Health Essential - The N Diagram
Hey there. Dr. James Fedich, Village Family Clinic here.
Coming to you with a simple diagram to help explain some things about chiropractic care and what we do here in the office.
So, this is a simple diagram—it’s been around chiropractic for a while. It's called the "N diagram," and we're going to go over it with you.
There’s really nothing that chiropractors can’t help out with. We get asked questions like, “Can you help with allergies, sinuses,” and all these different things—and this is how we explain it to people.
Ultimate human performance is down here. We want to be optimally functioning, everything working well, body in fine shape. The way we do that is through really good body chemistry.
All the cells, tissues, and glands secrete chemistry that does everything. Your hormones are chemicals. Your digestive enzymes are chemicals. Insulin—these are all chemicals that are needed to properly run the body. A lot of people are being treated for all sorts of chemical imbalances, even some mental health conditions that are actually chemical imbalances. When things aren’t working well, it’s often because the chemistry of the body is not functioning properly.
So, what controls the chemistry of the body? It’s all the glands.
The pancreas secretes insulin. We eat food, and insulin is secreted from the pancreas to help get rid of the sugar in the body. If we don’t have insulin, we get diabetes, right? That’s how everything works. The glands create the chemistry that makes everything work properly. That applies to all the systems—lungs, heart, everything—it’s all run by chemistry.
But how do those glands know what kind of chemistry to send? There’s really only one way: through the nervous system.
The nerves send a signal to every cell, tissue, and organ—including the glands—telling them to secrete the right chemistry to make the body function properly.
Now, these nerves are so important that they’re encased in bone. The bone surrounding the skull is the strongest bone in the body, protecting the brain. The second strongest surrounds the spinal cord. It's protected by 24 movable vertebrae that surround the spinal cord and the nerves exiting to every cell, tissue, and organ in the body. These nerves help regulate the glands, the chemistry, and ultimately help us perform well.
Now, if one of these bones comes out of place, it can pinch, irritate, or rub the nerve. If a bone comes out of place, we call that a subluxation—out of alignment. That can cause irritation of the nerves.
We just showed you the model—if the bone comes out of place and pinches or irritates the nerve, the nerve sends the wrong message to the gland. If the nerves are misfiring, the glands don’t do the right thing. That throws off your body’s chemistry, right?
So again, if the nerve going to the pancreas isn’t functioning properly, it won’t secrete enough insulin. That creates problems and leads to decreased performance. Just a good example—if the nerve to the pancreas isn’t working well, insulin production drops, and we end up with diabetes.
What we can do here is a chiropractic adjustment.
We adjust that vertebra to take the pressure off the nerve. When it’s misaligned, it pinches, rubs, or irritates that nerve. A chiropractic adjustment removes that pressure and allows the nerve to function properly.
Once the bones are in the right position, they relieve pressure from the nerves. Most people have experienced—or know someone who has—a pinched nerve. A bone comes out of place, pinches a nerve, and causes pain. But that same nerve can also be going to an organ or gland.
If we get that nerve channel back open by moving the bone into place, the nerve will function properly, the gland will function properly, and it will secrete the correct chemistry. So, when we restore proper alignment, the nerve works right, the gland works right, and the body gets back to optimal performance.
You can see now—there’s really nothing in the body that a chiropractor can’t help with. We might not be able to cure everything, obviously, but there are a lot of conditions we may be able to help.
If these nerve channels are as open as possible, the nerves can communicate properly with every cell, tissue, organ, and gland. That leads to correct chemistry and better performance.
So, it’s really important to maintain those nerve channels. Anyone suffering from anything can benefit from chiropractic care. We’re not going to cure cancer—but if we get those nerves functioning better, it might help people feel better and have their bodies work better.
It’s not just about back pain, neck pain, and headaches—it’s really about optimal human performance.
In this way, chiropractic care can help everything in the human body.
So, if you or anyone you know is suffering from any kind of health problem, they’re better off getting chiropractic care than not.
Hope this information is helpful, and we’ll see you soon.
