The word that causes the most confusion when chiropractic is discussed in veterinary medical circles is subluxation. The traditional veterinary definition is an incomplete or partial dislocation, less than a luxation. However, the modern chiropractic definition is the alteration of the normal dynamics, an atomical physiological relationship of contiguous articular surfaces. In other words, the loss of normal motion between two bones. When there is a loss of normal motion between two vertebrae, she further explains, there is a decrease in the normal pumping action of intervertebral discs, leading to faster aging of discs.
Nerves become irritated at the intervertebral foramen causing aberrant neural activity.
The ligaments and muscles become scarred and thickened, producing pain and muscle spasm in the surrounding area. To return the joints to normal motion and to alleviate the pain and muscle spasms, the chiropractor performs an adjustment on the area of the spine affected. A chiropractor, says Harman, does not work on the entire spine of a horse in one fell swoop during an adjustment. Because of the size of the animal, she says, that would be virtually impossible. The techniques for these adjustments are worked out scientifically, taking into account the biomechanics and physics of the joints.