UPPER CERVICAL SPINE PART 3: Superman and the Importance of Your Upper Cervical Spine
In Part 1, we looked at the bones that make up your Upper Cervical spine. In Part 2 we dove into your precious brainstem and how it resembles a fusebox.
In this final blog of the series we’re looking at a real life example of what happens when there is pressure on the brainstem in the Upper Cervical region.
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As most people know the famous Superman actor Christopher Reeve suffered a tragic horse-riding accident which led to him being a quadriplegic (paralysed from the neck down).
What actually happened? Christopher shattered his Atlas (C1) and Axis (C2) creating a spinal cord injury when he fell headfirst off his horse who refused to make a jump. He received extensive surgery to help stabilize his skull on top of his neck however the spinal cord injury remained as the damage was already done from the initial swelling.
THE UPPER CERVICAL SPINE AFFECTS THE WHOLE BODY
This is an extreme example of how a change in the upper cervical area (C1 and C2) can have global effects in the body.
He was unable to move his arms and legs due to the upper cervical injury.
He was unable to breathe normally and independently of a machine, due to the upper cervical injury.
He was unable to digest normally due to the upper cervical injury.
And towards the end of his life he suffered from an infection from bedsores that his body’s immune system was unable to fight, due to the upper cervical injury.
Christopher Reeve’s story is very sad, and is an extreme example of the importance of the upper cervical area, brainstem and spinal cord. A severe injury in this area creates devastating effects.
SUBTLE CHANGES IN YOUR UPPER CERVICAL SPINE CAN CREATE BODY-WIDE IMBALANCES
In our office we look for subtle changes in this area which can create global negative effects in the body in any of the systems; muscular, digestive, hormonal, energy, sleep, immunity, cardiovascular, respiratory, and how your body repairs itself.
We do this using the advanced scanner, specialist images of the area so we can see inside your upper cervical region and then we care for the Atlas and Axis through specific precision adjustments.
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