At Core Balance Centre, we welcome your referrals and strive to work collaboratively with our patients’ practitioners to optimize their clinical results. We understand that injuries to the upper neck can be quite complex and as such have dedicated our NUCCA practice to evaluating and managing injuries to this area.

NUCCA treatment consists of a set of protocols utilizing principles based on mathematics, physics, and biomechanics developed by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA). It involves an image guided approach to evaluate and treat misalignments of the craniocervical junction (CCJ). Due to the sensitive neurology in this region, injuries or instability at the CCJ can manifest in a host of different patient presentations, including headaches and migraines, cervicogenic dizziness, TMJ related dysfunction, trigeminal neuralgia, problems with balance and coordination, and disability due to neck and back pain.

One of the first visual cues that there may be a problem at the CCJ manifests as a break down in postural balance and control. The adult head weighs approximately 10-14 lbs. When this weight is shifted off center, the occipitoatlantoaxial joint complex is then held in a misaligned or stressed position by muscles and ligaments. This joint complex dysfunction can result in disrupted mechanoreceptor and nociceptor input and result in downstream spinal and pelvic adaptations to keep the body in an upright position. Outwardly, this may look like head tilt, low shoulder or pelvic drop, twisting through the shoulder and pelvic girdles, and development of a functional short leg.