Is All ‘Upper Cervical’ The Same?

Many people wrongly assume that one upper cervical chiropractor is the same as all other upper cervical chiropractors in Dublin. This is not true.

What does “upper cervical” mean?

“Upper cervical” is not a technique. It refers to the upper part of the cervical spine, the top part of the neck. It refers to the first one or two vertebrae at the base of the skull. These vertebrae are also called C1 (or atlas) and C2 (or axis).

What is the purpose of the upper cervical adjustments or spinal corrections?

Upper cervical chiropractors in Dublin correct the spine by using C1 or C2 as the contact. We address issues in the entire spine by changing the proprioception (position-sensors) in the neck and by changing blood flow to and from the brain. Click here to see what nerves are affected by each of the vertebrae. Then click on C1 to see how it can affect the whole spine.

What are some differences in techniques?

NUCCA uses C1 as a lever to correct the entire spine. There is no twisting, popping or thrust into the neck. It is extremely specific and gentle. This is one of three orthogonally-based techniques. Orthogonal refers to the goal of getting the head and neck on vertical and having the atlas be horizontal. This balances out posture, blood flow and nerve information.

Atlas Orthogonal and Orthospinology are the other two orthogonal techniques, although one main difference is that Atlas Orthogonal always uses an instrument to adjust, Orthospinology sometimes uses an instrument to adjust, and NUCCA corrections are always done by hand.

Non-orthogonally-based techniques include Toggle, Upper Cervical Knee Chest (often referred to as “Specific Chiropractic,” Blair, Hole in One, and the “Palmer Technique.” In some of these techniques, some patients will have C1 adjusted, and for others, it will be C2. There are slightly different x-rays for each of these techniques and there are also different methods of adjusting. The factor that is consistent with all of them is the adjustments are all more forceful than that which is experienced with NUCCA.