Question
hi, I had a chiropractor adjust my neck afterwards my ears rang and I felt sideways with pressure on my right side of my throat. after a month it finally went away on its own. now almost a year later the discomfort and more are back so I'm seeing a different chiropractor. he took x rays but they wont be back for 2 days in the meantime he used the proadjuster to tell me what was out and he said it was the c1 atlas. I didn't have him use the machine on me until the xrays are back. he also suggested a massage. so I had a massage and afterwards I am now experiencing numbness and tingling down both arms but more so in the right and the tingling goes into the pinky and ring finger of the right arm and the last 3 toes on my right foot. could this  be from the c1? it initially started as pain in my right shoulder blade(the wing area) and up in the right side of my neck. and if it's related I have tennis elbow symptoms in the right elbow though I can't think of anything that would've caused it. after what happened last time I am terrified to have my neck messed with. any insight on how effective the proadjuster is? also does it even sound like it's the c1 that is my problem and if so how safe is it to have this machine adjust it? any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Crystal,

I would strongly suggest not putting too much confidence in x-rays.   The real question for each of these chiropractors is this:  were there any positive neurologic findings in the patient (Crystal) or not?  And, any signs of nerve root compromise or not?    While there can be weird symptoms caused by joint strain or malfunction at the top of the neck, between C1 and your skull, x-rays will likely not show alignment or misalignment.  In other words, what might appear misaligned could be an illusion based on your head positioning for the x-rays, your muscle tone/tension, your natural posture, or your natural architectural asymmetry in the upper cervical vertebra.   Pain in the shoulder blade often has more to do with lower cervical spine problems, often in the region of C5, not C1.  Also, I think ProAdjuster and other percussive devices are a cop out for quality hands-on care.   Numbness and tinging in hands and toes further necessitates a more thorough physical examination to rule out everything from B12 deficiency, to Multiple Sclerosis, to Cervical spine canal stenosis.   If your doctors of chiropractic do not understand this, then you're in the wrong chiropractic office.  Anyone on this list can point you in the right direction in locating a quality chiropractor in your area:   www.westhartfordgroup.com

Hope this was helpful,

Dr. G