– by Dr. Thomas Parkes, BioVeda Health and Wellness Center of Yardley, PA

An interesting study dating back to 1921 that was done by Dr. Henry Winsor, a medical doctor from the University of Pennsylvania.  In the study, he was interested in finding out whether there existed a  relationship between curvatures in the spine (bones out of place) and diseased organs.  Dr. Windsor took 50 cadavers from the pathology department, dissected them and looked for diseased organs.  In the 50 cadavers, he found 139 organs that were in various stages of disease.  He found diseased hearts, livers, gall bladders, etc,etc.  He then did something very interesting.   He took the nerves from the diseased organs and traced them  back to the spine.   Dr. Windsor found.:”Therefore, in 50 cadavers with disease in 139 organs, there was found curve of the vertebrae  belonging to the same sympathetic segments as the diseased organs 128 times, leaving a apparent discrepancy of 10 in which the vertebrae in curve belonged to an adjacent segment to that which should supply the diseased organs with sympathetic filaments”  The author noted that the 10 “apparent discrepancies from adjacent segments” can be accounted for by “nerve filaments leaving the spinal cord and traveling for a few segments.” The author stated that if he included the cadaver with “faint curve and slight visceral pathology” that the correlation was 139 out of 139 for 100%. Basically, here is what happens:

• Bones shift out of place, and the spine becomes misaligned
• This results in nerve irritation
• The nerve irritation leads to increased sympathetic tone,vasomotor spasm and reduced blood flow.
• This leads to organ disease (visceral pathology!)

Windsor goes on to state: “The disease appears to precede old age and to cause it.  The spine becomes stiff first and old age follows.  Therefore, we may say a man is as old as his spine, the arteries becoming hardened later from constant vaso-motor spasm, following sympathetic irritation.” After reading this article, one realizes the importance of regular chiropractic care.  Not just for pain, but for an optimally functioning spine and nervous system.  Chiropractors lead the way in re-aligning misaligned spines. Dr. Parkes is the owner of Bordentown Chiropractic clinic and Bioveda Health and Wellness Center of Yardley.

Reference
Winsor, H. Sympathetic segmental disturbances-II. The evidence of the association, in dissected cadavers, of visceral disease with vertebrae deformities of the same sympathetic segments. Medical Times, Nov. 1921, 49, pp. 267-271.