Head spinning, room spinning, unable to see straight… and then, the nausea sets in. It’s extremely difficult to function normally when vertigo hits. Did you know that your atlas may be the problem behind vertigo, dizziness, and balance disorders, and that a specific Atlas Orthogonal adjustment can be the solution?  

The top third of your spine, located in the neck, is called the cervical spine, and the family of chiropractic techniques that specialize in the upper part of the neck is called upper cervical chiropractic, Atlas Orthogonal among them. Your atlas, or C1 vertebra, is located at the very top of the cervical spine, just under the skull. This tiny bone has two very important arteries wrapping around it that supply blood to the brain. When the atlas is misaligned, pressure on these arteries can result in lack of blood flow to the brain. In addition, your whole body is thrown off balance as your core tries to make up for your crooked head and neck! Pressure on the brainstem can also result from an atlas misalignment. The combination of undue stress on the nervous system and reduced blood flow to the brain can create a host of symptoms, dizziness and vertigo commonly among them.

When this bone is re-aligned to its proper position, adequate blood flow is restored, the nervous system returns to an interference-free state, and your entire frame regains its balance. This means an end to vertigo and all the discomfort that comes with it.  

One research study looked at 60 cases of chronic vertigo, and results showed that 100% of cases either improved or completely reversed their condition with specific chiropractic adjustments. Fifty-six of the patients recalled a history of trauma, but all of them had a neck imbalance, which was treated by a precision upper cervical correction like the Atlas Orthogonal chiropractic procedure. All participants had been diagnosed by their physicians with various forms of vertigo, including Meniere’s, positional vertigo, and migraine-associated vertigo. And all of them got better after they got their heads on straight. 


If you or someone you know suffers from vertigo or balance problems, let them know that chiropractic can help!

When you mention the word “chiropractor” to the average person, they think, “the doc who fixes back pain.” Chiropractors actually affect the entire nervous system by adjusting the misaligned bones of the spine, allowing nerve flow to properly reach every organ and tissue of the body. While chiropractic is about much more than helping your pain, it is true that chiropractic care has been shown to be the most effective treatment for chronic and acute back pain.

Dr. Lauri Webb specializes in very specifically and gently aligning the top bone in the neck (the atlas), and adjusting the rest of the spine from there. Because the atlas is the bone that supports your skull, a misalignment here affects how you hold your head, and can therefore cause neck pain and back pain all the way down the spine, even in the low back and hips. Some people will even get a searing or sharp pain in their rear, and/or down their legs due to sciatica. By correcting the atlas misalignment, thus getting your head into an orthogonal, or straight, position, the body is brought back into balance. When this occurs, the kinks and curves of the spine (which were present in order to compensate for your crooked head placement) are able to relax and straighten, and the causes of your back pain are corrected so that everything can feel normal again. So, getting your head on straight with AO Chiropractic can get rid of your back pain!

As school starts back up, keep an ear out for neck or back pain your school-aged child may be complaining about. The culprit might be that heavy backpack they’re filling with books and carrying around all day long. Look into the backpacks on wheels, so your little one can roll the weight around instead of hauling it on their spines.

If you or someone you know is suffering from back pain, make sure they know that chiropractic can help. And if they want to fix the problem so it doesn’t return, tell them about Atlas Orthogonal care with Dr. Webb. Because getting the atlas in place is the first step in correcting spinal misalignments that are the root cause of back pain.

PRO TIP: A good rule of thumb is to not have a child’s backpack weigh more than 10% of their body weight. So if s/he weighs 60 pounds, carrying a backpack that weighs greater than 6 pounds may put undue strain on your child’s neck and back and could cause problems later in life. Try to keep the heavy books at home, if s/he doesn’t need to use them at school.