What is Upper Cervical?
Upper Cervical Chiropractic is a specialty within the chiropractic profession.
The Upper Cervical procedure is designed to correct the entire spine and balance the body by realigning the atlas (the first vertebra in the spine).
If the atlas is not in its proper position, stress is put on the dura (the covering of the spinal cord and brain) which in turn causes stress throughout the whole nervous system. When stress is present in the nervous system, other conditions that would normally cause no problem become more than the body can handle and we display symptoms.
Signs of an atlas misalignment are head tilt and or rotation, high shoulder, high hip, short leg, headaches, ear aches, hearing loss or ringing in the ears, visual disturbances, back and neck pain, to name a few.
When the atlas is in the proper position and the weight of the head is centered over the neck, the spinal system is more balanced and functions at a more optimum level. When the weight of the head is shifted off center it creates what is called 'bowling ball syndrome', the body will compensate by contracting the muscles in order to compensate for the misalignment. However, the body may feel balanced when in fact the body is imbalanced. This imbalance may be observed with one shoulder higher than the other, one hip higher than the other, head tilt and or rotation of the head from midline, and one leg longer than the other.
Over time, this imbalance can lead to progressive wear and tear or degeneration of the skeletal system.
An atlas misalignment can cause stress, tension and pressure on the entire nervous system including the brainstem (base of the brain) leading to ringing in the ears or headaches.
Impairment of the nervous system is a serious condition. The brain shuttles millions of electrical impulses back and forth to every cell of our body by way of the spinal nervous system. Restriction or distortion of those messages (nerve impulses) can affect every bodily function.
If the misalignment is not corrected, the long term effect is degeneration of the spine and skeletal system which may result in mild to severe pain, lowered resistance to illness, behavioral changes, organ dysfunction, loss of mobility and/or numbness and tingling in the limbs and ultimately disease.
