What Causes Today's Health Problems
Injury to the upper neck has a global affect on the body. When the head and neck are misaligned due to injury, the first cervical vertebra no longer positions squarely under the head.
This shifting of the atlas causes stress and miscommunication affecting posture control centers in the lower brainstem. Posture muscles that run along one side of the spine pull harder than muscles on the other side. The result is the picture you see here.
Notice the short leg, uneven hips, high shoulder and head tilt. Look closely at your friends and family as they face you and you may be able to tell if they should be referred for an evaluation.
Body imbalance has a very negative long term effect on spinal discs. When the body’s weight is not distributed evenly across the discs, premature degenerative disc disease, herniation and even a closing down of spinal nerve canals (stenosis) can result. Just as driving your car with the front end out of align causes premature tire wear, long term body imbalance causes your spine to age quicker. The difference between a 75 year-old on the golf course and a 75 year-old pushing a walker is usually found in their spines!
How To Correct The Cause of The Problem
Utilizing a very precise system of analysis developed by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA), which is based on physics and math, we are able to calculate the precise reduction pathway and corrective force necessary to gently bring your head, neck and atlas back into alignment. These highly sophisticated calculations allow us to correct this complex and delicate region of the spine with very little force and no “twisting” or “popping” of the neck.
In fact, most patients don’t even feel the adjustment. As the correction in the upper neck is achieved the entire body is brought back into balance as stress on posture nerves feeding the brain stem is relieved. This is why people with problems even in the lower part of their body respond well to the NUCCA correction.
Importance of The Nervous System
The nervous system controls and regulates every function of the body, most of which we don’t consciously think about, such as heart rate, breathing, digestion, etc. That is why the nervous system is the very first body part to develop in the mother’s womb.
The spine is one of the very next body parts to develop in order to house and protect this delicate nervous system. It does a good job of this protection until injury damages the spine itself causing it to misalign. Now instead of protecting the nervous system, the spine begins to harm it. The common term for nerve stress caused by misalignment of the spine is subluxation. The upper two vertebrae in the neck account for almost half of our head movements. For this reason, they are especially vulnerable to injury and subluxation. Combined with the fact that the brainstem, which is the nervous system’s “Grand Central Station”, passes through the first cervical vertebra, problems here tend to have a more detrimental effect on the body.
Some of the many symptoms that can be relieved by correction of the Atlas Subluxation Complex include but are not limited to:
Chronic back and neck pain, frequent headaches, migraines, dizziness, vertigo, hypertension, numbness and tingling, shoulder and arm pain, Post Concussion Syndrome, sciatica, TMJD, chronic pain, autoimmune disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and so on.
Why Do You Need To Get Checked?
1. Misalignment of the spine can cause direct pressure on the spinal cord and/or the delicate nerves that exit between each vertebrae of the spine. As a result, any body part served by these nerves that loses its flow of
energy to and from the brain because of this pressure will not function properly. For example, if the nerve that supplies the stomach is stressed, problems such as indigestion, heartburn, reflux, bloating and gas can occur.
2. Body imbalance creates an ongoing structural and neurological stress to the body. The body responds to stress by activating the sympathetic nervous system. Long term sympathetic nervous system activity has been proven to cause the immune system to be suppressed. In other words, your immune system doesn’t work as well when the body is under long term stress and imbalance.
3. Long term body imbalance causes premature aging and degeneration of the spine itself. Arthritis is the more common term for this wear and tear. As spinal degeneration becomes advanced, the vertebrae themselves encroach upon the spinal nerves causing them to slowly lose their ability to transmit vital brain messages. Doctors refer to this condition as spinal stenosis.
Images appearing on this page are reprinted with permission from Daniel O. Clark, D.C. Copyright 2020, www.uppercervicalillustrations.com
Welcome to NUCCA Wellness Clinic!
You're about to view a typical misalignment, and how an upper cervical correction can restore balance and health to your body.
Introduction to NUCCA 2024
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An educational video exhibiting the impact of an upper cervical adjustment on the spine.
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