The medical profession is now saying, ”It’s not an issue of whether a man will get prostrate cancer, the question is when.”  Wow, what kind of treatment can that lead to?  Is it a wait and see approach or do we have any medical options that will prevent this type of cancer from happening?  The great thing is that the chiropractic profession has a treatment that I believe will drastically reduce the likelihood of getting into trouble.  It’s called the adjustment.

When the low back vertebrae, including the sacrum, are not moving, there are a lot of things that happen that can lead to disease. One of the main problems is the degradation of the nerve impulses to the lower pelvic and leg regions.  The sympathetic nervous system controls things like blood flow, oil production, digestion, hormone release, and all the things that relate to the fight or flight syndrome.  The sympathetic system must be balanced with the parasympathetic system which controls the “at rest” functions of the body.  If there is too much sympathetic function around the prostate, blood flow will be decreased and the organ will starve for oxygen and nutrients.  If hormone release is not correct from the pituitary gland, the prostate will not function properly.  The nervous system supply for the parasympathetic nervous system is located in the sacrum and through adjustments can be restored.  For this reason, it’s important to have your teen aged boys adjusted because the sacrum bones fuse together around age 21. 

Another structure that is highly susceptible to a lack of motion is the neurology around the lumbar spine.  This is the location of Batson’s Venous Plexus.  Background: Most veins coming from the lower extremity have valves that prevent blood from dropping back down between muscular contractions, so when a leg muscle works, it is pushing blood upward toward the heart.  There are not valves in Batson’s venous plexus which allows blood to pool in and around the lower back.  One of the ways this blood is pushed out of that area is through lumbar motion during walking or breathing.  If the lower back vertebrae are not moving correctly, the blood is allowed to pool in that area, leading to a very toxic environment for the nerves of the low back.  This toxicity can lead to misfiring of the nerves and pain in the tissues around the lower back.  Think of the pain you get from standing too long without being able to move or the pain you get after sitting in the car on a long trip.  If you have this type of pain, it means that your lower back is probably not moving correctly during respiration and/or walking. 

One other structure that is highly susceptible to damage is the discs of the lower back.  With a lack of motion, a process called hysteresis occurs which is the gradual depletion of fluid in the disc from constant compression.  If the motion is not restored at night during rest, or through motion during walking, breathing, exercise, or other daily activities, the disc will gradually get very thin and then be lost if nothing is done.  The process is painful but it is more of the dull ache over long periods of time.  When people put up with low levels of low back pain, they are potentially allowing this type of damage to be done.  This process can compromise nerve supply, blood flow, and lead to organ damage in the pelvic region and eventually numbness/tingling in the legs. 

The issue of fluid exchange for the discs is affected by lack of motion because the central part of the disc, the nucleus, had not external blood supply.  The outer 1/3 of the disc has an independent blood supply that feeds the tissue, but the center 2/3 gets its fluid through the end plates of the vertebra body above and below the disc.  When these two vertebrae are not moving correctly, the fluid exchange is through simple diffusion versus an actual pumping motion associated with movement.  Much less fluid is exchanged and the disc becomes toxic.  Cell death is the result of this toxic environment which is a major cause of disc height loss.  With loss of disc height, further motion is hampered and more levels are involved.  Over time this can cause all of the above effects to occur.  By the age of 50 to 70, most men are seeing significant compromise of the nervous system. 

I’ve heard from men in their early 30’s that they are starting to see the effects of an enlarged prostate.  These effects are considered a pre-cancerous condition and if left untreated over a long period of time can lead to cancer.  The capsule of the prostate is fairly rigid and can only expand to a certain point.  With enlargement to any degree an ischemic condition (lacking blood flow/oxygen) is present and can cause toxins to build up.  Relieving the enlargement is the best method for restoring proper nutrients to the gland.  A natural remedy frequently used is Saw Palmetto, an herb with a long history of helping with prostate issues.  Modern medicine uses patented prescriptions like Flomax to relieve the enlargement.  Any way you go, the first consideration is to get the motion restored to the spine, repair the neurology, and restore the proper blood flow to the area.  Without those things, medication won’t be able to get to the prostate as effectively to relieve inflammation and enlargement. 

These effects are just the tip of the iceberg.  If the man is over weight the potential for compromise is far greater.  Obesity also leads to diabetes which in itself can compromise blood flow to extremities and can lead to issues throughout the body.  Poor diet with a lot of processed foods and general poisons like soda can further compromise the body.  The best thing for people to do is get active and lose weight.  Get your eating under control and move toward an organic diet.  Get rid of the junk food and eat fruits and vegetables.  If you want to avoid late effect health issues, like prostate cancer, change your life style. 

This article talks about men and prostate cancer but the same principles apply to women and uterine or ovarian cancers.  It applies to both genders in relationship to colorectal cancer.  Here’s the deal though, chiropractic is not a cure for cancer.  If you have cancer, see your friendly neighborhood oncologist.  Cancer is an abnormal cell mass that is allowed to grow in the body because the lifestyle and bodily functions are compromised over a long term.  

One great way to help the body work better is to get adjusted and to improve your lifestyle.  More motion leads to more health.  The body was meant to be in motion so, when it is habitually not in motion, we get blood stasis, toxicity, compromised immune systems, and physical death. 

We can help you get started, but ultimately it’s up to you.  Through your actions, your diet, your motion levels, you chose life or death.