UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTIC CARE PART 2: The Scanner (Computerized Infrared Thermography)
In Part 1 of this series we looked at what is regular Chiropractic and how Upper Cervical differs.
In Part 2 we are diving into one of the unique features of Upper Cervical care: the fact that we measure your autonomic nervous system function at every visit, before and after an adjustment using a specialised scanner, officially known as Computerized Infrared Thermography.
A summary of what we’ll cover:
> What is Computerized Infrared Thermography
> Computerized Infrared Thermography: Safe For All
> The 4 Reasons Why We Use This Technology
> Your Autonomic Nervous System is Running The Show (and CIT lets us measure it)
> Thermography Uses in Other Areas of Healthcare
> How We Use Thermography Throughout Your Upper Cervical Care Program
Recap:
> PART 1: The difference between regular Chiropractic and Upper Cervical
Keep learning:
> PART 5: What to expect in your Upper Cervical Chiropractic care program
What is Computerized Infrared Thermography?
One of my favourite parts of what we do as Upper Cervical Chiropractors is that we use scientific data from state-of-the-art technology to help us make the decisions for your healing process.
This state-of-the-art technology is called Computerized Infrared Thermography (CIT). It measures differences in skin temperature along the spine - a bit like a big thermometer - and this can tell us vital information about your autonomic nervous system (the part of your nervous system that is under automatic control).
Think of other checks that can be done to know how your body and internal systems are working: blood pressure, temperature, HRV (heart rate variability), blood tests - they all have a normal range, and anything outside of that range indicates that the body is not working optimally.
This is the same for CIT - we can see if the differences in temperature along the spine are within normal ranges, or not.
When the scan is outside of normal ranges, this gives us an indication that there is interference to your autonomic nervous system - specifically in the balance of the sympathetic vs. the parasympathetic functions. Interference typically comes from the Upper Cervical region of your spine, specifically Atlas or Axis.
Using just the scan alone is not enough to come to any conclusions, however we use it as an integral piece of the puzzle, alongside many other checks and measurements, when looking at your body, spine and nervous system to understand how you’re currently doing. Is your nervous system and body in a state of ease, or dis-ease? Do you have interference to your central nervous system originating in your upper cervical spine, or not?
Computerized Infrared Thermography: Safe For All
And one of the best parts - because it’s infrared it has no radiation, making it completely safe and effective for everyone including children and pregnant women. We can use it multiple times throughout each of your visits in our office to gain more information on your central nervous system and how you’re doing without any harm whatsoever.
The 4 Reasons Why We Use This Technology
To have an objective measure that tells us how your autonomic nervous system is doing in the moment (and not only relying on things we can see or feel on the outside)
To know if you truly have interference to your nervous system on that day (and therefore require a specific adjustment, or not)
To measure the change in your nervous system after the adjustment (so we know you’re leaving the office better than when you came in).
It also gives invaluable insights when someone feels something new or different after an adjustment. We can see if that person’s nervous system is free from interference, adapting to the change or stuck in a stress pattern. Knowing this information allows us to guide and support our clients with the next best steps for what they are currently experiencing, allowing us to give a tailored approach at every visit.
Sophie using the Computerized Infrared Technology (CIT) scanner to measure a clients nervous system.
Your Autonomic Nervous System is Running The Show (and CIT lets us measure it)
From measuring something as simple as skin temperature we get an insight into the function of the autonomic (i.e. automatic) part of your nervous system.
The automatic part of your nervous system has the biggest influence on your health and life; it controls everything in your body that you don’t have to think about.
Examples of things that automatically happen in your body are; breathing, heart rate, immunity, healing & repair, energy, hormone cycles, sleep, mood, and skin temperature.
Just like a doctor uses different tests, like taking your blood pressure, to gain information about you and your health, we use CIT. We use this technology at your first visit and every subsequent visit to check that what’s happening in your autonomic nervous system is within normal, healthy ranges. And when its not, we can measure your progress to know that you’re improving.
Thermography Uses in Other Areas of Healthcare
In medicine, thermography is currently used in a variety of areas including joint diseases, arthritis, cancer detection (especially when looking for breast cancer), neurology, physiotherapy and sports medicine. CIT is a version of this technology.
If there are big differences in the skin temperature along the spine it indicates that the normal messages coming down from the brain and brainstem are not arriving to all the areas of the body that they are supposed to. This results in lack of communication between the brain and that part of the body.
How We Use Thermography Throughout Your Upper Cervical Care Program
We use this technology on your first visit as part of the analysis we carry out on your nervous system, spine and body.
If we find that you have interference to your autonomic nervous system working optimally and we start your upper cervical care journey, we continue to use CIT on your regular visits.
The CIT allows us to accurately measure the changes happening in your nerve system each time you are in the office so that we can monitor how you’re changing. It also allows us to make custom recommendations based on what’s best for you and your body.
Some further reading on Thermography
Medical applications of infrared thermography: A review - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7110787/
Thermography, the future of the medicine, Roman Garskov believes -https://all-andorra.com/thermography-the-future-of-the-medicine-roman-garskov-believes/
RELATED POSTS
