Natural Health Care.

At Yellow Wood Chiropractic our aim is to restore your potential and get you back to those days of pain free living. By the time most patients arrive on our doorstep, they’ve already tried everything else. Upper cervical specific chiropractic is gentle, scientifically proven and effective. When the bones at the top of the neck are misaligned, they can have devastating full body effects. By correcting the head/neck malposition and subsequently removing nerve interference the body is able to improve overall function. Upper cervical chiropractic is a natural, pain free approach to renewing health and restoring vitality.

Upper cervical adjusting is a little-known chiropractic procedure that gently repositions the top vertebrae of the spine. Although upper cervical focuses on repositioning the bones of the upper neck, full body benefits are achieved. By correcting the tilt, shift or translation of these small, but significant vertebrae, the body is able to overcome many different conditions and quite often the lower areas of the spine will align all by themselves with very little help from us.

Because of its unique anatomy and the significance of the neurology that navigates through the atlas opening, subtle upper cervical misalignments can have two devastating consequences.

#1 BODY IMBALANCE CREATES DIS-EASE 

As demonstrated by this logical diagram, body imbalance is a sequence of events. When the top two bones of the neck are shifted out of their proper position, due to trauma or stress, the head is moved off the center of the body. The body adapts and compensates for this less than ideal position, trying to center the head vertically. To accomplish this, the spine twists leading to a distorted, locked posture which includes an elevated shoulder, a torqued pelvis and a leg that appears “shorter” than the other. Muscles are pulled tighter on one side than the other. Not surprisingly, this muscular imbalance and structural stress often creates pain in the body.

Although our body is adapting the best it can to the stress of this altered head position, body imbalance accelerates the degenerative process.

When a car is out of balance, the tires wear unevenly. The body functions in a similar manner. A body out of alignment leads to an imbalanced posture, resulting in abnormal movements and leading to progressive wear and tear. By realigning the upper cervical spine, the head is essentially “put back on straight”, allowing the body to return to a state of balance.

#2 COMPROMISED BRAIN-TO-BODY CONNECTION CREATES DYSFUNCTION

The atlas is a single, two ounce, circular-shaped vertebra at the top of the spine. Trillions of nerve fibers travel through this small circular opening connecting our brain to our spinal cord by way of the brainstem. In fact, the atlas is situated at the level of the brainstem. Since the opening of the atlas is undersized, an altered position of atlas can have a significant impact. Therefore, the second result of the upper cervical spine being misaligned is neurologic compromise.

If the atlas is misaligned, even to a fraction of a degree, it can irritate the nerve fibers that pass through it. The nerves in our spinal column are very sensitive to pressure and stress. When the spine becomes misaligned sufficiently it stresses the nerves, compromises their normal impulses, and changes function throughout the body. Since the brainstem is the control center for the body, any interference to its controlling and regulating signals can cause dysfunction at the receiving end. This creates neurological restrictions and it distorts critical messages from the brain to all parts of the body. Every cell, organ or tissue that is not receiving adequate nerve communication from the brain will suffer and degenerate. Putting pressure on the nerves that pass through atlas is like putting your foot on a hose causing it to kink. Just as the fluid is diminished that passes through the hose, so too are the communication signals to the body. Irritation and pressure of these nerves is frequently implicated in a host of concerns, including migraine headaches, neck pain and other chronic conditions. By restoring the upper cervical spine to its suitable position, the pressure is released from the nerve fibers, the kink is removed and the brain-to-body communication is re-established allowing the return of optimal function.