Atlas Orthogonal is a precision upper cervical chiropractic technique. It corrects the alignment of the atlas vertebra — the first bone in the spine, the one that holds your skull — using a percussive instrument calibrated to the millimeter, with the patient lying on their side. No twisting. No cracking. No high-velocity adjustment.
The atlas (C1) is the only vertebra that doesn't have a body — it's a ring of bone that holds the weight of the skull and surrounds the brainstem at the foramen magnum. The brainstem houses the autonomic control centers that regulate heart rate, breathing, digestion, blood pressure, and the sleep-wake cycle. Any structural interference at this junction has downstream consequences that go far beyond the neck.
When the atlas is misaligned — from a fall, an MVA, a sports collision, a difficult birth, or accumulated postural strain — it creates a mechanical stress at the brainstem and an asymmetric load on every joint below. The body compensates. Over months and years, that compensation becomes pain, restriction, fatigue, mood patterns, and the kind of recovery that never quite finishes.
First visit: consultation, full structural assessment, upper cervical x-rays. We do not adjust on the first visit. Second visit: report of findings, your specific x-ray analysis, and your first correction. Each correction is calculated from your x-ray — there is no generic adjustment.
Read the cornerstone below for what makes Foresight's approach different, or explore the Conditions hub to see how Atlas Orthogonal applies to the symptoms you're investigating.
At Foresight, we define it practically as structural interference, especially when the spine is sending distorted input to the nervous system.
Atlas Orthogonal is not a standard chiropractic adjustment. It is a precise, low-force upper cervical technique focused on the atlas vertebra, the first bone in
Patient receiving gentle Atlas Orthogonal chiropractic adjustment to support nervous system balance and reduce fight or flight stress response.
No back or neck cracking. Easy, gentle adjustment that make an immediate and longer -term differences in many ways.
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Extremely grateful to have him work on me during my professional season at Phoenix Rising FC. He knows AMIT and cervical techniques that few people know in Arizona and the USA. Very thankful I found him!
I suffer from several chronic illness's and have gone from having to use a wheelchair anytime I would go out of the house to walking several miles a day. I was able to take my kids bowling last week!
that is done here can certainly be life changing
He has helped me tremendously and for that I am grateful. He is kind and genuinely interested in each patients well being. His staff is friendly and his office welcoming. I recommend him any chance I get!
Dr. Lavender came up with an outside the box plan and I began getting healthier
Dr. Lavender and the whole staff are amazing! They are far beyong your typical pop and crack Doctors.
