Upper Cervical Care And The Girl With Cerebral Palsy

(Editor’s note: This is a message from Dr. B.J. Kale about a trip to Nicaragua to provide Upper Cervical Care and was also recently posted on The Atlas Of Life.)

My team just returned from Nicaragua where we had some truly phenomenal care given.

One case that stands out from the many thousands that we delivered care to is a little 13 year old girl that has cerebral palsy. After giving her an initial scan and gaining her listing, she was adjusted on the wall because she could not get out of her wheelchair.

We kept her in day care for the morning, checking her every half hour. She kept a straight scan for over three hours, her demeanor was ever so pleasant, and she had a tremendous change after the first adjustment.

Then after the third hour she began to present a very distinct movement in her scan so we elected to adjust again. After this adjustment and with about 30 minutes of rest, her next scan was zero and her mother started crying because she was beginning to act like she never had before… she wanted to EAT. Something that simple. Her mom said she would normally have to force feed her, and even through that, Maria would only eat about a handful.

Not this time, NOT AFTER THE REMOVAL OF THE SUBLUXATION that has been with her since her VERY TRAUMATIC BIRTH.

She was calm, she sat, and ate an ENTIRE PLATE of food… then began reaching for another plate and yelling “MAS..MAS”. Then we began to notice that she was sitting up on her own without any assistance in her wheelchair.

After asking the mother if this was this normal, her mother cried and said “NO!!” Her mother explained to us that she has NEVER seen her sit up on her own, NOT ONCE! Then the little girl began to stand up and began to walk. Her mother was completely blown away with excitement. Maria took a ‘lap’ around the church we were in, all with smiles and giggling. She was so happy.

How To Choose An Upper Cervical Doctor

The link below is to The Atlas of Life and touches on what to look for when choosing an Upper Cervical Doctor. Dr. Brandon Harshe does a phenomenal job with this site and it is full of great info for patients as well as Doctors.

Enjoy!

"Lately, I’ve been coming across some difficulties finding a good Upper Cervical Chiropractor for people in various parts of the country. It’s hard to tell how someone practices just from their website, so I’ve come up with a list of six characteristics to look for when searching for an Upper Cervical Chiropractor."

Click Here for the full article.

Type 2 Diabetes and Upper Cervical Care

Another study about the effects of Upper Cervical Care.

WEBSTER, SK; DICKHOLTZ, M; WOODFIELD, C; BAKRIS, GL; Acute Effect of Nucca Upper Cervical Adjustment on Patients with Diabetes Type II CHIROPRACTIC RESEARCH JOURNAL. 2000 FAL Vol. VII(2) Pgs. 81

ABSTRACT:

Background: Type II diabetes is characterized by elevated post-prandial plasma glucose levels and recurrent fasting hypoglycemia. Progression of cardiovascular and renal disease has been demonstrated to correlate with hypertension and hyperglycemia in patients with type II diabetes.

Objectives: The purpose of this project is to evaluate the acute effects of chiropractic reduction of upper cervical subluxation using the technique established by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) on blood pressure, plasma glucose, and the activity of the autonomic nervous system in patients with type II diabetes.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate that reduction of upper-cervical subluxations by NUCCA adjustment resulted in a stabilization of plasma glucose levels during the three-hour fasting period. Further characterization of these patients, as well as additional patients, will be necessary to assess the mechanisms through which this stabilization occurs. Long-term monitoring of these variables in these patients will determine if the beneficial effects of this type of chiropractic care on plasma glucose level are maintained for extended periods of time.

Blood Sugars Levels Improve?

A brief note about one families experience with upper cervical care and what it did for their daughter who had Type 1 Diabetes.

UNCONTROLLED BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS

My daughter has suffered with Type 1 Diabetes for 4 years now. We have tried several types and dosages of insulin. Eventually we had to have an insulin pump put into my daughter, but we have never been able to regulate her blood sugar levels. I myself went to (Upper Cervical Care) because I suffered with severe neck pain and numbness. While there the doctor explained the nerve system function and the importance of clear communication from the brain to the body and visa versa. I decided to have my daughter checked and she began to receive Upper Cervical adjustments. With every adjustment her blood sugar levels would drop dramatically--to me this was a clear indication that my daughter's body was responding and producing insulin!!

The doctor and staff take a personal interest in every patient and they treat you as if you were family. Their professionalism is unsurpassed.

Can Mental Function Improve with Upper Cervical Care?

J Manual Medicine (1992) 6:215-216
(c) Springer-Verlag
Clinical Note

Upper Cervical Adjustments May Improve Mental Function
M.D. Thomas and J. Wood

Palmer College of Chiropractic Clinic, 1000 Brady Street, Davenport, Iowa 52803, USA

Summary

This report describes abrupt improvement in mental and motor deficits in a 14-year-old girl after the initiation of specific upper cervical chiropractic care. Cessation of this care for several months was associated with a return to the patient's previous condition. Repeat manipulation was followed by recovery of the patient to the level of her previous improvement. This cycle of regression to pretreatment condition in the absence of care followed by recovery after specific upper cervical care has occurred three times to date.

Periodic evaluations of a 14-year-old girl by her school psychologist were conducted between March 1984 and October 1989. The Leiter Performance Scale indicated severe mental, deficits, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scale indicated social adaptation within the trainable mentally handicapped range. Evaluations were most recently performed prior to initial chiropractic care in 1989. Informally, her teachers reported occasional moments of increased alertness and performance of tasks she normally did not perform.

Medical history

The birth of this patient followed an uncomplicated pregnancy. Apgar scores were seven after 1 min and nine after 5 min., well within normal ranges. Speech problems were first noted at 30 months of age. In November 1978, the patient was admitted into an Early Childhood Education Program because of her deficiencies in speech and social development. She had developed behavioral problems by November 1979. She was evaluated by a neurologist who told the parents she would outgrow these problems by the age of 6 years. An electroencephalogram (EEG) performed in September 1980 was reported as normal.

The patient was enrolled in kindergarten in September 1981. She was transferred to a behavioral disability class in the next semester because of inattention in class and poor test scores. Initially, it was hoped the smaller class and more intense instruction would correct the inattention and test scores would improve. In September 1982, the patient's teacher reported she was having "staring spells". In January 1983 "slight abnormalities” were noted in a sleeping EEG.

In February 1983 the diagnosis of psychomotor seizures was presented to the family. Tegretol and Dilantin were prescribed without positive results. By August 1983, the patient had been weaned off both medications. At this time the patient's neurologist felt that there was a “degenerative neurological disorder," and she was subsequently referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. By January 1984, she had twice been examined at the Mayo Clinic without further definition except for acknowledgment that the sleeping EEG continued to be slightly abnormal. In May 1984, the patient was transferred from a behavioral disability class to a trainable mentally handicapped class.

In August 1985, she underwent a week-long evaluation at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md. Again, all was normal (including MRI and various serum studies) except for slightly abnormal EEG. By July 1987, her EEG had improved and a degenerative neurological process was ruled out. In October 1988 and August 1989, this patient was examined at the Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. All findings were negative.

Chiropractic care

At the Palmer Public Clinic, interviews conducted in October 1989 with the parents and examination of available written records revealed a 13 -year-old female with a tested verbal ability at approximately 3 years of age. The patient reportedly spent most of every day sitting and staring into space while listening to the radio. She never made contact with others. The patient tended to stay near her family and followed behind them when they went walking. She spoke very rarely, using single words, always nouns, which were occasionally appropriate and often echolalic. She often mumbled incoherently to herself. Given several choices, she always took the last choice offered.

The patient did not use her left arm or hand in situations where normal children would. In retrieving objects or grasping a swing while swinging she used only her right arm. The left arm did not swing appropriately as she walked, hanging flaccidly at her side while her right arm swung appropriately. We found adequate grip strength in both hands, with the right hand stronger than the left.

Orthopedic and neurologic evaluation was difficult due to patient noncompliance. The supine leg check showed leg length inequality, with the right leg 2 cm shorter. X-rays revealed osseous misalignment at the craniovertebral junction, with left atlas laterality and posterior rotation. This was accompanied by coupled motion of the inferior cervical vertebrae into the left frontal plane. Skull rotation was into the right frontal plane. Postural distortion was consistent with unilateral right extensor muscle hypertonicity. Specific upper cervical adjustments using National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) procedures were given on 16, 17, and 19 October 1989. Leg length inequality and postural distortion were corrected after the third adjustment. Post manipulation X-rays on 19 October 1989 revealed a proportional 90% correction of the previous cranio-vertebral misalignment.

The patient began to make eye contact. On 19 October 1989 she returned with her parents to her home in Wisconsin. Within 2 weeks, the patient was forming sentences with personal pronouns, verbs, adjectives and nouns. The patient began standing straighter. She used her left arm in activities and swung her left arm normally during walking. These changes persisted for about 6 weeks, when her condition again began to deteriorate.

The patient was adjusted by a succession of three chiropractors near her home utilizing three techniques, different from the technique we employed. None of their interventions was effective. By June 1990, the patient's condition was back to its
previous baseline. On 6 August 1990, the patient was again brought to our clinic. Upper cervical radiographs were again taken and specific upper cervical adjustment delivered. Radiographs obtained immediately after the adjustment revealed a proportional 95% correction. Immediately, the patient responded with eye contact, full sentences, and appropriate speech which she initiated. Left arm use was again regained. She stood straighter and walked more symmetrically. For the first time, she engaged in family conversation and activities. When offered a choice, her decision was truly a decision and not agreement or a repeat of the last choice given.

The family returned home and these changes persisted for about 6 weeks before the patient began to return to her former condition. By the time the patient was next adjusted by a chiropractor using NUCCA procedures, in late June of 1991, she had lost much of the use of her left arm and was no longer speaking in sentences. Specific upper cervical adjustment again restored use of the left arm and ability to speak in complete sentences. As of 28 August 1991, the patient had not been again
adjusted and no longer spoke in complete sentences, although active left arm use persisted.

Discussion

Interpretation of these results is difficult, because there is a correlation between upper cervical adjustments and apparent improvement in mental function. High correlation does not necessarily indicate a causative relationship. Perhaps the mechanism that might most assist in explaining neural dysfunction accompanying upper cervical misalignments is altered input to the central nervous system from neck joint capsule receptors [1]. Some chiropractors who treat the upper cervical spine believe that upper cervical misalignments may alter neural function by causing longitudinal and transverse traction on the upper cervical spine and brain stem or on the upper cervical spine alone. Even in cases where stretching is not pathological, stretching of axons decreases their diameter. Conduction velocity decreases as fiber diameter is decreased [2]. Sufficient reduction of axon diameter completely blocks the transmission of nerve impulses.

References

1. Schwartz IL, Siegel GJ (1985) Excitation, conduction, and transmission of the nerve impulse. In: West JB (ed) Best and Taylor's physiological basis of medical practice, 11 th edn, chapter 3. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, pp 28-57

2. Wyke B (1979) Neurology of the cervical spinal joints. Physiotherapy 65:72-76

Little-Known Chiropractic Treatment Saves Man's Life

The picture above is of James Tomasi, Laurie Degroote and Myself.

By BRIANNE SANCHEZ
September 23, 2009

After 12 years of living with debilitating pain in his face, James Tomasi decided to kill himself.

The former pastor from Oklahoma City, Okla., never understood what compelled men to jump from windows and take their own lives until he was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia (TN), a notoriously painful nerve disorder that causes sudden shock-like facial pains, typically near the nose, lips, eyes or ears.

"It's like being Tasered in the face," Tomasi said of the condition, which, for him, started after a root canal and continued off and on for more than a decade.
Medication didn't work. Neither did having all of his teeth pulled. Prayer wasn't healing him and a $40,000 surgery that couldn't guarantee a cure was out of the question.

Tomasi lost hope. He was frightened, discouraged and debilitated by a pain that forced him to become a recluse, spending two years in a darkened room. The only relief he was certain of would come through death.

"I began to see that I could take control of my life again," Tomasi said in a phone interview from his home. "All I had to do was kill myself and the pain would be gone. When you're hurting so bad, all of a sudden those thoughts make sense."

He decided to end it all on a Tuesday evening in February of 1997, using the pistol he kept near his bedside for protection. But, unaware of her husband's suicide plan, Tomasi's wife, Rhonda, scheduled him for an appointment that Tuesday morning at a local upper cervical chiropractic clinic.

For Tomasi, the upper cervical treatment, a gentle form of chiropractic that focuses on correcting a small misalignment of the upper neck, was a life-saving solution. He walked out of the office feeling relief, and after several visits was pain-free. Since then, the Tomasis have dedicated their lives to raising awareness of upper cervical care through speaking engagements all over the country.

On Friday, at the invitation of Ames-based upper cervical chiropractors Dr. Barbara Read, of Read Health Center and Dr. Zachary Ward of Ward Chiropractic Group, Tomasi will tell his story at the Hickory's Hall Banquet and Events Center in Ames.

Although only a small selection of the population is affected by TN, advocates of upper cervical care believe the technique is beneficial for people with a wide range of chronic symptoms, from asthma to fibromyalgia. "I want to help people who ask, 'Is there a way out of this?" Tomasi said. "This perhaps will give them hope."
Seven members of the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) practice in Iowa.

"We address the entire spine from the upper cervical area (between the head and neck)," said Deb Sesker, of Balance First Chiropractic Center in West Des Moines. "We don't focus on a complaint as much as structural realignment. We know that structure relates to function and function is controlled by the nervous system."

A NUCCA correction involves an analysis to determine if the patient's head is sitting at the proper angle and if a patient's weight is distributed evenly. Doctor Sesker said that the process begins by checking the patient's "postural distortion," or how far the body is out of alignment. An X-Ray of the head and neck is also taken to determine the angle of correction. Unlike stereotypical chiropractic techniques, there is no thrusting adjustment. The patient lies down and the doctor applies a light, targeted touch behind the ear. A post-procedure X-ray shows the new, realigned position of the body.

"I want to open up the awareness of the power of upper cervical chiropractic," event co-organizerRead said.

One TN Patient's Experience

Perhaps their experience will guide you to the light at the end of your dark tunnel.

My story began 10 years ago with a fast onset of terrible pain. I went to the G.P., general dentist, oral surgeon, ENT, chiropractor, neurologist, neurosurgeon. It was the ENT professional who first diagnosed this after I had had the "usual" treatment of root canal and my dental fillings all changed to composites. After the diagnosis I was sent to the neurologist and on to the neurosurgeon who seemed gleeful to see me. When I balked at the first consultation, he assured me I "would be back." I have wandered through the usual maze of drug therapy, staggering, falling, and feeling in a daze. I have listened to others who swore by acupuncture (it did nothing for me); crystal therapy (yes, I tried that too!); chiropractic maneuvers (made it worse), and even having the offending nerve cut by an oral surgeon (permanent numbness but pain returned, of course). I have been depressed, given antidepressants, been more depressed, considered ending it all. But through it all I have worked! Have to. How? It has been an absolute heroic event. Finally, this past fall someone tried to convince me to try a "specialized chiropractic treatment" upper cervical. Sure, I thought. Another voo doo thing. I was sent a tape to listen to. The tape sat on my desk for months. One day I thought I would listen to it before I threw it out. Listened to it and thought, this is absurd. I listened to it several times and then thought, well, I'll try one more shot at voo doo. Finding one of these specialized people was hard. I did careful research, finally calling the national organization and spending a long time on the phone with the person in charge. I came away with two names of certified practitioners. I made an appointment and cancelled. Waited another few months. The pain was bad. Made another appointment and kept it. The specialist told me about the atlas bone in my spine. I was unconvinced, but now what did I have to lose? It was one more try with witchcraft or on to surgery. So, I gave it a try. I got better. I was skeptical. I am a tough patient. Since I started, I have had very good success with this procedure. I am now down way down on my meds. I can now function and eat and talk. I am still unwilling to say unequivocally that what I am doing will work for anyone else, but so far it has given me relief. At least the pain is gone...for now.

Upper Cervical Care the NUCCA way

Below is a brief explanation of NUCCA, one of many approaches within the Upper Cervical work.

The Bottom Line
By Dr. Kimberly Meier

How is NUCCA different than the chiropractic that I have received throughout my life?

The most obvious answer is that NUCCA only deals with the atlas subluxation complex (ASC), defined by NUCCA as being "the misalignment of C1-C2 away from the vertical axis in one or more plains, resulting in neuromuscular stresses, which in turn produce misalignments of the spine, pelvis and contiguous structures." As a patient under NUCCA care you will notice the lack of any thrust or audible crack when the adjustment occurs. You will feel no more than a light touch on your neck with less than 1/8" depth. It is a slow, sustained adjustment that can commonly last one to two minutes.

Why is this adjustment so different?

The answer to this question fills the two-volume textbook "Occipital-Atlantal-Axial Subluxaton Complex" by Dr. Kirk Eriksen. This text, published in 2000, contains all the latest research regarding the upper cervical anatomy and the extensive effects of an upper cervical misalignment. The bottom line of all the research is that it has been clinically apparent for years that upper cervical misalignment produces whole body imbalance and symptoms. NUCCA address the ASC using a low-force, specific adjustment, with the goal of balancing the patient’s entire posture.

What is involved in practicing NUCCA?

The first patient visit will include the routine exam, history and consultation, similar to that of any chiropractic office. The NUCCA protocol, however, closely follows the following scientific method.

Determining the primary cause of the problem. First the doctor will determine the problem through a set of "pre" x-rays and full body posture measurements. A quantitative value is determined for both the patient’s misalignment and overall postural imbalance.

Creating a hypothesis. If NUCCA is the identified as the appropriate treatment, and if so, a precise angle of treatment is determined.

Carrying out the proposed solution, The problem will be addressed. The patient will be adjusted. 4. Objectively evaluating the results. Finally, proof will be gathered that the problem has been fixed. This is done through "post" x-ray analysis, post postural analysis and leg check. Each component of the post analysis gives the doctor direct feedback on the success of the adjustment that he delivered. If the adjustment was not successful, the doctor can then make calculated changes to the adjustment and re-evaluate.

Why would I choose NUCCA over other techniques?

The first statement would be "because it works". But so do other techniques, right? The full answer to this question is because NUCCA makes sense to me. It is indisputable that the anatomy of the upper cervical area is unique and that it is the most powerful and sensitive area of the spine to adjust. It makes sense to me that you should deal with the ASC with the greatest accuracy and least depth possible. Because of the dural attachments to the upper cervical area, it makes sense that the entire spine will be affected. It makes sense to me that, when patients receive a specific adjustment, they will hold their correction for several months and even years. This is when the true healing will occur in that patient. It makes sense to me that NUCCA provides a systematic approach to determining each patient’s adjustment and then evaluates the success of that correction. There is immediate feedback for the doctor and I can be confident that each adjustment I deliver is specifically tailored to that person’s ASC. It makes sense to me that, with each patient, I will be striving to achieve the same goal: postural balance. Through the upper cervical adjustment I will be able to affect head tilt, head rotation, pelvis tilt and pelvis rotation, thus affecting the entire structural framework of the body.

As stated by the president of the NUCCA organization, "you can force the body to change with a manipulation, or you can change the body with a force: NUCCA." Have I come to terms with the fact that NUCCA does not appeal to every patient? Absolutely. The low force adjustment is not the conventional idea of what patients expect from a chiropractor.

Almost every new patient to a NUCCA doctor is a direct referral from a current patient and they know what to expect from care. These patients are well aware of how the NUCCA adjustment is different and are making a dedicated choice based on the results that their family or friend has experienced. Patients are driving up to 12 hours or more to receive NUCCA care and passing hundreds of chiropractors on the way. Why? Because they know and understand what NUCCA has to offer.

Have I come to terms with the fact that NUCCA does not appeal to every doctor? Of course. Because of NUCCA’s specific protocol and immediate objective feedback, this technique attracts certain doctor personalities. Due to my analytical nature, this is one of the strongest appeals of the technique. The post analysis will be both encouraging (when the adjustment is successful) and frustrating (when I don’t move a thing!) but nonetheless make me accountable for each adjustment that I deliver. It is this idea of accountability and specificity in each adjustment that brings me down to the bottom line.

The greatest gift I will be giving my patients everyday is my conviction and confidence in believing that I am giving them the best correction that I know is possible. I hope that you all can say the same.

Upper Cervical Spine Neurology

From The International Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (IUCCA)

Of the voluminous research compiled in the literature on spinal arthrokinematics and neuropathophysiology, the most neurologically intensive is on the upper cervical spine. The current literature is replete with information on aberrant upper cervical biomechanics and its possible ramifications on brain stem and higher order functions. Neurological pathways have been traced with radioisotopes from the upper cervical spine to brain stem centers. Dysfunctioning and non-functioning areas of the brain have been mapped, the cause found, and the solution traced to possible causes in the upper cervical spine. The amount of supporting research is staggering and exciting.

No other site in the human body has so much data on the possible effects of an adjustment on global body function than the upper cervical spine. Although lower spinal dysfunction has been shown to potentially cause local neurological disturbances, the magnitude of these disturbances are significantly less than in the upper cervical spine. This junction between the brain control centers and the body below deserves critical attention if one is intent on consistently affecting the body as a whole.

Changing the World

A message to all Upper Cervical Doctors of Chiropractic on the 114th birthday of our profession

The more people are exposed to the thoughts of those that know the truth about Upper Cervical Care the more the awareness will spread. When that awareness reaches critical mass, action, actual system wide change will automatically come forth. I know we all want action now but I feel that the best action right now is to continue to tell the story, shout it from the rooftops and the mountain tops, here, there and everywhere. Right now there are too many people and groups that will try to squash any real action steps, and they will most likely succeed. It will only be when critical mass has been reached that the core paradigm will shift and those same people and groups will not be able to stop the actions that will spring forth. That should be our charge: To continually, and as quickly as possible, strengthen this rising wave of change and then ride that wave on to the beach of a brighter future.

P.S. As BJ Palmer once said, "You never know how far reaching something you may think, say or do could affect the live of millions tomorrow!" Who knows how many souls have read or been told something today, right now this very minute, that has changed how they view the world for the better. People that, had others not been willing to tell the story again and again and again and again, might not have heard it. Getting frustrated with the world and people today is normal, but change will happen faster ONLY if we are willing to keep telling the story.

"It is not the final chop that brings the tree down but all the ones that came before."

Keep chopping away.

Happy Birthday to a great profession and principle!

The Cream of the Crop

From NUCCA and Dr. Marshall Dickholtz

C1-THE BASIC SUBLUXATION

Throughout the history of chiropractic, the tendency has been to locate and adjust the "major" vertebra, or vertebrae thought to cause neurological harm to spinal nerves. This procedure was called "full spine adjusting" and is still widely practiced. In the 1920's B. J. Palmer, the developer of chiropractic, concentrated his research on the upper cervical spine as the predominant subluxation. This research was conducted at the Palmer Chiropractic Clinic at Davenport, Iowa for several years.

The move of chiropractic to the cervical spine (neck), although not too widespread in the profession, is justified if only for the reason that vertebral malposition in this area can detrimentally affect the brain stem and the upper spinal cord. This leads to detectable signs of postural defects in the subluxated body. If normal nerve supply cannot pass from the brain down through the brain stem and spinal cord, it is not logical to adjust lower vertebrae to restore this nerve flow at the top. The properly aligned Atlas (C-1) is the gateway to this restoration of nerve flow.

NUCCRA (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research Association) research findings confirm that the top vertebra, called the Atlas or C-1, of the spinal column is the predominant subluxation (Figure 2). The reasons for C-1 being the predominant subluxation are numerous.

SUMMARY

The NUCCA doctor's work is based on the Restoration Principle. This is his/her concern for the patient. While medical doctors base their treatment on making an exact diagnosis, the NUCCA doctor bases his/her services to the patient on an accurate analysis of the Atlas subluxation and its restoration to normal position, a process that helps the sick body to effectively combat its disease processes. This is the process of self-healing and is evident in every and any disease which the body contracts.

It has been truly said that man is his nervous system. He feels with it; sees with it; hears with it; detects and identifies odors with it; thinks with it, it relates him to his environment; it shapes his personality; he digests his food under its control; circulates his blood under its regulation; breathes because of its influence; it regulates his heart action; causes his organs to work and his body to move; its gray matter is the source of his life. In short, the extent to which man functions and the degree to which he lives depends on the activity of his nervous system.

Misaligned cervical vertebrae at the base of the skull change the electro-chemical flow of impulses through the nervous system, harmfully affecting normal functions at all levels of the body and causing bodily distortions and disease. When these misalignments occur, interfering with the normal electro-chemical nerve energy flow, their correction is essential to a patient's ability to heal.

The examination, analysis, and restoration of these misaligned vertebrae and their harmful effects on the body constitutes the service rendered by the NUCCA doctor.

What does Head/Neck Misalignment do to your muscles?

There is anatomical terminology in this one hope the basics make sense to everyone though.

Atlas Subluxation Affects on Muscles

From Dr Marshall Dickholtz, D.C. and NUCCA

A stressor has been defined as a condition in the body produced by an injurious factor and manifested by a syndrome (H.Selye). A subluxated C1 distorts the spine and the pelvis because it causes spastic contracture of the extensor (antigravity) muscle of the spinal column. Spinal and bodily distortion result. A subluxated C1- therefore, is acting as an injurious factor, manifesting itself as a syndrome, which is verifiable by measurement and can be correlated to the C1 subluxation. The patient with a subluxated C1 has a subluxated spinal column, an over-innervation of the motor neurons of the spinal cord, neuromuscular imbalance, loss of muscular synergism, distortion of the spinal column from the true axis of the body, and leg disparity. This is the C1 subluxation complex syndrome, and is correctable solely from a precise and predetermined C1 adjustment.

If disequalibrium and cervical spine displacement do not cause a state of subluxation until C1 moves laterally on the occipital condyles, what constitutes a normal lateral range of motion for C1? Vertebrae can be shown to displace and not cause detriment or insult to the nervous structure. If a vertebrae does displace and thereby causes insult to the nervous structure, it is logical to assume that it has abnormally moved, or moved beyond its normal range of motion. Because C1 cannot misalign laterally more than one half of a degree from its alignment to the occipital condyles (about the thickness of a sharp pencil mark), without imbalancing the neurological inhibitory mechanism of the reticular formation at the caudal end of the brain stem. C1 has practically no normal lateral range of motion.

This phenomenon has been observed and tested on over 10,900 cases over a period of many years. The C1 distortion syndrome has always manifested itself whenever C1 has moved laterally three-quarters of one degree or beyond on the occipital condyles when the vertebra was moving from its normal position toward the abnormal position.

The type of neurological detriment that is caused by the lateral displacement of C1 on the occipital condyles appears to be a mechanical tractionization of the caudal end of the brain stem. It has been noted in medical literature that pathological and traumatic situations affecting the brain stem can produce impairment or loss of the inhibitory control over the body's extensor musculature. National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research Association (NUCCA) research on the effects of a subluxated C1 on the caudal end of the brain stem confirms the medical hypothesis.

The Beginnings of Upper Cervical Research

From www.neurologicalfitness.com

NEUROLOGICAL FITNESS INTERVIEW:
LISA ZAYNAB KILLINGER, D.C.

Interview:

1. What surprised you the most when you actually began to work with the B.J. Palmer Clinic (BJPC) files?

As a Palmer student in the 1980's, I had never been given any information regarding B.J. Palmer's research. My perception of B.J. Palmer was more of a showman than researcher. When I began to read through the patient files of the B.J. Palmer Clinic, I was very surprised at how detailed they were, and how well the patient care was documented. I then began to realize what dedication B.J. Palmer had to chiropractic research. He utilized every state of the art tool available in his time, to assess the Palmer Clinic patients before and after their adjustments. Another surprise to me was how infrequently patients were adjusted. Many patient files showed one or two adjustments over months of observation and evaluation. This careful monitoring and follow-up impressed me greatly.

2. How has your work with the BJPC files affected you as a clinician?

I am humbled as a clinician at how carefully the B.J. Palmer Clinics documented chiropractic care. Clinicians often fall into the trap of just writing a bare minimum in the patient file due to time constraints of a busy practice. The message I get from working with the BJPC files is, "document, document, document!" I think most clinicians know the importance of documentation, but if our predecessors could do such a fantastic job of it half a century ago, we should certainly document our patient care perfectly today. Documentation is the key to research, and subsequent dissemination of information about chiropractic care.

3. Do all the cases you're reviewing and working with involve strictly HIO? If not, what types of techniques were used?

In all of the files I have reviewed, including the 1930's-1960's, an atlas or axis adjustment is the only treatment recorded in the files. I have conducted semi-structured interviews with several of the DCs who worked in the BJPC regarding the exact chiropractic procedures used. Each clinician has indicated to me that the adjustments were exclusively Toggle-Recoil (former Upper Cervical Specific) adjustments, usually performed on a side posture table. The knee-chest table was also used, but sporadically. One clinician who worked in the clinic in the mid-late 1950's stated that "when a side posture table wasn't available, or the room was too small for a side posture table, a knee-chest table was used." He also stated that the type of table used was a matter of personal preference, but that it was not a big issue.

4. What have you learned from working with the BJPC files that would make you a better patient educator? Please share that with us!

As a researcher, I want to be very careful about making statements that are not supported by the scientific literature. Working with the BJPC files has opened my eyes to a level of care-giving and patient monitoring that most of us may never live up to in our own practices. Patients came to the Palmer Clinics by ambulance, in wheelchairs, on crutches, and came to be treated at the best, or at least one of the best facilities that chiropractic had to offer at the time. It was a sort of chiropractic ICU. The patients didn't just come for back and neck pain. Around half of the patients, from my preliminary review of the files, came in with viscerosomatic or neuromuscular disease. These people saw the big picture, and came to understand the nervous system's relationship to all body systems. Seeing this in the files has really sparked my enthusiasm for chiropractic and in never underestimating the body's power to heal itself. This renewed spark will carry over into my enthusiasm for patient education.

5. What do you find different about a scientific endeavor guided by a specific set of principles and a specific philosophy?

Pure research or scientific endeavor is simply curiosity, and through that curiosity asking research questions. In scientific research you have to ask those questions, and then report the answers you find regardless of whether your results match your philosophies. Although B.J. Palmer was definitely outspoken on matters of philosophy, I really think he went about reporting what happened in his clinic, and in his studies of field doctors' practices, in a very 'research-minded' way. I will always admire Dr. Palmer for his contribution to our profession, and for working so hard to be a researcher (not an area in which he had training). I hope that all chiropractors will respect the very respect-worthy research that is currently being done in chiropractic. I also hope they will strive to be effective research consumers, keen to the methods of evaluating the quality of the research, and recognizing its strengths and its limitations.

Changes in General Health Status during Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care: A Practice-Based Research Project Update

Kathryn T. Hoiriis, BS, DC
Deana Burd, BA
Research Department
Life University, School of Chiropractic
Marietta, GA
Edward F. Owens, Jr., MS, DC
Director of Research
Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic
Spartanburg, SC

ABSTRACT

Introduction: An upper cervical practice-based research (PBR) project, proposed at the 13th Annual Upper Cervical Conference in November 1996, is being used to study the effectiveness of upper cervical care related to the general health status of patients. This project uses the RAND (SF-36) Health Survey and a global well-being scale (GWBS) as primary outcome measures. Also, we are looking at concomitant changes in misalignment of the occipito-atlanto-axial joints as determined by pre- and post-adjustment radiographs.

Methods: Field doctors were recruited to contribute sequential information from their new patients between 18 and 59 years of age. The patients were followed through the course of care until maximum improvement for the presenting complaint was noted. The SF-36 was given to patients at the initial visit, after four weeks and at the end of the care plan (the level of maximal chiropractic improvement, MCI). The GWBS was completed at each visit. Radiographic analysis of upper cervical subluxation was recorded. Data are continually being collected from field practitioners and entered into a computerized database. This update summarizes the results from the first two years of the study.

Results: The patients (N=311) sought care for a variety of mostly musculoskeletal complaints: back pain (33.9%), neck pain (40.9%) and headache (9.8%). Forty % (N=34) of the 85 completed patients had acute complaints, while 60% (N=51) complained of chronic problems.

The average pre-adjustment C1 misalignment was 2.2 degrees of laterality. The average measured radiographic change was 51-75% with the average post-adjustment C1 misalignment reduced to 0.89 degrees.

The SF-36 data reduces to health scores ranging from 0 to 100 in eight discreet dimensions or subscales: physical function (PF), role physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (V), social function (SF), role emotional (RE) and mental health (MH). The mean SF-36 results for 4 week data (n=161) and MCI (n=85) show statistically significance changes from initial values (n=311) at both 4 weeks and MCI. All subscales showed improvement with the greatest average gain seen for role physical (39 points

Conclusions: In our chiropractic population, the improvement in average SF-36 scores might be attributed to changes in health due to the spinal correction, but there is no data available from a control population to support that conclusion.

Depression and Upper Cervical Care

Abstract from JVSR

Improvement in Depression Following Reduction of Upper Cervical Vertebral Subluxation Using Orthospinology Technique

Glenndon C. Genthner, M.Div. Bio, Harris L. Friedman, PhD Bio, Charles F. Studley, DC Bio
[November 7, 2005, pp 1-4]

Background: It has been long speculated that chiropractic interventions may affect mental health problems. One such intervention, an Orthospinology technique to correct the occipitoatlantoaxial subluxation complex using the Grostic procedure, has been anecdotally noted to improve depressive symptoms.

Methods: Consequently, 15 adults were selected by their treating chiropractors as both clinically depressed and having an upper cervical subluxation, then treated with this intervention in 3 private practice settings in the southern United States. These participants were administered the Beck Depression Inventory II prior to an a Grostic correction of the upper cervical complex, as well as post-procedurally.

Results: A paired t-test demonstrated significant improvement in depression test scores (t=3.96, df="14," p<0.001). Conclusions: The data supports the hypothesis that the orthospinology technique to correct the occipito-atlantoaxial subluxation complex using the Grostic procedure may relate to reduced depressive symptoms.

The Mouse That Roared: Connecting the Nervous System to Diabetes

Excerpt from Dynamic Chiropractic, Jul 16, 2007 by Rosner, Anthony L

With a clarion-like pronouncement that would do Gabriel proud and which brings tears to the eyes of basic science researchers seeking their day in the sun with a medical breakthrough, researchers from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto proclaimed a link between the nervous system and diabetes. In a paper published in the basic sciences journal Cell, Razavi and her colleagues stated: "Our observations open new avenues for therapeutic strategies, raising the possibility that sensory nerve dysfunction may contribute to prediabetes initiation and progression in diabetes-prone humans."...

...What does all this mean? A neuropeptide is intimately connected to a hormonal defect leading to diabetes. In addition to suggesting further research leading to a possible new means of treating this debilitating and fatal disease, it tells us in no uncertain terms that the nervous and hormonal systems are intertwined. This obviously leads to the question of neural integrity and chiropractic. It offers more than a modicum of support to the very sparse observations in anything but the established frontline refereed medical journals that manipulation seems to have a palliative effect in diabetic patients:

1. One very preliminary observation tells us that in two patients undergoing a neurovascular technique, such complications as vision deterioration or development of foot ulcers seen in diabetic patients did not occur.

2. In another observation that was only barely more robust, using markers that are far more objective and reliable, Kfoury demonstrated that in a single patient, both glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels returned to normal after chiropractic adjustments.

Granted that these two factoids may be equated by some to reading tea leaves, they still provide food for thought when coupled with the thorough and groundbreaking findings of Razavi and her colleagues. This entire story emphasizes on no uncertain terms how basic research can uncover such key information to understanding the processes of disease and degeneration. It is the only way in which future productive clinical trials can be designed. And even though the chiropractic community can bask in the glory of having its central premise of chiropractic (the connection between neural integrity and health) supported in this research, it must learn from this key investigation to never lose sight of the basic sciences in being able to justify its means of health care delivery.

And of course Upper Cervical Care is targeted at removing, as precisely and completely as possible, the irritation to the most important part, the brain stem!

Can Upper Cervical Care Ease Colic?

by Deb Donovan and Bob VanMetter

Almost all infants develop periods of fussiness. This is often referred to as colic. It has been defined as periods of irritability, fussiness and inconsolable crying in a healthy baby (that lasts for at least three hours a day, at least three days a week). But colic is actually a default diagnosis.

Pain from sources other than the gastrointestinal tract can be improperly diagnosed as colic. If a baby is crying inconsolably, it is very difficult to know if he is actually suffering from a digestive disturbance. There is a strong possibility, especially when there has been a history of birth trauma, that these babies are suffering from head and neck pain due to misalignments in the upper cervical (neck) area.

In a study looking at babies receiving upper cervical care for colic, 94 percent of parents saw improvement in their baby's behavior within two weeks of initiation of care. A little over half of these babies had already been unsuccessfully treated, usually by pharmacological means (Klougart et al., 1989). Another study found 91 percent of babies experienced a reduction in colicky behavior following as little as two upper cervical corrections (Nilsson, 1985).

Upper Cervical Care Cuts Blood Pressure

The article below is a great example of the power of an Upper Cervical correction:

Study Finds Special 'Atlas Correction' Lowers Blood Pressure
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

March 16, 2007 -- An Upper Cervical Correction can significantly lower high blood pressure, a placebo-controlled study suggests.

"This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination," study leader George Bakris, MD, tells WebMD. "And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side effects and no problems," adds Bakris, director of the University of Chicago hypertension center.

Eight weeks after undergoing the procedure, 25 patients with early-stage high blood pressure had significantly lower blood pressure than 25 similar patients who underwent a sham upper cervical correction. Because patients can't feel the technique, they were unable to tell which group they were in.

X-rays showed that the procedure realigned the Atlas vertebra -- the doughnut-like bone at the very top of the spine -- with the spine in the treated patients, but not in the sham-treated patients. Compared to the sham-treated patients, those who got the real procedure saw an average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure None of the patients took blood pressure medicine during the eight-week study.

"When the statistician brought me the data, I actually didn't believe it. It was way too good to be true," Bakris says. "The statistician said, 'I don't even believe it.' But we checked for everything, and there it was." Bakris and colleagues report their findings in the advance online issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension.

Atlas Adjustment and Hypertension

The procedure calls for adjustment of the C-1 vertebra. It's called the Atlas vertebra because it holds up the head, just as the titan Atlas holds up the world in Greek mythology. Marshall Dickholtz Sr., DC, of the Chiropractic Health Center, in Chicago, is the 84-year-old Upper Cervical doctor who performed all the procedures in the study. He calls the Atlas vertebra "the fuse box to the body."

"At the base of the brain are two centers that control all the muscles of the body. If you pinch the base of the brain -- if the Atlas gets locked in a position as little as a half a millimeter out of line -- it doesn't cause any pain but it upsets these centers," Dickholtz tells WebMD.

The subtle correction is practiced by the very small subgroup of chiropractors certified in National Upper Cervical Chiropractic (NUCCA) techniques. The procedure employs precise measurements to determine a patient's Atlas vertebra alignment. If realignment is deemed necessary, the chiropractor uses his or her hands to gently manipulate the vertebra.

"We are not doctors. We are spinal engineers," Dickholtz says. "We use mathematics, geometry, and physics to learn how to slide everything back into place."

What does this have to do with high blood pressure?

Bakris notes that some researchers have suggested that injury to the Atlas vertebra can affect blood flow in the arteries at the base of the skull. Dickholtz thinks the misaligned Atlas triggers release of signals that make the arteries contract. Whether the procedure actually fixes such injuries is unknown, Bakris says.

Bakris began the study after a fellow doctor told him that something strange was happening in his family practice. The doctor had been sending some of his patients to a chiropractor. Some of these patients had high blood pressure.

Yet after seeing the chiropractor, the patients' blood pressure had normalized -- and a few of them were able to stop taking their blood pressure medications. So Bakris, then at Rush University, designed the pilot study with 50 patients. He's now organizing a much bigger clinical trial.

"Is it going to be for everybody with high blood pressure? No," Bakris says. "We clearly need to identify those who can benefit. It is pretty clear that some kind of head or neck trauma early in life is related to this. This is really a work in progress. It is certainly in the early stages of research."

Dickholtz has been teaching, practicing, and studying the NUCCA technique for 50 years. He says high blood pressure is far from the only thing an Atlas misalignment causes.
"On the other hand, if people have high blood pressure, there is a tremendous possibility they need an Atlas adjustment," he says.

http://www.webmd.com/hypertensionhigh- blood-pressure/news/20070316/chiropractic- cuts-blood-pressure?page=1

Editor’s Note: In 2006 WebMD was awarded best medical website by WebAward.org. The significance of just such a move for chiropractic cannot be fully seen in the present but if this publicity continues to grow, the world is going to need a lot of specific upper cervical chiropractors in the near future.

Published: May 2007

Upper Cervical Care and Foot Pain

Aberrant Upper Cervical Arthrokinematics can cause Foot Pain

Male, Age 29, Case of Achilles Tendonitis, Uneven Running Gait

This 29‑year‑old runner had run during high school and college, but had to stop in recent years due to chronic achilles tendonitis. He had tried many forms of treatment but was unable to alleviate the pain unless he stopped running altogether. He also described himself an having an "uneven gait" when he ran. He claimed that he felt like he struck harder on one leg compared to the other side.

During his initial examination, a spinal injury was discovered, with the primary site located at his upper neck. The neck injury was causing his spine and pelvis to shift into a stressed, weakened posture, that was putting greater pressure on one leg compared to the other. After having his neck injury corrected, all Achilles pain healed and remained absent so that he was able to once again resume running 60 miles per week.

(Remember the old song, “…your foot bone’s connected to your shin bone and your shin bone’s connected to…” Eventually you start to see that the whole body is connected. An area as profound neurologically for balance mechanisms as the upper cervical spine makes it very clear how a problem here could be a factor in someone’s foot problems.)

Autism: Upper Cervical Care vs. General Chiropractic

Clinical Efficacy of Upper Cervical Versus Full Spine Adjustment on Children with Autism WFC'S 7th Biennial Congress Conference Proceedings MAY 1-3, 2003, 7th Ed: 328-9 Children with autism are presented with multiple categories of clinical pictures that affect their social, sensory, speech, and physical development. In addition to chiropractic care, parents of autistic children seek all possible therapies available. In this study, the clinical outcome of chiropractic care showed higher efficacy of upper cervical adjustment when compared to full spine adjustment in autistic children.