Upper what?? (hint: keep reading!)
Upper cervical chiropractic ~ upper what??🤔
Let’s back up a few steps here. Let’s just get this out of the way: we’re not talking about your cervix.😅 When you’re talking about the spine, it has multiple regions. Your neck is the cervical region, the upper back is the thoracic region, and the low back is the lumbar region. Your cervical region has 7 vertebrae (the individual bones of the spine) that make up your neck.
Upper cervical chiropractic techniques are unique because their focus is largely on the top two neck bones. We call the first one C1, or Atlas, and the second one C2, or Axis. The top two bones, because of the muscles that attach to them, are the only two bones in your spine that aren’t able to move freely. Additionally, your brain stem comes down in your neck far enough to be affected by those first two bones. When one of the top two cervical bones are subluxated, meaning they aren’t moving properly and are causing inflammation and decreasing nerve function, the rest of your spine can try to compensate for it (because the rest of your vertebrae CAN move freely), causing problems in other areas as well.
Since keeping those top two bones in alignment is so important for the rest of your spine (and nervous system!), that’s why there are entire chiropractic techniques that focus solely on them. By adjusting those two vertebrae when they’re subluxated, any nerve interference or pressure being put on the brainstem is released, and your body is able to function at a more optimal level again!