Question
Hi~

I've suffered with migraines for 10 years and just started getting chiropractic adjustments 4 months ago. It has definitely been life changing!!  I started my treatment with a general chiropractor who's appointments consisted of 30 min of TENS therapy, 10 minutes of an ultrasound wand on my upper back and then a complete cracking of my spine, first the neck, then thoracic, then lumbar.  After seeing him 3 times a week for two months, I was experiencing severe pain in my neck, sort of like it was ripping on the inside.  Looking back, it must have been retracing, but he never told me about that.  Anyhoo, afraid that my neck was being further damaged, I found an Upper Cervical Chiropractor in Indialantic, FL (who explained retracing to me#.  His simple touch is absolutely magical!  I see him 3-4 times a week and he only adjusts my atlas, based on the length of my feet.  So here's my problem:  my atlas still seems to be going out almost everyday!  When I feel pain in my left tooth or when I get the insane itchiness on my arms, I know that either my C2 or C5 is out, and the atlas is either also out or about to go out, and I can't keep running back to the Chiro 3 times a day.  I know that you'll definitely frown upon this, but my solution is that I have my husband crack my neck in between appointments #the traditional "cracking" way) because he does a great job and I  get immediate relief.  Could this amount of adjusting be causing any harm?  Could it possibly be slowing down the healing process?  My theory is  that the longer I can keep my atlas in, the quicker my body will heal itself...it can't be in healing mode if the atlas is out for a day or two, right?  Thanks for your expertise!!

Liz


Answer
HI Liz,

3x/week for two months is a but much, but if the joint manipulation was not too forcefull, there is no reason to believe it is harmful .  The TENS was a waste of your time, frankly, as it doesn't fix anything.  Ultrasound has limited utility, and also will not really change migraines.  It also should not be used too frequently.  It's not natural to have your tissues blased with sound waves repetitively.   There's no such thing as "retracing."  The new "upper cervical" chiropractor is operating on a false premise: keeping C1 (atlas) aligned will magically align your whole body.   First, there's no proof that C1 or any other bone actually loses alignment.   We likely are not dealing with joint alingment, but are dealing with joint function (e.g. range of motion and ability) and soft tissue lesion (e.g. tissue adhesion or congestion).   Second, even if there was proof that the bone statically misaligns, there is no proof that we can accurately measure it or truly change it's position.  So why would you pay for a concept that remains unproven (and likely is disproven), and for procedures that have no clincal validity?    This topic has been tossed around for decades, and in the academic community it is viewed as clinical absurdity.  There is a modern form of chiropractic care out there that is very good and you have not received it.  You can read about this topic via the most recent on-line publication:    http://www.chiroandosteo.com/content/17/1/13

I would suggest finding an evidence-based and outcomes-based chiropractor.   You might be able to find one via this list:   www.westhartfordgroup.com

'Hope this clears things up...

Dr. G