YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE

EVEN THE MOST CARING DOCTORS, PHISIOTHERAPY PRACTIONERS TEND TO BLAME THE INJURED PERSON

I FIND MYSELF QUITE PUT OUT AS I HEAR THE WORDS OF CONDEMNATION OF INSUFFICENT APPLICATION OR GRIT                OR WHATEVER TO OVERCOME, NEGATE OR DISREGARD INJURY AND PUSH ON OR STRAIGHTEN OUT OR UP. I HAVE BEEN ASKED WHY I THROW MY WEIGHT ONTO MY LEFT LEG AND WHY DO I DO THAT?  I WOULD REPLY THAT I HAD BEEN "PARALLELLOGRAMED IN THE AFTERMATH OF ACCIDENTS". I HAVE HAD THE QUESTION ASKED MORE THAN ONCE BY THE SAME PRACTICIONER. THE PASSAGE JUST BELOW EXPLAINS ABOUT THE IRREGULAR POSTURE WHICH IS INVOLUNTARY AND SEEMS TO BE IRREVERSIBLE.

FROM DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER CHAPMAN

Head and atlas malposition cause the supporting spinal muscles to contract irregularly in compensation, and will cause the entire spine to distort out-of-balance, thereby effecting the entire body. This upper cervical distortion will almost always result in a high or low hip, a “shortened leg” syndrome ( http://www.myshortleg.com/ ), and usually a high or low shoulder. Often the head will tilt slightly to one side or the other, and the abnormal contraction of the neck muscles will force the normal lordotic curve into a reversed or straightened position—this is COMMON, but not NORMAL. Specific upper cervical X-rays will reveal the misalignment in a multidimensional fashion.

IF YOU WISH TO READ MORE AND BACKGROUND, THE ARTICLE STARTS FROM EARLIER THAN THIS EXCERPT NEXT AND CONTINUES AFTER IT.

What is a very common finding in the cervical spine, following head and neck trauma? The “Lateral” view seen above on the left was taken before the specific upper cervical correction was performed, but shortly after a minor motor vehicle accident—this is the common finding! This otherwise healthy, fit patient had severe spasm of the neck muscles; resulting in a very painful condition we call Spasmodic Torticollis. This X-ray was taken four weeks following a “very minor” car accident wherein the patient slid side-ways into a curb. The damage to the car was minimal. Yet, the patient cannot even raise her head to the normal upright position because the spasms are so intense. The X-ray on the right shows a return of the normal curve. The GOOD NEWS is: These structures can very often be appropriately realigned and when they are, the body will began repairing and healing the injured areas.

The X-ray on the right is the corrected spinal curve, having returned to true normal lordosis following only 5 NUCCA treatments! There were no other modalities performed on this patient. I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands of cervical curves restored with NUCCA and Atlas Orthogonal (AO). What’s hard for me to fathom, is that Emergency Departments around the country are missing the harm and potential problems that can arise from a reversed or straight neck. The stressed position of the neck as seen on the left is a common finding, and it is often trivialized or dismissed as “normal”. I can see this casual dismissal in some ways. for instance, this important finding is diminished as emergency room staff focus more on “life-threatening” immediate risk problems, and less on conditions and “findings” which might develop into long-term chronic health conditions—it’s simply not their job. Muscle relaxants may be prescribed, but my practical experience in dealing with thousands of patients “after-the-fact” is: taking relaxants will not restore the cervical curve. Further, if left uncorrected, this reversed curve can contribute to the many symptoms and syndromes that are linked to head and neck misalignments, like:

• Headaches of all varieties
• Jaw Joint Dysfunction and Pain, Teeth Pain, Vertigo, Double-Vision
• Neck and Back Pain with chronic Muscle Spasms and Restricted Movement
• Bulging Discs, and more rapidly Advancing Arthritis
• Problems with Clear Thinking or the Ability to Focus
• Heart and Blood Pressure problems
• Poor Posture
• Even Low Back, Hip and Knee Pain
• Depression and Anxiety…. and a whole lot of frustration as “the injured” is bumped around from doctor to doctor with our any real relief..

We are not completely sure of how these conditions develop following cervical injury–we just know that they do.

The most vulnerable area of the spine is where the head rests on the neck. The top bone (called the Atlas) is a small 2-ounce ring-shaped bone with 2 small divots on either side of the spinal cord called facets—these small joints support the full weight of the skull. The adult skull often weighs more than 13 pounds! Imagine—a bowling ball mass being supported by two golf tees! But don’t be fooled—even with what appears to be a “fragile design flaw” in our anatomy, it is quite hardy—except under certain traumatic conditions; then, it can become quite vulnerable to injuries. When this area is fundamentally disturbed through trauma, the head—–and the atlas upon which it rests, lose their normal healthy alignment with one another; the result is a distortion of the spine, the spinal cord and it’s supportive tissues. There is also the possibility of a disturbance of blood flow to and from the brain.

This head and atlas malposition then causes the supporting spinal muscles to contract irregularly in compensation, and will cause the entire spine to distort out-of-balance, thereby effecting the entire body. This upper cervical distortion will almost always result in a high or low hip, a “shortened leg” syndrome ( http://www.myshortleg.com/ ), and usually a high or low shoulder. Often the head will tilt slightly to one side or the other, and the abnormal contraction of the neck muscles will force the normal lordotic curve into a reversed or straightened position—this is COMMON, but not NORMAL. Specific upper cervical X-rays will reveal the misalignment in a multidimensional fashion.