Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care

Providing Gentle, Precise Pain Relief

If you feel like you’ve hit a roadblock in your path to healing, you’re not alone. This is something we hear often at our office. Many of our patients come to us as a last-ditch effort—only to wish they had started here first

A misalignment in your upper neck can have a significant impact on your overall health and wellness. It creates interference in your nervous system and causes your posture to shift, which has a direct effect throughout your entire body. Symptoms and pain can present elsewhere, but the root cause may be coming from this exact place. 

At our Bend, OR-based practice, we specialize in upper cervical care, with a focus on the NUCCA technique—a gentle, non-invasive approach to realigning your spine and restoring full-body health.

A man using a posture assessment tool on a woman's shoulders in a room with beige walls.

What is NUCCA?

The NUCCA technique is gentle, effective and lasting, backed by years of research and state-of-the-art technology. By ensuring your spine is properly aligned, we improve nerve function, circulation, and overall well-being. When your spine is misaligned, it puts stress and tension on your nervous system, leading to various conditions such as:

  • Chronic pain in the head, neck, and back

  • Migraines & headaches

  • TMJ & jaw pain

  • Vertigo & dizziness

  • Brain fog and fatigue

  • Posture & balance issues

  • Sciatica, numbness, and tingling

  • Poor sleep 

A man adjusting a medical device above a seated woman in an examination room.

Our Approach to Care is Centered on Three Principles:

  • Throughout your life, your body has dealt with a number of stressors. Whether it be from childbirth, sports injuries or car accidents, all of these life events provide plenty of possibility for the spine to misalign. The initial phase of care at True Spine is centered around correcting misalignments at the top of the neck, therefore reducing postural compensation and bringing your body into a position of healing.

    This is the most intensive portion of care as the body has a tendency to pull itself out of alignment due to old muscle memory. Maintaining the correction is crucial in this phase as your body will begin to remodel itself in the newly aligned state.

  • During this phase of care, the body is remodeling and becoming used to the new posture. As this occurs, the corrected position becomes the ‘new muscle memory’. We will introduce specific exercises to help strengthen the upper neck and the entire spine.

    Our goal here is to solidify the care received during the alignment phase and monitor your progress as your body continues to improve.

  • A body clear of interference and stress at the top of the spine is a happy body. It can communicate from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain without the stress of a misalignment. At this point in care we are seeing you very infrequently, and only to verify that everything is a-ok.

    As much as we love having visitors to the office, our real goal is to get you back on the trail or back to playing with your grandkids. Whatever it is that gives you zest for life, that’s where we want you to be.

What to Expect When Receiving Upper Cervical Care

A man and a woman in an office setting discussing a spine model. The man is seated at a desk with a laptop and is holding the model, showing it to the woman sitting across from him. A screen displays skeletal imagery on the wall. The room has large windows.

Comprehensive Assessment

Your first visit is all about information gathering and will be the most time intensive. Dr. Hallmeyer will perform a detailed history, physical/neurological exam, and gather baseline posture measurements. Upper cervical x-rays will then be taken to visualize your misalignment. At this point your visit is complete. Dr. Hallmeyer will analyze your x-rays and determine the best course of care to maximize your health.

Chiropractor performing neck adjustment on a patient lying sideways.

Gentle NUCCA Adjustment

Your first visit is all about information gathering and will be the most time intensive. Dr. Hallmeyer will perform a detailed history, physical/neurological exam, and gather baseline posture measurements. Upper cervical x-rays will then be taken to visualize your misalignment. At this point your visit is complete. Dr. Hallmeyer will analyze your x-rays and determine the best course of care to maximize your health.

Man analyzing an X-ray on a computer screen in an office setting.

Post-Adjustment X-Rays and Progress Monitoring

We take precise post-adjustment x-rays after the first treatment to verify misalignment correction and make any necessary adjustments for optimal results. This is unique compared to most other chiropractic approaches. We schedule ongoing assessments to ensure long-term stability. Unlike traditional chiropractic care, the goal is for your adjustment to hold—meaning fewer visits over time!

Not sure if NUCCA is right for you?

Schedule a complimentary consultation to learn more about our approach. We’ll also take a few postural measurements to determine if our care is a good fit for you.

See what our Central Oregon patients have to say about their NUCCA experience!

Start your NUCCA journey and book your appointment today!