More Questions About Upper Cervical Care?

Adapted from: Upper Cervical FAQ’s

by Dr. William R. Davis Jr.


Why is the upper cervical area (upper neck) so important to health and well-being?

This is essentially the epicenter of your body. The most important area for communication from your brain to your body. Complete loss of that communication can be devastating . Do you remember Christopher Reeve? Superman had a severe injury to his upper cervical spine which resulted in a 100% loss of function from that area. When you have a upper cervical misalignment you are not losing 100% of the function but you may be losing 30%, 50% or more of the function of your body.


What is Upper Cervical Care?

A unique health care solution that focuses on correcting an underlying source of interference to proper body function. Accidents and injuries can tear loose the connective tissue that holds the spine in place. This can create a weakness and allow the spine to breakdown and lock into a stressed position. This most frequently starts in the upper neck since it is the most vulnerable to injury and this leads to, in the standing position, one of the hips often can be higher than the other, laying down one of the legs often can be shorter than the other. The head could tilt to one side. And it can be progressive …so that the longer the spine is locked in this position, the more wear and tear can happen.


What makes Upper Cervical Care unique compared to other care?

There are many forms of spinal health care today. Many focus on addressing local joint motion by administering a short, quick thrust to a localized area. Upper Cervical Doctors influence the entire spinal columns postural balance by returning the heavy head to a more balanced position on top of the narrow neck. Without any popping, cracking or twisting of the spine. It is a gentle, accurate and precise procedure for correcting the spine. With upper cervical care it is not about adjusting someone thousands of times…it is about holding the correction. Staying in alignment is how a person expresses the potential for health.


Who can benefit from Upper Cervical Care?

Any adult or child who wants their body to function at a higher level. Especially those who have experienced head or neck trauma. Not all individuals are misaligned however. Many children and some adults have been assessed in our office who were found to be in alignment and no care was necessary.


How can such a light pressure make such dramatic changes?

For the same reason why one is able to move a pile of heavy bricks with a light push of a wheelbarrow: leverage. Using the first vertebra and the weight of the head to gain a biomechanical advantage, the doctor places their own body on a calculated angle to ensure the correction is specific to the patient’s individual misalignment. The force generated by the doctor is transferred to the patient in such a gentle and precise fashion that many patients are surprised by the light feel. Although the procedure is subtle in it’s application the results often are not! Our patients typically experience fast changes and long lasting results!

The Upper Cervical Care Website

I wanted to spend some of the next several posts highlighting a few of the websites that I often reference or link to in this blog. The website that these links are most often referring or linking to is www.uppercervicalcare.com. It is a very informative website and has a great deal of easy to understand and access information on upper cervical care.

I wanted to highlight this website today because of its patient centered info and the short videos on the website do a fantastic job explaining all the ins and outs of care as well as answering many of the commonly asked questions. I also like it because it makes a point of saying that this care is not a treatment for all conditions or any particular condition. It states that when there is interference in the nerve system due to head/neck misalignment the body will not function as well as it should and that MAY be the reason why you haven't been able to heal from this, that or the other condition.

The procedure carries little if any risk since there is no twisting of the neck and most upper cervical procedures are very gentle. Because of this, it is an option worthy of consideration if you have a problem that you have seen little results with other types of care or issues you have not had any care for yet. Some people also may find that periodic checks help the body to function more efficiently and express more of their potential for health.

So check out the website and learn more about Upper Cervical Care.