What is the Upper Cervical Spine?
The upper cervical spine consists of the first two bones of the neck that are directly below the skull. Because the brainstem and the rest of the Central Nervous System are so vital to our existence, they’re protected by bone. The brainstem itself actually is largely protected by the upper cervical spine. There are no other bones throughout the entire spine like these 2 and because of the uniqueness of their anatomy, they allow for a great range of motion in our neck but are also subject to damage of the ligaments and muscles that keep them in place. Car accidents, sports, falls, and other injuries can have a significant impact in this region.
It’s more that just a couple of bones.
These top to vertebra and their surrounding ligaments and muscles send information to specific regions of the brainstem that have an effect on bodily functions ranging from heart rate and blood pressure, to hormone secretion, posture muscle tone, and more. Temperature regulation is a great example; when you get too hot you should begin to sweat, and when you get too cold, you might start to shiver.
When the nervous system is out of balance (stuck in a “fight or flight” state), its only a matter of time before symptoms ensue. As an example, one of the last things your body wants to do while your in that sympathetic “fight or flight” state is to digest food and this typically leads to things like indigestion, heartburn, and other gastrointestinal issues.
Where is the disconnect?
The upper cervical spine, when the biomechanics are not moving well, directly impacts your body’s ability to switch from this state of Fight or Flight into a Parasymptathetic “Rest and Digest” mode.
Usually there is some sort of fall, bump of the head, or car crash that damages the muscles and ligaments in the upper cervical spine (in addition to other areas) that causes this movement dysfunction.
How we fix it:
Because we know that the brainstem and central nervous system control so many functions throughout the body, we know how we can test its normal function. We use computerized digital infrared thermography to check for autonomic nervous system balance. This technology gives us reproducible testing results in a non-invasive way, allowing us to continuously monitor patients throughout their entire care plan at each and every visit. We then take 3 dimensional biomechanical x-rays to see exactly the problem in the neck so we can make The Specific correction exactly tailored for you. This makes our approach much different from other forms of Chiropractic because the goal of care is to make sure your adjustment holds as long as possible and you don’t get an adjustment at every visit. We aim to correct the the problem so you don’t have to keep coming back.
