and connective tissue are pulling due to tension, that pulling will translate into the arms, legs, wrists and ankles. When doing the leg check, are the legs even or is one short? Does the shortened leg even or lengthen by the turning of the head or the lifting of the legs? Is there tension in the back or sides of the ankles? Are the legs close together or far apart? If far apart, are they difficult to push together? If close together, are they difficult to separate? All these things and more give me information how and where the spinal cord, nerves and connective tissue are being “pulled.”
- Respiration: When a person is lying face down and they breathe, you can watch the entire spine move up and down from the neck to the sacrum. However, when there is tension somewhere in the spine, that breath movement is reduced or not even visible in that part of the spine. More information about where there’s tension.
- Posture: When someone is lying face down on the table, how is their posture? Is the midback hunched up? Are the legs diagonal to one side of the table? Is the head tilted or rotated? Is the neck curled forward, back or straight? How are they holding their arms? More information.
By analyzing these things and more, I determine where the adjustment or adjustments need to be made to have the greatest impact on reducing tension and increasing EASE in the spine and body as a whole.
4. The Network Adjustment – Where it All Comes Together!
So, how do those gentle touches on the spine accomplish so much? Here’s where it all comes together.
In this part, I’ll explain the WHY, WHERE and HOW of the Network Gentle Adjustment.
Something interesting to understand is that the Spinal Cord and Nerves go into TENSION when STRETCHED or TWISTED. The Connective Tissue, Muscles and Tendons RELAX when STRETCHED.
AND…the Connective Tissue goes into TENSION when a strong force is applied to it and it RELAXES from a gentle touch. (You may have noticed a gentle touch on a tense persons shoulder often helps them to relax. This is why!)
So once I find the exact spot to make the adjustment, you will feel me do a gentle stretch to the connective tissue followed by a gentle touch. How do I know how much force to use in that gentle adjustment? By feeling how much force your body is pushing back. I match the force. I get RAPPORT with the body. It’s like a good handshake. Too much force….not good. Too wimpy….not good. A good handshake is where both people match the force – RAPPORT. The body responds very well to RAPPORT.
Once this is complete, you may feel your breath increase. You feel your body relax onto the table. Or, you may feel suddenly the urge to move the body, stretch the spine, or stretch the wrist and ankles. This is the body responding to the adjustment and the connective tissue of the body and spine unwinding tension. Mission Accomplished! That’s the HOW. Now for the WHERE and the WHY!
Simply, I am always making the stretch and contact of the adjustment on a place where the Meninges (Spinal Connective Tissue) attaches to the sacrum or in the neck…the specific location determined by the Network Analysis described earlier. But this contact is NOT made on an area where there’s TENSION! Only on an area where there’s EASE! We affectionately call this the “SPINAL GATEWAY.” WHY?!
An area of tension is an area of DEFENSE…an area of Protection. It is often “disconnected” from the Brain and the environment. It is actually an area that you are often not aware of…and the body must create pain and discomfort to get your attention and for you to be aware of it. You can’t change something you are not aware of….and the body knows this. This an area that is not responsive, doesn’t want to be touched and will go further into defense if change is attempted. Ever been around a person like this? What happens if your try to change them? THINGS INTENSIFY.
So while I am aware of these areas of Defense, I do not try to change or “fix” them (Although you probably really want me to!). Instead, I look for the areas of EASE – The Spinal Gateway. The Spinal Gateways are often right above, below or on the opposite side of the area of defense. Sometimes its on the other end of the spine! This is why often you may tell me that its tight and painful on the right side and you’re wondering why I am on the left!
By making the right gentle adjustment, on the right place (SPINAL GATEWAY), at the right time, in the right direction, with just the right amount of force (RAPPORT), the connective tissue starts to unwind and the brain perceives it is SAFE. Suddenly, the brain sends signals to the body that it no longer needs to defend and throughout the spine and body, all the tension and defense starts to drop. This can sometimes happen with one gentle touch on the SPINAL GATEWAY.
5. What’s the difference between a Traditional Chiropractic Adjustment and a Network Adjustment or Entrainment?
This is another question that most of my new clients ask.
Chiropractic is based on the principle that the body is intelligent and self-healing, self-maintaining and self-sufficient. This Innate Intelligence expresses through the nervous system. A “Subluxation” is a misaligned vertebra of the spine that interferes with the expression of this Intelligence causing Dis-Function and Dis-Ease in the body. The job of a Chiropractor is to correct the Subluxation, removing interference to the expression of the body’s innate intelligence and restoring normal function.
In Traditional Chiropractic, a chiropractor applies a specific force with his hand or an instrument to a specific “subluxated” vertebra to restore it to its natural, normal position correcting the Subluxation.
Network Chiropractic takes a different approach. We asked the question, “If the body is Intelligence and Self-Healing why can it not correct its own Subluxation? Why do we even need a Chiropractor?”
The answer is because the Body is creating the Subluxation for a reason and does not want to correct it. Why would it do this? Have you ever had the TV playing, had some food in the microwave and running a Vacuum, when someone upstairs put on the hair dryer and suddenly all the power went off? Why did this happen? The electrical system was being STRESSED and a circuit breaker switched off to prevent an OVERLOAD that could potentially cause damage to the entire system
This is exactly what a SUBLUXATION is in the nervous system…a fail-safe to prevent an OVERLOAD to the entire nervous system. In the house, if you try to return the switch to ON without turning off the appliances, the circuit break will keeping turning off. So, you turn off all the appliances and the circuit breaker returns to its on position and all the power is restored.
It is exactly the same with Subluxation. When you have an overwhelming, stressful physical, emotional or mental experience, the body creates the Subluxation to prevent an OVERLOAD to the system. If that Subluxation is adjusted without first taking care of the underlying OVERLOAD, that vertebra will keep misaligning, just like the Circuit Breaker.
Like a turtle in its shell, the nervous system will stay in defense until it perceives it is safe….sometimes for years and even decades after the stress-causing event. What’s more, the nervous system will go into and stay in defense from an imagined stress or threat as much as a real one!
The purpose of the Network Adjustment is to help the body recover from past traumas and stresses, releasing the tension and stress patterns from the Spine (the overload) and the body will, ON ITS OWN, restore the vertebra to its normal position when it feels that its safe enough to do so.
In summary, the body intelligently creates Subluxations to protect the nervous system and it can self correct them when it is safe to do so. Network brings that safety!
Well, there you have it. If there are any other questions you have about any hows, whats, wheres or whys about Network Chiropractic, always feel free to email me, text or give us a call.
A Place for Healing 