Question
I had Advanced Orthogonal treatment in 2012.  I was in very good overall health except for my back pain prior to the treatment.  The chiropractor did several initial tests including measuring my heart rate variability (HRV) and it was near perfect.

After several treatments, within 2 months, I started having problems with my breathing. I had shortness of breath during the daytime and when I am conducting training I would have to stop to catch my breath - I never had these symptoms before.  Later physical exams by the chiropractor showed that my HRV has deteriorated significantly.

After about 6 months into my treatment the Chiropractor abruptly ended his Advanced Orthogonal treatments and started using mostly manual upper cervical adjustments. His explanation was that he is always looking for better ways to do things and decided that the manual adjustment was better.

After 1 year my breathing problem was not getting any better. I had several exams and now discovered that I have sleep apnea.  

I am now wondering if the sound impulses created by the Advanced Orthogonal instrument caused damage in my neck and throat that has caused me the breathing problems and sleep apnea.

Thank you!

Answer
George,
This is a tough question to answer because I am not looking at your chart to see things like how often you were checked/adjusted, if your listing was consistent or frequently changed, what other factors could be involved here as well...
I don't even know the expertise of the Practitioner?
A good AO Doctor does a very thorough analysis and pre-testing before any adjustments are administered, which would further reduce the chances of any adjustment causing trouble.
What I can tell you is this, if it did happen to be the work that was done at your atlas to cause any troubles, then a re-adjustment in the opposite direction which would in essence take that adjustment back would undo it.
From the little information that I have at this time I would suggest that it is likely the result of other causes, because that would be a simple fix by the chiro, if he was seeing trouble then he could just undo it and start over with a different adjustment, at this point he likely would have tried that and if you are still having the problems, then it is likely from a different cause.
I hope that answers your question.
All The Best,

Dr Robert Arnone
St Louis, MO 63141