Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

What is health?
According to Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary health is defined as "a state of optimal physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity."

How does Chiropractic compare with traditional Medicine?
Chiropractic looks at the body as an organism which is constantly in flux between death and ideal functional wellness. Medicine most often observes and treats people as either sick or not sick. Medical doctors treat symptoms, but know very little about what it is to treat what might be the cause of disease and illness. One thing both Chiropractic and Medicine do agree on is that every body function is controlled and regulated through electrical and chemical impulses of the nervous system initiated from the brain. Achieving an optimal functioning nervous system happens to be the primary focus of the Chiropractic philosophy. The diagnosis and treatment of the effects of a poor functioning nervous system is what Medicine focuses on. Why not go at the cause of the problem? Do you keep moving the bucket which is collecting the rain from a leaky roof, or do you repair the roof? Which makes more sense?

Would a NUCCA Chiropractor be able to help me even though I've had minimal results with traditional Medicine and Chiropractic?
In our NUCCA Chiropractic office, 95% of our patients get relief from their primary complaint over the course of the initial treatment. Almost all of them have already seen at least one medical physician (usually multiple), and one or more chiropractors. Often times these physicians were able to provide some relief to the patient, but the problem still existed or re-occured all too often.

How do I know if I am a candidate for the NUCCA procedure?
A candidate for the NUCCA procedure is anyone who has a spinal misalignment regardless of their age or severity of problem. The consultation with the doctor is designed to evaluate your background history and determine if the doctor feels he/she can help your condition.

How did I get a spinal misalignment (body imbalance)?
An accident or injury was necessary to produce a spinal misalignment. These injuries happen a number of different ways over a lifetime.
The following is a list of different ways one can misalign a spine.

•  child birth

•  childhood falls

•  roller coaster rides

•  a blow to the head

•  automobile accident

•  athletic injuries

•  skiing accidents

•  falls on an icy surface

Is the NUCCA Spinal Correction painful?.
NO, NO, and NO! It's not at all like manipulative type adjustments. NUCCA uses only a slight amount of pressure barely felt by the patient. NO TWISTING, POPPING, or CRACKING.

How safe is NUCCA Health Care?
NUCCA Health Care is one of the safest forms of treatment available. You don't have the side effects of drugs, the risk of surgery, or any painful manipulation to take into consideration. The NUCCA Chiropractor uses a very gentle form of treatment and takes every precaution to make the procedure as safe and effective as possible.

What changes might I expect following the initial correction?

•  Tired and/or relaxed feeling

•  Sore muscles over the first few days

•  Pain or discomfort moving from point to point

•  Ache all over

•  Body elimination changes- a sense of urgency

•  Tingling or heat sensations

•  Sleeping patterns change

Why are x-rays taken before and after the correction?
The x-rays taken prior to the correction allow the doctor to determine how the spine shifted, tilted or rotated from its normal position. After the correction, x-rays are necessary to determine the success of the correction. If an adequate correction was made, then future corrections will be made using the same formula. This procedure leaves no margin for error.

Are x-ray's necessary on follow-up visits?
Once the doctor determines the exact formula for each individual patient based off the success of the initial correction, then future corrections will be made using the same formula. Usually more x-rays are unnecessary unless the patient experiences a fall or serious accident that could affect the initial correction formula.

What can I do to keep from loosing my alignment?
Once the spine has stabilized, the most common cause for the loss of the correction is fatigue. Physical, psychological or emotional stress which tires the body to the point it breaks down. During the initial recovery cycle the NUCCA doctor will begin to teach you how to maintain your alignment with as few corrections as possible. This is achieved by recognizing your own signs of fatigue, and doing what is necessary to avoid losing the correction.

I'm worried about x-ray exposure, what should I do?
Radiation surrounds us. Most of this radiation is in the form of visible light, ultraviolet and infrared light, radio waves, and microwaves. However, the amount of x-ray exposure involved with the NUCCA procedure is extremely low. I am in possession of a letter from the Utah Office of Radiological Safety that states my x-ray machine has less than half the state average of radiation exposure compared to any other machine in the state of Utah.

Take a look below for a comparison of exposures between other forms of radiation.

•  NUCCA x-ray series <.22 mrems

•  Dental x-rays (per x-ray) 910 mrems

•  Apollo moon flight 480 mrems

•  Barium enema (x-ray study) 8,000 mrems

•  Radiation treatment for cancer 6,000,000 mrems

•  CT Scan 4,500 mrems

Why am I adjusted just below the ear when I have low back pain and sciatica?
When there is an accident or injury necessary to produce a spinal misalignment, the body moves into an imbalanced position, placing stress and tension around the brainstem. This stress causes the messages from that area of the brain to be distorted to other parts of the body. These distorted messages tell the muscles on one side of the spine, hips and legs to tighten. This entire process creates the short leg phenomenon, low back pain, and stress on the sciatic nerve causing pain in buttock region and/or leg(s). You correct this problem by analyzing the source of the low back and sciatic pain, which often times is body imbalance created from a spinal misalignment. You correct the entire spine back to balanced unstressed position, using the atlas vertebrae as the contact point in the correction. This allows the muscles of the low back to relax, and pressure on the sciatic nerve to alleviate.

Do all people respond the same with NUCCA Care?
No. For that matter, does everyone respond the same way to certain drugs (medications), addictions, stress, surgery or therapies? Of course not. There is really no way to be absolutely certain as to how well, or how quickly you will improve. The reason for this is because there are some conditions which are directly related to body imbalance (misalignment), those which are partially related, and those which are not related at all. It is only after we have corrected the misalignment and it becomes stable for a period of time that we know the impact the correction will have. However, most patients experience considerable relief within two to three spinal corrections (adjustments).

How long will it take until I feel better?
About 90% of people we see notice a change in how their bodies feel following the initial correction. Over the next 3 to 21 days most patients notice considerable relief of their acute symptoms. Over the first 90 days their bodies will go through considerable structural and neurological change. It is this process of change (recovery) that moves our bodies from a state of poor health to a state of being well.

How many visits will I need to correct the problem?
It is our experience that it usually takes about four to six visits over a period of two to three months to stabilize the spinal structure, even though considerable change for the better happens with the first correction (adjustment). Recovery and stability of the correction will depend on the progressive degenerative effects that the spinal misalignment has had on the entire body. It is the long term stability of the spinal correction that allows for healing.

Is it possible for me to adjust myself?
No, but you can manipulate yourself. There is a night and day difference between manipulating the spine and actually correcting it. Not all adjustment procedures are the same either. There are over 250 different techniques used by various health professionals to work on the body and spine. There are only a few techniques available which actually correct the spine and restore body balance, provable on x-ray. NUCCA happens to be my choice to achieve that end.

Will the problem go away with time, if I just wait?
No…The problem is not going to go away. Although symptoms may come and go, the problem still exists. If the condition is neglected over weeks, months, or years at a time, it compounds most often into a complex set of ailments and degenerative breakdown. This takes much longer to correct and stabilize than if the problem would have been addressed when symptoms had first been apparent.

Does the NUCCA doctor use the same spinal correction formula for everyone?
No, they do not. The calculated formula for each correction the NUCCA doctor makes is as individual to the patient as one's fingerprints. No two formulas are the same. This means the doctor will approach each case differently.

Should I have my spine checked by a NUCCA Chiropractor before agreeing to surgery?
It is always smart to exhaust every option available before going through with a procedure with such a high risk for repeatability. Research shows that most people who have surgery for a spinal condition say they are worse after 5 years or only slightly better.

Can I utilize NUCCA Chiropractic Care following surgery?
There are a few factors involved in making a decision for NUCCA Care following surgery. Most often times the NUCCA procedure can provide relief that may or may not have been achieved following surgery. In these particular cases it would be best to consult with a NUCCA doctor first to better understand what will be in the patient's best interest.

How long will I need NUCCA Chiropractic Care?
After the initial spinal correction is made, and the spine returns to a normal balanced position, the acute symptoms will begin to alleviate. The body will then enter into a recovery cycle where it begins to stabilize into a new balanced position. Once the body is stabilized and begins holding its alignment, it takes about one month to recover for every year the spine has been misaligned providing the correction is maintained. After this recovery period has been achieved nearly all patients have discovered the value of maintaining their spinal correction and choose to stay in alignment the rest of their life.

What type of education does a Doctor of Chiropractic have?
To become a Doctor of Chiropractic one has to complete a minimum 6 year course of study. Many states are now requiring doctors to complete their bachelor's degree prior to granting state licensure. The Doctor of Chiropractic has an extremely intense curriculum, which is similar to that of a typical medical student. See below for the comparison:

Pre-clinical courses Year 1

Pre-clinical courses Year 2