Have you ever been involved in an auto accident and whiplashed your neck? Have you ever hit your head or suffered a concussion? Have you engaged in any high-impact sports such as surfing, soccer, football, gymnastics or horseback riding? Have you taken any falls down stairs or slippery sidewalks? Do you spend a lot of time working at a computer or slumped over a desk? If so, you may have sustained a misalignment of your head upon your neck, which may be compromising your brain’s health!

Each person’s head weighs approximately ten pounds and is designed to sit precisely upon the center axis of the neck in order for nerve impulses to transmit freely between the brain and spinal cord. If, due to trauma, the head is misaligned off of its center axis, it will sit “crooked” upon the neck and will “pinch” the connection between the brain and spinal cord, resulting in the interruption of nerve impulses.

Symptoms of trauma-induced misalignment of the head and neck may include chronic pain, post-concussion syndrome, brain fog, pinched nerves, muscle spasm, trouble concentrating, memory loss, mood changes, sleep trouble, nerve pain, numbness and tingling, decreased immune function, headache, dizziness, fatigue, neurological disease and many more!

Fortunately, there is a specialized chiropractic technique – known as upper cervical care – which focuses upon the alignment of the head and the upper neck. To accurately assess whether an individual may benefit from care, the upper cervical chiropractor will perform two diagnostic tests: thermal imaging and digital X-rays of the cervical spine. If an upper cervical misalignment is diagnosed, the patient’s injured neck is corrected by administering a precise adjustment by hand on a specially-designed knee chest table. Many patients notice improvement in symptoms with just a few treatments.

With over 20 years of experience as a specialist in the upper cervical spine, Upper Cervical Chiropractor Dr. Erin Elster, D.C., has maintained a practice on Maui for the past four years. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Dr. Elster in Kahului at (808) 866-6551 or www.erinelster.com.