There are several things that can cause your Atlas to slip out of place under the occiput.

!.  The shampoo bowl at hair salon.  The atlas is the first bone of the spine, and the head sits on it.  It is where then head and neck come together.  When we are getting our hair washed at a salon that shampoo bowl hits right in that area.  It really seems to affect the atlas alignment.  The hair salons can adjust for it.  Make sure you mention it to them so they can accommodate for it,

 2.  Multi focal glasses.  The sweet spot to see things near is usually located in the lower part of the glasses.  You have to tilt your head to look though that part of the lens.  This prolonged positioning of the head is hard on the atlas alignment.  The bigger the glasses the bigger that focal point is but it is still in the lower part of the glasses.  The eye doctor can actually order occupational glasses. For example, they can order glasses that you just use when you are doing computer work.  These will be just one focal lens glasses.  The whole lens is just the right distance for the computer work, so you don't have to look down to find the focal point.  This is a lot easier on your neck and upper cervical area. 

3, Surgery.  The anesthesiologist focuses on your airway for surgery.  This might involve hyper extending the neck or an actual intubation where they put a tube down your throat.  Both of these actions can cause the atlas to move back out of place.  Mention your neck pain to the anesthesiologist when you have your pre surgery appointment.  He can make note of it and be more aware of your neck during the surgery.  

4.  Dental appointments.    Dentists usually numb the area they are working on so you don't feel the pain.  Some of their procedures do involve putting some pressure on the jaw.  The TMJ, ear and atlas bone are all closely related.  The pressure can cause the atlas to move back out of place.


Mis alignments of the atlas do happen.  We are only tapping the atlas in place with a light percussion force.  We are not permanently putting it in place.  By being aware of these situations, you can modify them to help hold your atlas alignment.

I have been taking nutrition seminars for well over five years.  What a confusing mess nutrition is.  Everytime I go I hear conflicting information.  Just take the vitamin D issue.  Should you take D2 or D3?  How much should you take?  Is sunshine enough?  When you take calcium should you take it with Vitamin D?  At the last seminar, I heard you need 15 minutes of mid day sun exposure every day.    I had also been told you need a lot of your body exposed to the sun at that time.  Maybe next time I will hear something different.

The one consistent thing I have heard was to eliminate gluten.  Their reasoning seems to be pretty consistent.  The numerous presenters  say the way grain is handled in America makes it toxic.  They also are consistently saying heal the gut, heal the body. 

I have started advising patients who seem to have some brain injury component to their health problems to consider trying this.  I recommend this for patients who have been in a car accident or have sustained head trauma like a concussion    My recommendation is to completely eliminate gluten for three weeks and see how you feel.

Most patients, who have come to see my with these conditions, have spent thousands of dollars to find answers to their health problems. Why not try this free suggestion and see if it works.


Dr. Kathryn Larson,  chiropractor and registered nurse


References:  Books
Wheat Belly by William Davis  MD
Grain Brain  by David Perlmutter  MD  with Kristin Loberg

When to exercise?

A lot of my patients tell me they know they need to exercise but it hurts to exercise so they don't do it.

In my opinion, if you have an inflamed nerve, and you try to use it, it will make it worse.  It is far better to take the pressure of the nerve and then use it.

Muscles and the vertebrae are not unrelated.  They work together. One is not more important than the other. It is jut the order of addressing the problem to get the best results.  Get the atlas right, which takes the pressure off the nerves, then work on the muscles.

If someone has no idea where to start to work the muscles I recommend massage therapists or physical therapists.  If the problem is manageable, and we are looking to bring better results, the use of light weights and or doing yoga are great options.  People who strengthen their muscles after their atlas is in the right position regain the best health.

My practice is a cash practice.  I do not accept insurance but I decided to accept Medicare patients.

Medicare is different.  The rules are different for chiropractors.  It does not allow us to opt out of Medicare.  What that means is, if I don't accept Medicare patients I can not see anyone that has Medicare.  It will not allow me to charge cash for my services and see you. It means I can not treat you at all.

Medical doctors can opt out of Medicare and charge cash for their services but not chiropractors.

No seeing anyone over the age of 65 would be such a disservice.  That is why I chose to accept Medicare.  I  get paid less but I could not let people over the age of 65 not have access to the only Atlas Orthogonal practice in Houston.

I also accept assignment. This mean you do not have to pay up front for care.  You are only responsible for deductibles, co pays and what Medicare does not cover. 

Here is another weird twist with Medicare.  They require chiropractors to do an exam and take x-rays but they will not pay for them.  Go figure.  They do pay for the adjustment.

I would like to welcome any one over the age of 65 to my office.  Atlas Orthogonal is such a gentle treatment.

Please tell your friends and family I accept Medicare patients.

Kathryn Larson,  registered nurse and chiropractor.

What helps when you are hurting a little bit but not bad enough to get an adjustment?  My patients know my style.  I like to get the atlas bone in place and then leave it alone.  I say frequently that I am going to error on the side of under adjusting versus adjusting too much.

So what do you do if you are hurting a little bit?  I have several tips.  The first is to go outside for fifteen minutes.  Soak up sunshine.  It also helps that you got away from the artificial lights of indoors.

Another good idea, that goes hand in hand, is less stress and better nutrition.  Back pain and stress are related. I see a lot of patients the day before their vacation. Their stress level is at an all time high and most often I tell them they will feel better when they are on their vacation.  The stress of finishing up all the loose ends before you can actually get away for a few days is most likely causing their pain.  Good nutrition is obvious.  All the chemicals in processed foods set the inflammatory process so high the muscles and joints react.

My last tip is to use some icey hot lotion.   I have recommended Sombra for years.    The smell is wonderful and it really helps the muscles relax.  Sometimes it takes the edge off enough that you are able to sleep.

Lately I discovered a product I like equally as well,  MyoMedica.  It  seem to really penetrate and last long.

I also recommend Salon Pas over the counter patches.  They are affordable and work.

I put a store on my website were you can purchase Sombra and MyoMedica. 

Warm regards,

Kathryn Larson  registered nurse and chiropractor 

It is the day I am leaving for Chicago.  I am driving in my car, doing last minute errands, when a person pulls out if front of me while I am going about thirty miles per hour.   I hit her car on the driver's door.  We both stop.  We do the usual routine, make sure we are ok and call the police.  We have all been through this. It takes some time.  As I am standing around I feel my back tighten and start tingling.  EMS is finally here but I decline to go to the emergency room.  The police come and do all the paper work and I am finally driving home.  My back is sore but not excruciating.  I am not sure how bad it will be in the morning but I don't want to deal with things in Chicago.

I decide to go the Urgent Care by my house and let them know my back is sore.  After the usual insurance hassle and the nasty comment relayed by the medical provider that they don't give narcotics, I am seen.  The nurse practitioner does  a simple exam and states I am not hurt.  Then she orders x-rays( even though I am not hurt).  The x-rays are done by a technician that is reading out of a technique book.  The technician eventually walks out on me when I correct her x-ray positioning.

The nurse practitioner comes back in and says that I am fine and nothing is wrong with me.  She continues to say that the person in the other car was probably hurt worse then me.  I ask the see the x-rays.  As I am looking at the x-rays I tell her that half of the cervical spine was cut off on the films.  She shuts the computer off and says the radiologist will read the films and she will get back with me.  She says take Tylenol if I am sore.  That is the end of my visit.

I never hear back from the clinic.  I pick up my x-rays and radiology report on my own initiative.  Sure enough, the radiologist would not read the x-ray films because the x-rays were of poor quality.  The nurse practitioner checked off she read the report but she never contacted me to tell me the x-rays were not good enough for the radiologists to read.

Just imagine how I felt about this type of care!!!!.  I am still angry and fuming at the comment I am not hurt.  Today, as I am writing this, my right sciatic nerve is throbbing and my right arm hurts from the cervical radiculitis.  Thank goodness I know how to treat injuries from a motor vehicle accident.

Today I am also waiting for the office manager, from the Urgent Care, to call me back so I can try receive a refund for the x-rays that I paid for.

Kathryn Larson,  chiropractor and registered nurse

It all started after a fall......

I find it interesting when a patient tells me they were fine until an accident or a fall and then their health went down hill.

It might not make sense unless you are an upper cervical doctor.  After a fall, the  head and neck junction can get twisted.  This will cause distortion in the muscles and spine.  Even more interesting, what if, when the atlas and skull gets twisted the cerebral spinal fluid does not drain as easy.  Some AO doctors are researching this theory right now.  Imagine the chronic build up of fluid in the brain.  The patient might begin to experience headaches.  brain fog or memory problems.  They might notice their health is just not the same.

It is something I hear once in a while  ( it all started after a fall)  but I make note if it.  Most people don't correlate a fall with physical health but upper cervical doctors see if as more than just  a coincidence.


Warm regards,

Kathryn Larson,  RN  DC

I treat patients that have migraines.  I sympathize.  I have hormonal migraine.  They have been so bad in the past I would be in the bed for days at a time.  Luckily, as I am getting older and my hormones are decreasing, the headaches are much milder. 

I don't make promises with patients that have migraines.  They can be very complicated.   I do say, if the atlas adjustment helps, how wonderful a treatment that is  natural and painless.

I remember one patient. A mom brought her teenage daughter in for musculoskeletal pain.  I adjusted her atlas and the musculoskeletal pain went away.  Interestingly, the mother stated that her daughter was diagnosed with abdominal migraines and since I adjusted her atlas she has not had any more migraines.  I said how wonderful, we got the atlas bone in alignment with the occiput and the symptoms of other health problems went away.

Warm regards,
Kathryn Larson,  D.C.