Question
I went to a chiropractor because my symptoms just got unbearable.  On going headaches, neck ache and back ache. I have a whole host of other symptoms that medicine can't seem to figure out (weak tongue, chronic cough, speech problems, ringing in my ears, visual issues, numbness in my hand, memory problems, neasua to name a few over the last few years).

The chiropractor really worked me up he took 5 xrays.  Found that I had a compressed facture of one of the neck vetabraes that was old, mild degeneration of my neck vetabraes, and on one side my hole for my nerve endings are looking like hour glass.

The most important discovery was that my C2 was misaligned to the right (as you look at it from the back it goes to the right).

And that my neck does a curve to the left (as you look at it from the back)

My question is how does C2 get realigned properly?  The Chiropractor said we need to start with loosening up my neck.  And to a point i can understand that.  But if my C2 is misaligned then loosening up the neck to me is going to be way more difficult.  Because the muscles are compensating for misalignment.

He did the typical cracking of the neck each way it popped 3 times in each direction. And cracking of the back.

Is that all that it takes for C2 to get realigned?  Or is there a special movement that needs to be done to get that aligned properly?

With all the non-anwers I have gotten over the years.  I am hopeful that we may finally have found something.  And to that end I want to make sure I don't waste my time correcting this.  As I have not been to happy over the past few years because my physical health is getting to me.

Answer
Dear Angela,

Thank you for your question.  If I understand you correctly, you have given me some details about your new and recent experiences with a chiropractic office and wish to get some advice on what you should do about the information and recommendations you received.  You抳e also used some terminology in your question that seems to indicate you have done some research of your own already.  That抯 a wonderful start!  The key for you will be to sort the accurate and valid bits so you can make the best decisions possible.  

If you抳e read prior writings of mine, some of what follows may be a review for you.  I抎 rather be redundant than have something presumed and go misunderstood as a result.   

The first thing to know is that there are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.  Based on the limited information available, it seems the office you抳e visited may be of the mixed therapeutic viewpoint.  

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation.  Because of the importance of this term and the frequency of its misuse, let抯 go into some detail about it.  

The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry vital information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  These are the basic elements of a vertebral subluxation.  Of course, with vertebral subluxations ?with the interference they present to the vital brain messages as they are transmitted along nerves ?people are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as accidental trauma, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  In a very real sense, the symptoms that you reported are not valid or reliable indicators of the presence of vertebral subluxation.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person抯 spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  Please understand very clearly that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

In discussing vertebral subluxation earlier in this message, I used the word misalignment.  I am not talking here simply about an off-center position or a curve of the spine, even if revealed by x-ray, and these things are not interchangeable with the term vertebral subluxation.  The misalignment that I address is that of a specific segment of the spine in such a way as to interfere with the vital nerve messages.  Technically speaking, we have to get even a bit more advanced in what is meant by misalignment to make this clear.  The question is, Misaligned with respect to what?  It is possible to describe the body geometrically, reasoning that we are bilaterally symmetrical and concluding that there is a measurable 搈idline?or that our hips and shoulders should be 揵alanced?on a perpendicular line to this proposed 搈idline,?or that there should be certain curves or other geometry if we view the spine from the side.  The problem with this thinking is that it assumes we are simply machines and ignores that we are alive, capable of movement, adaptation, growth, etc.  At any given moment, there is an optimum state for us to carry out life to our best abilities.  That optimum state will vary depending upon the circumstances, both within us and of our environment.  There are many examples to illustrate this.  If you carry something heavy with one hand, you must lean away from it, putting something of a curve into the spine, to keep yourself balanced.  Does that mean the body is failing because there is imbalance or a curve, or is it instead being quite successful in adapting you to the situation?  In another example, consider that those who argue for geometric balance or symmetry would be hard-pressed to explain why the carpenter who swings a 28-ounce hammer all day with his right arm only would have certain physical adaptations that favor his right side.  Should the carpenter have some of the tissue removed from his arm, hand and back?  Or is he merely adapted to his circumstances?  The point I抦 getting at is that there is an individually determined, innately normal position for the body that cannot be described by geometry.

The term for the procedure of correcting vertebral subluxation is 揳djustment,?not at all the same as 搇oosening?nor measured by 揷racking,?as you used in your question, but, since this may not have been a non-therapeutic straight chiropractic office, it is not certain exactly what you had done.  You may have experienced manipulation.  Manipulation of any kind is not an equivalent and it the terms adjustment and manipulation are not interchangeable.  Adjustment is a very specific term of art.  The procedures used with you may not be the equivalent of adjustments of vertebral subluxations.

From the non-therapeutic standpoint, an adjustment is not a process that requires a series of visits; it is a procedure that is accomplished immediately.  Repeat adjustments are made if and when a subluxation is detected ?and only then.  There is no schedule of adjustments involved nor is there a specific amount of time that must pass.  It would require prophetic powers to know with any certainty when and where someone would be subluxated in the future, even though the causes are very common and, therefore, being subluxated is certainly a likely event.

With that said, it would be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on an ongoing basis if it is your desire to have an opportunity to realize your full potential, living the most time possible free of vertebral subluxations, even if you also elect to have therapeutic attention elsewhere for symptoms or for forcing a particular geometry into your spine.  Most non-therapeutic straight chiropractors typically have fee systems that make regular lifetime visits possible for all people of many different financial circumstances.  If such is not the case, then one might question the chiropractor抯 commitment to and belief in the value of all individuals living free of subluxation!

Ultimately, though, when choosing a non-therapeutic chiropractic office, you will have to weigh your confidence in the chiropractor抯 ability to properly evaluate you for vertebral subluxation and then effectively and safely effect the correction of identified vertebral subluxations.  

It may be that the chiropractor you visited fits the non-therapeutic straight chiropractic model, but that seems unlikely based on what you抳e told me.  Because the objectives and techniques of mixing are not my area of expertise, I will not be able to offer an opinion on the circumstances you described.  If, however, you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please contact me at this site again or at [email protected].  

Angela, I wish you the best in sorting out the world of chiropractic.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.