Frequently Asked Questions

Upper Cervical Care focus precisely in the upper neck area to reduce nerve impingement off of the brain stem/spinal cord/spinal nerve and/or arteries to allow proper nerve function between the brain and the body. True upper cervical chiropractors will take precise x-rays of the upper neck region to evaluation the misalignment. One of the major difference between upper cervical care and regular chiropractic care is the painless treatment process. Upper cervical care does not require any twisting or popping to manipulate the spine. It involves to very gentle correction to the upper neck relieving nerve pressure which allow the rest of the spine to follow suit when the top two are in working order.

Yes. There are no drugs, surgeries, or painful manipulations of the spine with upper cervical care. An upper cervical chiropractor uses the patient’s medical history, does a thorough examination and uses precise x-rays to determine the safest and most efficient treatment process.

No. Upper cervical chiropractic corrections do not require any twisting, popping, or cracking of the patient’s neck or spine. However, following an adjustment, most patients do feel sore as a result of nerve fibers waking up and stimulating muscles. This is a good sore, as if you just did a work out.

In general, yes, however for and upper cervical chiropractor, it is extremely important. Without Precise x-rays, we are just adjusting patients in the blind. X-rays are taken to provide a clear view of the misalignment order to provide an accurate and tailored correction for the patient. After your initial correction another set of x-rays are taken to ensure that the correction was effective. Each person’s anatomy and life experiences are different and will respond uniquely to an upper cervical correction. A post x-ray will allow us to know if any modification is needed – we want to make sure we provide the most effective care for you.

A treatment plan is created after an upper cervical chiropractor takes and reviews a patient’s history, examination findings and x-rays. A chiropractic examination will be done in which a patient’s spine, posture and body balance will be recorded and monitored during the course of care. Typically, the patient will be closely monitored in the first month of care, about 1-2 times a week for the first 4 weeks, to assess the patient’s condition and progress made. The ultimate goal is for you, the patient, to hold your correction to the allow the body to heal and come more on a maintenance basis.

The misalignment of the neck can cause dysfunction down to the rest of the body. Typically nerve impingement at the top will create an imbalance in nerve function to the entire body and muscles, leading to a distorted spine and hip, and as a result, lead to pain and disc herniations.

At the start of care, we go over your recommended treatment plan as well as ways to keep your neck stabilized and when to recognize when the alignment is lost. It is more unstable in the beginning as we are working to retrain your muscles and spine to adapt to the “new” position your spine should be in for a proper functioning nervous system. Not everyone will be able to recognize a lost alignment and that is why we recommend maintenance check-ups to allow your body to function to its full potential. Over time, some patients may be more in tune with their bodies and notice different signs/symptoms that may indicate they are out of alignment. If you ever feel that something is wrong, schedule an appointment to have your spine checked.

People can become misaligned many different ways. Most of the time from some sort of accident or injury that occurred at some point in their life. Other times it is exposure to stress or poor posture. However, it could have also been caused from birth. Birth tends to be a very traumatic process for a newborn. The longer the body remains misaligned the more the rest of the body feels the repercussions.

After getting an alignment, it can be lost because we are still subjected to stress on a daily basis and are at risk, even if it is not great, to an injury. Posture while walking, standing, or sitting can cause the neck to become misaligned again as could over exerting yourself while lifting.

Yes. As a matter of fact, we ENCOURAGE our patients to bring in their children for chiropractic care. We see kids as young as a day old. Birth can be a very traumatic process for both mom and babies. However, for kids, they do not know how to process the dysfunction and/or pain and therefore display the effects of the misalignment in different forms. For infants, it usually is more in a form of being colicky, not sleeping, or bowel movements. For toddlers and kids, it may be all of that, with the addition of attention disorder leading to misbehaving and being very irrational, and/or a weaken immune system, therefore getting sick quite often and for a extended period of time. Kids behavior and signs of getting sick is typically one of the tell signs of being out of alignment and that is typically when parent would bring them in for and adjustment, and they see such a drastic difference. The best thing with this, is that kids usually recovers and quick and stabilizes better than an adult because the trauma has not been there as long.

Yes, but only for a few hours. After your first correction, the collar should be worn for at least 3 hours and 3 hours for follow up corrections.

Some people have even worn their collars at additional times when they felt that their neck muscles were weak. This is fine to do but should be done in moderation. Wearing the collar too long, too often can actually weaken the neck muscles and the correction because they are not learning to properly support the head.

The first visit is to determine if somebody is a candidate for care and is usually around $270 and includes the consultation, examination, and x-rays. In some complex cases, advanced imaging and detailed exam procedures may be necessary beyond this initial cost. However, we are currently running a new patient special where you can get $50 off that first visit!

During the second visit, your doctor will review the results of your x-rays, examination, other imaging that may have been taken, and review your recommended treatment plan. The cost is $195 and it includes the first correction, post x-rays, and soft cervical collar.

Once your individual treatment plan is determined, future costs will be better understood for your recovery. Future office visits can range anywhere between $35-$100 depending on the treatments and services being rendered.

We do not offer payment plans at this time. We do require payment in full at the time of service.

We are out of network, therefore it is best to check with your carrier to see what “out of network” benefits you have toward chiropractic care. We use codes that insurance companies recognize, so we can print out a detailed receipt (super-receipt) that will give the insurance company the information they need to know to reimburse patients. We do not bill the insurance company directly. Services are paid for by our patients and then our patients are reimbursed by their insurance company for their care, based on their coverage.