How is your Atlas and Axis Alignment?

At the top of your spine, there are two very special bones. These bones, the Atlas and Axis, are found in every human being and all vertebrate animals. They were created to support your head and protect the most vital part of your nervous system, the brain stem, while at the same time allow for maximum movement in the neck. 

The story begins like this, and it could happen to anyone. 

Mary had a difficult birth. Her mother labored for many hours before the doctor finally pulled her from the birth canal with forceps. Anyone observing the birth could    easily see that this placed extreme stress to the baby’s upper neck, but the doctor assured her mother that this is common and the baby did appear to be doing fine. However, the next few months were difficult, because Mary was having a terrible time with colic, irritability, and constant crying. Once again, her mother was reassured, and everything was chalked up to Mary just being a “fussy baby.” 

A year went by and like most toddlers Mary fell on average 5000 times while learning to walk. The first two bones of Mary’s spine are the smallest (as they are for all of us) yet they hold the weight of her six pound head. Because these are the only bones in the spine that aren’t “locked” into place like the other bones in the spine, they take the brunt of the force. By age two, Mary was experiencing recurrent ear infections that antibiotics just couldn’t “fix”. 

At age seven, Mary fell off her bike. She got a few scrapes, bumps and bruises and complained of soreness for a couple days, but bounced back pretty easily, and Mom thought she’d be just fine. Oddly enough, Mary seemed to “catch” every cold and flu bug that winter. By spring, she developed a new allergy to grass and pollen. She must have been run down.

In high school, Mary played soccer on the varsity team subjecting her body to lots of tackles and using her head to strike the ball. She then went to college where her academic work was emotionally stressful and after graduation joined the “real world” where her stress continued.

At age 35 Mary had a fender bender that whip-lashed her upper neck that caused her pain and difficulty in turning her head. Her hips and legs felt a little “off” although she couldn’t really explain it. She thought maybe it was because she was getting older. These things happen, right? By this time, Mary was experiencing headaches more and more often. They could be debilitating even though she had been prescribed medication. Later she began to experience chronic fatigue and bouts of depression. Her doctor prescribed Imatrex for the headaches, Ambien to sleep and Prozac to help her “cope.” Nothing seemed to help.

By age 40 Mary had been diagnosed with migraines, arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and depression. This true story is the story of millions of people. Substitute the traumas (physical, emotional, chemical) and the symptoms, and in the end, you have a very common story which is repeated daily throughout the world.  

It’s all about the proper alignment of the Atlas and the Axis, the top two bones in your neck which allow for the optimal function of the brain stem. 

 Have you been checked lately to see if your atlas and axis are in proper alignment?