The following conditions
have been known to be helped by Upper Cervical. Just click on the
conditions you are interested in to find out how Upper Cervical can
help.
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| If your condition is not listed here please call our office at 916-965-7155 to see if your condition can be helped. | |||
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Neck pain can occur after
an auto accident, slip or fall, and an incorrect sitting posture.
However, sometimes neck pain just develops over time without any
apparent cause. When we get in an accident that causes trauma to our
neck we call this a sprained (ligaments) or strained (muscles) neck.
The muscles and ligaments have been traumatized resulting in swelling,
inflammation or edema of the soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, and
connective tissue) that comprise the neck. If injury has resulted in
damage to the soft tissue then anti-inflammatory and pain relief drugs
combined with rest should result in a complete recovery. However,
many people who suffer neck injuries end up with chronic neck pain
which can eventually move into the arms and hands causing disability.
Sometime chronic headaches can results as well. The medical doctors
will look for other damaged structures such as disc herniations,
compression fractures etc. However, if further testing comes up
negative than their advice is usually continue taking drugs and try
physical therapy or pain management. The person might wonder why am I
continuing to experience pain months and years after this injury? A
similar scenario occurs if the pain comes on for no apparent reason.
How Can Upper Cervical Help?
Often times when a person
is in an accident, experiences an injury, or has bad posture while
sitting they will misalign their upper neck vertebrae. When this
happens it can lead to neck pain because when the top vertebrae (atlas)
misaligns all the vertebrae below begin to compensate. These
compensations can put stress on the soft tissues in the neck making it
hard for them to heal. Movement of the joints in the neck becomes
abnormal which will cause the person to continue experiencing pain.
Sometimes a bulging disc will continue to pinch nerves in the neck
until these compensations go away.
Upper cervical re-aligns
the atlas vertebrae. This will cause the compensations in the neck to
disappear which will allow the joints, muscles, ligaments, and nerves
to heal in the neck. Once this occurs the chronic pain will go away.
Studies show that at least
80 percent of people will experience back pain at least once during
their lifetime. Many of these people will have chronic back pain.
Most people suffer from what is known as mechanical back pain.
Mechanical back pain is due to abnormal movement of the spinal
vertebrae. This is primarily due to misalignment of the spine.
Misalignment of the spine can predispose a person to further injury of
their back while bending and lifting. The chances of pinching a nerve
in your back which can cause pain is much greater when the spine is not
in proper alignment.
How Can Upper Cervical Help?
The secret to getting rid
of back pain is to correct the misalignments that are present in the
spine. Unfortunately, most chiropractors try to treat these
misalignments by adjusting the back. This will usually just result in
temporary relief at best especially if the back pain is chronic.
Physical therapists just work on the muscles and joints in the back too
with the same temporary results. The reason most treatments directed
to the back don’t work very well with chronic back pain is because most
mechanical back pain comes indirectly from the neck. When the upper
neck misaligns it forces the back to compensate. These compensations
that occur in the back cause the spine to misalign, muscles begin to
tighten, joints become inflamed, discs begin to bulge, and nerves
eventually can become pinched. If the upper neck is not aligned wear
and tear can occur in the back leading to degenerative joint disease,
herniated discs, and possibly spinal stenosis. By the time a person
has reached the stage of spinal stenosis it is usually too late to
relieve the back pain by re-aligning the neck. Surgical intervention is
usually necessary at this stage.
Upper Cervical will correct
the misalignment occurring in the upper neck. The back will no
longer need to compensate. Once the compensations occurring in the back
go away healing can begin and over time even the most chronic back
pain sufferers can experience lasting pain relief.
Migraine headaches are
thought to originate from the neck. Some researchers think that
irritation of the Trigeminal nerve combined with low serotonin levels
are responsible for migraine headaches. The low serotonin levels
would explain why migraine headaches are more common in women and seem
to start around menstruation where serotonin levels are lower. That
could be the reason that drugs such as antidepressants which increase
levels of serotonin in the body sometimes can help migraine sufferers.
Also, chronic stress can lower serotonin levels as well. Migraines
seem to be more frequent when a person is under increased levels of
stress.
How Can Upper Cervical Help?
When the atlas is out of
alignment it can cause irritation of the Trigeminal nerve which is a
cranial nerve that is located in the brainstem and spinal cord at the
level of the atlas vertebrae. This could irritate this nerve enough to
cause a migraine headache if serotonin levels are low. An atlas
misalignment could also be responsible for lowered serotonin levels as
well. When the atlas vertebrae has been out of alignment for a long
time it causes the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system to
discharge continuously even without any stressful situation. It’s like
a person is in “fight or flight” constantly. Normally, a stressful
situation will cause an increase in the sympathetic nervous system in
order to change the body’s physiology in such a way as to better deal
with the stressful
event. When the stressful
event is over, the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous
system takes over thus bringing are physiology back to a balance
state. However, when the brainstem is being irritated, it blocks the
parasympathetic nervous system causing the sympathetic nervous system
to spiral out of control. Over time this has the same effect as chronic
stress. It depletes serotonin levels. If you have stress and the
atlas misalignment occurring simultaneously and for long periods of
time, serotonin levels will decline even more dramatically increasing
the chance to have migraine headaches.
Upper Cervical will
re-align the atlas vertebrae which will stop the irritation of the
Trigeminal nerve and give the body a chance to restore normal serotonin
levels. Once the Trigeminal nerve is fully healed and normal
serotonin levels are restored, the migraine headaches should slowly
diminish over time. In my experience 80 percent of the patients that I
have seen with migraine headaches do not have them anymore after I
corrected the atlas misalignment.
Although the sequence of
events that causes fibromyalgia remains unknown, advances and
discoveries may help to unravel the mysteries of this disease.
Research shows biochemical, metabolic, and immunregulatory
abnormalities associated with fibromyalgia.
Although the cause of
fibromyalgia is not completely understood, the currently known
abnormalities substantiate the proposal that fibromyalgia can no longer
be considered a subjective pain condition. The biochemical changes
seen in the CNS, the low levels of serotonin, the 4-fold increase in
nerve growth factor, and the elevated levels of substance P all lead to
a whole-body hypersensitivity to pain, and suggest that fibromyalgia
may be a condition of abnormal central processing of nociceptive pain
input or central sensitization.
How Can Upper Cervical Help?
When the atlas vertebrae is not in alignment with the skull, the hole in the top of the spine does not match up anymore with the hole in the bottom of the skull. The brainstem which is located in this area will be compressed or tractioned. When this occurs it can definitely have an effect on the central nervous system. One of things that patients report to me after their first adjustment to the atlas vertebrae is a feeling of sleepiness. Often times this will lead to their first truly restful full nights sleep in years. Could this mean that they are getting a serotonin boost after the adjustment? Currently, no research has been done to measure serotonin levels before and after an atlas adjustment. However, if serotonin is increased this could be the reason why Upper Cervical has been able to help many people with fibromyalgia.
The 5th cranial nerve is
called the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve is the sensory
nerve to the face and head. In other words, it allows us to feel our
face and head. When this nerve is irritated it can lead to some of
the worst pain imaginable. James Tomasi has written a book of his
experience with trigeminal neuralgia. He describes the pain as like
taking a needle and jabbing it into an exposed root canal over and over
again. That kind of constant pain is probably why this disease is
often referred to as “the suicide disease”.
 Many times a blood vessel or artery is putting pressure on this nerve causing irritation. Surgical procedures are available to remove this pressure. Often times this will take away the pain, however, sometimes the pain doesn’t go away or returns. When this occurs the trigeminal nerve itself will be cut or damaged on purpose by the surgeon to eliminate or reduce the pain. These surgical procedures are risky and can cause permanent loss of facial sensation.
How Can Upper Cervical Help?
In some cases of Trigeminal
Neuralgia Upper Cervical has been able to reduce or eliminate the pain
entirely. James Tomasi in his book “What Time Tuesday” describes how
Upper Cervical literally saved his life. He suffered from Trigeminal
Neuralgia for years until he finally found relief through Upper
Cervical. Atlas misalignment causes brainstem pressure. Since the
trigeminal nerve is located in the brainstem it could be possible that
in some cases this nerve is being irritated in the area of the upper
neck by an atlas misalignment. This would surely explain the positive
results that Upper Cervical has had with this condition. It would
surely be a wise decision for anyone with Trigeminal Neuralgia to give
Upper Cervical a try first before going under very risky surgical
procedures that can leave them with permanent facial numbness.
There are two main types of
arthritis. The first is degenerative which usually occurs in everyone
as they get older. Genetic predisposition and previous traumas to the
spine can make the problem worse in some people. However, the main
cause of degenerative arthritis of the spine or any other joint is
abnormal amounts of stress over a long period of time. Inflammatory
arthritis is usually due to the immune system attacking the joints of
the spine. This type of arthritis is considered an autoimmune
disease. The most common type of inflammatory arthritis is Rheumatoid
Arthritis. This type of arthritis can in its later stages cause joint
destruction resulting in horrible pain and disability.
How Can Upper Cervical Help?
When the spine is not in
proper alignment it will cause abnormal movement of the vertebrae which
leads to increased stress on the joints. When the joints of the
spine are stressed in an abnormal way for a long time arthritic changes
are more likely. Therefore, aligning the spine can halt the
progression of arthritis or prevent it entirely.
 If a person already has degenerative arthritis of the spine they can still be helped by Upper Cervical. Usually the arthritis in the spinal joints will only be painful when the spine is not in alignment. When Upper Cervical puts the spine back into proper alignment the pain often disappears. The reason for this is when the spine is properly aligned the spurs associated with the arthritis will not irritate the nerves as much because alignment opens up the space between the vertebrae where the nerves exit the spine.
Inflammatory arthritis can
sometimes be help too. When the atlas is not in alignment it can
cause nerve interference. Since the nerves control and coordinate the
immune system interference to nerve flow might cause problems with the
immune system leading to autoimmune disorders such as Rheumatoid
Arthritis. Also, good spinal alignment means less stress on the
joints that are affected with arthritis which can help with pain relief.
Pain/Numbness/Tingling Hands, Arms, Legs, Feet
What Causes Numbness/Tingling/Pain of the Hands, Arms, Legs, and Feet?
Anytime a nerve gets
pinched it can cause pain, numbness, and tingling anywhere along the
path of the nerve. If the nerve runs down the leg then this is where a
person may feel these sensations. Nerves are coated with a fatty
substance called myelin. Myelin allows nerves to conduct impulses
properly. When a nerve is pinched the myelin begins to thin causing
interference of nerve impulses which leads to pain, numbness, and
tingling along the length of the nerve. The number one thing that
causes pinched nerves is spinal misalignment. However, there are
certain diseases that can cause loss of the myelin that coats the
nerves. Most of these diseases are the result of the immune system
attacking the nervous system. Sometimes disease such as diabetes can
cause decrease blood supply to nerves which will cause them to lose
their myelin sheath.
How Can Upper Cervical Help?
Upper Cervical re-aligns
the entire spine which will eliminate pinched nerves due to
misalignment of the spinal vertebrae. This will allow the nerves to
begin to heal. It sometime takes a little time but eventually the
myelin sheath will repair itself. Once this happens the pain,
numbness, and tingling sensations that you are feeling should
disappear. If your problem is the immune system attacking the nerves
it may take more healing time for the immune system to become
balanced. Although results are not as consistent with autoimmune type
disorders that breakdown the nerve’s myelin sheath many people have
experienced some relief of their symptoms.
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Friday 20 December 2013
ADD/ADHD, Autism, and Aspergers
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