Building Health Or Treating Disease?

Man is either alive, or he’s dead.
If he’s alive, there’s a reason.
If he’s dead, there’s a reason.
Man is either healthy, or he’s sick.
If he’s healthy, there’s a reason.
If he’s sick, there’s a reason.
If he’s healthy, there’s a logical,
reasonable, and consistent explanation.
—Dr. B.J. Palmer

The above statement is the essence of Upper Cervical Care because it bases its practice on clear, logical reasoning. While there must be a reason, or perhaps many reasons for disease, it is more important to find the logical, reasonable and consistent reason for health. Addressing health is far more important than addressing disease. If you get rid of a disease but do not restore health, a void remains. Into that void will come another disease or perhaps the same one will return. You must have health, it is prerequisite to getting well and to the prevention of disease.

The logical reason for a lack of health is that the body is not functioning as it should. In fact, that may very well be the true definition of health, a state in which each and every cell in the body is working as it should. If we follow the logic of this thinking, it would make sense to examine the body and determine if the body is working properly and if it is not, why it is not. We in the upper cervical work believe that we have found a cause. We admit that we have not looked further for other reasons why the body may work at less than perfect efficiency. There may be others, we just have not looked for them. The reason is that the cause we have found involves the nerve system, the master system of the body, which is concerned with the organization of every activity, the production of every chemical, and the running of every cell. Further, we have found that interference in this nervous system can occur in just about everybody and occur in the spine where the head and neck join. This is enough to keep us busy.

What is the reason for sickness? That is the job of the medical doctor to determine that reason or reasons. It may be that one of the reasons for a disease, a major one, is a lack of health. The problem is that medicine is not looking for a lack of health, which is inside the person. They are looking for outside causes, bacteria, viruses, the environment, the weather, stress, as well as things you put into your body. It may be that there is some importance to those things but a lack of health, a body not working properly, is present in every situation. The medical doctor does not look for that. He cannot be expected to. He was not trained to do that. The role of the upper cervical doctor, to find one possible cause, an interference in the nerve system where the head and neck join. In correcting this interference to the nerve system, the body will work better in all situations under all circumstances. That is a prerequisite to a healthy body.

You Are So Very Unique

There is a system of identification that, according to some authorities, will make P.I.N. numbers, passwords, and other forms of identification obsolete. Its called Biometric Identification. Everyone is familiar with the most commonly used form of this type of identification--fingerprints. However, there are some others that are even more accurate than a fingerprint. Face technology looks at a scan of the entire face utilizing 50 points around the nose, mouth, eyes, brow and jaw. The weakness of the system is, of course, identical twins, but growing a beard or putting on weight will also alter the facial structure. The hand, like the face, is another identification system. It has unique geometric shapes and sizes. Most of us are familiar with voice prints and, of course, DNA, although the latter is not practical at this time to be used at an ATM or at the supermarket.

The most technical biometric identification to be used is the iris of the eye. While a fingerprint has only 40 measurable characteristics, the iris of the eye has 266. Even if a third of the information is mismatched, it can still make a positive identification. We are truly unique individuals.

Just as there is a uniqueness about our face, our iris and our fingerprint, there is also a uniqueness about the inside workings of our body. No two people are alike as far as physiological needs. One person’s insulin needs are different than another person’s. Even the exact quality of the insulin is a little different. Two people may eat the exact same meal but the digestive juices necessary to break down that meal and make it useful to the body are totally different. Every person’s blood chemistry is slightly different. Our caloric intake needs vary from person to person and within the same person from day to day. There are literally millions of different measurable characteristics within human beings. How could any doctor know all these needs for any one person let alone for all his patients? The fact is that he cannot. The worst that can happen with biometric identification is a case of mistaken identity. The worse that can happen with a mistake in knowing what a person’s internal, chemical needs are is death, and that happens thousands of times a year. We simply cannot know the unique biochemical needs of the body. That is why medicine is not as much science as it is an art. It is making educated guesses on a daily basis regarding people’s health.

The Upper Cervical Doctor does not attempt to conform a person to a standard or norm, which is really unknown to the doctor. Upper Cervical Care recognizes that the body has a self-regulating, self-normalizing mechanism to it, what we call an innate intelligence. It is this self-regulating principle that has stored these millions upon millions of unique characteristics and needs and can meet those needs on a moment-by-moment basis. The problem with biometric identification is that it cannot adapt if you put on some weight or change the features of your face. The innate intelligence of the body, however, can adapt to changes in your body as well as changes in the environment. To accomplish this adaptation a communication system is necessary. That system in human beings is the nerve system. If it should be interfered with, due to head/neck misalignment then that which is uniquely you cannot be expressed freely and fully. The objective of Upper Cervical Care is the correction of this interference.

How Bad Is Head/Neck Misalignment?

One of the most difficult concepts to get across to the public is the potentially devastating effects of head/neck misalignment. We could show you all kinds of diseases and say the interference to the nerve system from head/neck misalignment causes those diseases. But that would not be quite honest. That would be like saying that being a couch potato and not exercising regularly causes heart disease. It is undoubtedly a factor but there are other factors also. No one can possibly say what is the major factor or the cause. In addition to that, upper cervical doctors do not want to focus on a negative like disease. We would rather be proactive, to talk about getting checked periodically to maintain your health and reach your full potential in every area of life. But unfortunately, some of us are only motivated by fear, the fear of being sick or dying from some horrible disease. So for those people let’s take a minute to talk about just how bad this thing called head/neck misalignment (HNM) really is.

When there is HNM your digestive system may not work at its full potential. You body cannot produce the exact quantity and quality of chemicals necessary to digest the food that you eat. The food will not be absorbed into your body as it should because the cells involved in absorption are not working as they should because the food is not being broken down properly. Those organs, tissues, and cells involved with changing absorbed foods into flesh and blood will not work properly without a good nerve supply. When there is HNM, your immune system may not be working as it should. The organs and cells involved in keeping you resistant to viruses and bacteria are working at less than their potential. When you have HNM you may not be able to think as well, your coordination can be lessened, energy levels could be decreased. The interference in the nerve system from HNM literally affects every part of your body because every part of your body in one way or another is dependent upon a properly function nerve system.

This nerve interference affects the entire body. In this day and age when there are so many stresses upon the body, chemical, physical, and mental we cannot afford to have an improperly function nerve system. We cannot be sure about the quality of the water that we drink or the air that we breathe. We cannot know for sure that our body is getting all the nutrients that we need from our food sources. We cannot help being exposed to microorganism, many of which are more powerful than ever because of their ability to adapt to attempts to destroy them with drugs. But by keeping our nerve system free of interference from HNM, we can be sure that any potential that we have will be expressed as well as possible.

With so many chemicals, toxins and poisons in our food, air, water, not to mention those we purposely put in our bodies because we “enjoy” them we must keep our elimination system working as close to perfect as possible. The bowels, the kidneys, and other organs of elimination cannot work properly with interference in the nerve system.

Hopefully by now you realize how devastating HNM and the resulting interference to the nerve system can be. It may not be the most dramatic negative effect on the body. Surely, getting hit by a truck is worse. But there is probably no other single entity that can have such widespread negative effects on your body. Keep it free of interference by seeing an upper cervical doctor periodically.

The View From The Other Side

Your frame of reference is important. How you view life, the world, your fellow man and the human body will often determine the outcome of your life. It has been demonstrated that doctors diagnose and treat based upon their frame of reference. Dr. Lawrence Horowitz, former director of the US Senate Subcommittee on Health, states “Women have a 70% chance of having their uterus removed by age 75 in a certain city in Maine. Women living in other cities in Maine have a 25% chance.” Was the first group of medical doctors bad physicians? No, they just had a hysterectomy mindset. Their frame of reference said, “Do surgery.” The point of the article was to get a second opinion. However, that would be of little value if you were to go to a physician in the same town. It could even get quite confusing. Suppose you went to a town where the doctor had a “no surgery under any circumstances” mindset and you really needed the surgery! Perhaps that is why some people prefer the philosophy extolled in the Chinese proverb that says, “Man with one watch always knows what time it is. Man with two watches never knows.” It seems easy enough, pick out an authority and do whatever he says. Unfortunately, whatever the authority says will be based on their frame of reference. Should not your decisions be based on your frame of reference or, at worst, on the advice of someone who has the same frame of reference as you?

Your frame of reference is really your outlook on life. The Upper Cervical Care frame of reference says the human body is designed by an Intelligence far greater than the mind of man. It maintains that the body was meant to run and heal itself from above-down, inside-out. This frame of reference also says the body was meant to be healthy and that being ill is not normal. Medicine, on the other hand, views the body as greatly limited. Upper Cervical Care views the body as having great ability. Medicine views the body from a negative viewpoint (i.e., disease) and Upper Cervical Care from a positive viewpoint (i.e., health). Medicine sees the signs and symptoms of disease as the body breaking down, Upper Cervical Care sees them more often as a means of adaptation. Medicine views life as an overwhelming obstacle that cannot be overcome without the use of chemicals. Upper Cervical Care views life as a challenge that can be met with great joy and result in a better, stronger individual.

How you look at life is important. In fact, many authorities in the health field maintain that a person’s outlook directly affects their health. People with a positive attitude generally have longer, healthier lives. It obviously affects your enjoyment of life. Your frame of reference will affect your outlook, but most important, your frame of reference will affect your decision-making process. If you have a health frame of reference, you will address your attention to health. If your frame of reference is proactive rather than reactive, you will go out and search for health rather than sit back and wait for sickness to occur and then run off to a man who has a sickness frame of reference and a remove-the-organ attitude and do whatever he says.

Upper Cervical Care is a positive, proactive approach to life. It doesn’t tell you to do this and to not do that. It tells you that your body is always better off without interference in the nervous system. It just makes sense to have your spine checked periodically. It is also important to educate yourself in matters of health, use common sense and listen to your body to determine what you need relative to matters of health.

Upper Cervical Care Do’s and Don’ts

Before and after each Upper Cervical Correction, it is vital that these measures be taken to protect your correction. Adhering to these guidelines will help ensure the longest lasting correction and help you reach your optimal health potential. Questions are encouraged because the better you understand why upper cervical doctors do what they do, the more you can help them help you.

Follow these helpful hints:

Avoid the following before office visits:

4 hours before your appointment; NO over the counter drugs, pain relievers (Example: Tylenol, Excedrin, Advil), antibiotics, or antidepressants.

2 hours before your appointment; NO caffeine, cigarettes, or chocolate, or use of heating pad or ice on your neck or back.

30 minutes before your appointment; NO sugar or candy.


*Upper cervical doctors are measuring brainstem and nerve function; the above products alter their readings. They must have accuracy in these readings in order to increase the odds of success in your case. Please let them know if you have used any of the above products or other prescription drugs before they test you.

Avoid the following for at least 24 hours after a correction:

Repetitive arm motions (sweeping, vacuuming, yard work, etc.)

Bumps, jolts, and vibrations (mowing or tilling, running heavy machinery, etc.)

Overhead work (reaching overhead and looking up)


Avoid the following:

Sleeping on your stomach with your head turned to one side

Using big, thick, fluffy pillows


Do the following:

Keep all your appointments at your appointed time. This “schedule of corrections” is tailor made for you to ensure maximum correction.

Drink 8 glasses of clean water, either spring/purified, or reverse osmosis, (not tap water), per day

Start walking. Walking on even surfaces helps strengthen your correction and builds strength and stamina.

Rest flat on your back with pillow under your neck during the middle of the day (10 to 20 minutes). This helps maintain your correction.

Let the doctor know of any slips, falls, bumps or other injuries, no matter how insignificant.

Sleep with a pillow designed to contour and support your neck, either flat on your back, or on your side.

Include your family in your care. The more your family understands Upper Cervical Care, the more support they can provide.


While upper cervical doctors do want their patients to feel better, do not expect them to treat your symptoms. The corrections they make are not designed for pain or symptom relief. They are designed to remove an interference to healing, so the body will heal itself. As the body heals, symptoms will go away. Be a patient patient. Corrections are only given when objective tests say you need one. Please don’t expect a correction based on how you feel.

If you have a problem with any of these, please do not get under care, as it is not a good fit for you at this time. If you have just begun care and have a problem with any of these let your upper cervical doctor know immediately so they can resolve the issue before you start something you cannot finish.

Perceptions Dictate Function?

Well what do I mean by that? Well, Upper Cervical Care is about making sure the brain and body can fully communicate. That communication is crucial to our proper perception of the environment within us and around us so that we make the appropriate changes within our body. The article below shows how deep this process goes and how fundamentally important the idea is to our life and health.

Not Controlled By Our Genes?
by Dr. Bruce Lipton

My career as a biomedical research scientist began in 1967 when I started cloning stem cells, years before conventional science was aware of their importance in human health. While a tenured member of the University of Wisconsin’s Medical School faculty, I was involved with teaching each new crop of medical students the basic science of how cells work. In my lectures in cell biology, histology and embryology, I faithfully passed on the knowledge of the Central Dogma, a foundational assumption underlying modern medicine. First defined by Francis Crick, co-discoverer with James Watson of the DNA genetic code, the ‘dogma,’ describes the flow of information that ‘controls’ biology. Accordingly, information flows in a unidirectional path, starting from the source-DNA, it is translated into an intermediate molecular form-RNA and finally the code is used to make Protein. The DNA represents the genes and the proteins provide for the physical body and its functions (behavior). The ‘dogma’ of science is that the character of our life is defined by our heredity. Genes rule!

Since we did not choose the genes we came with and since we cannot exchange them, we are more or less ‘victims’ of heredity. Our limitations are presumably correlated with less than ‘satisfactory’ genes and their consequent effects upon the body’s physical and behavioral mechanisms. The Central Dogma shapes the world’s current perception of health and healing. If we are ‘sick,’ it is because our mechanism is inherently defective or weak. Medicine’s solution is to provide…medicines, physical drugs that interfere with the molecular mechanisms of the body, in an effort ‘adjust’ the malfunctioning machinery of physiology and behavior.

While I was teaching the Dogma in class, my cloned human cells began to reveal a completely different story. Rather than genes, the experiments revealed that it was the environment that was ‘controlling’ the cells. By changing the environmental conditions within the culture dish, the same cells could be transformed to reveal radically different expressions. Every cell contains a complete set of genes, enough information to make a whole human, so every cell is capable of expressing a full range of developmental potentials. However, the ultimate character expressed by a cell is NOT preprogrammed in the genes. The fate of a cell is determined by its response to the environment it finds itself in. The experiments revealed that cells dynamically adapt their structure (genes) and behavior to conform to their awareness or perception of the environment. The expression of life represents an adaptation to our perceptions, it is not defined by our genes. What did the cells teach me: Change your perception…change your life.

By the late 70’s, my curiosity led me on a trail to identify the mechanism by which environmental perception ‘controlled’ gene expression. Embarking on this quest ultimately alienated me from my scientific peers. Why? Because I was challenging the Central Dogma whose fundamental premise is that life is ‘controlled’ by the genes. Here is an interesting realization, the term ‘dogma’ is not even a scientific word, it is specifically a religious concept where you accept that something is true based upon faith. Think of it…the entire foundation of biomedicine is built upon a religious belief! And by my questioning the Dogma of gene-control, I was labeled a heretic and actually shunned by my colleagues.

Religious belief aside, there is a fundamental question that must be asked, “Do genes really control biology?” The answer to that question is unambiguously, NO. This fact was scientifically established by the late 1980’s, when a new awareness arose in molecular biology. That awareness provided for one of today’s most active areas of scientific research, the field of epigenetics. Epigenetics is a study of the molecular mechanisms by which environment controls gene activity.

Though this research represents a fundamental upheaval of our beliefs about ‘how’ life works, this new awareness has hardly dented conventional knowledge. The simple reason is that the ‘dogma’ concerning the role of genes represents a core belief, or basal paradigm, that shapes our civilization. The scientifically accepted view of life is that it represents the result of random evolution of genetic mechanisms competing for survival in an eternal struggle for existence. Kind of a gloomy perspective.

But, what if we can actually change the unfoldment of our lives by changing our perceptions (beliefs)? It would lead to a different way of thinking about our lives and our place in the environment. By definition, it would change a basal paradigmatic belief and that would result in a restructuring or upheaval of civilization. For example, consider the consequences of world changes that were brought about by civilization’s last paradigm upheaval. That occurred around 1925, when physics left behind the dated concepts of a Newtonian material-based universe and recognized the energy-based reality revealed in Quantum Physics. This change of perception shook the world on its axis, literally, through the creation of the atomic bomb. It wasn’t all bad, for with the new science, we went from typewriters to computers, from crank phones to cell phones and, medically speaking, from stethoscopes to CAT scans. All from a change in ‘belief.’

Well, brace yourselves, for we are in for a wild ride. Frontier research in cell biology has finally acknowledged the mechanisms by which perception controls behavior, selects genes and can even lead to a rewriting of the genome. Rather than being the victims of our genes, we have been the victims of our perceptions! The impact of this new awareness of living systems work will alter our experience of life as much as the recognition of quantum mechanics altered and advanced the world of technology. We are on the verge of a most radical, and most wonderful upheaval of human civilization.