Upper Cervical Chiropractic

At Lawrenceville Family Chiropractic, we practice a special type of chiropractic. The procedure that we utilize to correct your spine begins with checking the structure, function and biomechanics of the upper neck, referred to as the “upper cervical spine.” This procedure has been developed for over fifty years and was designed to realign and stabilize your entire spine in the most efficient and gentle way possible.

The most important part of the upper cervical spine is the first cervical vertebra, nicknamed “the Atlas.” Like the character from Greek mythology that held the world on his shoulders, this tiny 2-ounce bone must balance the weight of the head, which is normally between 12 and 15 pounds. Further complicating matters is that the Atlas is the most freely moveable vertebra in the entire spine. There are no spinal discs in this area of the spine, and there are no joints in this area that lock the Atlas into place and restrict its movement. Because the Atlas has the most amount of movement out of any vertebra in the spine, it also has the most potential for misalignment. Both major and minor physical traumas can cause the atlas to become misaligned, or subluxated, which in turn throws off the weight of the head to one side. The result of losing this delicate balance of the head is that the rest of the spine compensates by abnormally bending and twisting to keep the weight of the head over the center of the body. When the spine compensates in such a manner, over time any number of health problems can ensue.

The following helps illustrate this relationship between the atlas and the rest of the spine.

Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic

The specific type of upper cervical technique procedure we use is called Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic. It is a systematic approach to analyzing and adjusting the upper cervical spine that is extremely specific and precise; this approach to chiropractic adjusting allows the doctor to achieve maximum results with minimal force. Patients also tend to “hold their adjustment,” meaning that the atlas subluxation has been corrected and the correction is staying in place. When this occurs, the patient doesn’t need to be adjusted on every visit or come to the office as often to be checked. As the Atlas holds its adjustment for longer and longer periods of time, the body begins to heal itself as the structure of the spine begins to move back into a state of alignment. Because of this unique style of adjusting Atlas subluxations, many patients with conditions that have not responded to “normal” chiropractic adjustments find success in our office.

The Atlas Orthogonal X-Rays

The joints of the upper neck are the most complex in the entire body, and each misalignment of the upper cervical area is unique. It is impossible to accurately understand everything about the misalignment of this area just by feeling and examining the neck. For this reason I take very specific X-rays and spend considerable time analyzing them so that I can understand how best to adjust and unlock the upper cervical spine for each patient.

These are the X-rays that are taken to analyze the upper cervical area:

We take X-rays of your upper neck from three different angles: the side, the front, and the top. You are, after all, a three-dimensional person, and often, the Atlas has misaligned in all three dimensions. The Atlas Orthogonal adjustment affects the position of the Atlas in all three of these dimensions. From these X-rays, the amount of Atlas misalignment is actually quantified and a mathematical formula is derived that will provide the doctor with the instructions on how to best deliver the Atlas adjustment.

Following the first adjustment, the Doctor may retake the views from the front and from the top in order to determine the extent of correction that was achieved.