What is NUCCA?

NUCCA is a little known yet highly effective corrective procedure that has been developed and refined since 1966 by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) and its research affiliate the Upper Cervical Research Foundation (UCRF). If you would like to learn more about current research being conducted in the field of NUCCA care, you can also visit The Upper Cervical Monograph for the latest articles about and advancing the NUCCA method.

The NUCCA chiropractic method is a gentle and safe form of chiropractic care, with a focus on long-lasting results. The procedure focuses on decompressing the brainstem and spinal cord and balancing the entire spine. In this unstressed position the communication between the brain and body via the nervous system is more efficient and the body’s nature self-healing process can begin.

Accidents and injuries throughout our lives can tear loose the connective tissue that holds our spinal joints together. In an effort to keep the head centered over the neck, the body will compensate and move into an imbalanced, stressed position. This imbalance shows up with one of the legs being longer or shorter, one hip higher or lower, one shoulder higher or lower, twisting of the body framework, muscular imbalance, abnormal movement, and over time progressive wear and tear.

NUCCA recognizes that this body position can cause stress, tension and pressure on the entire nervous system, most importantly the brain stem and spinal cord. Our body constantly shuttles millions of electrical and chemical signals back and forth from our brain to every cell of our body.  Any restriction or distortion of these signals can affect body function. (Many of these messages are unconscious such as breathing, digestion, and circulation.) If this distortion is not corrected, the long term effect is degeneration of that part of the body serviced by those restricted messages, resulting in mild to severe pain, lowered resistance to illness, behavioral changes, organ dysfunction, loss of mobility in limbs, and ultimately disease.

The NUCCA chiropractor understands and works to address these alignment issues with the NUCCA spinal correction. The main objective of a NUCCA chiropractor is to restore the entire spine back to a balanced, unstressed position, re-empowering the nervous system and the body’s ability to function at its full potential. With the NUCCA spinal correction, the spinal column remains straight and balanced where the weight of the head is centered over the neck.

By utilizing a formula calculated from the patient’s x-rays, the NUCCA chiropractor will apply a slight pre-determined pressure just below the tip of the ear at the atlas vertebrae (first neck vertebrae) to gently re-position the head over the center of the neck. This NUCCA re-positioning is what restores body balance and removes brain stem compression. Immediately, muscles begin to relax, blood and oxygen circulation is increased, healing messages are transmitted from the brain to the affected area and the body’s self healing process begins. The NUCCA spinal correction requires NO FORCEFUL TWISTING, POPPING, OR CRACKING, and is barely felt by the patient.

What makes NUCCA such a unique treatment?

• The NUCCA spinal correction is a scientifically-based, thoroughly researched and well-documented approach to health. (For publications and NUCCA research click here.) NUCCA is the only procedure that uses:
  • 3D composite x-rays to calculate how to best adjust and correct each patient’s individual misalignment.
  • An anatometer with bilateral weight scales to measure body imbalances.
  • Post-adjustment x-rays to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the correction.
• NUCCA is gentle and specific. Not only is the NUCCA spinal correction extremely precise, it uses very little force and many patients are unaware the correction has even taken place. There is no twisting, popping or cracking of the neck or back.
• NUCCA is highly effective.  Click here to hear from patients about their results with NUCCA.
• Because of the precise nature of the NUCCA spinal correction, patients are able hold their corrections for longer periods of time compared to traditional chiropractic methods. This allows for better recovery and lasting results with fewer adjustments.
• Image Guided Treatment: The NUCCA method utilizes x-ray calculations that are tailored to each and every individual patient based on their own personal anatomy and also based on the cumulation of traumas the individual has sustained over their lifetime.

The NUCCA approach to spinal health is very different from other healthcare modalities. In chiropractic there are hundreds of different techniques or procedures available for doctors of chiropractic to use.  Most chiropractic adjustments are performed in good faith, but without objective proof that alignment has been restored.  However, just because a spinal joint pops or makes noise doesn't mean that a bone is back into its optimal position.

As opposed to traditional chiropractors, who make forceful adjustments up and down the spine, NUCCA practitioners utilize the top vertebra of the spine to very specifically and gently realign the entire spine to a balanced position.  The objective of the doctor is to maintain the spine in a neurologically free state with as little adjusting as necessary.  When corrected, the spine needs to be left alone in its normal position until it is misaligned again.  For many patients, a correction can be maintained for long periods of time.