The atlas is the top bone in your neck that surrounds a very important part of your nervous system: your brain stem. The brain stem controls several vital functions, many of which keep you alive without you thinking about them. Breathing, blood pressure, and upright posture are just a few things regulated by this area of the brain. Just like Atlas in Greek mythology, who held the world on his shoulders, your atlas holds your head on ITS shoulders – and since the head houses your brain, the control unit of your entire body, you can see why the atlas’s role is so significant. When the atlas is aligned properly, the head is able to sit directly above it, and the neck, or cervical spine, is in line just below the atlas. A technical way to describe this straight position of the head and neck is “orthogonal,” which means “at right angles” …hence the term Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic.
You might be asking, why is it so important to have your head on straight? When the atlas misaligns, the messages going from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain are interrupted or altered, and pain and disease can result. Remember, the nervous system controls every single tissue and function of your body – from digesting the meal you just ate, to maintaining your immune system, to feeling what your left foot is doing right this moment. We certainly don’t want to have interference in such an important system!
Atlas Orthogonal (AO) doctors use a high-tech, specially designed instrument to very gently and specifically align your atlas into a straight, or orthogonal, position so that 100% of the messages can get from your brain to the rest of your body, and vice versa. AO doctors differ from other doctors of chiropractic because they don’t turn or twist the neck to adjust it: the atlas is adjusted back into proper position while the neck remains in a neutral posture. There is also no cracking or popping during the adjustment.
Getting the atlas in place is the first step in correcting spinal misalignments that are the root cause of back pain. We’ve known for ages that whether your pain is in your head, your low back, your shoulders, or even your leg, that highest spinal bone is the key to bringing your body back into balance.
Atlas Orthogonal chiropractic can help not only with headaches, sciatica, whiplash syndrome, and vertigo, but new studies show that it greatly helps resolve the symptoms from post-concussion syndrome. One reason this is true might be the close proximity of the atlas to the brain stem. Pressure in this area of your nervous system (as from an atlas misalignment) can have far-reaching effects, from dizziness and headaches to balance issues.
So what is the difference between traditional chiropractic techniques and Atlas Orthogonal? In two words: gentle and specific. With our highly detailed x-rays and state-of-the-art adjusting instrument, we’re able to align the atlas with precision so that a very low force is needed for correction of the problem, and the procedure remains comfortable for you. And because the adjustment is specialized for your unique atlas misalignment, the results are powerful and, in many cases, life-changing.
You might be asking, why is it so important to have your head on straight? When the atlas misaligns, the messages going from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain are interrupted or altered, and pain and disease can result. Remember, the nervous system controls every single tissue and function of your body – from digesting the meal you just ate, to maintaining your immune system, to feeling what your left foot is doing right this moment. We certainly don’t want to have interference in such an important system!
Atlas Orthogonal (AO) doctors use a high-tech, specially designed instrument to very gently and specifically align your atlas into a straight, or orthogonal, position so that 100% of the messages can get from your brain to the rest of your body, and vice versa. AO doctors differ from other doctors of chiropractic because they don’t turn or twist the neck to adjust it: the atlas is adjusted back into proper position while the neck remains in a neutral posture. There is also no cracking or popping during the adjustment.
Getting the atlas in place is the first step in correcting spinal misalignments that are the root cause of back pain. We’ve known for ages that whether your pain is in your head, your low back, your shoulders, or even your leg, that highest spinal bone is the key to bringing your body back into balance.
Atlas Orthogonal chiropractic can help not only with headaches, sciatica, whiplash syndrome, and vertigo, but new studies show that it greatly helps resolve the symptoms from post-concussion syndrome. One reason this is true might be the close proximity of the atlas to the brain stem. Pressure in this area of your nervous system (as from an atlas misalignment) can have far-reaching effects, from dizziness and headaches to balance issues.
So what is the difference between traditional chiropractic techniques and Atlas Orthogonal? In two words: gentle and specific. With our highly detailed x-rays and state-of-the-art adjusting instrument, we’re able to align the atlas with precision so that a very low force is needed for correction of the problem, and the procedure remains comfortable for you. And because the adjustment is specialized for your unique atlas misalignment, the results are powerful and, in many cases, life-changing.
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