Atlas Profilax treatment

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,464
Location
Ashland, Oregon
The dental splint that I had at the time of the AP fit drastically differently after AP treatment.

Hi @leela,

I too noticed a structural difference in my jaw alignment, and have much less associated pain as a result. -- I just posted this link (Embracing the Tower) above--you may want to do a quick read to try to get a sense of whether some of your remaining issues could be helped by some Egoscue therapy. -- I hope you're doing well. :)

Wayne
 
Last edited:

WoolPippi

Senior Member
Messages
556
Location
Netherlands
I have lasting effects and lost the rotation in my torso and my shoulders levelled out. For dress making I finally made a new pattern block, the old one is useless.

The inflamation in my right shoulder that started right after the AP has been getting worse and worse though. I'll be seeing the doctor soon. A year of rest and gentle movement has not helped.
 
Messages
57
an old thread but the best one to gather experiences with Atlas Profilax treatment I thought. I had mine last Thursday. Look at these pictures:
11546205505_82d312c7c1_z.jpg


First picture taken 6 months ago, second one last night. In both I am standing relaxed and straight up. Equal weight on both feet. Yes, I was a very zig zaggy person. And the rotation in my torso doesn't even show here.

The same day of the treatment I got muscle aches in shoulder and back. Suddenly I walked tall and wanted to dance all the time. I could turn my head much farther then ever. Since then the aches have gone, I still want to move and walk all the time. I have a strange craving for fish (stock) and sushi every day since.

My posture has improved much. I'm still adjusting. I hope it gets better and better. It won't cure ME or my CFS or busted adrenals but some huge body burdens have lifted. I have more energy, I've walked outside every day (!!)

My pelvis had tilted and suddenly my intestines are not dangling outside but are nested in my pelvis. Some digestion has eased. I've grown hungry. Sleep, hormones and the tendency to overdo things have not improved.

For me the treatment was painful. I got a vegetal reaction and I had to mentally coach my body to endure the five minutes the treatment lasted. Afterwards the strangest thing occured: my body was totally annoyed with me. Insulted even. I've never experienced such a divide between body and mind before. I had to plead and apologize. I've not been truly forgiven but my body does enjoy its new freedom of movement.

a five minute treatment, that's right. But it was preceded by 45 minutes of explanation and warnings. This is not a wonder pill. And much result depends on how willing I am to embrace the new soupleness and adopt new habits of posture and stretching.

hope this is informative, Anna. I recommend this treatment as long as you think about it carefully. Old pains and ailments might return for a short while. I'd be weary if I had a painrelated illness such as fibro. Because the nerves from backbone into skull get more room pain signals might increase at first. I know this solves a lot of tinnitus problems for people. RSI too. As long as it's connected to cramped up muscles in the neck and atlas area.
Hello, just revisiting this. I was wondering if this treatment held for you? That is a crazy adjustment! Given what we know now about CCI…
 
Messages
57
I really appreciate reading about everybody’s experiences with AP; I think they’re invaluable to this discussion. They’ve actually encouraged me to share some of my AP experiences that may border on the esoteric side, and which I’ve been hesitant to share on an online forum. But I think I’ll give it a go, since I feel sort of secluded here on this thread, and nobody has shown up with some kind of alternative health modality criticism.

Before I get to topic of “esoteric” in my next post (thanks for mentioning it Golden), I thought I would share a few other things about my own “physical” reactions. I went for a walk within a half hour of getting my atlas aligned, and felt like I was walking like a “crooked dog”; the kind that trots along looking like it’s out of alignment. I thought for sure I was doing the same, but then noticed that I was walking perfectly straight. It was then that I realized how I had been walking “crooked” for so many years, and came to accept it as my normal gait.

As I walked in the following days, it felt like my chest and diaphragm were "pulled" up much higher in my body. Even Alea noticed how much “taller” I seemed to be walking as we strolled along. A short while after I measured myself for the first time in years, and contrary to most people my age (61) getting shorter over time, I was actually a 1/4" taller. Others who have received the AP have reported the same.

Now a bit of the downside: I woke up the next morning with a horrible headache, and a brain fog that was about as thick as I had ever experienced. It felt like I was in a daze that I’d never really experienced before. So I called Michael, and he recommended a homeopathic remedy. I went to the CO-OP to get it, and found myself wandering around trying to figure out what I was up to. Suddenly realized I only came in for one item, and that I needed to get it and get back home (carefully). (Just one reason I recommend not having to do anything challenging in hours/days following an AP session)

The homeopathic remedy helped, but the headache hung on for several days, but became tolerable by the end of the first day. It was also during the next several days that the heavy dense brain fog lifted. And after it lifted, more clarity came into my brain and thinking than I had prior to doing the AP.

I also noticed in the following days that I felt much hungrier than normal. When I sat down to eat, it felt almost sort of “primal” as I seemed to dig in or devour my food in a much different way. I felt sort of “piggish” as I ate, but I also noticed that I didn’t really eat more than I normally did. It was just the experience of eating that was so much different.

Here’s what I believe happened. The 12 major cranial nerves exit the brainstem through the opening in the atlas. If the atlas is out of alignment, these nerves can become impinged, and nerve flow to the rest of the body is inhibited. The vagus nerve is the longest of the cranial nerves, traversing through the TMJ, through the thyroid, the heart, stomach, GI system, and ending in the colon. If these organs/areas aren’t receiving enough nerve energy because of a crimped vagus nerve, they’re not going function properly or efficiently.

Here’s my theory as to why some people notice significant improvements from AP, and others don’t. — The opening in the atlas through which the cranial nerves go through is different in size from one person to the next. If the opening is large, the atlas can be out of alignment by quite a bit without impinging on the cranial nerves. If the opening is small, only a small alignment can cause significant cranial nerve dysfunction. — A former NFL football player was temporarily paralyzed from a rather insignificant blow, and it was determined that the opening in his atlas was much smaller than normal, which significantly raised his potential for a serious injury. He promptly retired.

I feel certain most, if not all of my cranial nerves became impinged from a serious head injury/whiplash I experienced at age 15, which corresponded with the decline in my overall health. I am even more certain that at least my vagus nerve was majorly impacted. To have all this pressure relieved from a single treatment felt almost miraculous to me. I can easily see why others wouldn’t have a similar experience, because even if they had a seriously misaligned atlas, they may not have had seriously crimped nerves. The following is a list of improvements I jotted down a few months after receiving my AP treatment in the summer of 2007:
...............................................................

Symptom Improvements since Atlas Profilax Treatment 7-9-07

Primarily Neurological Symptom Improvements

Sensory Overload - 25-50%

Excessive Neuronal Firing - 25-50% (I feel Perque B-12 is very good for this also)

Anxiety – 25-50% (Didn’t even fully realize my levels of anxiety until they lessened significantly)

Vertigo / Neurally Mediated Hypotension – 25-50%

Environmental Illness (EI) / Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) – 25-35%

Cognitive Function / Ability to take make mental notes – 25-35%

Ability to Organize - 15-20%

TMJ (Moderate to begin with) - 20%-25%

Ability to relax – 25-35%

Severe adrenal exhaustion / dysfunction – approx. 25%

Sense of Balance – 25-50%

Sleep – approx. 15-20%

Primarily Physical Symptom Improvements

Physical / muscle strength – 25-30%

Viral overload symptoms – 50-75%

Digestion – 50%+

Generalized Pain and Headache reduction - 25-50%

Detoxification Capabilities – 25-50%

Postural Corrections, from my neck, down my entire spine to my hips, knees and even feet – I can’t even put a percentage on this – A growing sense of wholeness seems to pervade my entire postural structure. My chest cavity seems to have risen. When I walk these days, I feel like I’m almost gliding.

Overall energy level – approx. 10-25%

I feel taller and I am taller by 1/4"-1/2"

Spiritual/Energetic Improvements of Note

Overall Sense of Well Being – 25-50% (I especially notice this when I’m walking)

Greater sense of patience

Greater sense of rhythm

Feel less dense, a greater sense of fluidity
Hello Wayne. Thank you for your detailed update! I found this thread recently as I have been interested in atlas for a long time and wondered how you are too?
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,464
Location
Ashland, Oregon
I found this thread recently as I have been interested in atlas for a long time and wondered how you are too?

Hi @Heart Face -- I consider myself to be doing "fairly well". I still have various health issues I feel are related to my neck issues. But for the most part, I feel my "relative" ability to deal with my neck issues helps me "manage" my other health issues.

In one way, I feel I've accomplished a LOT in stablizing my neck area by what I've learned and incorporated over the years. But on the other hand, I believe I could do better (possibly much better), if I could get some professional help to help me take a next big step. This could potentially be prolotherapy, or some other modalities that could help.

My next step is to try a neck traction device that was recently highly recommended by a doctor. He said he'd tried out several different devices, and felt this was far and away the best one. We'll see what happens! :)
 
Messages
68
Hey @Heart Face, I too just found out about Atlas Profilax and had it done by Micheal Hane about a month and a half ago. Sadly, it only held for a couple of weeks, but it was the best two weeks of my life. I crashed from it, but for the first time in five years my neck pain was gone. It felt really really good.

I have hEDS, and CCI, so I was worried it would go out again. The adjustment fell out from me sitting in a very particular position that I know jams my skull and messes everything up - I just didn't realize it while it was happening... here's what happened:

I was sitting outside and started talking to my neighbor. We were sitting in the grass together and her husband came over, and he was standing while I was talking to him for about 20 minutes... me sitting, looking up dramatically, and talking. When I stood back up my skull was jammed forward and when it popped back out I knew instantly my C1 had fallen back out of alignment. The pain and brain fog came back, and I can barely wait for Micheal to come out to the PNW again and put it back!

I am planning to try figuring out what I can do about it with my PT - I am also looking into prolotherapy for my neck.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,464
Location
Ashland, Oregon
I am planning to try figuring out what I can do about it with my PT - I am also looking into prolotherapy for my neck.

Hi @Tiffyshea -- Sorry to hear your atlas didn't hold. I had the Atlas Profilax done many years ago, and it held for well over 10 years. I then was given an anti-nausea medication at the ER, and it really did a number on my body, and my atlas went out as well.

I wrote extensively about what happened to me in THIS POST. Toward the end of that post I describe how I'm currently able to essentially do an Atlas Profilax treatment on myself, and do it literally every day to keep things in place.

I think it's great you're looking at doing prolotherapy. I'm considering it as well when things get settled a little more after a major move and dislocation. But am now getting settled in, and hope to make a journey to FL in the coming year to follow up on that prolotherapy.

Best!

@JelenaS -- @Anjuska
 
Messages
68
Hi @Tiffyshea -- Sorry to hear your atlas didn't hold. I had the Atlas Profilax done many years ago, and it held for well over 10 years. I then was given an anti-nausea medication at the ER, and it really did a number on my body, and my atlas went out as well.

I wrote extensively about what happened to me in THIS POST. Toward the end of that post I describe how I'm currently able to essentially do an Atlas Profilax treatment on myself, and do it literally every day to keep things in place.

I think it's great you're looking at doing prolotherapy. I'm considering it as well when things get settled a little more after a major move and dislocation. But am now getting settled in, and hope to make a journey to FL in the coming year to follow up on that prolotherapy.

Best!

@JelenaS -- @Anjuska

Wow, thanks so much for all of this information... the other posts mentioned were super helpful. I, too, do a lot of massage around the atlas / back of the ears/ base of the skull just because it hurts so much. But I haven't ever had it feel like the atlas goes back in the way it did with AP... that was just the most amazing feeling. I can't wait to get it done again, and I hope I can get prolotherapy somewhat close to having it done so that everything is lined up right.

I'll update you all as to how things play out!
 

JES

Senior Member
Messages
1,373
The thing is, you are not supposed to do it again if we are to believe AtlasProfilax "certified practitoners". It's supposed to be a one-time thing.

I mainly did this procedure out of interest to see if applying this massage machine heavily in the area would give me any hint that I was suffering from CCI (craniocervical instability). This was a theory that was much hyped back in 2019, but the hype has kind of died out. The procedure did not cause any negative effects or sudden improvements, which you would think could happen by applying the machine heavily close to that area, so I took it as likely confirmation that I don't suffer from CCI.

I noticed feeling slightly better for a day or two after the procedure, as if blood flow to the brain was slightly better. It could also have been placebo because the improvement wasn't significant. I think the improvement could have come from just the effects of massaging that area.
 
Messages
68
Hey @Wayne, how much of your me/cfs do you think was helped by the AP and having your Atlas in a good place for those 10 years? Was it very significant or not much?

... I feel like the atlas is cutting off circulation to my brain and for the short amount of time it was in place my brain fog improved quite a bit, and since the brain fog is such a huge detriment to living my life I was really curious to see if that improvement would help my me/cfs in general. I'm very curious to see how much of my me/cfs is being caused by CCI
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,464
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Hey @Wayne, how much of your me/cfs do you think was helped by the AP and having your Atlas in a good place for those 10 years? Was it very significant or not much?

Hi @Tiffyshea -- Interesting you should ask. I listed in detail many of the improvements I noticed after doing the Atlas Profilax. It's at the end of the following linked post.

Alternative Non-Surgical Possibilities for Addressing CCI/AAI or Other Serious Neck Issues

Shortly after getting the AP, I started out on an annual cross country trip to visit family in the midwest. I had taken the route many times prior to this trip, and "thought" I "knew" the route well. But I continually found myself noticing things I had never recalled seeing before. It was so striking, that it made me realize my ability to form memories, and my overall brain function had improved considerably from doing the AP.
 

Jyoti

Senior Member
Messages
3,425
I'm pondering AP for myself and have a couple of questions for those who know more and/or have had it. In the past, I tried AO to amazing effect the first time, then diminishing returns until there was no improvement at all from a treatment. Obviously Atlas Orthogonal is meant to be something repeated, unlike AP, and is different--I am just noting that I had a wonderful response to having my atlas put in place the first time it happened.

My concern about any sort of gentle cervical manipulation (this happens to me with osteopathy as well) is that I get a great boost for a few hours and then, I presume, my ligaments let go and things fall back into an unstable position. Is there any reason why this would be different with AP? I just talked to someone who insisted that AP would be able to overcome the lax ligaments, because of the intense massage, but I don't understand why that would be. Can anyone shed light on this?

I am also looking at prolotherapy for my cervical spine. Anyone combine AP with prolo? @Tiffyshea? @Wayne?
 
Messages
68
I've had a number of AP treatments (also from Michael Hane) as well as prolo in my cervical spine.

The first AP treatment was amazing, and lasted 3 weeks in which I thought it had completely changed my neck. I've been in a lot of neck pain for 5 years and so I thought it was a miracle. Then I went on a bumpy road bike ride, immediately after which I sat down in the grass and started talking to my tall neighbor. In the past I'd had problems with my skull/c1 getting jammed forward when I was in a position with my head looking upward while in terrible posture, like while doing make-up (leaning forward toward a mirror) or looking at the stars. When I got up the c1/skull was jammed and when I straightened my neck it popped out and everything hurt again.

I've had 3 AP treatments since with diminishing returns as you've mentioned.

Prolo:
I sought out Dr. Singh in Seattle to do my prolotherapy, as he is familiar with ligament laxity and works with a lot of hypermobile patients, and he uses floroscopy to guide the injection. I wouldn't go to a place that doesn't use the floroscopic guided injections. Dr. Singh had me work with a PT who knows how to assess each joint in the spine for laxity, especially laxity compared to your personal baseline of stretchyness. The PT determined that my C6-7, C2-3 and C1-2 are all looser than the rest of my spine. Dr. Singh won't go above C2 so all I've had done so far is C6-7 and C2-3.

I had three injections bilaterally in both those joints over the course of 2 months ending in March. Beforehand I had lost all the curve in my neck, and the curve is almost back to perfect. Those joints feel much better. Even my C1 is subluxing less severely (I've also been doing some strengthening exercises). It did take time. It also has made my neck feel really weird - it's now in a different position when I sleep that doesn't feel great (it's like I'm looking up). I also feel like the intracranial hypertension has gotten worse, but then today for the first time I've had no neck pain and I have energy, so maybe it's starting to work and I'm just now feeling the effects.

However, I still have AAI (C1-2) instability, and I have fatigue, really bad vision problems, tinnitis, brain fog and the rest of it (although like I said today I feel better - but maybe it's a fluke). I have found someone up here in the PNW (Dr. Silva) who does prp in the C1-2 joint and I have a consult with him next week.


If I were you I would try AP and just see how it works for you. If you know you are very lax you could skip it, because I have yet to meet a super hypermobile person for which it stuck. I feel like if I had been more careful and strengthened my neck before riding a bike and sitting in that position for an extended period of time (if I could have avoided jamming my upper cervical) it might have worked. But quite honestly the prolotherapy is such a nice easy fix.

Just as another thought... I also have a raging disc problem in my Lumbar spine on the right side, and I feel like my posture naturally puts my head and neck in a terrible postion, and all my neck and head problems are also on the right. I'm going to ask Dr. Silva to treat that area as well as I think it's contributing to the AAI/neck problems.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions.
 

Jyoti

Senior Member
Messages
3,425
SUPER helpful, @Tiffyshea! I am so happy to hear that you have no neck pain --at last--and even more exciting, energy. It sounds really promising, though of course the underlying problem and all the compensation over time make it complex to unwind. But maybe you are really in the process of doing that? Having more intracranial pressure is not welcome, I am sure. That anatomy in the neck is SO tightly packed--it does seem like shifting one thing even a minute amount can lead to other unforeseen outcomes. I hope that resolves for you.

I am very hypermobile, so may well skip the AP. I just can't imagine how it would hold. The drive home from the closest practitioner is likely to dislodge the vertebrae, I am afraid!

Hearing about your experiences with prolo was very helpful and hopeful. I have had PRP in my lumbar spine and prolo in my SI joint. The guy I am going to see is Regenexx trained and always uses floroscopic guidance. I am interested in the number/sequence of your treatments and will be sure to focus on that when I consult with him in June. My experience with PRP and prolo so far has been 'let's do it once and see how you fare and then decide if we need to repeat' kind of thing. I have been wondering about a series rather than a one-off with possible follow-up.

Again--thanks so much for sharing your experiences.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,464
Location
Ashland, Oregon
I am also looking at prolotherapy for my cervical spine. Anyone combine AP with prolo? @Tiffyshea? @Wayne?
Hi @Jyoti -- I too am considering doing prolotherapy (and most likely will, hopefully in this coming year). You've been posting some of your "musings" about AP and related stuff, and thought I'd post a link to a post I once made that you appreciated and commented on. I can't help but think you might find it helpful to review that post to see if it has any information that might address some of your current thinking.

Alternative Non-Surgical Possibilities for Addressing CCI/AAI or Other Serious Neck Issues

 
Back