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NOTE: Excerpts of writings from Dr. Ralph Gregory,
past President of the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association.

A stressor has been defined as a condition in the body produced by an injurious factor and manifested by a syndrome (H.Selye). A subluxated C1 distorts the spine and the pelvis because it causes spastic contracture of the extensor (antigravity) muscle of the spinal column. Spinal and bodily distortion result. A subluxated C1- therefore, is acting as an injurious factor, manifesting itself as a syndrome which is verifiable by measurement and can be correlated to the C1 subluxation. The patient with a subluxated C1 has a subluxated spinal column, an over-innervation of the motor neurons of the spinal cord, neuromuscular imbalance, loss of muscular synergism, distortion of the spinal column from the true axis of the body, and leg disparity. This is the C1 subluxation complex syndrome, and is correctable solely from a precise and predetermined C1 adjustment.

If disequalibrium and cervical spine displacement do not cause a state of subluxation until C1 moves laterally on the occipital condyles, what constitutes a normal lateral range of motion for C1? Vertebrae can be shown to displace and not cause detriment or insult to the nervous structure. If a vertebrae does displace and thereby causes insult to the nervous structure, it is logical to assume that it has abnormally moved, or moved beyond its normal range of motion. Because C1 cannot misalign laterally more than one half of a degree from its alignment to the occipital condyles (about the thickness of a sharp pencil mark), without imbalancing the neurological inhibitory mechanism of the reticular formation at the caudal end of the brain stem. C1 has practically no normal lateral range of motion.

This phenomenon has been observed and tested on over 10,0900 cases over a period of many years. The C1 distortion syndrome has always manifested itself whenever C1 has moved laterally three-quarters of one degree or beyond on the occipital condyles when the vertebra was moving from its normal position toward the abnormal position.

The type of neurological detriment that is caused by the lateral displacement of C1 on the occipital condyles appears to be a mechanical tractionization of the caudal end of the brain stem. It has been noted in medical literature that pathological and traumatic situations affecting the brain stem can produce impairment or loss of the inhibitory control over the body's extensor musculature. National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research Association (NUCCA) research on the effects of a subluxated C1 on the caudal end of the brain stem confirms the medical hypothesis.

NUCCA; A non profit organization that was formed in 1966. This was conceived by Dr. Ralph Gregory of Monroe, MI.* Dr. Milton Steele of Coupeville, Washington is now president.

NUCCA hs given the profession more biomechanical data that probably any other Chiropractic entity in the past thirty eight years concerning the subluxation, it's effects on the spinal column and human body, how to restore it's misalignments to the vertical axis, and has shown acceptable and measurable proof of the benefits of the Chiropractic adjustment on the human body. This it has done for the benefit of the patient, the chiropractor, and the profession.

NUCCA is now taught in two chiropractic colleges at the present time. There is also a web site, www.nucca.com, that has more information.

* Dr. Ralph Gregory died in 1990. He devoted his life to chiropractic research for the benefit to mankind.

Please keep passing this video along. I would like to spread The Science of Chiropractic to as many people as we can for the benefit of mankind. I would greatly appreciate any comments you have about this information.

Sincerely,
Dr. Marshall Dickholtz Sr.

Marshall Dickholtz, D.C.
3420 W. Peterson Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60659
773-267-0020
The following are excerpts from Dr. R. Gregory's speech at the Palmer College of Chiropractic, 1977.

NUCCRA RESEARCH BACKGROUND:

Neurological hypotheses:

That imbalance between the facilitator and inhibitory neurological mechanisms in the brain stem causes body distortions.

REFERENCES:

1. Magoun, H.W. (1968) Brain stem, Encyclopedia Brittanica, Vol. 4. Magoun states that the central reticular formation of the brain stem exerts ascending and descending influences upon the cerebral cortex and upon the motor outflows from the spinal cord. The more cephalic of these connections facilitates spinal motor discharge while the more caudal region exerts an inhibitory action, and that imbalance in these extra-pyramidal motor connections is thought to be responsible for spastiscity in which condition inhibitory influences are no longer active while the facilitatory connections, being unopposed, exert an augmented effect.

If this is true, and NUCCRA research has verified it, then the appearance of spastic contracture in the skeletal musculature should be accompanied by imbalance between the inhibitory and facilitatory mechanisms of the brain stem. What would cause such imbalance from a subluxation standpoint? The only answer tot this question is: tractionization of the brain stem by a C-1 subluxation. We found that both lateral and longitudinal tractionization could be demonstrated to exist. That is, the contents of the cervical canal could be stretched by a C-1 subluxation and the displacements or misalignments of the subjacent cervical vertebrae as they deviated in to the frontal and transverse planes of motion from the vertical axis of the body. Such tractionization could exist upward into the brain stem, producing imbalance between the two neurological mechanisms or motor connections. As inhibitory control was reduced to the skeletal muscles, spastic contracture resulted from a C-1 subluxation which in turn distorted the spinal column. If a C-1 subluxation is capable of causing tractionization that would produce imbalance within the CNS, a correlation should exist between C-1 subluxations and the distortions in the body produced by the spastic contracture resulting from C-1's tractionization effects on the neurological mechanisms. We have found that without exception such correlations do in fact exist. When, for example, a transverse rotation of the pelvis exists in a patient a corresponding misalignment factor in the patient's atlas subluxation exists controlling that body distortion. It may be found that axis laterality causes pelvic rotation in some cases; in others it may be established that abnormal excursion of the pelvis into the frontal plane is the result of atlas rotation. This fact should point up to you the great importance of accurately analyzing films, the great importance of the misalignment factors, and the great importance of precise adjusting.

SECOND REFERENCE:

Steindler, A. (1955) Kinesiology of the Human Body. Chas. C. Thomas. Steindler defines spastic contracture as "the cessation of the functions of inhibitions which normally regulate muscle tone." Thus one sees spastic contracture when an imbalance exists between the neurological mechanisms in the brain stem because the inhibitory and regulatory control to the skeletal musculature is reduced by the atlas subluxation. Steindler's definition is collateral with Magoun's explanation in that imbalance between the facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms causes cessation in full or in part of the inhibitory influences from the brain stem that regulate muscle tone. C-1 is located at the caudal end of the brain stem; therefore is logically in that position that would permit, when misaligned, or interference with the normal funct8ion of inhibitory influence on the skeletal musculature, causing over-innervation of the motory units of the units of the spinal cord and resulting in bodily distortions, misalignments of the spinal column from its true vertical axis. Steindler, in his Theory of Contractures, states that over-innervation of the motor units of the spinal cord, due to the existing imbalance between these two brain stem motor mechanisms, constitutes the pathology - the pathological element. Thus, the C-1 subluxation has an established pathological element which is over -innervation. As the only way that over-innervation can be removed from the motor units chiropractically is by maximal correction of the atlas subluxation, any so-called adjustments of any vertebral segment below atlas fails to be an adjustment because it cannot correct over-innervation, the pathological element of the subluxation.

THIRD REFERENCE:
Wells, K. (1955) Kinesiology, 2nd Edition, W.B. Saunders Company. Wells states "the inhibitory and facilitatory mechanisms (in the brain stem) act to reduce and increase spinal stretch reflexes and when an interference caused by disease or injury cuts off the inhibitory influences the normal stretch reflex is increased by impulses from the uninjured facilitatory mechanism resulting in an exaggeration of the stretch reflexes."

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