Chiropractic treatment technique

Atlas orthogonal technique

Atlas Orthogonal Technique is an upper cervical chiropractic treatment technique created by Frederick M. Vogel and Roy W. Sweat in 1979. It is a non-invasive technique that uses a percussion "Atlas Orthogonal instrument" in attempts to change ("adjust") the position of the atlas. Using angles measured from specific X-rays, claims are made that vertebral subluxations are found and must be corrected. It is based on the teachings of B. J. Palmer, who advocated the Hole-In-One version of spinal adjustment. Upper Cervical chiropractors focus on correcting the alignment of the atlas to allow for minimal obstruction for the nerves channeled through the atlas and down the spinal cord. Referring to the origins of upper cervical techniques, Dan Murphy, DC, DABCO, wrote: "Over the past 100 years, the practice of chiropractic has branched into dozens of specialty techniques. However, historically, for a third of this time, from the 1930s into the 1960s, the predominant practice of chiropractic involved primarily the upper cervical spine."