This site is dedicated to creating awareness of a powerful form of chiropractic that few know of called Upper Cervical. Its core philosophy is in the restoration of complete brain to body communication through the analysis and correction of vertebral subluxation of the first two bones in the neck, atlas and axis. This is where you will learn how miracles can happen.
Many people are unaware of what it takes to be a chiropractor. There are those that belittle it and think it is a sham of a profession filled with hocus pocus, snake oil, and charlatans. Unfortunately there are dishonest people in every profession which become a stigma for the others. I wanted to put the knowledge and professionalism of a chiropractor into perspective. The best way to do this is to draw a comparison to something everyone is familiar with. The chart below is a comparison of schooling that a typical chiropractor has to complete in order for him or her to gain a license with that of the typical medical doctor. This is in no way an attempt to attack or discredit the medical profession but only a way for those of you who are skeptical or who think chiropractic is a sham to put a perspective into your opinion. My only wish is that you think and analyze the information before you jump to conclusions.
There are some areas where one profession has a greater training than the other. There is also the area of specialization. Just as there are specializations for medical doctors there are specializations for chiropractors, for example pediatrics, neurology, upper cervical, sports, and rehabilitation. These types of programs are often done after chiropractic school is completed. If you are looking for a specific type of care you can find it in chiropractic. Chiropractors are not just for low back pain.
Published on January 1, 2010 comes a case study in the scientific journal, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health that documents the case of a two week old male infant who was helped with chiropractic, after suffering with a number of abdominal problems, along with an inability to sleep properly.
In this case the infant was brought to the chiropractor by the mother who was under care during her pregnancy. The two week old boy was in distress and suffering from excessive crying, abdominal distension, constipation, and gas. He was unable to sleep properly and was clinching his fists in obvious pain. The mother reported that her infant son was unable to have a bowel movement or belch. He was unable to sleep during the day and was only sleeping sporadically at night.
Because of their child's inability to sleep properly the parents were also being sleep deprived. The mother's general practitioner even went so far as to recommend anti-depressants and tranquilizers, however; she tried an over the counter sleep aid instead.
The chiropractic examination showed a crying infant in apparent distress with areas of muscle spasm, tight ligaments and multiple vertebral misalignments in his spine. Chiropractic care was initiated using specific techniques designed to correct the vertebral subluxations found in this infant.
The results on this infant were immediate. During the adjustment the child belched, and immediately following the adjustment the child had a bowel movement before he even had a chance to leave the office. Within five adjustments his mother reported that her son's bowel movements had started to become more regular, and he was belching better after meals. The mother noted that in the initial part of care, if she had missed a visit that the child's distress would return, but would be corrected upon her son's next visit.
This case study reported that after 16 adjustments, his mother noted significant and longer lasting abatement of his symptoms and crying. His colicky behavior and constipation had resolved. His bowel movements had returned to normal and he only cried when he was either hungry or sleepy.
The study author wrote in his conclusion, "Resolution of all presenting symptomology was noted following the introduction of chiropractic care concomitant with a reduction in vertebral subluxation
Some of you may be wondering if chiropractic is safe or necessary for children. Some have asked at what time can I get my child adjusted? I know people who have their chiropractor come into the hospital and check their child and if needs be give the child a correction within minutes after birth.
There are some that may children don't need to be adjusted because they haven't experienced any significant trauma yet. But one thing we forget is that every child has experienced something traumatic that often causes their first subluxation, birth.
As a child is delivered vaginally they typically present face to the rear, if you are lying on your back that's face down. The doctor then rotates the head to get the body to follow so that the shoulders can be manipulated through the pelvis. This rotary force is tremendous in relation to the size of the child. The next step after the head rotation in the shoulder presentation which can be the most detrimental to a child. There is downward traction applied on the neck that has been estimated to exceed at times 90 lbs. This is on average a force that is 10X the infants body weight. Imagine a 180 lb man receiving 1800lbs of tractional force on his neck, it would probably kill him. The interesting note is that this is “far from being what most obstetricians would regard as a great force.” (Towbin, 1996) This process is on an average birth with no complication.
This trauma is magnified if the child is extracted with forceps (not used that often anymore), or suction devices. The stress that is placed on the fragile neck is enough to cause damage to not only the surrounding nerves that go to the arms but also the brain stem and spinal chord.
Some be thinking, "whew! My child was a cesarean section so I am good." There is a great deal of trauma that is associated with a child that is not allowed to travel the birth canal. First, there is degree of suction that is naturally given to the child as it travels out that helps the respiratory system function upon birth. Second, most often when a child is delivered C-section at full term the baby has a faced and is sitting on the cervix ready to travel out. When the infant is then pulled in the opposite direction via an incision there is a degree of suction that has formed around the head causing cervical, or neck traction.
I wanted to share with you a tremendous story that I ran across, it brought me to tears and was a reminder to me why I was lead to this profession.
I am not trying to scare you or make you feel like you are a bad person if your child has had any of theses procedures, in fact my third child was C-section and my fourth will be also due to complication that happened, life happens and there are things that we can't control. The point that I want to make is that children have been through a lot in there relatively short lives and don't discount their lack of age as an indicator to their need for chiropractic.
There are many success stories that are emerging from parents that bought their child in with a disease that doctors said would be permanent and upper cervical chiropractic became that treatment that gave them hope. Some of the most popular success stories are autism, ADD, and ADHD, and general behavioral disorders. I am amazed how often I hear stories of success in regards to these diseases/disorders.
If you are wondering if you should take you child to be checked ask yourself some questions. Has my child ever had a significant fall, down the stairs, from a tree, out of bed, and so on. Has my child ever had a blow to the head, ball, falling backwards and hitting it on the ground, hand upside the head. These are some of the thing that can and more often do cause a subluxation in a child. We often dismiss the even, pick up our child and brush the dirt off them and tell them to go play failing to consider what might have happened.
It is never too early to get your child checked for subluxation. Upper cervical techniques are not the "twist and pop" style that you might think of when you hear Chiropractor, they are low force, very specific, and can be used on a 1 hour old baby to a 98 year-old patient with osteoporosis. The only thing that might be a problem is that there are very few truly Upper Cervical doctors in the United States. Some states are without a single one.
If you are want to know the closest one to your area drop me a line and I will point you in the right direction or give you the closest alternative. I don't care who you go to as long as you get well and your children become well.
Works Cited Towbin, A. (1996). Laten Spinal Chord and Brain Stem injury in Newborn Infants. Devlope Med Child Neuro , 11:54-69.
Some people may ask how Upper Cervical Chiropractic is different than regular chiropractic and it is very simple to answer. Just as there are many different variety of medical doctors that rely on different philosophy and specialization, chiropractic is similar. There are those that want to focus on children, or maybe sport injuries, or spinal decompression, nutrition,, massage therapy, physical therapy, or even personal injury patients. Some are a jack of all trades, but most of the time that means a master of none.
Upper Cervical doctors focus in one area and know it like the back of their hands. They are a master of the technique which is one of the hardest to master. In Italy where chiropractic is beggining to take root there is a distinction between Upper Cervical doctors and Chiropractors. The upper cervical doctor is accepted and works along side medical doctors in hospitals, Chiropractors are shunned and not put on equal ground. There is a difference and not just by name only.
Philosophy is what sets chiropractors apart. Whatever their specialty they need to have a personal philosophy, a reason why they do what they do. This is what sets Upper Cervical apart from your standard chiropractor that you may be use to. They see the body as a self healing machine that can heal itself, given the right amount of time and lack of interference, a term you may have herd of as subluxation. But what makes them unique is Upper Cervical sees the top two bones in the neck as the gateway to the body and when "subluxated" they are the primary cause of ailments. Do you ever wonder what is causing the symptoms that you have, XYZ disease right? But have you ever thought why you have XYZ, what caused the body to allow XYZ to happen? What bad lifestyle choices did you make that helped XYZ along its path? There is a problem with the communication from the brain to the body and or from the body to the brain. If the body can't understand what is happening to it, then it can't respond to it properly thus causing disease. This idea is core to Upper Cervical philosophy.
This video gives a brief introduction to what Upper Cervical Chiropractic is and how it is set apart from other forms of chiropractic.
This is an introduction to the concept of Upper Cervical Health Care and how everyone can benefit from care.
I am opening this blog to help others see the benefits of Upper Cervical Specific Chiropractic. When most people think of Chiropractic they think of back pain, or neck problems, they rarely think of other problems like autism, colic, ear infections. The on thing about chiropractic that is misunderstood is the philosophy.
Chiropractic treatment is not a treatment for pain, though that is the main reason why people seek out a chiropractor, its purpose is to restore the body to homeostasis, or equilibrium so that the body can regulate itself.
The goal of Upper Cervical is to restore the nerve flow from the brain to the body so when the body senses something that is out of "wack" the brain can effectively respond and the body can react to that response in the appropriate manner. When there is disruption in the flow, weather from the brain out or from the out to the brain that is when you have a problem and your body experiences disease or dis-ease.
This is an educational blog and not a forum for debate. My goal is to post information that all can benefit from. Some of the topics will be on diseases that you may think are not even remotely related to chiropractic. My goal is to post articles, studies, and other information and try to relate it to the everyday person. If I can I will post the articles for personal review if you so feel inclined. I hope the information is clear and easy to understand. If you like the blog spread the word because after reading an article you may say to yourself, "I bet my friend would be interested in this." If you are skeptical ask questions. If you have a problem with it go elsewhere.
I leave this last note to those of you who have had a bad experience with a Chiropractor and think they are all the same. let me ask you one question. If you had a bad experience with a medical doctor would you stop going to all medical doctors? There are many ways a chiropractor can treat a problem and many different techniques, Upper Cervical Specific is one of those techniques.
