POTS & Dysautonomia Help
in Buffalo, NY

The atlas is the top bone in your spine. It surrounds the brainstem, the area that helps control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and the vagus nerve. The upper neck also contains dense clusters of position sensors and sits near the sympathetic nerve chain that helps regulate blood vessels.

 

When the head and atlas are out of balance, the body has to constantly compensate. In some people, especially those with a history of head or neck trauma, this extra stress on the upper cervical region may interfere with how the nervous system regulates the body when you stand up.

 

Research in this area is still early, but it is growing. Published case reports have described patients with POTS who saw improvements in heart rate, dizziness, and daily function after upper cervical care, including:

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• A woman whose POTS symptoms and dizziness improved with chiropractic rehabilitation of the neck (case report, PubMed Central)

• A 27-year-old with six years of dizziness, headaches, and neck pain alongside POTS, managed conservatively (case report, PubMed Central)

• Two young women with POTS who reported fewer flare-ups and a lower resting heart rate during upper cervical care combined with neurorehabilitation (Frontiers in Neurology abstracts, 2018)

 

These patients had one thing in common: the upper neck was a piece of the puzzle that hadn't been checked. That's exactly what we look for. If other approaches haven't given you the answers you need, an upper cervical evaluation may be where you finally find them.

 

Does This Sound Like You?

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Patients with POTS and dysautonomia often come to our office with a similar story. You may be a good candidate for an upper cervical evaluation if:

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• Your symptoms started after a concussion, fall, car accident, or whiplash. Even an injury from years ago can matter.

• Your symptoms began after a viral illness, including COVID-19, and you also have neck pain or headaches.

• You have neck pain, head pressure, or headaches along with your dizziness and racing heart.

• Your symptoms change when you move your head, look up, or hold your neck in one position.

• You've been told your tests are normal, or that you'll just have to manage it.

• You're hypermobile or have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and want a low-force approach. (See the note below.)

 

POTS should always be diagnosed by a medical provider, usually with a tilt-table or active stand test. Many of our POTS patients are also working with a cardiologist or neurologist. Our role is to find out whether the upper neck is a piece of the puzzle that hasn't been checked yet.

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Why Atlas Orthogonal Is Different for a Sensitive Nervous System

When your nervous system is already on high alert, the last thing you need is a forceful neck adjustment. Atlas Orthogonal was designed to be gentle and precise:

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• Specialized upper cervical X-rays measure the exact direction and degree of your atlas misalignment

• A correction calculated for your anatomy, not a one-size-fits-all adjustment

• A table-mounted percussive sound wave instrument delivers a brief, light impulse near the atlas

• No twisting, popping, cracking, or rotating the neck

• You stay lying on your side, with no sudden position changes during the correction

 

The goal is to restore balance at the top of the spine with as few adjustments as possible, so your nervous system can settle and regulate more normally.

 

A note for hypermobile and EDS patients

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Many people with POTS also have joint hypermobility or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Forceful, rotational neck manipulation is generally not appropriate for hypermobile necks. Atlas Orthogonal uses no twisting or manual force, which is why many hypermobile patients seek it out. Even the Centeno-Schultz Clinic, a nationally known center for craniocervical instability, cautions against big neck adjustments when instability is present, and names Atlas Orthogonal as one of the specialized techniques for more subtle upper neck care (source).