Single Atlas Professional Realignment with Vibro-Resonance

The innovation of the Atlantomed method

To understand the advantages of the Atlantomed technique, the anatomy of the atlanto-occipital joint must be analysed.

This joint is unique and is held firmly in its correct position by several layers of particularly short and strong muscles, with the help of the joint capsule and several ligaments. This gives the joint considerable stability.

Stiff and inelastic ligaments, in combination with the almost always highly tense suboccipital muscles, give the Atlas-occipital joint extremely limited freedom of rotation in relation to the occiput. In practice, the Atlas tends to firmly maintain the orientation in which it finds itself, right or wrong. As far as flexion and extension of the head are concerned, the already limited movement is performed in a chronically asymmetrical and dysfunctional manner. Only an external force of a certain intensity can permanently change this alignment. After correction, the reduced ligamentous elasticity works in our favour, as it keeps the vertebra correctly aligned, in the same way that it was misaligned before the treatment.

It is easy to understand why the suboccipital structures are so inclined to hold the position of the Atlas firmly in relation to the occiput, by observing what happens when the suboccipital ligaments are no longer able to do so. In the case of ligamentous hyperlaxity, or when the ligaments have been injured in a whiplash accident, the Atlas continually changes its alignment in an uncontrolled manner, regularly triggering vagal disturbances, vertigo and other symptoms that are very familiar to sufferers.

Since these ligaments are poorly elastic (to understand this better, imagine bending a pencil eraser), once they are stretched out of proportion, as can happen during an accident, they tend to remain loose and can no longer provide the stability required by the joint, unless they have been completely torn. In this state, the excursions of the first cervical vertebra are no longer extremely limited as nature intended, so that the Atlas ends up invading the space that would anatomically be reserved for the surrounding vascular and nervous tissue, with all the consequences that are described in detail on the Atlantomed site.

After an accident, it can take up to years for the ligaments involved to regain their natural rigidity and be able to adequately stabilise the joint again.
The Atlantomed treatment does NOT involve risks, it is a completely different treatment from cervical manipulations!

The Atlantomed technique, instead of using the dreaded abrupt impulse, typical of chiropractic manoeuvres, involves mechanical vibro pressure applied to certain very precise points in the suboccipital area. This targeted pressure of sufficient intensity gradually lengthens the muscles (stretching) that harness the Atlas and counteracts the tension of the ligaments that hold it in place, allowing the vertebra to gradually return to its ideal position.

In order to better understand why a single sudden impulse, such as that of chiropractic manipulation, is not sufficient to effectively correct the Atlas, we can make a similarity with the "plastic effect" well known in mechanics: to bend an aluminium plate to 90°, it is not enough to give a single hammer blow, hoping that the plate will bend, but instead a force of the right intensity and duration is needed, impressed by a special machine. In order to achieve the desired bending angle, overcorrection must also be carried out to compensate for the elastic effect of the material.

It goes without saying that even an insufficient force, too short a time or the application of force in the wrong places would not lead to the desired result.

Atlantomed applies the same principle to the correction of the Atlas: in order to bring the first cervical vertebrae back into the correct position, it is not enough to "hit and run", but it is necessary to apply a progressive force, on the exact points and in the exact direction, in order to counteract the tension of the muscles and ligaments, so that when the thrust ends, the Atlas stabilises in the correct position.

While misalignment is the rule for chiropractic cervical manipulation, it is the exception for Atlantomed. A reality easily verifiable radiologically, before and after surgery. Atlantomed is quite simply a unique and revolutionary method. Nevertheless, many people are under the illusion that they can receive similar treatment at their own therapist.

Try to imagine the eraser again and then suppose that you give it a single blow, a hammer blow, a pulse that simulates the impact that the ligaments of the Atlas might suffer when manipulating the cervical spine: do you think that your eraser will remain bent after this single impulse? Or would it be more reasonable to expect everything to return to exactly its initial state as soon as the impulse ceases? If this tyre was holding something in a certain position, do you think a single blow would be enough to change the situation? That's like trying to drive a nail into reinforced concrete with a single blow, using a pencil as a hammer.

You may be wondering whether the treatment will overstretch or perhaps damage your ligaments. You will be reassured to know that the correction is carried out in an absolutely progressive and careful manner and that in hundreds of thousands of treatments carried out, no such problems have been recorded. The slightest stretching suffered by the ligaments is restored within a few weeks, fixing the excursion of the vertebra in its new correct alignment. This is also why we recommend that you do not hit your head during the first few weeks and take it easy for a while. The situation changes if the ligaments are damaged or hyperlaxed. In this connection, study the whiplash page.

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