The number one reason people avoid chiropractors isn’t cost, and it isn’t skepticism about whether the treatment works. It’s cracking. That sharp twist of the neck, the pop that echoes through the room, the split second where your body tenses because some deep part of your brain is convinced something just went wrong. For a lot of people, that experience is enough to keep them from ever going back, even when they’re in real pain. Atlas Chiropractic in Fort Wayne exists largely because of that problem. Dr. Emily Staples practices NUCCA upper cervical chiropractic, a technique that involves no twisting, no popping, and no sudden force to the spine. And for patients who’ve been quietly avoiding chiropractic care for years because of that fear, it can feel like finding a door they didn’t know was there.
The Fear Is More Common Than You Think
If you’ve ever tensed up on a chiropractic table or white-knuckled the armrest while a provider positioned your head, you’re not unusual. Studies on patient attitudes toward manual therapy consistently show that apprehension about cervical manipulation is one of the most common barriers to chiropractic care. A 2016 survey published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies found that a significant percentage of patients reported anxiety specifically about neck adjustments, even among those who had positive experiences with other parts of their treatment.
The fear tends to come from a few places. There’s the visceral discomfort of hearing a loud noise come from your own body. There’s the vulnerability of having someone rotate your head while you lie face down. And for some people, there’s a genuine concern about safety, fueled by internet searches that turn up worst-case-scenario stories about cervical manipulation and stroke risk.
Those concerns deserve a straight answer, not dismissal. And the straight answer is that while traditional cervical manipulation is generally considered safe when performed by a licensed professional, the anxiety it creates is real and valid. For people who can’t get past it, the discomfort of the experience can actually work against the treatment by keeping muscles tense, preventing relaxation, and making it harder for the provider to do their work effectively.
What a NUCCA Adjustment Actually Feels Like
Patients at Atlas Chiropractic are often surprised by how little they feel during the correction itself. Here’s what actually happens.
You lie on your side on a specialized table. Dr. Staples places her hand just behind your ear, contacting the atlas vertebra through the skin. She applies a very light, sustained pressure in a specific direction, calculated from the imaging taken earlier in the visit. The pressure is gentle enough that many patients ask afterward whether the adjustment has started yet. There’s no rotation of the neck. No thrust. No audible pop.
The whole thing takes a few seconds. Afterward, you rest on the table for several minutes while your body begins to respond to the positional change. Some patients feel a sense of relaxation almost immediately. Others notice subtle shifts over the next few hours: their head feels lighter, their shoulders drop, or a persistent tightness in their neck begins to ease.
It’s about as far from the stereotypical chiropractic adjustment as you can get. And for people who’ve been avoiding care because of what they assumed it would involve, the experience can be genuinely disarming.
Why NUCCA Doesn’t Need Force to Work
The natural question is: if the adjustment is that gentle, how can it actually do anything? It’s a fair thing to ask. The answer has to do with the anatomy of the atlas and the precision of the correction.
The atlas vertebra weighs only a few ounces and sits at the very top of the spine, balanced between the skull above and the axis vertebra below. It’s held in place by ligaments and muscles, not by interlocking bony structures the way most other vertebrae are. Because of that design, it doesn’t take much force to move it. What it takes is accuracy.
Before any NUCCA correction is performed, the patient undergoes a series of precise X-rays that reveal exactly how the atlas has shifted: how many degrees of rotation, how much lateral displacement, and in which direction. The correction vector is calculated mathematically from those measurements. When Dr. Staples applies that light touch, it’s directed along a very specific line of force, tailored to the individual’s anatomy. A general push wouldn’t accomplish much. A precisely directed one, even at low force, can reposition a bone that weighs less than a golf ball.
Post-correction imaging confirms the result. If the atlas didn’t move, it shows on film. If it did, that shows too. There’s no guessing.
Who Benefits Most from Atlas Chiropractic’s Approach
The obvious group is people who are nervous about traditional adjustments. But the gentle nature of NUCCA also makes it a practical choice for several other populations.
Older adults with osteoporosis or degenerative changes in the cervical spine often can’t safely receive high-velocity manipulation. Patients recovering from whiplash injuries, where the ligaments around the upper cervical spine are already compromised, need a careful approach that doesn’t add further stress. People with hypermobility disorders like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have joints that are already too loose, making forceful adjustments potentially destabilizing. And children, whose spines are still developing, are better served by the minimal force that NUCCA provides.
Then there are the patients who don’t fall into any clinical category but simply prefer a calm, quiet experience. They don’t want to hear cracking. They don’t want to be twisted into position. They want to know exactly what’s being done and why, and they want to see the evidence that it worked. NUCCA delivers on all of those preferences.
Addressing the Safety Question Directly
Concerns about chiropractic safety, especially around the neck, are not irrational. The most frequently cited risk associated with cervical manipulation is vertebral artery dissection, a rare but serious event that can lead to stroke. The actual incidence of this is extremely low. A large-scale study published in Spine in 2008 found no significant increase in the risk of vertebral artery stroke following chiropractic visits compared to primary care visits for the same complaints, suggesting that the underlying condition (neck pain, headache) may be the common factor, not the manipulation itself.
That said, NUCCA sidesteps the conversation almost entirely. Because the technique involves no rotational force and no high-velocity thrust to the cervical spine, the mechanical risk factors associated with traditional cervical manipulation simply aren’t present. The adjustment is applied as a lateral contact with sustained, low-amplitude pressure. It’s a fundamentally different biomechanical event.
For patients who have spent time worrying about this, that distinction can be the difference between staying home in pain and actually getting help.
Take the First Step at Atlas Chiropractic
If fear of the adjustment has kept you away from chiropractic care, NUCCA might be the version of it that finally makes sense for you. Atlas Chiropractic in Fort Wayne offers a free initial consultation where you can ask every question you have, see the imaging process, and understand exactly what the correction involves before you commit to anything. There’s no cracking. No surprises. Just a measured, evidence-based approach to a problem your body has been compensating around for too long. Visit the Atlas Chiropractic website to book online, or call the office directly to set up a time.