The Atlas Vertebra

IS YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT?

Play the animation of the atlas vertebra segment (1:05)	Many years of clinical research points to the fact that most of the problem associated with spinal misalignment and its consequences can be associated with the atlas vertebra, the top cervical bone in the neck.This single bone can effect the alignment of the entire spine. The spine is like a chain—when the first link is twisted and turned, each link down to the last turns—thereby disrupting the rest of the chain.Consider the atlas the first and therefore the most important link in that chain. The human body is balanced when the head is positioned in the center of the feet. When the atlas is misaligned it causes the head to tilt. The spine then shifts to support the weight of the head, thereby creating biomechanical and postural stresses and strains. When the atlas bone is properly aligned, that is in the neutral position, the rest of the spinal vertebra come into better alignment allowing the body to heal itself. The delicate and complex connections of the nervous system allow communication between the systems of the body. .
Play the animation of the misaligned Atlas (1:35)	The atlas vertebra weighs a mere two ounces and the human head weighs 9 to 17 pounds. The name ATLAS came from the comparison of the Greek mythology figure, Atlas, who carried the world on his shoulders. The atlas is located directly under the head, connecting the head to the rest of the spine.The atlas supports the weight of the head most efficiently in the orthogonal, or neutral position.Trauma in one form or another is the primary cause of misalignment. When the atlas vertebra is subjected to stresses and strains, it may be pushed out of proper alignment.Trauma may include the birthing process, car accidents (no matter how minor and regardless of immediate symptoms), slips and falls, blows to the head, or sports related injuries. Repetitive micro traumas, such as bad sleeping habits, poor posture, incorrect lifting and carrying can also cause misalignment. .
Play animation showing disruption of the normal function of the nervous system (1:09)	Once the atlas is moved out of the neutral position the body will compensate to maintain its center of gravity. It does this by keeping the head directly over the center of the feet. To maintain this level position of the head, the rest of the spine is thrown out of alignment. The body alters its structure in such a way that the muscles contract to cause one leg to appear shorter.In most cases one leg is not actually shorter than the other, but is drawn short due to the body’s compensation for the displaced atlas. The resulting misalignment may cause nerve pressure and inflammation causing a disruption of the normal functioning of the nervous system. This one dysfunction may play a role in a multitude of symptoms and pain in different areas of the body. Besides directly impacting the neck, we can see other effects such as decreased curves in the neck, scoliosis, and changes in the alignment in the shoulders and pelvis. These changes in the alignment affect the structural integrity of the skeletal system AND proper function of the nervous system. When either system is compromised, a host of other problems can occur ranging from headaches and neck pain to behavioral problems and learning difficulties or even poor digestion. .

The Medicated Child – FRONTLINE

In recent years, there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of children being diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders and prescribed medications that are just beginning to be tested in children. The drugs can cause serious side effects, and virtually nothing is known about their long-term impact. “It’s really to some extent an experiment, trying medications in these children of this age,” child psychiatrist Dr. Patrick Bacon tells FRONTLINE. “It’s a gamble. And I tell parents there’s no way to know what’s going to work.”

In The Medicated Child, FRONTLINE producer Marcela Gaviria confronts psychiatrists, researchers and government regulators about the risks, benefits and many questions surrounding prescription drugs for troubled children. The biggest current controversy surrounds the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorder was long believed to exist only in adults. But in the mid-1990s, bipolar in children began to be diagnosed at much higher rates, sometimes in kids as young as 4 years old. “The rates of bipolar diagnoses in children have increased markedly in many communities over the last five to seven years,” says Dr. Steven Hyman, a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. “I think the real question is, are those diagnoses right? And in truth, I don’t think we yet know the answer.”

Like many of the 1 million children now diagnosed with bipolar, 5-year-old Jacob Solomon was initially believed to suffer from an attention deficit disorder. His parents reluctantly started him on Ritalin, but over the next five years, Jacob would be put on one drug after another. “It all started to feel out of control,” Jacob’s father, Ron, told FRONTLINE. “Nobody ever said we can work with this through therapy and things like that. Everywhere we looked it was, ‘Take meds, take meds, take meds.’”

Over the years, Jacob’s multiple medications have helped improve his mood, but they’ve also left him with a severe tic in his neck which doctors are having trouble fully explaining. “We’re dealing with developing minds and brains, and medications have a whole different impact in the young developing child than they do in an adult,” says Dr. Marianne Wamboldt, the chief of psychiatry at Denver Children’s Hospital. “We don’t understand that impact very well. That’s where we’re still in the Dark Ages.”

DJ Koontz was diagnosed with bipolar at 4 years old, after his temper tantrums became more frequent and explosive. He was recently prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs. “It is a little worrisome to me because he is so young,” says DJ’s mother, Christine. “If he didn’t take it, though, I don’t know if we could function as a family. It’s almost a do-or-die situation over here.” DJ’s medicines seem to be helping him in the short run, but the longer-term outlook is still uncertain. “What’s not really clear is whether many of the kids who are called bipolar have anything that’s related to this very well-studied disorder in adults,” says Dr. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health. “It’s not clear that people with that adult illness started with what we’re now calling bipolar in children. Nor is it clear that the kids who have this disorder are going to grow up to have what we used to call manic-depressive illness in adulthood.”

While some urge caution when it comes to bipolar in children, FRONTLINE talks with others who argue that we should intervene with drug treatments at even younger ages for children genetically predisposed to the disorder. “The theory is that if you get in early, before the first full mood episode, then perhaps we can delay the onset to full mania,” says Dr. Kiki Chang of Stanford University. “And if that’s the case, perhaps finding the right medication early on can protect a brain so that these children never do progress to full bipolar disorder.”

To watch the full program on PBS click here.

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