Rockford Chiropractor: How to Adjust NUCCA Style

One of the most common questions in my office is, "How does this work? I cannot feel the adjustment?" Vocab for today - complex lever mechanism, adjusting vector, Laws of physics, atlas, Long Head of the Triceps muscle. And does the doctor have a back ache by the end of the day? Yes, but not from bending over, it's from the pulling of the shoulder muscles. No problem! Lots of people hold their adjustment (that's the goal) and the doctor has learned how to exercise and rehab the shoulders well.

Foot Problems in Rockford

I had an elderly patient mention as an aside that her feet hurt all the time. Now, I like to know things, especially about my patients. She had never told me that before, so I was surprised! I suggested that we take a close look at them.

I found that there were a number of bones out of position in her feet. Her mother had experienced painful feet, as had her grandmother, so it seemed to be hereditary. But we decided to give the feet four weeks of special attention. Since everything else had cleared up, it seemed appropriate.

Sure enough, by the end of the second week, things were beginning to feel better, and by the fourth week, feet were stable and there was no more problem. So for three generations, there were sore feet waiting for the right person to come along and recognize the problem.

Interestingly enough, that's one foot case that didn't respond directly to the spinal correction. Sometimes, when we correct the balance of the spine, the foot bones move right back into position. When they do not, chiropractic has the right tools for finishing the work.

So, next time you see someone with foot pain, ask, "What's the status of your atlas?"

Shoulder Problems in Rockford

Some health care practitioners specialize in particular body parts, like feet, knees, shoulders. I like to look at how the painful body part fits into the whole body. When you look at the whole body as a complete unit, you can see how dependent one part is on another to feel good.

Look at this artist's rendering of some of the 'ropes' and 'pulleys' that support and move the shoulder.

Can you see how dependent the shoulder is on the neck and the ribs? What would happen to the shoulder if the system that supports it is out of alignment? Do you think the shoulder would suffer abnormal tensions and starts hurting?

One remedy for shoulder pain is simply bringing balance back to the head/neck/back. One of the most efficient ways to do this is through correcting what is called the atlas subluxation complex. That means the relation between the head, the atlas, and the neck below has gone off, so it's called a subluxation complex. When we correct that, the entire body will balance better. Can you see that once the body is balanced, the shoulders will move back into position?

One patient had a car accident that, among other things, shoved the entire shoulder down the back, so that it was about two inches below the other. When we corrected the atlas subluxation complex, the shoulder moved itself right back into position, even with the other.

Next time you see someone with shoulder pain, ask them the question, "What's the status of your atlas?"

Vocal Problems in Rockford

Aside from the usual speech impediments brought on by a 6 A.M. alarm clock, or the trouble one feels when the child asks, "Where do babies come from?", there are some causes of voice problems that are simply structural.

Look at this picture of some of the muscles that suspend the vocal apparatus! Can you see that some of these muscles begin up in the head, and some of them attach to the ribs below? What would happen if the bones in the head are not balanced and in position? What would happen if the ribs have been pushed out of alignment? Do you think it could affect the voice?

It sure can, and I have an interesting story to tell about how this happened to one person and how we got it fixed.

For the past ten years, her voice was getting worse. All the medical treatments were exhausted, including vocal therapy. But from the perspective of the upper cervical chiropractic world, we had a serious problem affecting not only the neck, but the entire body musculature.

We call it the atlas subluxation complex, and it involves the head and neck being off line - in short, the head isn't on straight. It is measurable and in most cases, correctible.

Which is what we did. The muscles relaxed, everything went back into position, and now the voice is returning.

Next time something is found to be wrong, ask the question, "What's the status of the atlas?" It might shed some light on the problem!

Back Pain in Rockford

When people come to me for help, I accept only those patients who I know I can help. The main set of criteria that tells me I can help include the presence of the atlas subluxation complex. So what's that?
The atlas subluxation complex is a big problem that happens when someone has their head knocked crooked. Essentially, it's the "head not on straight" problem. Some people are even told by the medical doctor that, "it's all in your head."
And, well, it is, because the head isn't on straight and that squeezes the brain and plugs up the blood flow and reduces the ability of the body to heal.
So does that fix back pain? It depends...
Look at this article I found from 1960. These researchers were trying to reduce the incidence of Hepatitis occurring in patients receiving blood transfusions. The obvious problem is that sick people were giving blood.
One of the most useful statements in this paper states, "lesions in the liver have been found to manifest electro-dermal points on the dermatomes coresponding to the spinal segments D3-D12, especially D7-D9."
That means the upper back is going to get pain and measurable changes in blood flow to the skin, causing "dead zones" of skin that show abnormal electrical flow. And that is all caused by a disease such as Hepatitis.
That means that correcting the atlas subluxation complex will lift the body's ability to heal, balancing the spine and eliminating muscle spasms, but it won't make the Hepatitis go away and it won't make the Hepatitis-caused back problems go away either. But what do you think the first step would be in bringing the healing process into play? Do you want the whole system to heal, or do you want just the Hepatitis to vanish? Do you want just good enough, or do you want to reach the top?
If the first step is correcting the atlas subluxation complex, what is the second step and third step? Well, if there is Hepatitis involved, that's not too hard, if the brain is back in control of the body's healing system. But that's for another day...
Oh, and by the way, they figured it out and screened out people who had bad thermal scans in the region of the spine running the liver, and were able to drastically cut the incidence of post-infusion hepatitis. (Naito, Morisue, 1960)

Hope for Illness in Rockford Illinois

The Big Question is..."What are we doing and why do diseases such as fibromyalgia, optic neuritis, congestive heart failure and pain respond to this type of care?" Ponder the info and discuss the events producing improved health. One thing to keep in mind is that the answer is rooted in High School Biology.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Expensive instrumentation is the hallmark of Academia, but we love it. How else can you show objective data that confirms improved brain function? The first case described here of attention deficit disorder has a couple of interesting points; the initial injury was probably a birth injury caused by forceps or harsh twisting of the neck, although any childhood injury could have done it; the RAND 36 study showed a gradual improvement to 100% in all eight health categories measured. That is beyond the national average! The NUCCA world is the only branch of chiropractic that has been using this Medicare-developed measurement tool.

Moral of the story; birth injury is real and attention deficit disorders can vanish without drugs. Have your children checked by a Rockford Chiropractor as soon as possible to make sure there is no injury festering there.

The second study is of a young lady with bipolar disorder. She gets better. (I wish Dr. Dickholtz hadn't squeezed all of this into one video, it gets overwhelming). Moral of the story; it's so exciting to do this work that you lose a sense of proportion as the immensity of the need by society becomes apparent.