To begin, one must first examine the basis for all cellular disease. It is lack of oxygen at the cellular level that creates
distress and ultimately, cellular death. Oxygen is normally carried to the cells through the blood in the body. The
body's control system for the blood then becomes of major significance. We in chiropractic understand that the
nervous system controls all major functions in the body, including the vascular system. It is more specifically, the
sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system that exists as the neurogenic control of the blood supply to the
tissues.

The autonomic nervous system consists of the parasympathetic and sympathetic components. The parasympathetic
system is referred to as the cranial sacral outflow because the location of the cell bodies, from which impulses travel,
is the brainstem and the intermediate area of gray matter of the spinal cord segments S2, S3, and S4. The
sympathetic nervous system, or thoracolumbar outflow, has its cell bodies located in the intermediate area of gray
matter of the spinal cord segments Tl to approximately L2. It is the sympathetic nervous system that is significant in
discussing systemic health.

The autonomic nervous system is the visceral motor system of the body. The viscera consist of smooth muscle,
cardiac muscle and glands, whereas somatic components of the body consist of skeletal muscle, ligaments and
tendons. It is the sympathetic nervous system that regulates vascular tone. That is to say, the sympathetic nervous
system controls the amount of blood to the tissues through nervous control of the smooth muscle in the blood vessel
walls.

By stimulating the sympathetics, the body responds in a "fight or flight" reaction. The blood vessels to smooth
muscle, cardiac muscle and glands are then constricted. In a normal, short term situation, this reaction is benign. It is
the chronic, sustained state of the sympa-thetic system that becomes detrimental to the body. Vasoconstriction, and
the resulting lack of oxygenation of tissues has been associated with many chronic disease states.

How does this relate to posture? Posture is constantly maintained from the unconscious centers of the body. In a
normal balanced upright stance, posture is mainly ligamentous in nature, with very little activity of the erector
muscles. However, abnormal postures require constant adjustment from the muscles. Information from the muscles
and joints of the peripheral body arrives at the spinal cord via somatic afferent nerves.

Afferent nerves carry information such as proprioception and pain, among other sensations. Proprioception is the
position sense of the body, or where one's muscles, tendons, and joints exist in space (why we can close our eyes
and still touch our nose with ease). This sensory information is carried in large, fast, myelinated nerves, classified as
A-alpha and A-beta nerve fibers. The conduction velocity of A-alpha fibers is estimated at 120 meters per second.
pain, on the other hand, is the sense of tissue damage. Pain is carried in small, slow, unmyelinated fibers, classified
as A-delta or C fibers. The conduction velocity of pain fibers is estimated at 5-30 meters per second.

When there is long term, altered weight bearing of the spine due to postural imbalances, the muscles are abnormally
required to counteract the loads. The abnormal loads place undue stress and strain on the muscular and
ligamentous structures and pain information travels to the spinal cord. Once in the cord, the sensory afferent enters
the gray matter and can take several different routes.

Very simply, pain sensory impulses may synapse on the motor neurons creating reflex muscular contraction, or enter
the intermediate area of the gray matter and synapse in the internuncial pool. Here the impulse may travel to higher
central nervous system centers in the anterolateral system, or synapse on the cell bodies of the sympathetic nervous
system. It is the connection with the sympathetic nervous system that we will focus on. These sympathetic neurons
carry impulses into the sympathetic chain which extends from the occiput to the sacrum. Once in the chain, there is a
tremendous divergence of fibers, and impulses may travel to many different levels. Because of the visceral motor
nature of the sympathetic nervous system, nerve fibers from the chain cause vasoconstriction of the viscera. In short,
the somatic pain bombardment resulting from chronic abnormal postural loads sets off a sympathetic response
which causes vasoconstriction of the viscera. Vasoconstriction leads to a lack of oxygen and ultimately, cellular
death.

Chiropractors have a large influence on this process. The goal of Dr. Haralambous is to correct the spinal posture,
thereby alleviating the abnormal loading and the associated pain impulses. In addition, the effect of his therapy
creates corrective proprioceptive information into the spinal cord. As previously noted, the conduction velocity of
proprioceptive information overrides and effectively inhibits pain impulses at the spinal cord level.  This is why many
feel instant relief from pain and/or stress during treatment.

The specific technique used by Dr. Haralambous resets the proprioceptive reflexes, inhibits the pain impulses and
corrects the abnormal loading setting up the subluxation. In so doing, the reflex response of vasoconstriction to the
viscera is removed and improved vascular tone to the smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands, results. The
history of chiropractic success with patients experiencing such conditions as asthma, angina, visual disturbances,
and other visceral conditions, is now clearly understood.

Why Posture?