NUCCA
Gentle care. Life changing results.
Results Across Many Health Conditions
Healing from injury
Because upper cervical adjustment aligns your body so it can maximize its own healing processes, NUCCA is an effective treatment for many problematic conditions.
- Accidents and injury
- Auto accidents
- Falls and other accidents
- Injuries from years past
- Sports and movement-related injury
Hear one man’s story of relief years after his injury.
Pain: chronic and newly experienced pain
- Face pain related to severe trigeminal neuralgia (can’t move, chew or talk)
- Headaches
- Low back pain
- Migraines, including cluster migraines
- Neck pain and restricted mobility
- Pain down arms or legs, including sciatica
Learn how NUCCA helped Drew with headaches and injuries.
Internal systems problems
- Attention Deficit and other neurologically-related syndromes
- Dizziness and vertigo (not getting relief from physical therapy or meds)
- Numbness, tingling in hands, fingers and toes
Preventive care
- Correct minor misalignment before symptoms occur
- Posture improvement
- Pregnancy: support for spinal integrity as the baby grows
- Reduce physical stress on the body caused by occupational and other activities of daily living
Hear how NUCCA treatment helped a dental hygienist.
Additional Benefits
Because the body’s natural healing process is enhanced, NUCCA adjustments can sometimes improve conditions that are unrelated to the reason for treatment.
- AFib, or atrial fibrillation
- Blood sugar imbalance
- Digestive issues, such as constipation, Crohn’s disease and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
NUCCA Technique
NUCCA is a specialty chiropractic technique developed over decades and formalized within the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association in 1966. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan recognized NUCCA and its founder, Dr. Ralph Gregory, for the organization's outstanding commitment to natural, safe chiropractic care. NUCCA member-practitioners receive education and training in all aspects of patient care using its upper cervical technique.
The NUCCA Technique is a set of specific procedures to correct misalignment of the upper neck known as the Atlas Subluxation Complex. Subtle correction restores balance from the head through the entire spine. A balanced spinal column protects and nourishes the central nervous system, which in turn controls all the body’s functions that contribute to good health.
Extensive peer-reviewed research and clinical studies demonstrate that NUCCA restores balance and reduces stress throughout the body, relieving discomfort and pain.
NUCCA Adjustment
Treatment consists of a gentle touch, by hand, to the first vertebra in the neck called the atlas. There are over 10,000 possible adjustments of this small area. No two adjustments are the same and each is calculated precisely based on X-Ray analysis of the individual’s head and neck and physical measurements of shoulder, hip and leg symmetry.
How Misalignment Happens in the First Place
Over time, accidents, injuries and the physical stresses of daily life accumulate, creating imbalance in our body’s structural framework. Like a tooth cavity, what is first unnoticeable gets progressively worse without treatment. Significant trauma to the body, such as a car accident or fall, can cause instant misalignment resulting in acute pain.
Course of Treatment
The spine typically returns to a balanced position after the first one to three adjustments. The body then enters its recovery cycle, stabilizing and holding the balanced alignment.
Many patients report significant changes in their condition within a few days of their first adjustment. Typically, recovery takes one month for every year the spine was out of alignment. For example, it might take 10 months for an adjusted spine to recover from a car accident that occurred 10 years ago and went untreated.
Fewer visits are typically required to achieve treatment goals through NUCCA than other modalities.
Everyone heals at their own pace, depending on overall health, past injuries and current activities. Once recovery is reached many patients choose to maintain alignment through occasional assessment and as-needed adjustment.
Gentle Care for Children and Pregnant Mothers
Birth to Adulthood
The birth process is often traumatic for the newborn. Contractions, pushing and necessary force exerted by the delivery team may result in twisting of the baby’s very elastic spine. Dr. Abramson treated his own four children as early as 10 minutes old. Most families bring their newborns in for a spinal check-up at two to three weeks after birth.
As children develop, they fall, bang into things and stretch their bodies in all kinds of ways. Children’s discomfort or pain can be a sign of spinal misalignment suffered during birth or any number of things as they grow older.
NUCCA is a viable treatment for common and challenging childhood conditions including the following. While this is by no means a guarantee of cure, many parents report seeing improvements in the well-being of their child.
- ADD and ADHD
- Allergies and Asthma
- Autism
- Bed Wetting
- Cerebral Palsy
- Colic
- Ear infections
- Headaches
- Scoliosis
- SIDS
- Sleep Disorder
- Ticks
Pregnancy
Dr. Abramson’s training includes special emphasis on care for pregnant mothers.
The second trimester is a period of rapid growth and development for the baby and physical changes for the mother. By the third trimester, the mother’s body releases a hormone called relaxin, which allows ligaments around the birth canal and pelvis to expand and surrounding structures to shift. Relaxin can cause joint instability in other parts of the body, causing various aches and pains.
Women who have had multiple children may experience extreme low back and leg pain at any time.
NUCCA assessment and treatment is safe for mother and child during pregnancy. There are no medical contra-indications because adjustment occurs only at the top of the spine and is extremely gentle.
If NUCCA assessment is required, our low-radiation X-Rays focus on the neck up and the body is shielded with a lead vest. Since the baby’s nervous system is developing early in pregnancy, we suggest waiting until the end of the first trimester for initial assessment. If you would like further information regarding x-ray safety during pregnancy, look up the chapter regarding dental x-rays in the popular book, What to Expect When Expecting.
