What is neck curve?

The ideal neck curve is 33 degrees. Simply put; the neck curve should be shaped like a C or a banana. The neck curve is also known as cervical lordosis. The apex of the curve is forward facing; meaning it should be towards your nose when looking from a side profile. (see picture below - top left)

What’s so important about it though? Why do so many people who are suffering from pain happens to also have a compromised neck curve?

1. Spinal Support: The neck curve helps balance the weight of the head and provides support to the cervical spine. It helps distribute the forces and pressures experienced by the neck during various activities, reducing the risk of strain or injury.

2. Shock Absorption: The natural curve of the neck acts as a shock absorber, cushioning the impact of everyday movements and activities such as walking, running, and jumping. This helps protect the delicate structures of the cervical spine, including the vertebrae, discs, nerves, and muscles.

3. Range of Motion: The neck curve allows for a greater range of motion, enabling us to turn, tilt, and flex our heads comfortably. It facilitates smooth movement and flexibility, which are essential for daily activities like driving, looking around, and maintaining eye contact.

4. Nerve Function: The cervical curve helps maintain proper alignment of the spinal nerves, which exit the spinal cord through small openings in the vertebrae called intervertebral foramina. A healthy neck curve helps ensure optimal nerve function, promoting efficient communication between the brain and the rest of the body.

5. Postural Alignment: The neck curve contributes to overall postural alignment. When the neck curve is properly maintained, it helps align the head, neck, and spine in a neutral position, minimizing stress on the surrounding structures and reducing the risk of chronic pain, headaches, and other postural issues.

Trauma can potentially be the biggest affect to the natural curve of the neck. Injuries like whiplash or direct impact can cause misalignment; resulting in a loss of the normal curve. The five things listed above can potentially be all affected; not only in the neck but in the rest of the spine as well. See picture below; only one xray represents a normal neck curve - left upper corner. The rest of the neck xrays exhibit a compromised spine subject to varying ailing symptoms. With activities of daily living compounding onto a misaligned spine; pain and neurological symptoms can arise.

Have you been living with symptoms? Do you want to see if you are a candidate to benefit from NUCCA? Contact us for your consultation.

For more information check out: My Misalignment

NUCCA helps Passionate Golfer

Dr. Cecilia Yu was featured in an Upper Cervical Blog in helping an avid golfer’s 16 years of back pain. You can find the piece @ golfer's healing journey.

Are you suffering in your game? Are you ready to play at your best level? Let’s see if NUCCA can be the addition you’ve been looking for.

Covering the symptom? or getting to the cause?

With a cut; the first things I would do is to clean the area, put antiseptic on, and then bandage. Its an order of things that we follow. Just like putting socks first before the shoes. Those examples are no brainers. But what if there’s an object lodged within the cut. I would then have to remove the source to prevent an infection.

Now, let’s get more complicated than that. What happens when we have a headache, neck pain, or back ache? If there are no obvious causes, then we do we usually do? Exercise? Massage? And/Or take pain killers? Abuse of opioids has been a hot topic in the recent decade and for good reason. Its an epidemic that has destroyed many lives. Please don’t get me wrong. I believe there’s a time and place for everything. A firefighter would be the first to call if there’s a fire and a plumber would be the one to fix a broken water pipe. Don’t send a plumber in to do a firefighter’s job. When there is a misalignment of the upper neck, the body bio-mechanically compensates by distorting the spine. This can lead to pain and symptoms. Would repeated dosage of pain killers fix the underlying cause? or is it treating merely the symptoms? Until the bio-mechanical distortion is addressed, the symptoms naturally will continue.

Dr. Yu's story of how she found passion in NUCCA

When someone first meets me; whether it is genuine interest or to simply make small talks…a question that usually float about is WHY? Why Chiropractic? Why NUCCA (of all things)?

As the saying goes…it found me. Here’s a story of a patient who has had a profound impact on my respect for NUCCA and the human body.

~~ Not too long ago, a child misbehaving badly, unable to play well with others, uncontrollable by normal standards were labeled as a child with poor upbringing, bad parenting, or even a future blemish to society. Now a days, those same characteristics lead to a diagnosis of autism. Autistic spectrum is wide that emcompass those with qualities of social, communication, and behavorial challenges. The cause is still unknown to the medical society. This article is not to debate the cause, but to highlight the miraculous change in little Michael's autistic life.

Michael, as he likes to be called Mikey, was diagnosed at the age of 5. His family's daily agenda transitioned to that very similar and common in any autistic household: the parents doing anything and everything in their power to find a cure for their child while maintaining a normal life. It included special education, artistic therapies, speech therapies, animal therapies, etc.

When mikey was 7, his mom found NUCCA care through another parent experiencing positive changes for their autistic child. After a two and a half hour one way car ride, they have finally found someone with the power and knowledge to help mikey. Mikey presented as a 7 year old trapped in a 5 year old's body. He was only able to express himself with screams and uncontrolled body language. His short attention span was easily captivated by mirrors, mom's familiar arms, and trucks passing by on the main road.

After a detailed examination and necessary xrays to mathematically calculate his atlas misalignment, little mikey was treated with NUCCA procedure. NUCCA is a gentle chiropractic approach without cracking, popping, or twisting to balance the spine. When the atlas is misaligned, the communication between the brain and the spinal cord are not able to communicate properly; causing neurological issues. After a week after mikey's first treatment, he started using words. Another week passed by and those word usage progressed to sentences. It may seem like a miracle story of a child learning to speak in 2 weeks. However, all these knowledge was within him and had been suppressed because of his atlas misalignment. There is no telling of what great things the body can do and heal when the brain can communicate well with the rest of the body. NUCCA is not just for autistic patients, but it is for anyone looking for vitality and pure health that is manifested from within.

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Dr. Yu was interviewed for NUCCA news (fall 2018). There, you’ll be able to read a little more on her personal journey.

http://www.nucca.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NUCCA_Fall18.pdf

Dr. Yu is a NUCCA chiropractor who is practicing again in Dallas after practicing in Sydney, Australia for 5 years. She graduated from University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a major in Biology and minor in Chemistry before becoming a Chiropractor. She then continued her education at Parker University in Dallas, TX. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree . She is a Reiki Master who does energy work on animals as well.

Biggest Stressor on the Human Body?

There probably has not been a need for you to think about the question: What is the biggest stressor on the body? But knowing the answer can be a HUGE “ah-HA!” moment for your health & wellness. In this day and age of fast paced society + technology, the typical answer to said question would be…Fast food/diet? Work? Financial stress? However, this answer rise above all the other correct answers. *drum roll* Its GRAVITY! You’re probably thinking…what on earth? How does Newton’s falling apple have any association with biggest stressor on the human body? Well, if you can imagine the downward pressure of gravity on an object, then you can imagine a force pulling your head straight down towards the earth. Think about you (representing gravity) and a soda can as the human body. If you’re trying to crush it with a vertical - straight down force…it is actually a bit more difficult than if there’s already a twist in the soda can. So if your atlas is misaligned, then it cannot support the weight of the head with its centre of gravity. The head “kinking” off at an angle would then create a twist in the spine much like that of a twisted soda can. This becomes a physical stress onto the body. Until the head is positioned again in its true centre of gravity, the stress on the body will remain.

Our spine compensates to the abnormal pressure resulting in a high shoulder and pelvis; maybe a twist to the hips also. This often then presents with symptoms of neck, back pain, headaches, knee pain, etc. We become the human version of Leaning Tower of Pisa.

What’s the remedy? Careful mathematical calculation of how the atlas is misaligned in relationship to the skull and also its relationship to the rest of the spine. It is only when we know where the problem is the only way to know how to fix it. To see if you may be out of alignment, contact your local NUCCA chiropractor.

Part 1: What's "holding" the correction?

If you’re reading this; you’ve probably been under some form of chiropractic care or maybe you’re super interested in why NUCCA is so different. As a chiropractor, I’ve heard patients say any of these combinations 

 1. “I know I NEVER hold the adjustment.”

2. “I can only hold the correction several days.”

3. “I pop right out the moment I get off the table.”

& this one is my favorite….

 4. “My atlas is holding, but I have problems with A, B, & C.  

The common denominator to these issues is that there is still an interference with the communication between the brain and the rest of the body.  Regardless of what the symptom may be.  Regardless of where said symptom is.  I question what’s going on with the Atlas.  Think of the alignment as a work in progress.  “We are just not quite there yet.”  and the solution is to keep working on the alignment until all checks indicate the brainstem is free of ANY and ALL interference…not in a week’s time or a month’s time…but NOW.

HOW? & WHAT do we look for?

Posture is not just about keeping your back straight, shoulders down, and holding the head upright. Its about Atlas alignment that allows for the nerves to fire properly that allows for proper posture to occur. Its not your consciousness of your posture, but the nerves working optimally, automatically the moment you’re upright.

1.  Leg length check:  when a patient is laying down on their back and the body is resting( the weight of the head + force of gravity is no longer resting on the spine); the leg length SHOULD be even.  Nerves should be calm (there’s no signal for the extensor muscles to contract) therefore the muscles of the back should also be completely relaxed, giving us the visual of even leg length.  HOWEVER, when there is a misalignment of the atlas, the nervous system simply cannot be calm leading to nerves firing off.  So extensor muscles will contract even though the brain is not telling it to fire…and a short leg will be apparent.  That’s an indicator of the spine not being in alignment.  Atlas is still off and there will be symptoms within the body.  

2. Anatometer:  The anatometer is a machine that looks at the posture of a patient.  We’re looking at hip level, hip rotation, and the body’s centre of gravity.  Every part should be on 0 (zero) degrees.  Think of the body in its simplest anatomical position.  If the body is cut in half legthwise…our shell (not speaking of organs) should be even:  Left Vs. Right.  Any deviation from 0 degrees indicate there’s something off with the ways nerves are firing, which signal to their corresponding muscles to react accordingly.  This simply means, the alignment is off.  

3. Pinch Nerves: This is more or less a generic term. Some patients already come into the office knowing they have pinch nerves. Whether it is someone else telling them or they feel a “bump” in their neck. Perhaps, they have done enough research and have tried many remedies for their nerve pain to know what they have is in fact a pinched nerve. Pinch nerves come directly from the misalignment of the spine. If the head is off kilter and the Atlas is not in its perfect relationship between the head and the spine, then there will be pinch nerves. & its not going to be just one or 2…but throughout the whole spine. Just because you do not have the numbness & tingling or pain running down does not mean the pinch nerves are not there. It takes an elongated time of nerve irritation for many people to seek help. Typically, by the time someone is done giving anti inflammatory, over the counter pain meds, exercises, at home therapies to the likes of professional therapies and remedies…months if not years have already passed.

Want to know HOW to hold the alignment? Read on Do’s and Don’ts