We believe it is common for an infant to experience spinal trauma and have
misalignments in the upper neck (primarily the atlas) before, during,
or shortly after the birth process. The chiropractic profession calls
these misalignments "subluxations" (pronounced sub luk-sa' shuns), which
produce nerve system irritation.
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Often abnormal
constraint can take place during the last few months of pregnancy,
while the fetus is developing in the womb. If a fetus is mal-positioned in the
womb, he or she can be susceptible to spinal compromise (VSC) and
malformations.
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A baby being
delivered from the birth canal. Doctors are taught to traction the neck
to assist the delivery of the first shoulder, and then pull the head the
other way to get the second shoulder out. If the infant is having a difficult
time coming out, it does not take a lot of force from the attendant (doctor
or mid-wife) to cause an Atlas VSC
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These misalignments may cause the critical
structures of the brain stem (which control the respiratory and
cardiac centers) to not mature properly and to malfunction. This malfunction
may cause an infant to either stop breathing and/or experience abnormal
heart function. These two factors, alone or together, can cause an infant's
health to suffer and may even cause an infant to succumb to this tragic
syndrome we call SIDS. These misalignments can also lower the body's immune
function and lower an infant's resistance to illness and infection. Therefore, this
decreased functioning of the immune system can leave an infant
susceptible to infections, leading to a senseless death.
Researchers before us have suggested a connection
between spinal subluxations and SIDS. For the purpose of our research,
we call this connection the Atlas VSC-SIDS Theory. VSC stands for
Vertebral Subluxation Complex, which means one or more segments of the spine
(including the joints at the base of the head) are not positioned correctly and cause the
nerve system to malfunction. When the atlas vertebra (the top vertebra of the spine) is
misaligned, at least three different complications can take place that may lead to
decreased health and SIDS:
- Spinal cord and brain stem distortion (minor stretching or
compromise)
- Electrical and chemical signals to and from the brain get "confused"
- Blood supply to the brain stem and other critical areas of the brain
may be decreased, resulting in hypoxia (lack of oxygen to this area)
through:
- Vertebral artery ischemia (lack of blood flowing through the arteries
that travel up through openings in the neck and supply the brain stem and
other vital nerve centers)
- Venous blood pooling (blood in the veins in this area not draining
properly)
There is a syndrome associated with the atlas vertebral subluxation
complex, which is called the Atlas Neuro-Vascular Syndrome (ANVS), a term
first coined by Dr. Jeffry Finnigan in his book Life Beyond Headaches. As
the name implies, when an atlas subluxation is present, there are both nerve
system and vascular disturbances. These nerve system and vascular
disturbances can cause the body to malfunction leading to a decrease in one's overall
health potential.
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