Six Big Differences With Upper Cervical Care

Six things upper cervical doctors do differently than other chiropractors

by Anthony Rumsey, DC

Upper cervical doctors are different than other chiropractors. To help you understand the differences, here are the top six ways your upper cervical doctor will be different than any other doctor of chiropractic that you will see.

1. Won’t adjust you without x-rays.

Your upper cervical doctor uses x-rays to create a unique formula to adjust you based on your body’s unique anatomy.

There are many areas of the spine whose motion can help guide a chiropractic adjustment. The low back and the mid-back, for example, have built in motion pathways created by the shape of their joints. But there is a lot more room for movement and error in the upper neck. So it is the perspective of upper cervical doctors that the junction of the head and the neck cannot be accurately adjusted without measuring and noting your unique anatomy on an accurate x-ray.

2. Measure your body’s posture and/or nervous system function every time you come into the office.

As much as possible, upper cervical doctors use objective measures of your body’s function to help guide the clinical decision making process. Your upper cervical doctor may indirectly measure nerve function using paraspinal thermography (heat reading). Or he or she may visualize your in-alignment versus your out-of-alignment posture with a number of different tools that help measure hip height or rotation, shoulder height, and the lean (or list) of the spine.

3. Won’t adjust you at every single visit.

Upper cervical doctors think differently about the purpose of the adjustment than many other chiropractors. In other chiropractic systems, multiple adjustments over many visits are expected, and are helpful. The upper cervical doctor, however, believes that “holding” the adjustment is more important than just receiving it. Healing comes from holding your new alignment. Therefore, the upper cervical doctor will only adjust your upper cervical spine when your body shows objective signs of needing an adjustment.

If your upper cervical doctor is adjusting at every visit for many visits in a row, it is a sign that things are not going as well as they should be.

4. Measure the effectiveness of the adjustment after it is delivered.

Your upper cervical doctor will conduct one or more post-adjustment checks every time you get an upper cervical adjustment according to your adjustment formula. In some cases this may include one or two post-adjustment x-rays. This may be another thermographic scan, a measure of your posture, or some other functional test. Unlike other areas of the spine that snap, twist, and pop when the joint moves, the upper cervical adjustment intends to restore balance to a very delicate area of the body. The upper cervical doctor expects immediate changes in some parts of the body’s functions, and verifies it with a post-adjustment check.

If your upper cervical doctor is adjusting you and just sending you on your way, then he or she might not be an upper cervical doctor.

5. Always deliver a gentle adjustment.

The upper neck is a delicate area of the body. It’s natural for the body to lock up when you sense that someone is going to push, pull, poke or prod this area of neck. Because your body will resist an adjustment that is too strong, upper cervical doctors use gentle re-alignment procedures to bring the head and neck into better balance. Your upper cervical doctor will always deliver a gentle adjustment.

6. Almost always concentrates on head-to-neck balance.

There are many reasons upper cervical doctors started calling themselves upper cervical doctors, in addition to using the word “chiropractor.” One major reason is how few chiropractors there really are using a specific adjusting protocol to re-align the head-to-neck area of the spine. Another reason is because the name fits: upper cervical doctors will spend 99% of their time helping your head-to-neck alignment because of how important it is to your body’s expression of life, health, and longevity…and because of how vulnerable the area is to injury.

Unlike the stronger areas of the spine which have an inter-vertebral disc, there are weaker interlocking joints at the top of the neck. The whole thing mostly stays in balance from strong muscles and ligaments. Like any other muscles and ligaments, these upper cervical muscles and ligaments are subject to accidents and injuries which can threaten the normal balance of the head-to-neck area, and disrupt the body’s normal functions.

Sickness, Health and Amazon.com

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"Sickness 2 Health: From The Inside Out" synopsis:

Regaining and maintaining your health by turning common health knowledge upside down and inside out. There is a paradigm shift happening and people are looking to “do it yourself” health care more all the time for better health and, especially in today’s current economy, to save money. There are many books out there of course that address this and try to provide ideas and suggestions about what one should do to regain and maintain their health. This is not what Sickness 2 Health is about. Sickness 2 Health, while giving some action steps, has the primary intention of rattling and shattering your current world view in regards to health. From the smoldering ashes of these old outdated views we lift up a new perspective and premise to make health decisions from, like a phoenix rising from its own ashes. 

Want A Longer Life? Try Upper Cervical Care

13 Benefits Of Upper Cervical Care: Part 4

With few exceptions, all of us would like the opportunity to add years to our life, especially if they were quality years in which we could be productive or enjoy the activities of retirement. While it is true that people are living slightly longer than they did a century ago, it is debatable whether the quality of that life is better. We know though that it is possible to live a longer life, even to live a good, long life. There is an old adage that says, “If you want to live to a ripe old age, choose your grandparents wisely.” The point being that there are some things that are out of our control. We have a genetic “shelf life” built into each of us and that varies widely from one person to the next. Yet, generally speaking, experts suggest that the human body was designed to live 120-150 years. In fact, some scientists believe the human body was created to live a thousand years! Even taking the lowest figure, 120 years is still far more than most people live, although there are people who do live well over 100 years demonstrating that it is possible. If it is possible for one person to do it, then the body is designed to live that long.

Still, it is unusual enough that if someone does live to be 100, the local newspapers want to do an interview and ask him or her what the secret to longevity is. Some of the “secrets” these centenarians give are quite amusing and often contradictory. One will say he drinks alcohol every day, the other says he never touches alcohol. One says hard work, the other says no work! But of all the questions asked, one question is never asked. Why does less than only one in 1,000 live past the age of 100? What is keeping the rest from reaching the century mark?

Honestly, none of the 100 year olds seem to have a “special secret,” and there is no secret to longevity common to them all. As much as diet and exercise are important factors, that does not seem to be the secret. Many of them do not have diets different from the average person and many of them do not regularly exercise. Conversely, many people who eat well and regularly exercise all their lives do not live nearly as long. Does that mean you should ignore good eating habits and regular exercise? Of course not. But there must be something else, some factor that is common to everyone, that prevents 99+% of the population from reaching 100 years of age.

While not claiming to have the answers, I have a suggestion. The ability of your body to generate life, the vital mental impulses to all parts of the body enabling them to work in a coordinated manner, is essential to a long and healthy life. Some people may have naturally better functioning nerve systems, more powerful generators if you will. Clearly, the ability to get these vital messages through to all organs, tissues and cells is as important a factor as the ability of the body to generate them in the first place. It’s no coincidence that people who do not live to be 100 have bodies that quit working properly. The heart is the most common factor but we also blame pre-100 deaths on problems of the lungs, kidney and liver.

Here’s another question no one seems to be asking. If the body is designed to last 120 years, why do some of the parts break down along the way? One factor definitely is a lack of vital life energy from the brain to the parts over the nerve pathways. That is where upper cervical care comes in, correcting head/neck misalignment that can deprive the body of life-giving, life-extending, vital mental impulses. Does that mean that being under periodic upper cervical care will guarantee a longer life? No, there are no guarantees that you will not be hit by a truck tomorrow. But we can say just by sheer logic that, all things being equal and barring unforeseen trauma, if you have a good nerve supply, you have to live longer than if you do not. Just as, all things being equal, exercising and eating healthy will extend your life. Upper cervical care simply enables you to have a good nerve supply.