In general, there are two approaches to caring for the spine. The majority of practitioners focus on addressing local fixations to increase mobility and hope for improved structural stability. However, NUCCA and a few other upper cervical chiropractic techniques take a different approach by aiming to improve overall postural balance, which leads to sustained spinal stability and balanced mobility.
NUCCA care offers the benefit of maintaining long-term spinal balance, resulting in improved health and well-being. While all spinal practitioners agree on the importance of spinal care, there are varying approaches, from localized segmental care to upper cervical specific care, that can affect overall body balance and long-term spinal stability.
We firmly believe that all children should have access to proper body balance. With the NUCCA procedure, children can receive adjustments as long as we can take accurate imaging. The child’s nervous system is growing at a faster rate, and spinal misalignment can interfere with this development.
Children’s misalignments typically haven’t been present for long, making them generally less complex and more responsive to adjustments. This means they usually require fewer adjustments to achieve spinal stability.
With expertise and precision, NUCCA chiropractic adjustments are performed with biomechanical advantage to target specific misalignments. The adjustment leverages the first vertebra and the weight of the head to apply sufficient force to the neck, without causing discomfort to the patient. By positioning their body at a precise angle, the chiropractor generates a gentle and precise force that is transmitted to the patient, resulting in many patients not noticing any intervention at all.
Healing is unique to individuals and influenced by many contributing factors. Patients who take more personal responsibility during the process tend to experience better outcomes. The healing process is gradual and requires time. For these reasons, it’s difficult to provide an exact timeframe that fits each patient. However, on average, patients respond very well within about six to eight weeks if they maintain alignment.
For example, if you fracture your arm, a medical physician will immobilize it using a cast, and you will be advised to keep it that way for about six to eight weeks. This duration is typical for bone healing. However, in cases of spinal misalignment, the musculature and ligaments are weakened, and it is essential to allow sufficient time for these structures to heal in their aligned position. The longer the spine remains out of alignment, the higher the likelihood of potential damage and, therefore, the longer the required healing time.
You should only receive adjustments when there are objective findings indicating that you are subluxated, such as postural distortion or a shortened leg. The frequency of your adjustments should be directly proportional to your body’s ability to maintain proper alignment.
During your care in the office, you will receive recommendations to help you achieve and maintain alignment. Our objective is to minimize the number of times you are adjusted, but it is usually advisable to have quarterly to semi-annual assessments to ensure that any progress made is not lost.
NUCCA has demonstrated efficacy in reducing postural distortion, but the correlation between an individual’s symptoms and their postural distortion can only be determined by improving their posture and observing changes.
Following an adjustment, individuals may experience no significant change, an immediate improvement in symptoms, or new short-term symptoms associated with functioning in a new structural position.
Responses to the adjustment are highly individualized and may include muscle soreness, fatigue, gait changes, etc. To ensure patients are aware of potential responses, they are provided with a list of normal expectations. As significant postural rebalancing occurs with the upper cervical adjustment, individuals may experience stiffness and soreness for 2-4 days as their body adapts to the new position. It’s important to note that such discomfort is typically associated only with the first and/or second adjustment.
Correcting posture leads to rebalancing the entire body, reducing stress on all areas, including the lower back. The postural muscles play a vital role in maintaining an upright posture. When postural distortion occurs, it results in uneven weight distribution across all joint surfaces. This shift in weight causes compensatory muscle activity throughout the neck, back, arms, and legs, leading to pain in the area of greatest breakdown. Reducing postural distortion through the NUCCA procedure can relieve stress on all areas of the body, possibly leading to pain relief and proper healing.
In our view, prevention and optimization of spinal health are preferable to reactive care since symptoms may manifest only after years of functional alterations. To this end, our assessment includes objective measures that are independent of subjective symptoms. Regular periodic assessments are recommended, even for patients who do not exhibit symptoms, to allow for early detection and adjustment of misalignments. This approach helps prevent the body from becoming habituated to a misaligned state, and reduces the risk of spinal deterioration that can lead to a recurrence of pain.
It’s important for everyone to consider getting their body assessed to ensure effective functioning. Treatment will only be provided to those with a measurable need for care.
Although upper cervical chiropractors frequently see patients with significant discomfort, an assessment enables the practitioner to visualize and reduce misalignments long before symptoms arise. The optimal body balance achieved after the atlas correction reduces gravitational stress, freeing up energy for self-healing and maintenance.
The human body is innately capable of self-healing, and its potential for healing is boundless.
When spinal alignment is improved, not only does it reduce the body’s energy expenditure fighting against gravity, but it also enhances the body’s capacity to manage other issues. One significant benefit of improving spinal alignment is the correction of non-adapting reflexive contracture of skeletal musculature, which leads to improved posture and postural balance. This improved balance, in turn, facilitates better distribution of body weight, leading to providing stability for the spine. With less energy required to counteract gravity, individuals may experience an increase in overall body functioning and healing capacity, which in turn promotes greater self-maintenance.
If you’re wondering why it’s necessary to return for ongoing assessments despite feeling fine, the reason is to facilitate optimal healing, minimize the likelihood of recurrence, and optimize function.
While many individuals experience significant relief in discomfort after a few visits, our goal is not only to provide temporary relief but also to minimize and stabilize spinal stresses, eliminating the need for regular adjustments. Achieving this level of care requires significant effort on your part, and while we cannot always attain this status with every patient, it is this situation that yields optimal long-term benefits.
It is worth noting that symptoms are often the last to show up and the first to go away, similar to how cancer or heart attacks can occur. Therefore, being symptom-free does not necessarily mean that healing has completed or that you are in your optimal alignment. As soon as your body shows signs of stabilizing and holding alignment for an extended period of time, we will recommend lengthening the time between visits.