How Upper Cervical Chiropractic Avoids Twisting, Cracking and Popping

At Madigan Family Health Center, we pride ourselves on being known as the gentle chiropractor. We get this name from avoiding twisting cracking and popping. For a lot of new patients, they don’t really understand how we can even align someone’s spine without twisting them like a pretzel. The secret is our three technique approach. We utilize three processes known as the The Thompson Drop Technique, Activator Technique and Upper Cervical Technique to precisely, gently and accurately put your body in alignment. Let’s get into how each of these three techniques work:

Thompson Drop Technique

This technique gets its name from the Thompson Drop Table, which we use in our office. The primary function of the drop table is to help with the alignment of the hips. If your hips are out of alignment, the drop table allows us to apply pressure where needed and get a gentle drop at the same time to get your hips into alignment.

Activator Technique

This technique is named for the tool that we use called the activator. It almost looks like a little syringe, but in fact what it does is it helps nudge and twist the vertebrae of your spine into the right alignment. We also use this tool on your ribs that are often also out of place. Instead of a big bear hug with a twist, or the heel of our hands to achieve a big “pop”, we find the activator provides more consistent results and less discomfort during and after an adjustment.

Upper Cervical Technique

The upper cervical technique is used for – somewhat obviously – the upper cervical area of the spine. This area is a little too delicate, and the adjustments just a little too precise for the activator to get the job done. So with Dr. Justin’s upper cervical technique, we use the Laney Instrument. It functions somewhat like the activator in that it applies pressure directly to a specific point. However, the Laney Instrument is much more precise and more gentle too. We can dial the pressure to exactly what it needs to be, ensuring that your upper cervical spine and most importantly your atlas at the base of your skull is in alignment down to the millimeter.

If you’d like to learn more about how we get the best results with none of the twisting, cracking or popping, schedule an appointment, follow us on social media or sign up for our email list!