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. .

Chiropractic For Boy With Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, Depression & Insomnia

From the July 12, 2003 issue of the peer reviewed, “Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, comes a case study of a very ill nine year old boy. According to the case study, this child was suffering from a multitude of problems including, asthma and upper respiratory infections since infancy; headaches since age 6; Tourette Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression and insomnia since age 7; and neck pain since age 8. It was noted in this child’s history that he had been delivered by forceps delivery. His mother described her son as being “constantly sick since birth.”

There has been much discussion about forceps delivery causing a variety of health problems in children. In the December 2nd, 1999 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, was a report that showed that the forceps delivery death rate was more than twice that for vaginal delivery. This situation along with other trauma the young boy had experienced offered some possible explanation for the findings of subluxations in this child. During the patient’s initial examination, evidence of a subluxation stemming from the upper cervical spine was found. Chiropractic care was then administered to correct and stabilize the patient’s upper neck subluxations.

Following six weeks of chiropractic care, all six conditions were absent and remained absent five months later at the conclusion of care. In a follow up seven months later, no asthma attacks, headaches, neck pain, insomnia, behavioral trouble, or tics had occurred. He had not suffered any infections, nor had he used any medications other than his half-dose of Wellbutrin. His mother reported that her son’s only “problem” was becoming accustomed to being a “normal” child who was required to complete chores, walk home from school by himself, or complete school work during allotted time.

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More Kids Receiving Psychiatric Drugs

In the January 14, 2003 issue of the Washington Post is a news story that reported the results of a study done at the University of Maryland in Baltimore on the drastic increase in psychiatric drug use in children. The study, which evaluated 900,000 children on Medicaid in a Midwest state, showed that more than 6 percent of children were taking drugs such as Prozac, Ritalin and Risperdal.

This means that the number of American children being treated with psychiatric drugs has grown sharply in the past 15 years, tripling from 1987 to 1996 with no sign of slowing. The authors of the study said they fear that cost-saving techniques by insurance companies, marketing by the pharmaceutical industry and increased demands on parents and doctors may be driving the increase.

In response to the study, Michael Jellinek, chief of child psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, said, “There are fewer options other than medication.” He noted that insurers have increased their profits by decreasing the use of psychotherapy, which is more expensive than drugs in the short term. He continued, “The insurance system gave an incentive for medications and a disincentive for therapy.”

Julie Zito, lead author and researcher at the University of Maryland, points out, “Other than zonking you, we don’t know that behavioral management by drug control is the way to learn to behave properly. If we are using drugs to control behavior, that doesn’t change the underlying problem if someone doesn’t know how to get along with their peers.”

“The medicine may help the symptoms but not address issues of self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and family relationships, all of which are part of recovery,” said Jellinek, who analyzed Zito’s study. He continued, “You can get a lot of benefit from behavioral treatments. If someone is getting medicines for obsessive-compulsive disorder, I would like to see them be given a trial of behavioral therapy to see if that helps them and maybe decrease the medication.”

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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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