Upper Cervical Care

Gentle and Precise - The Way of the Future

Upper Cervical care is a specialized way to correct the spine, remove interference on the most sensitive nerves in the spinal column, and improve blood flow to and from the brain. The way it is done is by using a very gentle and precise correction that is guided by specialized imaging of the spine. Before going into detail about how this is done, it is far more important to understand the approach to care and why we look at the spine in such a unique way. It’s all about finding the root cause of your problem instead of just masking the symptoms.

Our Approach - Discovering Root Cause

The first step to seeing if you were a candidate for Upper Cervical care is to go through a discovery process. Reschedule consultation with Dr. Slininger to determine if your condition seems like it is coming from a problem within the nervous system, and potentially the spine. It is very common for people who have an upper neck misalignment to experience one or more symptoms such as:

• Posture imbalances 
• Pain in the neck
• Pain in or instability of the low back
• Headaches
• Migraines 
• Ringing in the ears 
• Balance issues 
• Brain fog 
• Jaw pain, clenching, or grinding with the teeth 
• Pressure or pounding in the head 

There are many more conditions that can be related, but these are the more common. These misalignment are often caused by past traumas like car, accidents, falls, concussions, but they can also be due to weakness is in the spine. If Dr. Slininger finds that the symptoms you are experiencing sound like a chiropractic problem, he will recommend doing a thorough exam to determine the extent of the problem.

Discovery

The focus of any exams or imaging is finding the root cause of the problem. Depending on your condition, Dr. Slininger will do a series of neurological tests to trace the symptoms to the root(s) of the issue. True resolution always comes from dealing with the health condition  at its root. Trying to treat the symptoms of the problem without root cause analysis is likely to lead to a recurrence of the problem. This is why our focus is to investigate until we understand why you have been experiencing your pain or problem.

All exams are customized to each individual to understand the extent of the problem.  If we determine the problem is coming from the spine, specialized imaging can be taken in our office to determine the extent of the problem.

Analysis

Once we collect the information, we can find out what we can and cannot do for your condition. We have had tremendous results with some of the most complex neurological problems, but each individual is unique. Based on what we find, we will put together a customized plan to help you recover. This includes correcting the spine through upper cervical care and harnessing some of the latest therapeutic technology to help heal and stabilize. The goal is to help your body heal and stabilize from the full extent of the problem. Naturally, when things heal, they do not hurt.

The Correction - How We Adjust the Spine

The adjustment itself is one of the most unique aspects of Upper Cervical care. We do not use the typical chiropractic twisting, cracking, and propping approach to adjusting the spine. Instead, we use a calculated, gentle approach to correcting the spinal alignment called Advanced Orthogonal. Simply put, it’s a specialization that focuses on the alignment of the upper neck joints called the craniocervical junction.

A very careful X-ray analysis is done of the Upper Cervical spine that gives a specific vectors necessary to correct the alignment accurately. Precision is the key to long-term improvements.

The correction itself is done with a cutting-edge instrument called the Advanced Orthogonal Percussive Adjusting Instrument.  It delivers a gentle percussive sound wave, like a "sonic hammer", to shift the alignment of the upper neck bones so gently that most patients do not feel it happen. By aligning the tool to the neck, using the specific vectors taken from x-ray, we are able to send a gentle impulse through the spine, restoring its proper position.

When the spine is aligned accurately, it allows for the nerves in the area to conduct signals properly, blood flow to and from the brain to flow freely, and the cerebral spinal fluid that protects the brain can flow and filter without obstruction. So, the more precisely we correct the spine, the more both the brain and body improve.

Lastly, we verify the results of our correction. After the first adjustment, we take post x-rays in order to analyze how well your upper neck responded to the adjustment. This allows us to modify if necessary based on the results. We also verified that there was a neurological change from the adjustment to ensure that your body has every element necessary to initiate the healing process that’s natural to your body.

Stabilization

Lastly, we always advise our patients on how to stabilize and thrive long-term. We don’t want to initiate temporary recovery only for the problem to come back. We want to help you restore vitality and stability so your body functions well without pain for many years to come. This is our ultimate goal and our ultimate passion - to see people heal and to see their families thrive.