Let's get technical

Now remember at the beginning of my story when I talked about my birth trauma and how it made a significance on my health? Well, let me explain that a little bit. Because there was so much force applied to my neck, when I was born, by the Doctor pulling me out by my head, the ligaments, muscles, and bones in my neck were put at a great deal of stress right from the start, similar to a baby being born by vacuum extraction. Now that I know what to look for, I can see many suggestions of misalignment in my baby pictures. My Chiropractor used a very gentle, specific technique that has a great impact not only on your spine, but also on your brain, which is why I perform this technique on all of my patients as well. This technique is known to many of us as the “Mercedes” of adjustments. Now prepare yourself to get a little technical in this explanation.

The word “adjustment” is a rather loosely used term in chiropractic today. It denotes the application of a force to a spinal bone (vertebra) to move it from one position to another. The intention of the adjustor in moving a vertebra is to correct the patient’s subluxation (a misaligned spinal bone causing harm to nervous structure). In order to do this, the adjustor must reduce the vertebra to or toward its normal position. If spinal bones did not displace, there would be no reason to adjust them; no objective would be gained in trying to re-position a vertebra that is in its proper location in the spine, causing no harm to nervous structure. When, however, a vertebra is displaced and is interfering with nervous structure, it should be restored to its normal position by an adjustment. The word “adjustment” means “to set right”, and is what Chiropractors do: re-set displaced vertebra.

The technique that I perform is called Upper Cervical Technique. This means that the adjustment is given in the upper neck, applied to the first cervical bone called the atlas or C1. The reason for correcting the atlas is that it affects the Central Nervous System (brain stem and spinal cord) when it subluxates. Because all other nerve systems in the body are controlled by the Central Nervous System, an atlas subluxation affects the entire body. As a result of an atlas subluxation, the patient’s entire spine and pelvis are distorted from its true axis by spastic contracture of the spinal extensor muscles because the atlas subluxation interferes with the essential inhibitory control to the muscles.

A very precise adjustment is, therefore, necessary to obtain an atlas subluxation correction to restore spinal balance. There are several directions in which the atlas can be misaligned and there are different degrees in which it can move in each direction. The doctor, therefore, must make an x-ray examination in three planes in order to obtain this information. The doctor then analyzes the x-rays so that an adjustment can be specifically structured for each patient. X-ray is the only means from which this precise adjustment can be figured, and each patient receives an adjustment tailored to his/her needs.

The atlas subluxation is known as the Atlas Subluxation Complex (ASC) because it distorts the spine and pelvis. Vertebrae below the atlas are also misaligned in over 90 percent of the cases and must be realigned by a C1 adjustment. Thus it is a complex-composed of many parts. The complex is a biological stressor, a strain or an interference affecting the entire body. If the spine and pelvis measure normal after an adjustment, the electro-chemical flow of the nervous system is balanced. The adjustment, therefore, must be accurate, timed, and coordinated. Further, it requires control and direction of force, which must not be greater than the resistance of the subluxation being adjusted and performed in accordance with sound kinesiological and biomechanical principles. For this reason, an adjustment is not painful to the patient.

Because no two adjustments are exactly alike, atlas adjusting is a difficult art. All healing in the body is self-healing. An example of self-healing is the repair of a broken bone. No treatment of any kind can heal bone tissue; only the healing forces within the body can heal bone tissue. Other bodily tissues are no different in this respect. Self-healing, however, requires a perfectly functioning nervous system free from subluxation stress and interference, one that can normally feed other bodily systems with a normal electro-chemical flow, creating an internal environment in which the body’s immune system can function. Self-healing, then, is promoted by the adjustment. Correction or adjustment of the subluxation, however, must precede relief from illness and discomfort.