Christmas Wishes of the Upper Cervical Variety

Adapted from "12 days of Christmas, but only 3 Christmas Wishes"

Dr. Zachary Ward

There are 12 days of Christmas, but if I were to drop a letter in the mail to old Kris Kringle I would only have 3 items on my list.

Christmas Wish #1:  More doctors like Dr. Bruce Bell.

A couple of decades ago, upper cervical care certainly wasn’t on the radar of Dr. Bruce Bell MD, a family practice physician in the suburbs of Chicago.

Being a guy who loved his patients and science, he began to notice a trend among his patient population: some of them saw improvements in health status after receiving upper cervical care (UCC). He investigated it and discovered the NUCCA upper cervical approach to spinal balance.

That began a personal investigation into upper cervical care (UCC). And over several years, Dr. Bell sent thousands of referrals to an upper cervical doctor, Dr. Marshall Dickholtz, Sr. of Chicago, Illinois. The fruits of the Bell and Dickholtz working relationship weren’t just limited to happier patients. Dr. Bell insisted on trying to document some of the changes that he saw in his patients, and began the long task of trying to form a research investigation into NUCCA.

In a story to long to tell here, that investigation ended in the very groundbreaking pilot study on UCC and hypertension featured in the Journal of Human Hypertension. In that pilot study it was shown there was a strong association between NUCCA UCC and the reduction of blood pressure in high blood pressure patients.

Now the National Institutes of Health is funding another study to see if these findings can be reproduced among a larger patient population. And thousands of patients are discovering UCC who wouldn’t have found it otherwise!

All of this wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Dr. Bruce Bell, who stepped outside his experience, and found good things were happening for his patients under UCC.

Christmas Wish #2: More money for UCC research

Right now the Upper Cervical Research Foundation is researching the relationship between the upper cervical spine, and a number of conditions which cause human suffering. And they aren’t the only ones. A number of chiropractic colleges have strong, award winning research departments, whose studies have been instrumental in expanding our understanding about the human body. And the relationship between our health and health of the spine.

But it wasn’t until as recently as 1998, that chiropractic institutions began to get significant funding from the National Institutes of Health. Right now, those funding dollars add up to several millions of dollars a year, often spread out over many projects.

Compared to several decades ago, it’s better than nothing. But compared to the tens of billions of dollars the federal government gives medical institutions for research, per year, the amount is almost insignificant.

There are now hundreds of studies which support the benefits of care. Far more than there were even a few years ago. But for the public and the health care system to benefit from care, we need to be able to show how and why we help.

We can’t do that without more research money.

Christmas Wish #3: More children under upper cervical care

“I wish I would have tried this 30 years ago,” is a common phrase heard in my office, and the office of other chiropractors. Of course, sometimes it’s 10 years ago, or 2 years ago, but you get the idea.

My response, though I don’t always say it, is:  ” No, someone should have checked you right after birth.”

Now, not every baby has a difficult birth. And many of our modern birthing methods can save the lives of seriously threatened infants. Yet, they can also place a lot of stress on the upper cervical spine of infants as they move through the birth canal. A process that already places stress on the child’s head and neck.

As a result of this stress, many children come into the world with their bodies out of balance, and they show evidence of it as they grow. For many this shows up as inability or refusal to nurse on one side, a distorted sleep posture (c-shaped bent to the side), stronger motor development on one side of the body than the other, and colicky symptoms.

I can tell you from personal experience, that each of my children has only received a handful of adjustments, they tend to maintain their alignment for a long time, and don’t experience the health problems that plague their playmates, like colic, headaches, and ear infections.

Perhaps if more parents were willing to actually see if their child’s “head was on straight” we might be able to avoid some of the more serious problems that bring people to the doctor later on in life.

Thank you for reading my Christmas wish list! Here’s how you can make each of these wishes come true:

1.If you’re a person who’s seen major improvements in health since starting upper cervical care, share those changes with your primary care physician. They deserve to know what you’re doing.

2.If you’d like to have more groundbreaking research, consider become a donating sponsor of the Upper Cervical Research Foundation.

3.If you’re a parent with a child who has health challenges, consider the possibility that your child’s spinal alignment has a role to play in their health maintenance and healthy development. And get your child to an upper cervical doctor.

Have a blessed Holiday!

I Don't Think Upper Cervical Care Is For Kids

Children and Upper Cervical Care

by uppercervicalcare.com

Some adults may wonder why more and more children are starting to see Upper Cervical Doctors. That’s a good question and the answer is simple: whether we have a large spine or a small spine, if that spine is creating nerve distress then our bodies will not be able to operate properly.

The Nervous System is the Master Control of the Body

The nervous system is the master control system of our body and the messages exchanged between the brain and body (through billions of nerves) guide the transformation of a newborn child into an adult. Each message provides instructions to the child's growing body to provide for growth and repair of tissues, coordination of muscle activity, immune function, respiration and digestion among others.

As with adults, an upper cervical (neck) misalignment can have significant effects upon the nervous system’s ability to transmit information to and from a child’s body. If communication channels become fuzzy, distorted or damaged then we experience all sorts of communication errors. For babies and children, this ineffective communication may play out as colic or irritability, an inability to suckle and breastfeed, poor sleep and immunity, frequent ear infections, developmental delays, digestion issues, asthma, behavioral problems, low energy, inability to concentrate, headaches, etc – the list is endless. In fact, regardless of what the end result or symptom may be, all roads lead back to the body’s ability to self-regulate and function at a peak level.
While upper cervical care may be able to help with a number of health issues, our focus is not treating conditions; rather, our focus is on ensuring the nervous system has every opportunity to work efficiently and effectively.

How Do Children get Nerve Irritation?

Nerve irritations (or vertebral subluxations) occur as a part of normal daily life. They result from physical, chemical and emotional stressors or ‘insults’ to our health, such as knocks and falls, bad posture, prolonged postures, stomach sleeping, poor food choices, dehydration, exposure to chemicals and toxins, and stress and anxiety.

Even before these lifestyle stressors have an impact, nerve irritation can occur in the uterus from awkward positioning, restriction of movement, and exposure to toxins, and from birth complications such as long labors, very fast labors, forceps or cesarean delivery. Even during the gentlest of births, presentation of the baby’s head through the birth canal requires physical pressure exerted by the mother. This can force the baby’s neck to twist or bend causing misalignment of the upper cervical vertebrae.

A study published in the Journal of Manual Medicine revealed that nearly 80% of all children are born with blocked or reduced nerve impulses due to a misalignment of the top bone in the spine called the Atlas. Dr. Gutmann, the medical doctor who performed the research, concluded that the blocked nerve impulses can cause motor and developmental impairments, as well as lowered resistance to infections, especially ear, nose and throat infections.

If the newborn makes it through the birthing process unaffected, the inevitable tumbles and falls of childhood increase the risk of injury to the upper cervical spine potentially compromising brain-body communication.

When we appreciate how important the nervous system is and how easily it can be hindered and impaired it makes sense that more parents are having their child’s spine and nervous system assessed.

10 Reasons Parents Take Their Children to See Upper Cervical Doctors

1.   To maximize the child’s brain and nerve development (neural plasticity).

2.   To enhance their child’s overall health and well being.

3.   To strengthen immunity and reduce the incidence of colds, ear infections and general illness.

4.   To help with colic and irritability.

5.   To help with asthma, breathing difficulties and allergies.

6.   To improve spinal posture.

7.   To improve their child’s ability to concentrate.

8.   To assist with behavioral disorders and enhance emotional well being.

9.   To help alleviate digestive problems.

10. To assist with bed-wetting and sleep issues.

Because the upper cervical spine is the most mobile area of the entire spine, it is particularly vulnerable to injury, making it the most common location for spinal problems to occur. Get your children checked for head/neck misalignment today!

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain/body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for any condition, disease or symptom.)

Back To School With Upper Cervical Care

Adapted from BACK TO SCHOOL by Hal S. Crowe, Sr., DC / Voice For Health

Children have recently finished a summer break from school that was filled with changes in routine, extra play time, sunshine and fresh air. Activities of summer are typically invigorating and healthy for kids. At the same time, as you have watched your children play with youthful energy while they run, fall, dive, suddenly change directions, jump, twist and interact with others with playful contact, wouldn't you say that their primary shock absorber has been put to the test?

The primary shock absorber for the body is the spinal column, with its fiber-cartilage discs between the bony vertebrae and the forward and backward curvatures that afford the body's framework with both elasticity and rigidity. Sure, children are far more resilient than adults when it comes to tumbles and impacts, but they too are subject to spinal misalignments that can result in interference to the nervous system.

With youngsters, if a structural impediment is present it may be so slight that it is not readily discernable to parents. The evidence that all function is not up to par may not be noted. The child may not complain about pain in the back or neck.

Now children are back in school, back to a daily routine and less physical activity. The restrictions and confinement of the classroom are restraints to which youthful nervous systems are challenged to adapt. The attentiveness and effort to complete lessons are, to many children, a further strain upon their nervous system. These stresses, coupled with slight structural impediments to nerve action, can result in digestive disorders, throat or breathing complications, ear problems, urinary and elimination upsets, and much more.

Many parents have witnessed a dramatic improvement in their school children's performance and enthusiasm following upper cervical care. The upper cervical doctor checks the child's spine for signs of interference and methodically analyzes and reduces the interference to the nervous system due to head neck misalignment. When the congestion and pressure are cleared from the circuitry that keeps all the bodily systems working in harmony and at their optimum, the possibilities are so great that no child should be deprived of the advantages of upper cervical care.

Reinforce the health of your children and their progress in school with periodic upper cervical care.

Your School-Aged Kid's Average Day

They wake from the soundest of sleep startled by the sound of their alarm clocks or your voice calling them for the fourth or fifth time. Groggy and still half asleep, they shuffle from their beds to the bathroom stubbing their toe on something they should have put away, forcing them to hop on one foot the remainder of the way. They shower in water containing who knows what all kind of chemicals and they shower and they shower.

Now, late for the bus they go running full speed down the stairs, grab two Pop-tarts and with a 40-pound bag of books strapped across their backs, they make a mad dash out of the house to their bus stop. At school all day, they sit in uncomfortable, hard-as-rock chairs with their heads bent over their books (whether they are reading or sleeping). When they take a break from the more than six hours of bending their necks in the opposite direction of their natural curve, they are in a constant state of stress. Are they going to pass all of their classes? Who are they going to the dance with? When will their face clear up? What if they don’t get into college? Why won’t their parents leave them alone? Why won’t their parents pay more attention to them? And this is a good- to best-case scenario. We all know children who have other serious personal struggles--with their identity, with handicaps, with peer pressure.

After school, they challenge themselves physically with sports of all sorts—football, soccer, tennis, golf, track, wrestling, basketball, baseball, volleyball. Unfortunately, often times this activity is fueled solely by the one lousy piece of pizza they had for lunch or maybe a cheeseburger and fries or sometimes nothing at all! It’s possible that their after school activity isn’t physical maybe it’s musical, artistic, or academic. Still, the stress of a long, challenging day on little fuel takes its toll.

By the time they arrive back at home in the evening they are often exhausted not to mention cranky. This may result in arguments with other family members, which is upsetting to everyone. Dinner often is fast-food or if it is homemade they fall asleep on the couch while it is being prepared with their bodies contorted in some unbelievable position that they’re too tired to even notice. After dinner, it’s homework time or probably more likely TV time or computer time where they sit lifeless for another several hours. Or maybe they sit and talk on their cell phone for hours on end with their girlfriends or boyfriends with their heads tilted over stressing the delicate neck musculature. Finally, you yell to them saying it’s getting late and they better get ready for bed (mostly because you’re exhausted at this point and you just don’t want to deal with it anymore). At this point they are pretty much ready to go again since they power napped if not on the couch in the car or the bus on the way home).

With all the physical, chemical, and emotional stress your child packs into the typical day—do you really think their spines are going unaffected? Is it even possible to undergo such numerous and various stresses and not have every part of their body be affected? No, it is not. The problem is the nerve system directs and organizes every other system and every function of the body. If you want your child to learn and grow and play and be all they can and should be, you simply should have their spines and nerve systems checked periodically via upper cervical care. Make the time to fit it in. It’s vitally important.

Children's Behavior And Upper Cervical Care

(Editor's note: This is a recent post on Dr. Schalow's blog. It is amazing what upper cervical care can do for people, especially a child. The upper cervical approach used here was the NUCCA protocol.)

“You gave me a new child!” Those were a mother’s joyful words after she brought her eighteen month old son Rogan for his first NUCCA adjustment with Dr. Barbara Read.

“My son has always been rather angry-spirited in his temperament,” Kim explained. “He would wake up in the morning and instantly—if he didn't get his way, he would lie down and bang his head against the floor, and give other outbursts like that constantly...all day-everyday.”

There were also other signs that Rogan was having problems. “He wasn't babbling or making speaking sounds. I always thought, through my mother's intuition, that something was not right with my son.”

But Kim and her doctors were not quite sure what was wrong. She sought answers to Rogan's problem development in the family's nutrition, her son's vaccine history, and environmental factors.

“I have friends who had talked about their great experiences at the chiropractor and I had heard that they adjusted babies, but I never considered taking him to the chiropractor,” Kim said. “But my mother sees Dr. Read, and she was telling about her practice and how much it has made a difference for her. My husband was completely opposed to the idea, but I thought it was worth a try.”

After one upper cervical adjustment with the NUCCA protocol, Kim reports that Rogan began babbling. And in the month after the adjustment, she identified 10 words that he had learned. “He still has temper tantrums,” Kim reports. “He still has a strong personality, but he is a totally different kid. You can actually get through to him and reason with him.” Those episodes of screaming and slamming his head against the floor have completely been eliminated.

What does Rogan's father think about the trip to the chiropractor now? Kim reports that after the first adjustment, she and the kids spent a week with her parents. When they returned, her husband spent 20 minutes with Rogan and realized he had a new son—a change he attributes to NUCCA care.

Birth, Kids and Upper Cervical Care

(Editor's note: I know that I just posted something on this recently but I have read a few birth stories over the last two days and wanted to post a bit more on the subject. Enjoy!)

How often have you heard people say, “One day I felt fine, and then the next day I was just. . .”? Probably enough that you do not even recognize the absolute absurdity of that statement. Except for severe traumas, such as car accidents, major falls, gunshot wounds, poisoning, etc., people do not suddenly become ill. Disease does not occur spontaneously. Small traumas, long-term abuse and negligence, though unnoticeable at first, take their toll on the body over a period of time. By the time the first symptoms appear, the body has already been malfunctioning for some period of time--often years.

This is the primary reason to have children evaluated by an upper cervical doctor. Studies indicate that up to 80% of children may sustain and injury to neck during the birthing process which is is not noticed at the time. Many of them will go 20, 30, or 40 years or possibly the rest of their lives with that injury creating interference in their nervous system. Even those who are not injured upon birth will have a variety of stresses put upon their neck and back as they grow. How many times does a child fall while he or she is just learning to walk? And after they learn to walk, don’t they run, skip, stomp, jump, and hop? Don’t they fall out of bed, fall out of trees, fall off their bikes, fight with their brothers and sisters, stand on their heads, play football, basketball, hockey, dance, gymnastics, and on and on and on?

Any one of these things is enough to injure the upper neck. Left uncorrected, the interference that results will also begin to take its toll on the body. Lowering the ability of the body to be well will make it less able to concentrate, less able to fight off disease, less able to coordinate and harmonize, less able to make the food that is eaten into usable form, and less able to clean the blood of toxins. It will make it less able to make the proper chemicals in the proper amount to control all the body’s functions, and less able to be strong, flexible and healthy.

It is important to note that the mechanism that originally brought two cells together and created the miracle that is you is still at work in you as it is in every other living being. It continually creates new tissue and maintains you in existence. The very mechanism by which we are able to be well is the same mechanism at work in the child. It is no less effective in the child than it is in the adult. Therefore, if it is important for you to be checked periodically by an upper cervical doctor to insure head/neck alignment and a nerve system free of interference, isn’t it equally important to have your children checked for the same interference?

Many people are concerned about the forcefulness of a correction to the upper neck for a growing child. This is not a concern with upper cervical care. Due to the precision involved, the corrections are gentle for everyone kids included. Children, on the whole, require far fewer corrections than adults, mostly because time and the results of abuse and negligence have not yet taken their toll. Who better than children to be under upper cervical care? Who could profit more than those who have not yet developed problems?

Kids And The Upper Cervical Check-up

Upper Cervical doctors hear from parents that they appreciate the importance of regular check-ups for their child’s teeth, eyes and ears, but they draw a blank when it comes to a spinal check-up. Yet that could be one of the most important check-ups your child will ever have.

You might be surprised to learn that a number of adult problems upper cervical doctors deal with can have a start in childhood. For example, the “growing pains” of a 12-year-old boy can become crippling low back and leg pains in adulthood: the “jolly jumpers” used by a toddler can contribute to spinal curvatures (scoliosis) in the adolescent. Your child’s spine is his or her lifeline. Running through it is the spinal cord containing billions of nerves that send messages and information from the brain to every part of the body and back again.

Yes, we all have our very own Internet! As long as none of these messages is interrupted, your child will have a greater potential for optimal health. If, however, there is any interference with this “information highway,” the message sent by the brain will not reach the part of the body it intended to reach. As a result, the body starts to work improperly. This interference can affect the immune system, lower body resistance and leave your child more vulnerable to various bugs and infections.

THE FUNCTION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

It is generally agreed that the immune system is very closely linked to the nervous system. As a matter of fact, Dr. Stephen Marini, with the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, feels that the immune system is like a “circulating nervous system.” He also feels most diseases that children get are really the result of the improper functioning of that system. This interference in your child’s nervous system is what upper cervical doctors refer to as head/neck misalignment- small misalignments of the top bones of the spine which can put tension on the delicate nervous system.

HOW DOES YOUR BABY’S SPINE LOSE ITS NATURAL ALIGNMENT?

Head/neck misalignment has many causes. One potential cause is actually the process of being brought into the world - birth. For an infant, it can be very stressful. Head/neck misalignment associated with birth trauma can cause/contribute to hyperactivity, lowered resistance, ear infections, asthma and bed wetting, as well as signs of “central motor impairment.” According to Dr Gutman, a German specialist, “a spinal check up after birth should be obligatory.”

As babies get older, they are often subjected to some uncomfortable traditions: wearing tight diapers that do not allow proper hip development; “jolly jumpers” which place an infant in an upright position long before the spine can deal with gravity; poorly designed school desks and poor mattresses, just to name a few. Then of course there is the usual process of crawling, walking and running. As your child matures, other incidents and activities can also create head/neck misalignment. For instance, falling off a bike or down stairs, hockey, football, skateboards and roller blades.

If allowed to remain, head/neck misalignment can be the starting point of nerve system and body malfunction. When a head/neck misalignment has existed for some time, it will often produce symptoms (pain is the most common) as a warning to let you know that something is simply not okay.

Upper cervical care is for everyone, but is especially important for children. It can make a huge difference in their lives. Correcting head/neck misalignment and maintaining that correction at an early age is often neglected and can be carried by a child as a burden throughout a lifetime.

I am of the thought that all parents should be made aware of upper cervical care for themselves and their children and the benefits that come from a normally functioning nervous system and a healthy body.

Upper Cervical Care and Kids

Upper Cervical Care and the Pediatric Patient
by Dr. Claudia Anrig
from: Dynamic Chiropractic - April 10, 2006, Volume 24, Issue 08

Upper cervical technique is not new to the chiropractic profession. It started with the toggle (HIO) technique, developed by Dr. B.J. Palmer, followed by other upper cervical techniques, such as Grostic, NUCCA, orthospinology and atlas orthongal. In preparing this article, I interviewed Dr. Julie Mayer Hunt, a second-generation upper cervical chiropractor who is board certified in orthospinology and has earned diplomate status in chiropractic pediatrics. She is currently a board member of the Society of Chiropractic Orthospinology and the Academy of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Organizations (AUCCO).

According to Dr. Mayer Hunt, "The upper cervical spine is one of the most vulnerable areas of the spine and is a critical area to keep free from nerve interference." She cites a study published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics that identified approximately 58 articles regarding chiropractic care of the pediatric patient.1 All of the literature reviewed involved upper cervical adjustments (UCA) and reported the overall level of improvement as a result of rendering specific chiropractic care. Many of the studies involved cases in which any of a myriad of conditions frequently affecting children was resolved completely. Moreover, the response time of a UCA often was seen within one to three treatments. The conditions cited included infantile colic, glaucoma, irritability, head trauma, hemiparesis, projectile vomiting, tonsillitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, nocturnal enuresis, allergies, sleep disorders curvature of the spine, fever, otitis media, asthma, ADHD, headaches, torticollis and seizures. The JCCP study summarized studies involving more than 1,000 children under chiropractic care; the findings suggested the focal area of care involved the upper cervical spine.

Dr. Kirk Eriksen best describes the upper cervical biomechanics as not moving in only one plane of motion. During normal cervical movement, coupled motion occurs. Coupling is defined as motion in which rotation or translation of a rigid body about or along one axis is consistently associated with simultaneous rotation or translation about or along another axis. During normal range of movement, coupled motion helps reduce tension on the nervous system. This is accomplished by offsetting pure lateral flexion or rotation, with small amounts of movements in the X, Y or Z axes.2

One feature of an upper cervical subluxation is that the occipito-atlanto-axial articulations have misaligned in an uncoupled fashion. This condition is measured radiographically in a neutral posture, with the spine at rest. The body must continually adapt, from a biomechanical and neurological standpoint, to this type of subluxation.2

The birth process alone can contribute to upper cervical trauma and instability. Abraham Towbin, MD, reported the results of a study on newborn spinal cord/brainstem injuries that he conducted at the Harvard Department of Neuropathology.3 He performed autopsies on more than 2,000 newborns that died shortly after birth. In his report, Latent Spinal Cord and Brain Stem Injuries in Newborn Infants, Dr. Towbin stated: "Spinal cord and brain stem injuries often occur during the process of birth, but frequently escape diagnosis. Respiratory distress is a cardinal sign of such injury."3

A study by H. Biedermann, published in the Journal of Manual Medicine, high lights the importance of checking the newborn following delivery. In his evaluation of 1,000 newborns, he discovered that 119 cases revealed kinematic imbalances of the suboccipital spine. The finding of suboccipital strain equated to approximately 12 percent of the population group.4

Upper cervical techniques traditionally use the supine leg-length evaluation to determine necessity for adjusting the atlas. When evaluating the pediatric patient with the supine leg check, a leg-length difference is often readily apparent, usually half an inch or greater. Dr. K. Eriksen notes the following hypothesis regarding the short leg findings:

"The spinocerebellar tracts are located along the lateral edge of the spinal cord and are located at the most probable site of maximal mechanical irritation via the dentate ligaments. These proprioceptive tracts are primary pathways for regulating muscle tone and joint position sense. The spinocerebellar tracts are arranged in a laminar fashion (although somewhat angulated) with the most lateral fibers innervating the most caudal structures (i.e., legssacrallumbarthoracic cervical [very limited]). Irritation of these tracts could lead to muscle tone imbalance of the pelvic girdle resulting in a functional short leg."5

Upper cervical chiropractors also note postural corrections as a byproduct of specific upper cervical adjustments. These doctors advocate that one of the benefits of chiropractic care for the pediatric population is eliminating spinal stress (weight of the head centered and structurally/neurologically balanced) on the child's developing spine.

A resource regarding upper cervical techniques for both pediatric and general practice is Dr. Erikson's book, Upper Cervical Subluxation Complex: A Review of the Chiropractic and Medical Literature. The book reviews the anatomy and kinematics of the upper cervical spine, and explains how impaired biomechanics causes neurological dysfunction and physiological concomitants.5 This textbook is not intended to be about chiropractic technique; rather, the text provides the "why" as opposed to the "how" of upper cervical chiropractic care. A follow-up book providing specifics on upper cervical techniques including pediatric care is scheduled to be released in spring 2007.

Claudia Anrig, DC, practices in Fresno, Calif. She is on the board of directors of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. For more information, including a brief biography, a printable version of this article and a link to previous articles, please visit Dr. Anrig's columnist page online: www.chiroweb.com/columnist/anrig.

To learn more regarding specific upper cervical techniques for pediatrics, access the following resources:

orthospinology: www.orthospinology.org
atlas orthogonal: www.atlasorthogonality.com
NUCCA: www.nucca.org
It should be noted that Dr. Mayer Hunt has published several pediatric case studies on irregular bowel function, cystic hygroma and asthma,6-8 which illustrate functional improvement of these nonmuscular disorders when the subluxation was corrected by specific upper cervical adjustments.

References

1. Prax C. Upper cervical care of the pediatric patient: a review of the literature. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics 1999;4(1):257-263.
2. Eriksen K. The upper cervical subluxation complex. Today's Chiropractic, March/April 2004.
3. Towbin A. Latent spinal cord and brain stem injuries in newborn infants. Develop Med Child Neurol 1969;(11):54-68.
4. Biedermann H. Sub-occipital strain in newborn infants. Journal of Manual Medicine 1992;(6):151-156.
5. Eriksen K. Upper Cervical Subluxation Complex: A Review of the Chiropractic and Medical Literature. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2003.
6. Hunt JM. Upper cervical chiropractic care of an infant with irregular bowel function: a case report. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, Spring/Summer 2000:221-312.
7. Upper cervical chiropractic care and resolution of cystic hygroma in a twelve-year-old female: a case study. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, Spring/Summer 2000:221-312.
8. Upper cervical care of a pediatric patient with asthma: a case study. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, Spring/Summer 2000:221-312.