Chiropractors have always recognized that spinal alignment is important to our patient’s overall health. Of special note is the upper part of the spine and how it relates to the position of skull and the lower neck area. Dr Audia is an upper cervical chiropractor which means that he devotes his practice to ensuring that the skull, the top two vertebrae in the spine and the rest of the neck vertebrae are in a good alignment. Essentially, he is ensuring that his patient’s “heads are on straight.”
Unfortunately, because of accidents or injuries, poor posture over a prolonged period of time, excess physical or mental stress from workplace environments and a few other sources, patients often present to our office with a poor spinal alignment. Injuries causing soft tissue damage allow the skull to tilt, the top vertebrae gets pulled along with the skull and the rest of the neck vertebrae shift to compensate for the skull that is now in a position that forces the neck musculature to work in ways that they aren’t used to.
When the skull is deviated away from its normal position and the muscles in the neck and upper shoulder girdle are compensating to support the skull, there is often a trickle down effect throughout the rest of the spine. We will often see mild curvatures of the mid back due to muscle imbalance. The most common effect though is the tilting of the pelvis and the corresponding “short leg”. One leg will appear shorter than the other due to excessive contracture of the pelvic muscles on one side of the spine more than the other.
The Atlas Subluxation Complex
The above scenario is what we call the Atlas Subluxation Complex (ASC) and it often is responsible for a litany of muscle and spinal complaints ranging from simple sprains and strains to various forms of headaches to more serious issues like disk herniations and spinal nerve compression. To determine if the symptoms that you have are something that Dr Audia can help you with, we encourage you to call the office to discuss your specific issue.