Does anyone here has experience with chiropractors trying “pulling back” the atlas with adjustments (basically just putting pressure on the atlas to make it move back away from the styloid process)?
Specifically interested in peoples experience with NUCCA.
Obviously I would only consider from a very skilled/experiences chiro with knowledge about Eagle Syndrome - the chiro was actually the one who figured out there was eagle syndrome / jugular vein compression in the first place.
Please share any thoughts, both for/against, greatly appreciated:)
My experience was not with NUCCA but with Atlas Orthogonal (AO), which is similar to NUCCA, as I understand. It’s a very gentle procedure, for folks with severe AAI/CCI, like I have. If you’re dealing with either CCI or AAI, you might have trouble keeping the atlas in, even with NUCCA/AO. In my opinion, AO is even gentler on the neck than NUCCA. Depending what all you have going on, no one thing is a total fix! Best wishes!
It can help sometimes with surgery, but often the C1 doesn’t hold it’s position, and often there’s other symptoms caused by the styloids, so it’s not at all common for people to avoid surgery with Nucca or AO adjustments…
Do you mean “it can help sometimes with adjustments”? Or else I think I need some more explaining to fully understand your message
Also - when you say “it’s not at all common for people to avoid surgery with Nucca or AO adjustments…” do you know of any posts where they had succes? (I coulnd’t find any).
I just got a couple of adjustments (he trying using NUCCA to push the atlas back, but I didn’t see any chance. He want to try again, not sure if I’m wasting my time, or if some people actually have succes
Sorry, I’ve just read through my post & it’s not clear, especially when English isn’t your first language
I mean it can help sometimes, along with surgery… but often doesn’t hold.
I have a feeling there was a member who postponed surgery as the adjustment helped, but I’m sorry I can’t remember who, it’s certainly not something we’ve heard of often.
Here’s a post from @Glitterbats:
‘*I do have CCI which I have had allot of prolo-therapy/ AO for over several years and while my C1 hasn’t gone out for about 2 years, I am hoping it holds through this surgery. It would be great to hear from more CCI patients about how ES surgery went.’
It was in this discussion: Surgery coming up - General - Living with Eagle
But not sure if she actually postponed surgery or wasn’t in a position to have it / wasn’t diagnosed with ES though…
So I guess it’s down to you whether you try another adjustment, I can’t say if it’ll help, maybe others who’ve tried Nucca can help…
I’m getting confused when talking about it “doesn’t hold” - like does that mean that the chiro manages to create more space for the vein (by moving atlas away from the styloid), but then the atlas falls back again later and compresses? Because if that is the case it seems scary to get surgery, which with my logic would make the atlas be able to slip around even more in there…
Yes saying it doesn’t hold does mean that it slips back to it’s previous position- we’re only talking millimetres here, but that can be enough to cause compression or ease compression.
There have been discussions about whether the C1 vertebra can become more unstable with surgery, some members feel that it can, others don’t feel that it does. The ligaments holding the C1 are kept intact though. But if there’s compression on the IJV caused by the styloid then removing the styloid gives you the best chance of relieving that compression. PT etc can sometimes help strengthen the neck after surgery…
@IJVman Based on all of the posts I have read over the past few years as well as my own experience trying everything before surgery, it seems that if the styloids/C1 are causing compression or that the styloids themselves are irritating nerves it requires surgical intervention to resolve it.
Okay, thanks - I also reckon chiropractic approaches would have been way more praised and discussed (instead of so much focus on surgery) if it actually did help a lot of people
Precisely. But I still go get upper cervical chiro done (and thoracic and lumbar, cause my ribs are always popping out and pelvis too) just for the relief it gives. When pain is so intense sometimes, even an hour or two of relief – if that’s how long it lasts – is still relief! Also agree with @Jules and @Chrickychricky on how they explained it.
Believe me when I say that I tried everything prior to surgery and I applaud you for taking good care of yourself and getting some respite from the madness.
