Newsletter Sign-Up
Sign-up for our e-Newsletter and stay updated on our latest news.
Location / Hours
Address 6916 Aloma Ave Winter Park, FL 32792
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday:
9:30AM - 12:30PM (lunch)
2PM - 6:30PM
Tuesday & Thursday:
2PM - 6:30PM (admin time, emergency patients, & overflow appointments).
|
Frequently Asked Questions About
Upper Cervical Health Care
Q: Are your physical problems being caused by Body Imbalance?
“Just what is Body Imbalance and how do I know if it has happened to me?”
Body Imbalance occurs when the Atlas, the top vertebra in the neck, is misaligned and out of proper position. This can occur as a result of an accident, emotional trauma, chemical toxicity, etc. in the body. Childbirth itself can move the atlas out of position because of the massive amounts of pressure on the head and neck of the baby as it passes down the birth canal, and the force that the doctors exert on the baby’s head/neck to pull the baby out. Or childhood accidents like falling from a tree, bike or skates can misalign it. In adulthood, the atlas can be shoved out of position during minor or major accidents such as sporting accidents, automobile accidents or slips and falls. Some of the worst cases of atlas misalignment and resulting pain have been caused by minor car accidents such as being rear-ended. Even repetitive stressors like work positions can do it.
One indication of body imbalance is having one leg slightly shorter than the other. You may also notice that when you stand in front of a mirror one shoulder is slightly higher than another, and one hip is higher than the other. You may also notice your head tilts more to one side. Another indication your atlas may be out of position is by having different symptoms in your body that your medical doctor cannot explain or can’t help.
Or even if other regular chiropractors can not help you – usually an Upper Cervical Atlas Orthogonal doctor can help you. Never allow a regular chiropractor
Q: “How can Body Imbalance cause me to have physical problems?”
The C1 or Atlas is a donut-shaped bone that your skull rests on. Your spinal cord & brainstem coming out of your brain, passes through the hole in the center of the donut shaped vertebra. Your spinal cord at that point consists of trillions of nerve fibers (the nervous system) that “bottle-neck” through the small opening in the atlas. These fibers eventually branch off carrying information to every part of your body. If the C1 vertebra is out of its proper position - it can irritate, constrict or disrupt vital nerve signals to any portion of your body. This can cause muscle or joint pain, organ dysfunction, lowered immune system and countless other conditions that you would not ordinarily relate to a problem originating in your neck.
Q: “Why do you call it Body Imbalance rather than
a neck imbalance?”
Because it effects the entire spine and body. Wherever your atlas moves, your head moves with it. If this top bone in your neck has shifted out of position ever so slightly, no more than the thickness of a fingernail, it can move your head off center of your body. In an effort to keep the head over the center of the neck, the entire spine and pelvis will twist & compensate, pulling one hip up and one leg with it. You are now walking around on one leg that is shorter than the other. This places more weight on one side of your body than another. The wear and tear on your entire body is exactly like driving a car that is out of alignment. The result can be muscle and joint pain anywhere in the body. Without correcting the problem, which originated with a single bone (Atlas) at the top of your neck moving out of position, your entire body is now imbalanced.
When this continues over time, something else starts to happen. Because nerve flow is disrupted or distorted, degeneration of cells in organs can occur, causing internal physical problems that may not show up for years.
Q: “Is it painful to correct?”
Fortunately, no. The Upper Cervical Correction can be described as a light percussion sound wave aligned to a predetermined direction to the first bone (Atlas) in the neck. It is 100% painless. You will not even feel the adjustment itself – but after it is done, you will start to feel and see amazing things happen. When the correction is made, muscles begin to relax, blood and oxygen circulation is increased, the brain is able to communicate with the affected area, and the body’s natural healing process begins. The healing process continues as long as body balance is maintained and the brain can communicate with all parts of the body.
Q: “Does it have to be corrected often?”
That depends on your own body. Some people can hold their correction for several months, even year’s at a time. Others have to be corrected a couple of times in the first several weeks or months. Everyone is different. The Upper Cervical doctor’s objective is to make as precise an Atlas Upper Cervical correction as possible. Then the Atlas doctor must help you maintain the correction with as few corrections as possible so that you may live pain free and enjoy a better quality of life. Periodic Upper Cervical checkups, just like dental checkups and physicals, should be part of your personal preventive health care program.
Q: “I am concerned about radiation from the x-rays. Are they completely necessary?”
Yes, they are the cornerstone of the Upper Cervical Atlas Orthogonal doctor’s practice and these x-rays are very specialized, and unlike those you would normally get at a regular chiropractor or medical doctor. Most chiropractic equipment today along with lead aprons keeps radiation down to a minimum. The x-rays used in hospitals generate 100 times more radiation than the x-rays used by UC doctors. Also, you get more radiation from sitting in front of your TV set for 4 hours than from UC x-rays. Another example, you get more radiation from 10 hours in the hot Florida sun, than you would from 4 UC x-rays.
Plus, any minimal danger from radiation, in our opinion, cannot be compared to the destruction that is going on in your body every minute your atlas obstructs brain to body communication. Any shift the atlas makes can cause multiple health problems. But sometimes that shift in position is no greater than a few millimeters. The Upper Cervical doctor has to rely on x-rays to determine the exact position your Atlas vertebra have misaligned. The specific analysis of the x-rays will allow the doctor how to reposition your atlas back to the correct position it should be.
After correcting the Atlas, a second series of x-rays are taken as ‘post x-rays’ to determine how well the Atlas re-aligned and helps the doctor predict future patterns. These are referred to as pre and post x-rays. You will not be x-rayed every visit. Only 4 x-rays on your first visit, and 2 post x-rays on your second visit… and you are than on your way to feeling better & good health.
Q: How soon should I get my children under this care?
As soon after birth as possible, and then have them checked periodically as they grow up. You could not possibly give your child a better gift than to make certain that the nervous system that controls all the organs and body functions, the brain stem, is doing its job without interference from the tiny bone just below it.
Q: How much does it cost?
A fraction of what you have probably already spent in your quest to get well. There will be some expense at the beginning because of the x-rays that are so necessary. But because you do not have to get treated nearly as often as with regular chiropractic, you have less visits and less costs. Because insurance does not distinguish between one form of chiropractic or another, if you have insurance that covers chiropractic, it will cover Upper Cervical Atlas Orthogonal as well. Unfortunately, some HMO’s and PPO’s only have certain chiropractors on their list of providers and certain insurance plans are not open to all doctors. But the savings you will have by having a better quality of life is enormous. One woman was on over 12 medications. After 1 month under our care, she is down to only 2 meds! She was paying over $1,000 per month in medication drug costs alone! Now, she is feeling better and is saving thousands of dollars per year under our care.
Q: If the Upper Cervical procedure is so good, why haven’t I heard about it before?
There are specific reasons why you have never heard about this before, and unfortunately, they are political. First, everyone is aware of the war that has been going on between the medical profession and the chiropractic profession over the last 100 years. Whenever there is a war, there is always a black out of information to the public at large. For example, if you tried to discuss Upper Cervical care with any medical doctor or nurse, the moment we mentioned the word “chiropractor”, a stigma is often attached to chiropractic. People wrongly assume that all chiropractors are the same. But like in medicine with various fields of expertise, Upper Cervical Atlas Orthogonal doctors are like the brain surgeons of the all-natural chiropractic field! But of course, there’s never any cracking or popping! It is very gentle, safe, but best of all – effective.
Many medical doctors acknowledge that constantly prescribing medication is ineffective and is actually creating additional problems. The MD’s that know or our patients under UC care, realize they have found a safe, scientific alternative that is of extreme benefit to their patients. Some of these progressive medical doctors are now becoming some of our greatest allies.
The second reason you’ve likely not heard about this procedure before is because certain laws in the U.S. and in Canada prevent chiropractors of any particular procedure, whether Upper Cervical or otherwise, from freely advertising the procedure they have dedicated their lives to learning, as a ‘specialty’ that is better than others. One law in particular forbids any chiropractor of any procedure to infer that his method is superior or more advanced than other chiropractic methods.
It is possible that this law was originally passed to protect the public from chiropractors making unrealistic claims about their procedure. The unfortunate result of this law, however, is that it has produced such fear in chiropractors who practice exclusively Upper Cervical chiropractic, that they simply are forced to remain silent about the benefits of their procedure. A law meant to protect the public has actually created a moratorium on vital information that could be of tremendous benefit and cost savings to the public. That’s why word of mouth is vital. It is simple. You have been to many doctors who could not help you with your pain. You finally figure out that Upper Cervical treatments can do wonders. You get out of pain and are healthier after several treatments, and you start telling all of your friends, family, co-workers, etc.
What to Look for in an Upper Cervical Chiropractor
The Upper Cervical Chiropractor's work focuses on the correction of the Atlas (C1) which is the 2-oz. bone that surrounds your brain stem at the base of your skull. In the initial consultation, the doctor will explain why correcting the position of the atlas is the cornerstone to the health of your entire body. The UC doctor may adjust other parts of your spine, but it is done gently and specifically.
“ The Upper Cervical doctor knows that putting the atlas, the top vertebrae of the spine, back into its proper position can enable the entire spine and pelvis to correct on their own.”
Dr. Racine does treat the rest of the spine. In addition to Advanced Chiropractic, he also adjusts the spine without cracking or popping, which helps to stabilize the Upper Cervical region even more! If he does adjust different parts of the spine, it is done gently. He is careful not to jeopardize the atlas correction. The doctor knows that putting the Atlas back into its proper position can enable the entire spine and pelvis to correct on their own. Body balance is restored and cord irritation removed.
The Upper Cervical chiropractor will NEVER adjust you unless he knows exactly how to correct the atlas based upon information gathered from x-rays. The doctor will check the length of your legs to determine body balance, do a manual spinal exam, and scan palpation of the C1-C2 nerve roots in the upper neck to check for signs of spinal cord irritation. Upon determining that the atlas is misaligned, he or she will take a set of pre-x-rays of your neck. (Some UC doctors also take x-rays of the spine, as well.) The Upper Cervical doctor will make an intensive analysis of the position of the atlas, how it has shifted, tilted, or rotated out of its proper position. This is the key to this work and must be done prior to the initial correction. When you see your x-rays, you will begin to understand why a misaligned atlas could be a major reason why you have hurt for so long.
“ Pain is often the last symptom to occur when the atlas moves out of position; but once it moves, degeneration of nerve tissue begins again.”
Although there are several methods of Upper Cervical care, what is important to note is that like anything else in life – it is the doctor himself that makes the difference.
Upper Cervical doctors on average, provide a greater range of success than regular chiropractors. But even so, not all Upper Cervical doctors have the same amount of dedication and thoroughness as others.
Dr. Racine has patients that fly in from different parts of the country and even outside of the U.S. to get treated by him.
You will find Dr. Racine to be very thorough, competent, and result-oriented.
|
|
