Louisville CO Chiropractor Exposes the Silent Killer!

If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor — or even read a chiropractic website — you’ve probably encountered the word subluxation. It’s one of the most important concepts in chiropractic care, and one of the most misunderstood. Even patients who’ve had years of chiropractic treatment often can’t explain what their chiropractor is actually correcting. This article walks through what a vertebral subluxation actually is in modern, evidence-supported terms, what the research does and doesn’t support, and why it matters for your health.

The short version: a vertebral subluxation is a pattern of joint dysfunction in the spine — restricted motion, soft tissue tension, and neurological consequences — that interferes with how your nervous system functions. It’s not “a bone out of place.” That older framing has largely been replaced by a more nuanced understanding called the vertebral subluxation complex, which is what modern chiropractic actually addresses. The longer version is below.

The Two Different Definitions of “Subluxation”

Part of the confusion around this term comes from the fact that it means different things in different contexts:

In conventional medicine, “subluxation” refers to a partial dislocation of a joint — a structural misalignment significant enough to be visible on imaging. A medical subluxation of the shoulder, for example, is a partially dislocated shoulder.

In chiropractic, “subluxation” refers to something different and broader: a functional pattern of joint dysfunction, usually too subtle to show up on standard imaging, that produces measurable effects on the surrounding tissues and the nervous system. This is what chiropractors are actually trained to identify and correct.

Both uses of the word are legitimate within their respective fields. Confusing them produces a lot of unnecessary conflict between the two traditions. When a chiropractor says “subluxation,” they generally mean the chiropractic definition; when an orthopedist says it, they generally mean the medical one.

The Modern Understanding: Vertebral Subluxation Complex (VSC)

The older chiropractic framing — “a bone out of place pinching a nerve” — turns out to be too simple to describe what’s actually happening. Decades of imaging research, biomechanical study, and clinical observation have produced a more accurate model called the vertebral subluxation complex (VSC). The “complex” part is important: it’s not one thing. It’s a cluster of related dysfunctions that tend to occur together:

• Kinesiological component — restricted joint motion. The vertebra isn’t dislocated; it’s just not moving through its full normal range.
• Neurological component — irritation of the nerves traveling through the affected segment, which can produce both local symptoms and downstream effects on whatever those nerves supply.
• Myological component — muscle tension, spasm, and protective guarding around the affected area.
• Connective tissue component — adaptive changes in ligaments, joint capsules, and surrounding fascia.
• Vascular component — altered circulation through the affected region.
• Inflammatory component — local inflammation that can become chronic if the dysfunction isn’t addressed.

This model is more accurate than the old “bone out of place” framing because it accounts for what we actually see clinically: patients with restricted spinal motion don’t just have one thing wrong — they have a coordinated pattern of restriction, tension, irritation, and inflammation that all need to be addressed for full resolution.

How the Nervous System Component Actually Works

The nervous system controls and coordinates essentially all body function — this is mainstream physiology, not chiropractic-specific theory. Every muscle contraction, every glandular secretion, every cardiac rhythm, every digestive process, every immune response routes through the nervous system. As the World Health Organization frames health, it’s a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being — not merely the absence of disease — and the nervous system is the system that coordinates all three.

The chiropractic argument about subluxation isn’t that misaligned bones somehow cause disease through magic. It’s that joint dysfunction in the spine produces measurable nervous-system effects — local pain, referred symptoms, autonomic (involuntary) dysregulation, and altered muscle and reflex patterns. Address the joint dysfunction, and many of those downstream effects resolve.

What’s well-supported in current research:

• Spinal joint dysfunction produces measurable changes in nerve signaling, particularly in the autonomic nervous system.
• Chiropractic adjustments shift the nervous system toward parasympathetic (“rest and recover”) balance.
• Adjustments increase circulating beta-endorphins (the body’s natural pain-modulating chemistry).
• Chiropractic care produces clinically meaningful improvement in mechanical low back pain, neck pain, and certain headache patterns.

What’s less well-supported:

• The broader claim that subluxations cause systemic disease (cancer, diabetes, infections, etc.).
• The claim that chiropractic care is a substitute for evidence-based medical care for serious conditions.
• The claim that subluxations are the root cause of “almost everything.”

Honest chiropractic stays inside the first list and is upfront about the second.

The Holder Research on TRT and the Nervous System

One of the most interesting research bodies on chiropractic and nervous-system function is the work of Dr. Jay Holder, MD, DC. Holder developed the Torque Release Technique (TRT) — the technique we use at Apex Chiropractic — specifically to study chiropractic care in patients with addictive behaviors and reward-system dysfunction.

The Holder randomized clinical trial, published in Molecular Psychiatry — a respected peer-reviewed journal — studied patients in residential addiction treatment for cocaine and alcohol dependence. Patients who received TRT adjustments alongside conventional treatment showed dramatically improved retention in treatment and improved outcomes on multiple measures compared to those receiving only conventional care.

This is important to characterize accurately: the Holder study was about addiction recovery, not anxiety or depression in the general population. It does not show that TRT cures anxiety or depression directly. What it does show is that addressing nervous-system dysfunction through targeted chiropractic care can meaningfully affect reward-system function and recovery outcomes — which is the mechanism we leverage at Apex for our substance abuse treatment program and, by extension, for the related applications in our natural anxiety, depression, and stress treatment work. (For more on the spine-mental-health connection specifically, see our blog on how the spine connects to anxiety and depression.)

How Subluxations Are Identified at Apex

You can’t fix what you can’t see. The first job of any chiropractic visit is identifying where subluxation patterns actually exist. We use a combination of approaches:

The 3 Part NeuroTECH Exam

The 3 Part NeuroTECH Exam measures three specific aspects of nervous-system function: thermal regulation (how your autonomic nervous system is functioning), surface electromyography (muscle tension patterns indicating subluxation), and heart-rate variability (overall nervous-system balance). These give us objective, measurable baselines — not just clinical impressions — for whether and where subluxation patterns are present.

Physical Examination

Palpation, range-of-motion testing, postural assessment, and movement screening identify the kinesiological and myological components of the subluxation complex — the parts you can feel and see.

Digital X-Ray Imaging When Indicated

For appropriate cases, digital X-ray analysis provides objective imaging of spinal alignment, joint spacing, and structural patterns. Not every patient needs imaging — we order it when the clinical picture genuinely benefits from it, not as routine policy.

How Subluxations Are Corrected: The Torque Release Technique

Once we’ve identified where subluxation patterns exist, the next question is how to address them. Different chiropractic techniques approach this differently. We use the Torque Release Technique for several reasons:

• It’s instrument-assisted — adjustments are delivered with the Integrator instrument rather than by hand. This means no twisting, no popping, no cracking sounds. Many patients find this less intimidating than traditional manual adjustments.
• It’s fast — adjustments are delivered at approximately 1/10,000th of a second. That speed is too fast for muscles to brace against, which means the adjustment reaches the target tissue without triggering protective guarding.
• It’s precise — the instrument delivers force to specific spinal segments at specific angles, with greater consistency than manual technique allows.
• It’s gentle enough for everyone — children, pregnant patients, elderly patients, patients with osteoporosis, and patients with acute pain all tolerate TRT well. Traditional high-velocity manual adjustments often aren’t appropriate for these populations.
• It has its own research base — TRT is one of the most peer-reviewed chiropractic techniques, with research dating back to Holder’s original work in the 1990s.

What This Means for You

If you’re considering chiropractic care, the practical takeaways:

If you have musculoskeletal pain, headaches, or pain patterns that haven’t resolved with conventional care — chiropractic care addressing subluxation complex is among the strongest evidence-based conservative options available. The research base for chiropractic in these conditions is solid.

If you have chronic stress, sleep issues, or autonomic-nervous-system dysregulation — addressing subluxation complex can produce meaningful improvement in nervous-system balance and downstream effects. This is one of the underappreciated applications of modern chiropractic care, supported by the broader research on nervous-system effects of adjustments. For the deeper mechanism, see our blog on how a chiropractor helps with anxiety and stress.

If you have a serious medical condition — cancer, diabetes, infections, autoimmune disease — chiropractic care is not a substitute for proper medical management. It may have a supportive role alongside medical treatment for some of these (we use this approach extensively in our cancer support work), but it is not a primary treatment. Honest chiropractors are upfront about this.

If you’re well and want to stay that way — preventive chiropractic care addresses subluxation complex before it becomes symptomatic. For the broader framework here, see our blog on preventive chiropractic care. The fundamentals of overall health — sleep, movement, nutrition, stress management — matter alongside chiropractic care; see our take on the 5 pillars of health for context on that broader picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I have a subluxation?

You may not, without examination. Subluxation complex frequently exists in patients who feel relatively well — they’re producing measurable changes in nervous-system function and joint mobility, but haven’t reached the symptomatic threshold yet. This is why objective measurement (like the 3 Part NeuroTECH Exam) matters: it identifies dysfunction that subjective symptoms haven’t caught up to yet.

Will I be able to feel the difference after correction?

Many patients notice improvements after the first few visits — better sleep, less muscle tension, more energy, reduced pain in affected areas. Sustained improvement typically develops over a few weeks of regular care. The exact response depends on what we’re correcting and how long the pattern has been established.

If subluxations are so important, why don’t medical doctors talk about them?

Different professional traditions use different vocabulary. Medical doctors often address the same phenomena under different names — “myofascial pain syndrome,” “facet joint dysfunction,” “segmental dysfunction,” “somatic dysfunction” (a term osteopathic physicians use). The underlying clinical reality — joint dysfunction producing local and systemic effects — is recognized across multiple traditions; “subluxation” is the chiropractic term for it.

Does chiropractic care for subluxations conflict with my other medical care?

Almost never. Chiropractic care works alongside conventional medical care for the vast majority of patients. We coordinate with primary care physicians, specialists, and physical therapists as needed. The honest version of chiropractic positions itself as a complement to medical care, not a replacement for it.

How often will I need adjustments?

It depends on what we’re addressing and how established the patterns are. Acute issues sometimes resolve in 4 to 8 visits. Chronic patterns typically take longer to fully address, often followed by periodic maintenance to prevent recurrence. We build the plan around your specific findings, not a standard package.

Are there situations where chiropractic isn’t appropriate?

Yes. Acute fractures, infections (particularly septic joints), certain cancers affecting bone, severe osteoporosis with imminent fracture risk, vascular emergencies, and certain neurological emergencies need medical management first. Honest chiropractors screen for these and refer when appropriate. (Here’s what to expect on your first day at Apex.)

What’s the difference between TRT and traditional chiropractic?

Traditional chiropractic uses high-velocity manual adjustments — the audible “cracking” sounds many people associate with chiropractic care. TRT uses an instrument (the Integrator) to deliver adjustments without manual force. Both are effective when applied appropriately; TRT is generally gentler, more precise, and better tolerated by patients who aren’t candidates for manual technique (children, pregnant patients, elderly patients, patients with osteoporosis or acute pain).

About the Author

Dr. Shane Kurth, D.C., BCN is the founder of Apex Chiropractic in Louisville, Colorado, and is board-certified in chronic intractable pain and neuropathy. A graduate of Auburn University with a degree in microbiology, Dr. Kurth has built one of Boulder County’s leading chiropractic practices around neurologically-based care using the research-driven Torque Release Technique. He has been voted Best Chiropractor in Boulder County for ten consecutive years by the readers of Boulder Weekly.

Dr. Kurth approaches chiropractic care as evidence-informed rather than dogmatic — honest about what the research supports, honest about what it doesn’t, and committed to coordinating with patients’ broader medical care when appropriate. He treats patients throughout Louisville, Superior, Lafayette, Broomfield, Erie, and the greater Boulder area, and is currently pursuing a diplomate degree in addictionology and compulsive disorders — the same research lineage the Holder studies on TRT come from. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Association (ICA) and the International Federation of Chiropractors & Organizations (IFCO). Learn more about Dr. Kurth →