Atlas correction:
what we do best

Verifying the position of the Atlas can be done by two methods:

PALPATATION EXAMINATION: determining the position of the Atlas by palpation requires specific skills and a great deal of experience. For this reason, the margin of error of an examination performed by a non-specialised therapist on the Atlas is 50%.

RADIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION: the alternative to palpatory examination is a CT-spiral scan or a Cone Beam. This is more precise, but involves higher costs and may be less healthy due to exposure to ionising radiation.

In specialised Atlantomed centres, palpation is performed expertly and safely, reducing the margin of error. Therefore, this should always be the first choice.

Radiological examination is only considered appropriate in special cases, at the discretion of the Atlantomed specialist, in collaboration with the treating physician.

No one is able to determine a misalignment of the Atlas based on the patient's symptoms. The symptoms afflicting you may have several causes, so the most sensible choice is to consult a qualified Atlantomed specialist who has the experience and expertise to carry out an accurate manual examination.

If the test, which takes only a few minutes, comes back negative, you will not incur any costs.

We ask for your understanding that we cannot possibly assess the position of your Atlas by e-mail or telephone based on your symptoms. To obtain an accurate assessment, you must visit an Atlantomed Centre.

As a rule, medical reports and radiological examinations are NOT necessary. Only in rare and very specific cases may a computed tomography scan be indispensable. However, it will be your Atlantomed specialist who will assess the need, after examining you in person.

X-rays and MRI scans are practically useless for visualising and assessing Atlas misalignment. Only a computed tomography scan, correctly performed, allows the position of the Atlas in relation to the skull to be precisely identified.

Experience unfortunately shows us that an assessment of the position of the Atlas, performed by a therapist or physiatrist NOT specialised in Atlas correction, is often completely incorrect. Their assessment tends to focus on the muscular condition and the limitation of head movements.

The manual palpation techniques taught in their training courses come from "professors" who invariably have not radiologically verified the reliability of the tests they teach, having learned them themselves from sources such as books or from others who themselves have never verified.

As previously pointed out, the use of a simple X-ray or MRI is not sufficient. What could be the consequences of this?

Exactly! The actual position of the Atlas is not detected. Let's think about it: if the initial position of the Atlas prior to treatment is not known precisely, let alone whether the vertebra is actually misaligned, how can one claim to proceed with a correction that can be described as such? How can one then claim that the problem has been solved and the vertebra would be aligned? Do you think that if you were unable to find the position BEFORE, you can magically do it AFTER? Since as a patient you have no way of verifying what you are told, you are forced to believe the claims of the therapist or doctor on duty. Unfortunately, these are often unfounded. Immediately after cervical manipulation, they tell you that they have corrected your vertebra, and the next time they tell you that it is out of place again, thus justifying the need for a new correction, establishing a cycle that keeps you constantly as a patient.

Ask yourself how it is that with Atlantomed the problem can be permanently resolved with 2 sessions, while other therapists, with their tenth of a second manipulations, would like to treat you continuously? Although 'subscription' patients are much more profitable, why do you think that at Atlantomed it is sufficient to see each other only twice (leaving aside exceptions and special cases)? Perhaps because we adopt a radically different approach, aimed at solving the problem once and for all?

Treatment by practitioners who do not specialise in Atlas and who do not have the Atlantomed technique and equipment, at best, modifies the tone of the surrounding musculature, perhaps increases the mobility of the neck, but does not actually correct the position of the vertebra. In the belief that the alignment of the vertebra has taken place, the patient leaves the clinic of the therapist on duty, with all the health disadvantages of living with a vertebra that continues to be misaligned, exactly as it was before entering the clinic.

We see this painful reality even at the beginning of the training courses to become an Atlantomed specialist, which are only attended by qualified physiotherapists and osteopaths. Checking the position of the vertebra of the same individual being examined usually results in 2-3-4 divergent and contradictory responses. And we are talking about qualified and experienced physiotherapists and osteopaths, those to whom you commonly turn.

Don't believe us? Try having your Atlas manually tested by 5 different chiropractors, osteopaths or physiatrists, after having previously undergone, without their knowledge, a CT-spiral scan that reveals the position of your vertebra in advance. The result may surprise you!

We also invite you to read the FAQ: "Is my therapist able to correct the Atlas?".