What is chiropractic care?

Chiropractic care is a healthcare profession that focuses on assessing, diagnosing, and treating musculoskeletal disorders & issues; particularly those affecting the spine.

Chiropractors generally use hands-on manipulation or adjustment in different areas along the spine to properly align the body’s musculoskeletal structure. This focuses particularly on the spine, to enable the body to heal itself without surgery or medications, which are generally a “band-aid” fix that does not fully address the issue. 

Chiropractic care is a “root cause” area of focus that corrects ailments at the source, rather than just treating the symptoms of those ailments. 

How does chiropractic care work? 

Misalignments of the spine (subluxations) can cause various health problems by affecting the nerves, muscles, and organs connected to the spine.  Chiropractic care is often sought for back pain, neck pain, headaches, and other musculoskeletal issues, although there is a far greater expanse of ailments that can be addressed. 

How does adjusting the neck help my low pain?

In our office we want to find the cause of dysfunction in the spine and body. As upper cervical chiropractors we focus on the top bone in our neck, atlas (C1). 

This bone is named atlas because it has the important job of holding up our skull and brain (just like the Greek Titan Atlas had to hold up the world).  

This bone is more vulnerable than the rest of the spine and is more prone to misalign during accidents/injuries/repetitive traumas and even during the birthing process. 

When the top bone in our neck misaligns it creates a head tilt. The eyes and brain don’t like this position, as a protective response the rest of the body compensates. 

One shoulder drops so our head and brain are more level, but in doing so get a twisting or exaggerated curve in our thoracic spine, and due to overactive muscles in the low back one hip raises. 

When you are lying flat we see a shorter leg on one side. We often see a full body compensation because that one bone misaligned. 

Rather than adjusting compensations we want to correct the cause. 

We realign atlas, restore posture, allowing the brain to communicate more effectively with the body increasing overall function. 

What can I expect on my first visit?

We’ll get fully acquainted with an office tour and then head into our complimentary 30 minute consult and exam. This is to ensure we’re a good fit and can effectively address the issues you’re having. 

We will then take x-rays to gather more specific insights and mathematically calculate the angle to adjust your upper cervical spine. 

Then we’ll adjust you using our handheld instrument, which takes only a minute.

You’ll then be sent to our resting room to lay down for 20 minutes while your new alignment sets in place.

For more information visit our What to Expect page.

What conditions can chiropractic care treat? 

Chiropractic care focuses on the spine, and adjacent muscles and nerves, making it highly focused on aiding the regulation of the nervous system. Going deep to this root cause is what allows us to address so many ailments and abnormalities, including but not limited to:

• Scoliosis

• Sciatica

• Headaches / migraines

• Vertigo / balance issues

• Trigeminal neuralgia

• shoulder weakness / pain

• TMJ (temporomandibular joint)

• Nervous system deregulation

• Anxiety

• Sleep

• Vagal nerve disruptions

• Immune system function

• Whiplash

• Low back pain

• Neck pain / stiffness

• Meniere disease (dizziness from inner ear crystals)

• Fibromialgia   

For babies & children:

• Colic / excessive crying

• Torticollis (inability to turn head)

• Difficulty latching (if stemming from nervous system dysregulation)

• Ear infections

• Reflux & digestive issues

• Sleeping difficulties

• Difficulty with developmental milestones (i.e crawling, walking)

• Sport injuries

For pregnant women:

• Low back pain / pelvic pain

• Sciatica

• Round ligament pain

• Pubic symphysis dysfunction

• Carpal tunnel

• Headaches / migraines

• Preparation for labor & delivery

• Preconception work

• Heartburn

• insomnia

Is chiropractic safe?

Generally speaking, there are always risks to any procedure done to the body. As we align the spine and posture improves we observe individuals having different sensations that come and go - which is a normal part of the healing process.  

With that said, we take a gentle and specific approach in our office. Our technique – orthospinology, utilizes specific x-rays to calculate the degree of misalignment and determine if it is safe to adjust. 

We then use  a handheld instrument that is calibrated to the individual to deliver a specific low-force adjustment without any popping and twisting of the head and neck. 

If there is a contraindication found during your consultation, we will ensure you are referred to the proper provider to get the best care specific to your needs!

What services are offered during an appointment? Do you only adjust the neck? 

Our office's main objective is to align the spine. To do this, we focus on the neck as we find this is where the root cause of many issues lies. 

During our protocols and assessments we may utilize PNF stretching, soft-tissue work, full-spine, and extremity adjusting as needed to facilitate and help further the results of an adjustment. 

We believe in strongly honing our specific craft and refer out to those who specialize in the rest. Such as:

• Cupping

• Dry needling

• Acupuncture

• Traction devices

• Physical therapy

• massage

We have a network of many local providers in the area that provide these specific treatments and services.