What is Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic?
What is the upper cervical area? The upper cervical spine refers to C1 and C2 (the top two bones of the spine). C1 is also called Atlas and C2 is called Axis.
There are so many reasons we, the doctors at Anatomy Chiropractic, are obsessed with the UC spine. Here are just a few:
- Blood flow – vertebral arteries pass through these bones before entering the skull to
provide blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the brain. - Proprioception – there millions of proprioceptors within the soft tissue of the UC spine.
a. Proprioceptors tell your brain where your body is in space.
b. A misalignment here can cause imbalances to form all the way down to your feet. - Brain stem – sits behind the bones.
a. Brain stem is responsible for our primal functions: breathing, heart rate, blood
pressure, and hormone release. - Alignment of the foramen of the upper cervical spine can affect cerebrospinal flow.
A misalignment in the upper cervical spine can cause symptoms related to any of the structures!
Yes, patients who have upper cervical misalignments cause have: headaches, migraines, dizziness, forward head posture, biomechanical problems, neck pain, shoulder pain, low back pain, difficulty breathing, blood pressure issues, brain fog, memory issues, and more!
Thus, it is very important to properly assess any misalignments in this area and correct them precisely.
Now the follow up question is “how do we correct an upper cervical misalignment?”
There are many different specialties of upper cervical chiropractic. Some of them include: Blair technique, Toggle Recoil, Knee Chest, NUCCA, EPIC, Advanced Orthogonal, and Atlas
Orthogonal. These specialists take precise x-rays of the upper cervical spine and neck to measure misalignments and correct them.
In our office, we specialize in Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic. There are 3 reasons why we chose this specialty.
- Specificity
- Reproducibility
- Effectiveness
REASON 1: SPECIFICITY
This specialty was founded by Dr. Roy Sweat. (Dr. Kathireson and I were fortunate enough to be in his last class he taught!)
Dr. Sweat found that the Atlas (C1) bone did NOT need a lot of force to move it. Instead, a light force delivered precisely in the angle of correction is all that we need.
Let me show you what that means with a sample.
Say patient “Rob,” comes in with headaches. We do an exam and find that he has an upper cervical misalignment. We take x-rays and find this:
We find that his atlas is tipped up by 9mm on the R side, giving him a head tilt.
Remember: this much of a tilt can affect blood flow, CSF flow, and
proprioception/biomechanics. Probably why he is experiencing headaches!
To correct this, we use an Atlas Orthogonal table designed by Dr. Sweat, to precisely align the bones. The table produces a percussive wave that is produced by a solenoid inside the device. The wave is similar to a sound wave – we interact with those all day and don’t feel them. But when a percussive wave interacts with an object, a force gets transmitted through to the object.
Think of an Newton’s cradle, when you the ball at one end of the cradle, the force gets transmitted through the middle balls and causes the ball at the other end of the cradle to move.
See 04:10 of the video also linked above for a visual of this example.
When we combine to this gentle adjustment with an exact angle for the force to be delivered, we get this:
This table only uses 6lbs of force to correct the misalignment. The more specific the analysis, the less force it takes to move the bones.
Reason 2: reproducibility
This formula to correct the misalignment is saved and used again if the atlas becomes misaligned again.
If the atlas comes out of alignment again, it will follow the same misalignment pattern. The only time this changes is if the patient has a new trauma.
In our office, we have 2 doctors and plan on adding more in the future. This formula is saved on the patient’s file so all the doctor has to do is set up and press the button.
Dr. Sweat used to say “I can’t push this button any better than you can”
We’ve also had patients who were traveling and needed to find a San Diego Chiropractor that specialized in Atlas Orthogonal, come in with their formula to get adjusted while on vacation.
Reason 3: The results are highly effective!
Together, Dr. Kathireson and I have seen 1000s of patients and have had success in treating headaches, migraines, dizziness, Meniere’s disease, trigeminal neuralgia, low back pain, shoulder pain, and so much more.
To summarize: Anatomy Chiropractic is a chiropractic clinic in San Diego that specializes in upper cervical chiropractic.
The upper cervical spine consists of C1 and C2 – there are tons of important structures within the area that can cause all sorts of chronic pain symptoms.
To correct an upper cervical misalignment, Dr. Kathireson and I practice Atlas OrthogonalChiropractic. We’ve actually completed additional education to become board certified in atlas orthogonal and studied in Dr. Sweat’s last class he taught.
Reasons we practice AO over other upper cervical specialties are: it is highly specific which allows a very low force adjustment, it’s reproducible, and it is highly effective.
If you’re looking for a San Diego Chiropractor that specializes in Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic, schedule an appointment now! We would be happy to meet you.
