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 chiropractic adjustments (using their hands or a specific handheld instrument) to areas of the spine to properly align the body’s musculoskeletal structure to allow the body to function at its best.

How does chiropractic care work? 

Misalignments of the spine (subluxations) can cause various health problems by affecting the adjacent nerves, muscles, and organs connected to the spine. If misalignments of the spine can affect health and function of the body, as a chiropractor our goal is to find spine misalignments and correct them so the surrounding nerves, muscles, and organs can function at their best. 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 may be improved.

How does adjusting the neck help my low pain?

Short answer : Body compensations and posture

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 as early as birth from 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 to “fix” the head tilt. 

One shoulder drops so our head and brain are more level, but in doing so we 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 the top bone in the neck to 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. 

The upper cervical spine is adjusted using our handheld instrument while you are lying on your side in a neutral position.

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)

• Fibromyalgia   

For babies & children:

• Colic / excessive crying

• Torticollis (inability to turn head) or tension in the rest of the body

• 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

• Sacral joint pain

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 can be a normal part of the healing process. Mild aches and tightness may result but be self limiting.

With that said, we take a gentle and specific approach in our office. It is important on knowing when and when not to adjust. 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 first as we find this is where the root cause of many issues and compensations.

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 to get the body to hold the atlas 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

• Nutrition

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