What To Expect
If you are new to upper cervical care, it is normal to have questions about what your visit will look like. Every step of care is care is intentional- from listening carefully to your story to applying precise corrections only when necessary.
Below is what you can expect from your first visit and beyond.
Step 1: Consultation
Your first visit begins with a thorough consultation. We take time to understand your health history, current concerns, and goals of care.
During this visit, we discuss:
What brought you in
How your daily life may be impacting your nervous system
Whether upper cervical care is appropriate for you
Several neurological, orthopedic, and range of motion tests are also performed to determine if a misalignment is present.
Step 2: Advanced Imaging (CBCT)
If indicated, we use Cone Beam CT (CBCT) imaging to evaluate the cervical spine in three dimensions. This allows us to assess your unique anatomy with precision and accuracy.
CBCT helps us determine:
The exact position of the vertebrae
The direction and degree of misalignment
Whether a correction is necessary
This eliminates guesswork and ensures your care is fully individualized.
Step 3: Precise correction
If a misalignment is identified, a Blair upper cervical correction may be recommended.
Patients often notice:
no twisting or cracking
A gentle, controlled adjustment
minimal force
The goal is not frequent adjustments. Once the upper cervical spine is corrected, our priority is for it to stay in proper alignment. We call this holding your alignment. Healing occurs not from the adjustment itself, but from maintaining alignment and allowing the nervous system to function without interference.
Step 4: Follow up visits
After correction, we monitor how well your body is holding its alignment through neurological indicators and clinical findings.
If you are holding your alignment:
We do not adjust
We allow your nervous system to have time to stabilize and heal
If you are not holding:
A gentle correction is performed
We help guide your body back into proper alignment
In the early phase of care, it is common for alignment to be lost more easily. Your body is learning how to hold a new, corrected position. During this phase, visits are often more frequent to monitor your alignment and correct it quickly if it is lost
As the nervous system stabilizes, visits naturally become less frequent. Many patients transition into wellness care, with periodic check- ins to ensure alignment is maintained.
Every step of care at Nova Upper Cervical Chiropractic is guided by clarity, precision, and respect for your body’s natural ability to heal. We take time to listen, evaluate, and correct only when necessary - allowing your nervous system the space it needs to stabilize and function at its best
If you are ready for a thoughtful, gentle approach to care, we are here to help