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Atlas Orthogonal Technique

The Atlas Orthogonal Technique


The anatomy at the base of the skull is delicate; it contains the brainstem, spinal cord, muscles, and major blood vessels. An injury in this area can easily bring about many different ailments. The Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic Technique is a gentle and specific method for adjusting, the most complex joint region in the body, the base of the skull and the supporting muscles and ligaments.

By utilizing state-of-the-art, percussion, and sound wave adjusting, the Atlas Orthogonal procedure will offer patients a gentle and precise treatment method for the correction of upper cervical subluxations (dislocations). These slight dislocations or disturbances can irritate nerve roots that branch off from the spinal cord and then pass between each of the vertebrae. These irritations can cause pain and dysfunction in muscle, lymphatic, and organ tissue, and will also potentially produce neurologic imbalances in the normal body processes.

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Misalignment of the base of the skull with the spinal cord is a common situation among many of the medical conditions we treat in our practice. For reference, the word “subluxation” comes from the Latin words meaning, “to dislocate” (luxare) and “somewhat or slightly” (sub). A subluxation means a slight dislocation or misalignment of the vertebral joints of the spine.

Treating Chronic Pain


Trauma to the head and neck area doesn’t need to be severe to bring about chronic pain. Often patients cannot remember how they hurt themselves. It may be one event or maybe the combined and cumulative effect of several events. Some of the most common causes of neck pain and headaches are often from automotive accidents, contact sports, skiing, horseback riding, poor posture, physical & repetitive motions stress, and slip and fall injuries. The onset of symptoms can be immediate, but frequently is more subtle and gradual. Some people start to develop pain years after an injury that they thought was trivial at the time.

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For over 40 years, millions of people have benefited from the Atlas Orthogonal spinal adjustment. It has become highly regarded among Neurologists, Medical Doctors, TMJ specialists, and the general public as a safe, gentle, and most importantly, effective method to restore proper Atlas alignment, reduce pain, and improve general health and well-being.

Unfortunately, not every patient is a candidate for this procedure, but if you are, this procedure can drastically reduce downtime and the amount of time you spend suffering from a myriad of ailments.

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Corrections to the atlas bone (topmost vertebra connecting the skull and spine) are made using the Sweat Atlas Orthogonal Adjusting Instrument. This a high-tech percussion adjusting instrument developed by Dr. Roy Sweat and engineers at Georgia Tech University in the early 70’s. This instrument delivers a very gentle percussive force and involves no popping or cracking of the neck. People often feel an immediate sense of well being and relaxation afterward. Afterward, over the course of several days to weeks, many people experience a significant resolution of their pain and symptoms.

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The slender metal piece at the bottom is called the stylus. This piece makes contact with the skin just behind your ear. Based on specific angles determined from your imaging, the Atlas Orthogonal instrument delivers a precise correction to the upper neck. This correction is made by a single percussion sound wave generated by the instrument. The measured force at the end of the stylus is approximately 3.5 pounds of pressure. If you feel anything at all, it is a split second “vibration” or “tickle.” The use of sedatives or other drugs is not required. No treatment-related pain is expected following each visit, and generally no restrictions are necessary. After initial imaging, an office visit usually lasts about fifteen minutes.

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Specialized software is used to process and analyze the digital images. The specific Atlas Orthogonal Images are analyzed to determine each person’s unique misalignment and formula for correction, thereby allowing for a very gentle and precise atlas correction.

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