Negative Effects of Upper Cervical Care?

I know that nobody wants to talk about these but somebody has to.

Let's start out by saying that nothing that we do in life is without some sort of possible negative outcome or risk. Getting out of bed in the morning, driving to work, walking across a busy street (even when it is okay to cross), all carry risk. The only way to avoid risk is death. Living is a risk and most of us get by just fine and in fact some of us even thrive.

That being said, does upper cervical care have risks and potential negative effects? Well of course it does. What are some of those possible negative effects though and how likely are they to happen? Believe it or not both of these questions can actually be very difficult to answer. You see it really depends on your frame of reference.

In many upper cervical circles the term retracing is used. Retracing implies just what it says, going back over ground already covered. Think about it this way, when you get up in the morning and head off to school or work you take certain roads turning certain directions at the right time until you arrive at you destination. At the end of the day you retrace your steps to get home. When we lose our health it is often the same, it happens step by step. If this decline is due to head/neck misalignment and that is corrected with upper cervical care than you can expect to retrace your step back to health. When the body does this you may have symptoms but they are a sign of change and repair.

While retracing is an actual phenomenon that does indeed happen, more so in some patients than others, it should not be, and is not, the reason for all effects from upper cervical care that are often looked at as negative. A real retracing effect, while inconvenient, should be welcomed since it is an indication that the body is changing, healing, and should subside within a reasonable period of time.

If it is not retracing then what are the effects from? They could be symptoms of something unrelated to UC care and may not improve with UC care so you may need to do some research and perhaps visit another health care professional better suited to assist you with the problem. It could also be that care was rendered incorrectly due to lack of experience on the part of the doctor, poor technique, analysis errors, improper x-ray placement, or incorrect patient positioning for the correction. All of which could result in a correction that does in fact not correct anything and could cause more problems and/or worsen existing ones. Is this done deliberately? No. People make mistakes, we are not perfect.

I do not share any of this to deter anyone from receiving UC care that may in fact, and in all probability will, help them. I mention it because nothing is perfect, even our own bodies do not get it right sometimes (at least from our perspective anyway). You see, in all honesty, we can't actually know if anything negative will happen and if it does what exactly it will be that happens. The most common things would be soreness and/or achiness in different areas of the body for different people. Keep in mind that upper cervical care has extremely low risk, due in large part to the gentleness and specificity of most of the approaches. In fact over it's roughly 80 year history it's clinical benefits far outweigh the extremely low risks. And in that 80 year history I do not know of any documented serious negative effects ever occurring from UC care.

So if you have found a doctor that is experienced, well trained, and has happy patients, relax the odds are greatly in your favor that you are in good hands just make sure that you are always communicating with your upper cervical doctor about any changes you experience in regards to your health. And by the slim chance that you do have a negative effect that seems to be related to the care or the care just isn't working for you I would give at least one more upper cervical doctor a try that uses a slightly different approach. I have seen this make all the difference in the world for some patients.

Questions or concerns? Just let me know if I can be of any help, drtravisrobertson@gmail.com or post a comment.

Retrace Your Steps With Upper Cervical Care

Please keep in mind while you read that Upper Cervical Care wants to achieve the most stable correction possible in the shortest period of time possible to help you regain and maintain your health and save you time and money in the process.

Retracing Cycles of Repair

By The Blair Chiropractic Society

What do we mean by retracing? Primarily it implies going over ground that has already been covered until the individual reaches the point from which they started.

When a patient is under Upper Cervical Care, it often occurs that they exhibit symptoms that have not manifested themselves for months, or even years. Their first impression is that they are becoming worse, but they are retracing the several stages through which their condition progressed in the making.

The question of time is essential in the matter of retracing. If a condition has been in progress for a number of years, the patient should not always expect to regain the normal state within a few days.

As it took time for the condition of the patient to change from health to a maximum degree of abnormality, so it takes time to retrace from the abnormality back to health.

What the Upper Cervical Doctor Does

The Upper Cervical Doctor is thoroughly trained to detect the abnormal positions of the upper cervical spine. They are further trained in the technique of restoring this area to their normal positions.

The question naturally arises in the mind of the patient as to why the Upper Cervical Doctor cannot return the upper neck immediately to its normal position and thus immediately restore the body to a healthy state.

What actually happens when a correction is given is the head and neck are returned toward its normal position. When an correction is done the ligaments and muscles are given an opportunity to regain, in part, their normal tone, and this permits them to hold the head and neck in a more nearly normal state.

Points To Remember

The spine, however, and the body in general is subject to more or less strain during the every day life, and it is possible that the head and neck may recede toward its old abnormal position, thereby necessitating another correction.

Keep in mind that tissues often must be rebuilt in order for the head and neck to hold its normal position.

In addition, tissues that have perhaps for years assumed an abnormal condition, due to the gradually increasing pressure upon the nerve fibers, must be allowed time to return through the various stages they have passed in the production of the abnormality.

This all takes time, and patience becomes a cardinal virtue, based on the knowledge that all is progressing as it should.

Gradual Retracing

It can thus readily be seen that there is a gradual retracing in the position of the spine from the time when it attains the maximum degree, to the time when it returns again to normal.

There is also a retracing in the condition of the tissues that are supplied by the nerve fibers impinged. They have gradually attained a maximum degree of abnormality and must return through those various stages by which they progressed in the attainment of that abnormality.

Not only is there retracing so far as the spine is concerned and the tissue cells affected, but there also may be a retracing in the symptoms exhibited by the patient.

Various Stages

Different stages of correction can give rise to different symptoms, and as the order reverses itself, symptoms that were present, perhaps years ago, may again occur.

If the spine is being returned rapidly toward its normal position, an entire series of symptoms may develop at one time and the patient consequently will believe they are getting worse.

As a matter of fact, the outlook is particularly bright at this time, and the patient should realize this fact. Naturally, if they do not understand the condition, they will assume that they are becoming worse and may stop Upper Cervical Care entirely.

It cannot be made too emphatic that this is the very time when they should continue with Upper Cervical Care, because the results are being obtained which will do the greatest good.

Must Be Retracing

It is immaterial whether the problem is one of long standing or an acute condition. There must be retracing in the position of the vertebra and in whatever structural or functional change has occurred.

Naturally, if this is true, there must be a retracing in the symptoms. In acute cases they may be so slight in degree that they pass unnoticed.

Finally, every patient should realize the necessity for continuing with Upper Cervical Care, even though they cannot note the progress made from day to day, or even though they believe the condition is worse.

It is essential for this period of retracing to be passed through, and they should not allow any temporary discouragement to preclude the ultimate health, which will be theirs if they continue.