Why I Believe In Upper Cervical Care

By Mollie Gordon, HHC

 

Life is full of unexpected surprises. Some are happy while others aren’t, and we all experience both kinds. This summer, I had my full portion of not-so-happy ones: a car accident and an incident in a public park. Both of them tested my body’s resilience as well as my emotional resolve. Both of them occurred within a month of each other. Both of them could have really hurt me, but they didn’t. Why? I believe it's because I’m under Upper Cervical Care as a life choice.

 

Four Years Ago

 

I have spent the bulk of my life not using traditional medicine as my go-to. Instead, I have used chiropractic care, quality nutrition principles, and alternative health approaches like massage and bodywork. Four years ago, I came under care at Dr. Chad’s because Upper Cervical Care made sense when he explained it to me. Correct the misalignment at the top of my spine, and my body will regain structural balance over time. I had a great general chiropractor in Los Angeles, who kept me well for 13 years, but I never understood why I needed my bones to be cracked and twisted every time I went to see him. When I learned about Upper Cervical Care and the relationship between the parts of my spine and the top two bones in the neck, it finally made sense. I chose Upper Cervical Care for overall health, and my spine corrected itself. The natural curve returned to my lower and upper back, and my legs became “equal length” again. Chronic pain left my body, and I felt the healthiest I had in years. In fact, not only did my body regain structural balance, but my life did, too. I found my calling as a Holistic Health Coach, and now work part-time at Dr. Chad’s helping with office operations and clinic marketing.

 

June 2015: The Car Accident

 

On a Saturday in mid-June 2015, I was rear-ended while at a full-stop. My immediate thought (after, “Wha-?!?!?!?) was “Thank God I’m under care at Dr. Chad’s.” In the summer of 2003, I was also rear-ended while at a full-stop, and I remember clearly how immediately following the accident, I had radiating pain down my right arm. Following this recent accident, I mindfully checked my body to see if I were again feeling radiating pain. I was in shock, so it was particularly important that I really be aware of how my body felt following the impact. Fortunately, this time I didn’t have that kind of pain. I felt both feet on the ground equally (no need for a “kickstand”), and I felt much more structurally balanced than the time in 2003. I knew I had whiplash, but it was whiplash following a proper alignment instead of whiplash following a weakened structural balance.

 

I came into Dr. Chad’s the Monday following the accident, and by that time, my pain had significantly increased. I asked for new X-rays because I knew this was a new injury, and while it was similar, it was new. He corrected my misalignment, and the knot of pain that had formed in the base of my neck was instantly relieved. I had nausea and sickness as a result of the trauma and the correction, but by going home and not working that day, I was able to rest and heal more quickly than if I’d addressed my whiplash with medicine. When I awoke from my long nap, I felt much better, and the nausea was gone.

 

Later that week, I met with a sports medicine doctor at Urgent Care to confirm that no bones had been broken. I was still experiencing pain in my mid-back, and he determined that my pain was simply my muscles healing from the trauma and that it was a natural muscular response. He referred me to an Osteopath in the event that my hips continued to hurt, but he also seemed rather confident that I would heal well. We agreed that my approach to health was a good one.

 

Since the car accident, I have continued to be checked by Dr. Chad on a consistent basis. I know well enough how the body works, and following a trauma as severe as my whiplash, my body and muscles will need time and maintenance to keep my upper cervical bones in place. Again, each day that I wake up not feeling my best, I say to myself, “Thank God I’m under Upper Cervical Care.”

 

July 2015: The Park Incident

 

The Friday before the month-mark of my car accident held an unexpected event that I will long remember. For the past 3 years, I have worked with individuals with Special Needs, specializing in Autism. This particular Friday, I was excited about continuing to heal from the car accident and to begin a more intensive walking schedule than I had been observing. Unexpectedly, my plan isn’t what happened. Instead, the individual with whom I was working had a biological event and became severely aggressive while we were on a walk in the park. I am unable to give details of the event for legal reasons, but the end result was my being attacked 7 separate times, including being knocked to the ground. This scared me to my core, but even as I was being evaluated by the EMTs, “Thank God I’m under Upper Cervical Care” played in the background of our conversation.

 

Because this incident was so shocking and intense, I found myself in yet another Urgent Care facility. I was again evaluated for physical injury, and luckily all I sustained was muscle sprain and some bruises. Emotionally, I was also injured, but I have been under the appropriate care for that. As I told Dr. Chad about it during one of our talks, I began crying because suddenly I really understood how close I’d been to greater injury had I not been in structural balance before these events had happened, a choice I made four years prior. In a new way, I came to believe even more strongly about how valuable it is to be under Upper Cervical Care in all its forms: initial acute injury, ongoing maintenance, and the unexpected acute injury. It was then that I also realized I had saved myself from the hospital not once but twice this summer because of how I choose to take care of myself.

 

Conclusion

 

I am still healing from both incidents in different ways, but I am confident that I am doing everything I can to avoid long-term complications from these events. I will be under Upper Cervical Care for the rest of my life because I know that while I can hold a correction for several months, my alignment has been compromised by this car accident, and I will need the maintenance plan that Dr. Chad and other UCC doctors offer. I don’t want to be a woman with serious lower back problems or other health complications later in life because I didn’t properly address the real injury: whiplash and brainstem subluxation. Yes, life will happen, but I’m thankful that I have this natural approach available where I live. This summer’s events only strengthened my belief in Upper Cervical Care. It works.

 

Mollie is a Holistic Health Coach. Please visit her website at www.sacredbodyhealth.com for more information. In addition, Mollie is the Marketing and Business Coach at Triad Upper Cervical Clinic.