Chiropractic and Fractal Geometry? What the What!?

Trees, like all other life forms, go through different stages of development. The first part to develop of a germinated seedling is the taproot. From the taproot, the rest of the root system and parts develop: the trunk, branches and twigs.

Off the trunk come the branches, and off the branches come the twigs. Each new offshoot is a fraction of the one it came from. A similar process occurs under the ground within the root system.

This is a system of mathematics used by nature called fractal geometry. It is the concept of how patterns repeat but at fractions of the source shape: a structure with repetitive branching within branching. The classic example is the Koch Snowflake. It is the idea that a simple shape such as an equilateral triangle can develop into a complex, intricate and beautiful snowflake.

Examples of fractal geometry are throughout nature and the human body. In nature, some of the most notable are clouds, river networks, fault lines, mountain ranges, lightning bolts and coastlines. In the human body, we have the pulmonary system, the vascular system and the nerve system among others.

You have a taproot as well called the brainstem. When the sperm enters the egg and cell production starts, the very first organ tissue that develops at that point is the brainstem. From the brainstem, the spinal cord, brain and other tissues of the body develop.

The brainstem’s name is fitting. The brain originates or “stems” from it.

This is where all human life starts and where the control center houses trillions of nerve tracts. Nature saw fit to develop this important area first because it is the connection area between the brain above and the body below. The same basic branching pattern arises throughout other tissues of the body such as the pulmonary and vascular systems. The taproot of the pulmonary, or lungs, is the trachea; the taproot of the circulatory, or blood vessels, is the aorta.

Why is this similar organizational pattern seen throughout nature and life? Organization takes intelligence and life is intelligent. Life will use the process that is to be the most efficient and yielding for the space it envelops.

What does this have to do with Chiropractic? The brainstem houses the greatest concentration of nerve tracts found anywhere in the entire body. Brainstem tissue resides within the two top bones of the neck, the atlas and axis vertebrae.

From this area, the nerve tracts will branch out to every other organ, gland and tissue of the body. The intricate branching of the nerves throughout the body are controlled by the brainstem, which is where all the tracts originate. The brainstem has been nickname “Houston Control.”

Let’s go back to the tree for further explanation. You can cut off a twig and alter the function locally; but the tree can still survive. You can cut off a branch, altering the function locally, but the tree can still survive. But if you cut off the trunk at the taproot source, you lose the tree globally.

This can be done within your own body as well. You can lose a lobe of a lung and still breath and function at a relative level. You can even puncture your whole right or left lung and still breath and function at a relative level. You get something lodged in the trachea though, shutting off all capability of the lungs to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, and you will die from the increased toxicity in the body.

A very similar concept occurs within the nerve system. You can sever the musculocutaneous nerve, a nerve found in the arm, and you lose function to what that nerve innervates. Sever the L5 nerve root and you lose function to the tissues innervated by that root. Sever the spinal cord at the T5 level and you lose function to the tissues innervated below that level.

You sever the brainstem though, and you lose all function. Not some, but all function.

Dale Earnhardt Sr., the NASCAR driver, died instantly when his atlas bone separated from its joint during a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500. He sustained no brain trauma. Now, injury to the brainstem doesn't have to be as severe as Dale Earnhardt’s for the disruption of function to occur.

Another detrimental injury is a fracture. Christopher Reeve, the actor best know as Superman, became a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down, after fracturing the two top bones of his neck from a horse-riding accident. He also sustained no brain trauma during the injury.

There is a level of injury that can occur to the brainstem that is different from a separation, fracture or dislocation. This is called a vertebral subluxation.

When the two top bones are misaligned by a couple of millimeters, they lose their normal relationship with each other. This can cause added pressure on the spinal cord and brainstem. This added pressure alters the normal function of the brainstem.

When brainstem function alters, it effects the nerve system on a global scale. And since the brainstem and nerve system control every function of the body, an abnormally functioning brainstem will result in an abnormally functioning body.

A vertebral subluxation causes small tears to the tissues that surround and support the brainstem. These tears result in scar tissue which increases pressure around the brainstem. This is similar to how when plaque builds up inside a blood vessel, the increased pressure alters its ability to function properly.

My goal at OHIO Specific Chiropractic is to remove this vertebral subluxation. By removing the subluxation, pressure is removed from the brainstem, thus improving the functional capability of the nerve system. With the brainstem and nerve system functioning, the body as a unit can now function greater. Proper function is healthy function. Healthy function is vital for a life experience that will yield positive results.

-Dr. Jarek Esarco

Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.