602 954-2447
PhoenixChiropractor.com

Dr. Anthony Montoya

Pain, stiffness, and lost flexibility can significantly impose upon your active lifestyle and quality of life. An upper cervical chiropractor understands that your work and leisure activities are much too important to be limited by less than optimal health. Upper cervical chiropractic care is designed to harness and increase the body’s healing potential so that it can repair, heal, and maintain healthy functioning.

Upper cervical chiropractic techniques deliver precise, science-based care that aims to remove interference from your body’s natural healing abilities. An upper cervical chiropractor recognizes that symptoms, syndromes, and most disease conditions develop when the body is not functioning properly. Upper cervical chiropractic care works to correct structural alignment issues that impair proper functioning in the upper cervical spine. Upper cervical spinal correction strives to achieve the following:

  • Improvement of spinal flexibility
  • Relaxation of tight, tense, and painful neck and back muscles
  • Reduction of headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, and ringing in the ears
  • Better balance 
  • Inflammation reduction in joints
  • Elimination of stress and pressure to the nervous system at the upper cervical spine
  • Enhancement of overall body health

Upper cervical chiropractors use spinal manipulation to align the body’s musculoskeletal structure. This helps the body heal naturally without invasive surgery or potentially harmful and addictive medications.

Phoenix Chiropractor Upper Cervical FAQs

What Is the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique?

The Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique is a specialized type of chiropractic care that targets the upper cervical spine at the top part of the neck, directly below the skull. Even a mild bump on the head can put the upper cervical spine out of correct alignment, leading to pain, stiffness, and lost range of motion. Unfortunately, problems in this area can create a barrier to optimal health and healing. 

Rather than adjusting random spinal bones, the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique targets two unique bones:

  1. Atlas: The atlas is the first spinal bone, which comes in contact with the head.
  2. Axis: The axis is the second spinal bone, located directly below the atlas.

These bones can become misaligned in such a way as to interfere with the brain stem and spinal cord. The Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique aims to affect or correct the alignment, motion, and or function of these bones. Once the atlas and axis are correctly aligned, the rest of the spine should fall into alignment as well. This can lead to whole-body healing and restoration of function, allowing patients to return to their busy lives and active lifestyles.

How Do Blair Upper Cervical Adjustments Differ?

The Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique uses a very gentle adjustment to the atlas and axis, the top two bones in the upper cervical spine. The adjustment is based on physics and mathematics-based measurements to maximize its effect. It is a lighter adjustment than the twisting, cracking, snapping, or popping that patients usually associate with chiropractic care.  

What Is the Sound When an Adjustment Is Delivered?

During traditional chiropractic adjustments, patients often hear cracking, snapping, and popping as the chiropractic doctor puts the spinal bones back into alignment. However, an upper cervical chiropractor uses a gentle technique that adjusts the upper cervical vertebrae without the occurrence of these sometimes scary and startling noises.

Is Chiropractic Care Safe?

Yes, upper cervical chiropractic adjustments are safe! Upper cervical chiropractic care uses science-based diagnostic methods to identify issues in need of correcting. An upper cervical chiropractor takes a series of precise x-rays that measure the degree of structural misalignment of the upper cervical spine. Once the safest and most effective correction is determined through physics and mathematics-based measurements, a gentle adjustment is applied.

Does Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care Hurt?

Upper cervical spinal adjustments should not be painful. They are quick and gentle, taking less than 12 hundredths of a second. The neck is never twisted, forced, or manipulated. The correction is so light and quick that you may wonder if anything has been done!

Will I Be Sore Following an Upper Cervical Chiropractic Adjustment?

Some residual muscle tightness and soreness may be possible after an upper cervical chiropractor performs a stabilizing adjustment. An upper cervical spinal adjustment triggers your healing processes, so you may have some minimal, short-lived discomfort or feel more tired than usual.

How Long Will My Visits Take? Phoenix Chiropractor

Your initial consultation at our Phoenix Chiropractor office will take a bit longer than routine visits. The upper cervical chiropractor will review and evaluate your health history and your current health status. Next, x-rays and other tests are conducted to determine if you have an upper cervical spinal disturbance that is causing pain, impairing function, and interfering with your optimal health. Finally, you will be given a detailed explanation of what upper cervical chiropractic care can do for your unique condition, followed by a gentle upper cervical spinal adjustment.

Follow-up visits will be much shorter, as diagnostic tests are not necessary. If upon follow-up, you didn’t retain, or “hold,” your upper cervical alignment, a quick correction is performed, and you are out the door and on your way. No action will be taken if it is determined that you held your previous adjustment. This occurrence is something upper cervical chiropractors love to see, as it optimizes the potential for fast healing!

How Often Will I Need to Return?

Patients who undergo chiropractic care with the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique usually hold their adjustments longer and need to get adjusted fewer times. The number of adjustments needed and how often can depend on the patient, the degree of misalignment, and how long the patient has had the problem. 

Your upper cervical chiropractor’s goal is for your neck correction to hold as long as possible, allowing you to see rapid results and healing. On subsequent visits, you may or may not need an upper cervical adjustment. Many patients experience lasting relief after only a few visits. However, many patients return for regular visits to keep their upper cervical spine healthy and in proper form and function.

Upper Cervical Chiropractic for Expert Help

A skilled and experienced upper cervical chiropractor, Dr. Anthony Montoya, aims to partner with you in your healing process. Dr. Montoya commits his time, energy, and expertise in helping you achieve your health goals. Upper cervical chiropractic care has changed the lives of many patients who could not get the level of healing they desired and deserved from other forms of treatment.

If you’re suffering from a painful or debilitating condition, give upper cervical chiropractic care a try. Once you’ve gone down the path of using addictive medications and invasive surgeries, you may find that those interventions only addressed symptoms, not the root cause of the problem. Upper cervical chiropractic care can correct the underlying issues in the upper cervical spine that are interfering with whole-body healing. To find out more, contact Dr. Montoya to schedule a consultation to discuss your unique concerns.