The Atlas Orthogonal technique uses x-rays based on your neck. Since I have scoliosis a series of x-rays was also done of my back. It was determined that my Atlas bone was 17mm off of alignment (the most Dr. Greg had seen outside of a textbook!) and that the degrees of my scoliosis were at or around fifty degrees for my thoracic and lumber spine.
I went for my first adjustment. After, I went for another series of x-rays of my neck to make sure the Atlas bone was in proper alignment. It was.
I started to notice differences in my body right away. The longer I kept adjustment, the better I felt. I started to regain mobility that I had lost. I was able to do more things without my back hurting. I noticed that my hips seemed to have straightened out. The curve of my spine, when I looked in a mirror, was a lot less noticeable, and on a whole I just felt better.
When I first started treatment I needed to see Dr. Greg more often. In a way, you had to retrain your Atlas bone back into correct alignment. As the years have gone on I hold adjustment a lot longer and only need to go once every four to six weeks unless I throw myself out of alignment.
I started exercising again and learning to listen to my body. I know the signs to look for when I throw myself out of alignment (headache, pain in back, neck feels tight). As the years have gone on I throw myself less and less out of alignment. Recently, we did x-rays of my neck to see how out of alignment my Atlas bone now is when I do throw myself out of alignment. Originally, when I started this treatment six years ago it was 17mm off alignment, now six years later my Atlas bone only goes 2mm off of alignment!
Two years ago we also did another series of x-rays of my spine to see how my scoliosis was doing. The results were amazing! My spine had actually straightened a little! My curves were now in the mid-40’s for my thoracic and lumber spine! And the results were actually noticeable when I went to my doctor’s office for a physical because for the first time in my life I measured in at 5 feet!
It’s amazing to think how one little bone (the Atlas) can really make a difference throughout your whole body if it is off alignment. I have seen just how much Atlas Orthogonal treatment can help scoliosis. Since starting treatment my pain has disappeared, I have grown an inch, my scoliosis has straightened out, my scoliosis is a lot less noticeable, my hips have evened out. I just feel better on a whole!
And here’s the interesting thing. Most scoliosis is idiopathic meaning there is no known cause, although it is known to run within families. I was always told mine was idiopathic, but no one in my family had scoliosis. While Dr. Greg was reviewing my x-rays he found out something interesting. He believes I was born with it; that my spine had never formed correctly. As he explained to me, the first bone that forms of your spinal column is like the building blocks for the rest of the spine. If something is wrong with that bone, the spine, as it develops, has to adapt. The first bone of my spinal column was not a perfect square so the rest of my spine could grow straight. It was deformed and is kind of veering to one side. It’s hard to describe how it looks, but, when you see it, it makes sense that my spine couldn’t grow straight; it could only curve.
With Dr. Greg’s findings it made me think of something. I had never crawled as a baby. Instead, I did this very weird belly flop solely using my elbows and stomach to propel myself across the floor. There is actually home video of this and I was quite adapt at my way of moving. I could go pretty fast. So, I wondered, was it because of how my spine formed that I was never strong enough to crawl? I asked Dr. Greg and he thinks that might have been the case.
I’m twenty-six now and finally have a treatment to maintain my scoliosis that is non-invasive, painless, and requires no surgery! I’m still alive (unlike that Orthopedic doctor said), and doing well. I can breathe with no problems and my scoliosis is not affecting my lungs or heart (I had a stress test done recently and all my organs are functioning perfectly). Atlas Orthogonal has helped me in ways I never imagined and I only wish more people knew about this amazing treatment. Surgery is not the only answer. I’m living proof of that.
It amazes me sometimes how far I've come in my journey with scoliosis and how my determination to find a non-surgical technique led me in the right direction. My spine now is 100% better than it ever was and I feel good on a whole. I don't know what the future holds for me on my scoliosis journey, but I do know that I have found an answer. People need to know there are answers out there besides surgery. You need to keep faith and hope and keep searching because the answers are out there only waiting to be discovered. Tune in tomorrow :)
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