Chiropractic is Much More Than Back Pain and Neck Pain

When the average person thinks about chiropractic, chances are they don't understand what chiropractic really is. Who can blame them? The chiropractic profession has done a bad job of explaining itself to the public.

For decades it was the doormat of the AMA, subject to constant persecution and ridicule. Most of the stigma from that time has lingered alongside the profession.

The chiropractic profession has done its best to conduct research to prove its effectiveness. Nearly all of that research, though, is directed into one of two areas: back pain or neck pain.

It's hard to fault chiropractic researchers though. Especially when only about 70 full-time researchers exist within the profession, compared with the drug company Pfizer which has 12,000 researchers by itself. There just isn't enough manpower or money to conduct the amount of research chiropractic needs.

But because of this, as well as the inability to effectively communicate what we do, most people think chiropractors only specialize in back pain or headaches. Who wouldn't think that? We've all seen the ads in the Yellow Pages depicting a wincing man or woman, supporting their arching back, as lightning bolts radiate away from their injured spine. Obviously chiropractors specialize in pain relief, right? Now don't get me wrong, chiropractic does offer pain relief, but at its fundamental core, chiropractic is so much more than just that.

What is Upper Cervical Chiropractic?

Chiropractic, plain and simple, is all about restoring proper function to the nervous system. The way that is accomplished is by removing vertebral subluxations. These are bony misalignments of the spine that result in nervous system interference. They come about in one of three ways: Physical trauma, emotional trauma, or chemical trauma. Vertebral subluxations can be very devastating. Over a period of time such as weeks, months, years, or decades, vertebral subluxations can wreak havoc on our bodies, especially if they occur in the upper cervical spine. A vertebral subluxation can lead to decreased output to nerves throughout your body, rapid degeneration of the spine, and many other debilitating conditions.

The way these subluxations are removed is with a gentle, yet specific upper cervical adjustment, done only after precise x-ray analysis. Upper Cervical chiropractors use these x-rays to measure specific angles in which the top two vertebrae in the neck are misaligned.

What Makes Up the Upper Cervical Spine?

The top two vertebrae in our necks are known as C1 and C2, respectively. Chiropractors know these two bones more intimately as the atlas and axis. The atlas is a little 2 oz donut-shaped bone that supports the base of our 16 lb skull. If you look at Greek mythology, you'll find that Atlas was the Titan who held the weight of the world on his shoulders, of which this bone was aptly named.

The spinal cord exits the base of the skull and passes through the atlas and axis all the way down through your spinal column. Every nerve that travels through the body passes through the atlas via the spinal cord. Not only that, but the brain stem is at the top of the spinal cord, near the atlas. B.J. Palmer nicknamed this area "Houston Control." The nickname seems appropriate when you realize that this is the area that regulates our heartbeat, our blood flow, and our breathing, among other things.

When someone develops a disease, chances are they have a vertebral subluxation in their upper cervical spine. I'm not saying a specific upper cervical adjustment will cure a disease. What it will do is put that atlas or axis back in place so that the nervous system can function properly. If the nervous system is functioning properly, then the body will receive life-restoring nerve transmission at its full and complete capacity.

And that is when our bodies can begin the healing process.

If you are interested in learning more about Upper Cervical Chiropractic, come check out my site The Atlas of Life.