Upper cervical chiropractor

Ears, nose and throat
1

 Has anyone been to an upper cervical chiropractor or a Blair  chiropractor? I belong to a couple of groups on another forum And then a lot of people are having a 90% reduction in ETD symptoms after treatment.  According to some in the group, a misalignment in the cervical spine is often the root cause of everything from allergies to TMJ to ear issues.   

I would love to try and upper cervical chiropractor but I have suffered with chronic neck pain for 16 months due to a regular chiropractor cracking my neck and tearing overly tight muscles.   I am just now getting to 80% normal with my neck. I’m scared to let anyone else touch it. Plus my ears have been behaving lately   

2

Yes I have been going to a Blair Chiropractor for 3 months and definitely see some improvement in my ETD after the adjustments. My neck curvature has also improved. You can send me an email at

Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.

3

OMG....I'd never go to a Chiro that cracks the neck ! Deep massage is so much better for you.

I see such a connection with all of us on this and other sites regarding neck tightness. I get trigger point shots for this from my allergist as he definitely says tight neck muscles impact the sinuses and eustacian tubes !  It helps so much especially in the neck and shoulder muscles.

I am trying Feldenkreis therapy next.  ( I was in a head-on years ago with a drunk driver....have had neck issues since).

Just MHO, but be careful with chiro's who crack necks !!

Take care....

4

I never agreed to having my neck cracked and he never asked.  He was standing behind me and massaging my shoulders and before I knew what he was doing he reached up and twisted my neck!   It felt OK after he did it but as the day went on I started feeling worse and worse.  I was such a mess...  I was having spasms in the cords of my neck, my hands and feet were numb, it felt like I had a blow torch on my back and I could feel the muscles moving like worms under my skin.   I am finally getting relief from Lyrica.  

From what I've read the upper cervical chiros are very gentle and never do any cracking.  I wish the guy I went to (regular not cervical) had asked.  I would have said no!  I wasn't even there for neck issues!  

5

Awful....dangerous and irresponsible !

I am going to try Feldenkreis therapy next....gentle manipulation of muscles.....and trigger points.

My daughter has a friend whose husband ( Highway Patrolman) was permanently paralyzed by an incompetent Chiropractor who aggressively jerked his neck and he had a stroke. 

Huge lawsuit as his life is ruined.

 

6

Yes I have been going to a Upper cervical chiropractor who does the Blair Technique and have got great results. I have been going for 3 months. 

Went to a regular chiro before who kept cranking my neck and I stopped going after 2 visits. Most dangerous.

7

Yes I went to a cervical chiropractor who used the NUCCA (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association) procedure. Very minor pressure. I went when told by several worthless family and ENT doctors I had eustachian tube dysfunction. It did not help the ear issue which eventually was diagnosed correctly as muscle spasms of the tensor tympani muscle. It did make my walk /gait much smoother. The theory behind NUCCA was if you straighten your neck all other parts of your posture re-align correctly. The pressure in NUCCA is very light

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This is exactly what I discovered ! The tensor tympani muscle, when in spasm, impacts the eustacian tube. I photocopied the info for my ENT out of "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" and he was totally unaware of this connection....when I have muscle spasms around my neck and ears, my nose and eustacian tubes feel stuffy.  The allergist I go to is the one who provides trigger point injections to release spasms in neck which impact allergies when in spasm.  He was the first person to impact this information to me.  This is why so many people on the eustacian tube dysfunction sites talk about neck and cervical issues. Amazing !

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That is amazing as my regular doctor never heard of it either. The function of the muscle is to prevent damage from loud noise and it shuts off the eustachian tube. I am going back to an allergist for a hive condition I just developed and am glad you mentioned the trigger point injection which I am going to ask about. Do you know what is injected? Occassionally useful information does pop up on hear smile

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He in injects xylocaine.......very few allergists do this procedure.  He is young and innovative.

Here in Santa Monica, CA.

Lasts about a week or so.  Insurance covers it which is good as it doesn't cover accupunture.

Good luck

11

Thank you Judy for the name of the injection. The way I found the correct diagnosis of muscle spasms was a doctor who performed innovative procedures. To me you find your best solutions by finding doctors who are researching new techniques and don't just recite what they learned from medical school books.

12

After reading this post five months ago, I researched Upper Cervical Chiro on my own. I found one and made an appointment for an assessment. I am skeptical about everything, but I listened to them. While not cheap, it was doable, albeit painful. I saved this thread because I wanted to try it for a while before giving any sort of feedback since I want to be helpful to anybody that comes upon it.

I am five months into treatment and I believe it has really helped me. I was told to expect at least eight months before I felt 'well', although at my age and with my job and the grind it puts on my body, 100% will never happen. I feel markedly better and am prepared to say that it is worthwhile. My ears have not cleared completely and there is still tinnitus; however, they are significantly clearer and the tinnitus is not as loud. My neck is not near as tight and the tightness in my head, etc. are much better. I hardly think about ETD anymore, which is great since stress plays into it, I believe. I also think that the upper Cervical Chiro helps in the stress and anxiety area, too, which affects ETD.

The staff there also has not ONCE pushed any extra therapy, care, or supplements. One doc did mention magnesium for some muscle aches that I have after lifting weights. I quit nasal rinses or any sprays because, with my deviated septum and cleft palate repair, everything is crooked and anything up my nose makes things worse. I don't worry about any supplements or remedies anymore since they did not work, and even made things worse. This has really helped me.

I was even told last visit that they may put me into maintenance care earlier, which means less visits and a refund since I prepaid for the full treatment of eight months.

I tried a regular Chiro doctor with the heavy cracking of the back and neck a handful of times and, while I felt good for about five minutes after, I felt worse later. This is a completely different experience, and worth it. It's a shame my health insurance will not cover it. The beauty of Kaiser Permanente and its Wal Mart approach to healthcare.

I also reserved the referenced Trigger Point Therapy book from the library and will check it out before spending money on it.

I hope this helps anybody that stumbles across this thread.

13

i have heard the same thing ! THERE IS A DR DREW HALL here in LA WHICH IM THINKING OF TRYING AFRAID OF BEING CRACKED though says it is gentle and no quick adjustments