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

Whats a Headache?

Headaches. If you’ve ever experienced one, you’ll know its a headache. Its painful, its irritating, it may throb, it may be unrelenting, & its certainly disrupting. However, not all headaches are created equally. There are a handful of subtypes such as (HA = short for headaches; not all re listed, but here are a few common ones)…

1. Cluster HA - extremely painful, described as knife stabbing behind eye. Can be due to allergies

2. Migraine HA- can be with or without aura prior to onset. Commonly with light and/or sound sensitivity. Can be associated with nausea and vomiting. Hormonal changes for women can lead to migraines before menstruation.

3. Tension HA - typically stemming from the neck musculature. Patients often describe this feeling as pressure from wearing a tiny hat.

4. Caffeine like, rebound HA - too much caffeine can lead to migraine like HAs. Withdrawal can also lead to a headache

5. Exertional HA - physically induced exertional headache. Feels more like pounding sensation into the head.

6. Sinus HA - infections or allergies can cause irritation to the sinus, thus building up pressure within.

Rhyme and reason

Different causes will create different effects. Caffeine like headache are caused by caffeine. Sinus headaches are caused by allergens or infection. Migraines can be a hormonal issue. Or it can also be a biomechanics issue of the upper neck. According to migraine headache study, 82% of all migraine sufferers had mild traumatic brain injury. There are no head injury without neck injury and vice versa. The upper neck has a very vital role in balancing the heavy bowling ball size head. When there is a trauma that disrupts that balance, the body will then struggle to hold the head upright. This leads to strain of the neck muscles causing tension in the neck, shoulders, even down to the mid back, and even up into the head creating tension headaches for some; migraines for others.

Solution

For many, self medication with an over the counter pain killer can do the trick in alleviating headaches. Other at home remedies include heat packs, massage chairs/hand device, muscle relief gel creams, etc. However, for many sufferers, headaches recur often times in a very predictable schedule and in very unrelenting ways that at home remedies fail to work. The next course of action for many are massage therapy and physiotherapy. Both can work wonders. There are also those who turn to chiropractic care. Upper cervical techniques in particular look at the specific dynamic between the head and neck. The very first bone that cradles the head is called the Atlas, aka C1 vertebra. Did you know, 77 TRILLION nerves flow through from that very first bone? Often times, a precise calculation of the atlas misalignment is just what’s needed to allow the proper nerve and blood flow for painfree and optimal health.

Are you suffering from headaches? Want to see if NUCCA can help?

My Bite AND My Spine?

After years of working closely with a handful of dentists and TMJ specialists from the United States and Sydney, Australia; there’s one absolute trend that I see all too often. It is how the bite influence posture. This can then manifest problems such as headaches (including that of debilitating migraines), neck pain, hip pain, joint discomforts and even nerve pain. When a bite is “off”; it can stem from the temporal mandibular joint or it can be from the teeth. Whenever we bite down, there should be an even pressure throughout. If not, it is like having a pebble in your shoe making neutral walking practically impossible. Just as a pebble can shift the entire spine and posture; so can an abnormal bite. **see picture below. The lab rat on the right has a normal bite. As the bite shifts, so does the spine (picture left).

One of the biggest components to consider, however, is how the craniocervical junction plays into the bite. Which comes first? The upper neck misalignment that causes the cranial nerve (specifically CN 5 - trigeminal nerve that controls the muscles of mastication) or the TMJ displacement (or bite) that influence a misfire of the nerves that results in a distorted spine? It can actually be 50/50. Until we get one fixed, we will not be able to know its influence on the other. However, because the TMJ’s delicacy and changes to the bite is often permanent; the upper neck misalignment should be addressed first.

If you’re unsure if your health problems are an influence of the upper neck, contact us for a no obligation consultation.

These are no ordinary lab rats. What you can profoundly see is their shift in spinal posture as the bite is manipulated. How does this translate to our spine if we have dental malocclusion?

Part 2: How to "Hold" the C1 Correction

In part 1; we talked about what holding the correction means. For reference (Part 1). In this post; we’re going to go into the Do’s and Don’t in order to hold the C1 correction.

Do’s and Don’ts

Whether you just had your upper cervical correction or are doing your research to see if this procedure should be in your health repertoire; Congrats on taking charge of your health. A big part of that is knowing how to protect the alignment so the nerves can have that continuous healing. As every body may react differently, take into consideration that the listed items below are a general possibilities.

1.     You may get a little sore because we have changed the position of one or more bones and your muscles may need to do some adjusting of their own

2.    The correction may also change your posture.  Some muscles that have not been utilized for a while may get a little sore just from being exercised

3.    You may also have instant relief. That is a great, however, the bone in your neck that was moved back into alignment will eventually fall out of alignment and can cause you to experience some discomfort.  

4.    Lastly, there is the chance that you will not notice any significant differences in how you feel after just one correction.  This is common if your condition has been present for a while. It just means that it will take a little bit of time for your body to adjust to being properly aligned.  Please do not get discouraged if you do not feel better immediately.  It probably took several years for your health to get in shape it was in when you had your first spinal correction.

 Do’s

·     DO sleep on your back

·     DO get plenty of rest – your body does most of its healing while you are asleep so resting properly is very important right now

·     DO drink plenty of water – As your body heals it will need to do a little detox and some house cleaning.  Your body will need the exra water to help it flush out the bad stuff from your body

·     DO show up for our scheduled appointment.  We will design a treatment plan specifically for you to get better as quickly as possible.  It is important that you follow this plan in order to achieve the best results in the shortest amount of time

DON’Ts

·     Don’t sleep on your stomach – Try to sleep on your back, that’s ideal. If not, sleep on your side

·     Don’t sleep on a stack of pillows – it is best to sleep on a cervical pillow that gives you some support under your neck

·     Don’t lift anything over your head (for the first several days)– This puts undue stress on your neck

·     Don’t do any exercise that places stress on your neck or back – this can cause you to lose your Upper Cervical correction

---

Do you have questions about the C1 alignment process and how it can benefit your life? Schedule your no obligation consultation now.

Do I have a short leg?

"Leg length discrepancy”; that’s a fancy term for having one shorter leg compared to the other.  Often times, prospective patients come and cite they have been told by a doctor or physiotherapist that there is a short leg which results in their hip pain, back pain, and/or poor posture.  With concern in their eyes, the followup question being:  Is that treatable? YES! It absolutely is! (read on)

When someone presents with a short leg, its usually not because of an actual short leg, but from the nervous system. All muscles and organs are controlled by nerve signals. In a misaligned spine, nerves that over react lead to spastic (tight) muscles throughout parts of the body; pulling said side of the body up to give the illusion of a short leg. This commonly also lead to back and hip pain.  So the solution to a leg length inequality is to clear the nerve miscommunication from the source in order for the proper transmission to corresponding muscles.

BUT…

Where is this misalignment coming from?  What is the source?  Believe it or not, the source is not the low back or pelvis.  The nerve control comes from the brainstem which is in a very delicate area of the upper neck involving the Atlas (Cervical bone #1 aka C1 for short). The atlas cradles the head and support the weight of the head on its condyles. When our first vertebra is misaligned, the weight of the head is no longer evenly distributed over the neck and the rest of the body. The many postural muscles that are constantly contracting and relaxing in response to normal body movements to prevent us from falling over and keeping us in an upright posture now have to respond to this imbalance by contracting different postural muscles in an attempt to maintain an upright posture. It is the reflexive contractions of the postural muscles that result in the contracted/ shortened leg.

A leg length difference can be an indication of imbalance tone in your body’s musculature and therefore is one of our objective measures to determine whether or not you are in need of an adjustment. After an adjustment we will often check leg-length again and find that legs to be of balanced length.

Want to see and visualise if you may be out of alignment? Stand in front of a mirror. Close your eyes and shake the body up as a reset. Don’t move a muscle. Open your eyes…what do you see? Is your head tilting to one side? Is one shoulder higher? Is your torso rotated? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a high likelihood you may be out of alignment. If you’re still unsure. Contact A Balanced Atlas for a free consultation. & for more information check out: www.mymisalignment.com/abalancedatlas/