ACUTE: Relatively severe and of short duration.

ADJUSTMENT: A specific thrust or pressure delivered at the right time, location and angle to correct neurological.

ARTHRITIS: Inflammation of a joint which is often accompanied by symptoms and changes in structure.

CERCIVAL: The vertebrae of the neck. Usual seven bones.

CHRONIC: Persisting for a long period of time. A problem showing little change or with slow progression.

COCCYX: A series of small bones below the sacrum also known as the tailbone.

COMPRESSIVE LESION: A malfunctioning spinal bone or soft tissue that puts direct pressure on nerve, destroying its function. A relatively rare phenomenon that is commonly referred to as a pinched nerve (see "facilitative lesion").

DISC: A cartilage (cushion/pad) that separates spinal vertebrae, absorbs shock to the spine, protects the nervous system and assists in creating the four normal curves of spine. A disc can bulge, herniated or rupture, but because of the way it connects to the vertebrae above and below, a disc can not "slip".

EDEMA: A condition in which fluid fills a damaged tissue, causing swelling, similar to swelling of a sprained ankle or black eye.

FACET: The joint surface of a bone facing the adjacent bone above or below.

FACILIATIVE LESION: A twisting, stretching, chafing or irritation of nerve tissue from malfunctioning spinal structures.

HEALTH: A state of optimal physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. When your body works the way it was designed to work.

INFLAMMATION: A reaction of soft tissue due to injury and/or dysfunction that may cause malfunction discomfort, rise in temperature, swelling and increased blood supply.

KYPHOSIS: A backward displacement in the lateral curve of the spine.

LIGAMENT: A band or sheet of fibrous connective tissue that binds your joints together.

LUMBAR: The vertebrae of the lower back; usually five bones.

NUCLEUS PULPOSUS: The gelatinous mass in the center of a spinal disc. PALPATION: Examining the spine with your fingers; the art of feeling with your hands.

PINCHED NERVE: See "compressive lesion"

RANGE OF MOTION: The range measured in degrees of a circle, through which a joint can be moved.

SACROILIAC: The two joints where the pelvis (hip) connects to the sacrum.

SCIATICA: A pain that radiates from the lower back into the buttocks and down the back of one or both legs caused by the irritation of the sciatic nerve.

SLIPPED DISC: An incorrect name given a situation in which a disc becomes wedge-shaped and bulges. In extreme cases pressure can cause a disc to tear and rupture.

SPASM: A constant contraction or tighten of muscle.

SUBIUXATION: A malfunction of the spine that is less than a total dislocation which affects the nervous system and its ability to correct, control or monitor the organs and tissue of the body.

TENDON: Fibrous tissue that connects muscles with bones.

TRIGGER POINT: An involutedly tight band of muscle that is painful when pressed and can refer pain to other parts of the body.

VERTEBRA: Any of the individual bones of the spinal column.

VERTABRAL SUBLUXATION COMPLEX: Types of pathology resulting from a vertebral subluxation including kinesiopathology, neuropathophyisology, myopathology, histopathology and pathophysiolgy.