1410 Melbourne Plaza 33 Queen's Road Central Hong Kong Phone: +852 2136 0196

The Cause of Spinal Problems At all instances, man depends on his postural system to keep his flexible body vertical from falling. Poor balancing control is considered to be of great importance in the development of poor posture and the common aches and pains. Postural system Results of dysfunction Upper cervical misalignment and postural syndromes Figure 1. Upper cervical misalignment Figure 2. Muscle strain and postural syndrome Figure 3. Articular stress and postural syndrome Postural system Man can stand up and function because of his tonic postural system. This system has 3 parts: input, processing, and output. The eyes, the inner ears, the feet and the spine, especially the upper neck, provide the real-time sensory information for the central nervous system (CNS) to calculate the spatial position of different body segments. In response to the information, the CNS sends out signals to different muscles to modify their tone so as to maintain equilibrium, and form posture. Results of dysfunction The famous computer axiom, "garbage in, garbage out" gives us a picture of what will happen to the postural system when the input is invalid. It will result in body imbalance, poor posture, muscle strains, joint degeneration, and pain. We can say that the cause of the common pain syndromes is the derangement of sensory inputs, which is a functional neurological problem, and not a mechanical problem. This condition is called the postural and balancing disorders or, simply, postural syndromes. This school of thought, based solidly on science, is called Posturology (fr. Posturologie). Upper cervical misalignment and postural syndromes The upper neck which supports the skull, is the most critical region of the spine. From the posturological perspective, as the eyes and the ears are embedded in the skull, the relative position of the head and the neck influences how the brain analyses the signals from these sensory organs; the resulting changes in balance affects the sensation of pressure distribution of the soles. Thus, this author considers the upper cervical misalignment (or atlas subluxation) is the most common and important cause of postural syndromes, which are also significantly affected by the sensory problems of the eyes, inner ears, and feet.

Home Cause of spinal problems Upper cervical misalignment Children Signs and symptoms Treatment Author Contact Links

| Home | Cause of spinal problems | Upper cervical misalignment | Children | Signs and Symptoms | Treatment | Author | Contact | Links |

The information provided should not be used as a substitute for health care. Do consult a health professional regarding your own particular health problem.
All Rights Reserved 2002 – 2007 Dr. Peter Hong