An article released today states that 36 million American adults have uncontrolled blood pressure.  What wasn't mentioned or altogether over shadowed was A Chicago-area study of individuals with a misaligned Atlas vertebra (located high in the neck) and high blood pressure revealed that after a specialized upper cervical chiropractic correction, blood pressure decreased significantly. The decrease was equal to taking two blood-pressure drugs at once.

According to lead author George Bakris, MD, director of the hypertension center at the University of Chicago Medical Center,unlike other vertebrae, which interlock one to the next, the Atlas (also known as C-1) relies solely upon soft tissue (muscles and ligaments) to maintain alignment; therefore is uniquely vulnerable to displacement. Displacement of C-1 can occur without pain and thus, often goes undetected and untreated. A small group of Upper Cervical Doctors have foregone typical “full-spine manipulations,” limiting their practice to precise, delicate corrections to the top two bones in the spine, known as C1 and C2. The authors say the improvement in blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic readings) following the correction of Atlas misalignment is similar to that seen by giving patients two different blood pressure lowering drugs simultaneously.

This is great news but what needs to be understood is that some patients respond better to one upper cervical technique verses another. Lastly, there are also a lot of lifestyle factors which need to be considered as well (ie. diet, exercise, stress, etc).  Don't be afraid to ask your upper cervical doctor is there is another technique or any lifestyle changes that should be made.