Awesome video. You can’t help but cringe and giggle at the same time.

This video shows a young guy getting hit in the side of the head with a soccer ball.  As you will see, it was a good shot but he brushed it off pretty quickly and thus likely perceived as “minor”.  What amazes me is the SLO-MO!  Wow.  Everything looks worse (and more entertaining) in slow motion!

“I hit my head a bunch of times when I was a kid I guess, but they were all minor.”

I guess that’s true in a sense, we aren’t made of glass.  We are built to sustain a certain amount of abuse and daily physical stress.  Sideways impacts are special though.

Something to consider is that not all abnormal postures/impacts are “equal”.  Some have deeper effects on your spinal joints and brain function than others.  One that is especially difficult to correct (as a Chiropractor) and has some of the deepest and most serious long term effects on brain and nervous system function are called ‘lateral translations’….a sideways shift (versus a “tilt”) of the spine.  I’ll spare you the details but the short version is that it completely changes your center of gravity, and left uncorrected places long-term stress on your brain, spinal cord and nerves and joints.  The effects are far more vast than we ever thought.

Ick.  Eeew.  No thanks.

What can cause a sideways shift in your spine?  Well, a soccer ball to the side of the head is a good way!

• T-bone collision in your car
• Falling on your side
• The wrong pillow and mattress combination

Probably a number of other ways that I can’t think of at the moment but you get the idea.

Most people don’t even realize that they have a “lateral translation” or sideways shift. They are pretty easy to detect if you know what you are looking for. Here are the steps to detect this misalignment in your head and neck. Grab some eyeliner to make this super easy (optional).

Take your shirt off…..easy now.
Observe your episternal notch and using the eyeliner pencil, draw a small dot in the center.
Observe the center of your chin, your philtrum (the groove just under your nose) and glabella and draw a small dots in the center of each.
Now there should be a perfectly straight line perpendicular to the floor that passes through, the episternal notch, chin, philtrum and glabella. If so…do the happy dance.
A sideways shift (lateral translation) occurs if the dots on the face line up perpendicular to the floor but not with your episternal notch. If this is case….do NOT do the happy dance. Do NOT pass GO, do not collect $200 and go directly to jail…. Or, mention it to me on your next visit. Odds are I’ve already noticed and have been working to correct it.

If you DID notice a sideways shift and you don’t have a Chiropractor, you ought to call our office and ask for a consultation. Mention this blog post and the consultation will be at no charge.

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