Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care and about Gibson Upper Cervical Chiropractic

You can also get in contact with Dr.Andy Gibson to submit a question via email.

Do you have questions that others have asked about upper cervical chiropractic care? Here are some common chiropractic questions that people ask when they are considering a visit with Dr. Andy Gibson at his DuBois upper cervical chiropractic practice.

Don’t see your question here? Then please call the office, or submit your question via our online form.

Where is your chiropractic practice located?
What if I am coming from outside DuBois, Pennsylvania?
I see that you work on the neck. Does that mean you pop and twist it?
What kinds of health problems do you see?
How can I know if you can help my problem?
Do I have to have a health concern to make an appointment, because I’m interested in wellness and general health maintenance?
Do you see babies and children?
How is upper cervical care different than other kinds of chiropractic care?
I don’t have a “cervical” problem. Can you still help me?
Does the adjustment hurt at all?
How long until I’m better?
How often do I need to come back?
Do you take x-rays?
Why don’t you make a chiropractic adjustment at every visit?
Do I need a referral to see you?
Why aren’t there more chiropractors like you?

Where is Gibson Upper Cervical Chiropractic located?

We are located at 23 Beaver Drive, Suite 3 in the town of DuBois, Pennsylvania – directly across from the DuBois Area Senior High School.

The location of our chiropractic practice is not far from Highway 80, and near the convergence of state road 219 and state road 255.

It’s a pretty convenient location for many communities of central Pennsylvania.

What if I am coming from outside the DuBois, PA area?

Dr. Andy Gibson isn’t just an upper cervical chiropractor – he’s also and a lifetime recipient of upper cervical care. He understands the distances that many people will go to receive care from a competent upper cervical doctor.

It’s very common for Dr. Gibson to consult with and serve with people from Clarion, Punxsutawney, Reynoldsville, Luthersburg, Clearfield, Brockway, Penfield, Ridgway, Kersey, Penfield, and Woodland.

And sometimes even further away.

We will do our best to accommodate those who are driving from a distance. Please do not hesitate to call to find out if our schedule will work for you.

I see that you work on the neck. Does that mean you pop and twist it?

No, there is absolutely no popping or twisting of the neck. While general chiropractic adjustments offered by other chiropractors are safe when practiced by fully trained doctors of chiropractic, we do not adjust in this manner in this office.

Our upper cervical chiropractic procedure fully supports the head and neck while delivering the adjustment with precision. It is a very different experience than what most people think of when visiting a chiropractor.

This makes the adjustment process effective while being extremely gentle. Anyone who is fearful of traditional chiropractic adjustments (which are also safe and effective) may appreciate our unique approach.

What kinds of health problems do you see?

We don’t see health problems. That might seem like a confusing answer, but it’s an important one. Here’s what we mean: we don’t see a “case of this or that” – but instead see the people who come in after struggling with any number of life-limiting conditions or those who are seeking peak function and performance.

We adjust and correct the people. Not the condition.

All conditions are serious in one way or another to the persons who experience them. Our goal is to help our patients remove barriers to the body’s natural healing ability, focusing especially on a particular barrier known as the upper cervical subluxation.

Correct the structure, and often the condition responds.

Here are some conditions that people desire help with when they call Dr. Andy Gibson:

Arthritis
Asthma
ADD or ADHD
Back Pain
Bed Wetting
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Constipation
Depression
Digestive Problems
Ear Infections
Female Disorders
Digestive Problems
Ear Infections
Fibromyalgia
Frequent Colds
Hacking Cough
Headaches (all types)
Migraines
Herniated Disk
Neck Pain
Numbness
Poor Vision
Sciatica
Sinus Problems
Tendinitis
T.M.J. Disorder
Whiplash

In each case Dr. Gibson will discuss your history and your goals for your care to make sure that you understand what role that our upper cervical chiropractic approach might have for meeting your needs.

How can I know if you can help my problem?

Anyone interested in help is invited to contact the office and schedule a consultation. Dr. Gibson offers a free 15 minute consultation which gives you face to face time with the doctor in order to determine if the upper cervical chiropractic procedure might be helpful in your case, or in the case of your child. Clinical research as well as Dr. Gibson’s experience will guide the process.

Do I have to have a health concern to make an appointment, because I’m interested in wellness and general health maintenance?

No, you don’t have to have a specific condition in order to benefit from upper cervical chiropractic care, other than a misalignment of your neck. The upper cervical chiropractic procedure intends to restore proper balance to the spine and nervous system, even if you don’t have pain.

Those concerned with human well-being and performance, including athletes, have found that the better body balance through this kind of spinal care to be beneficial.

Do you see babies and children?

Yes. Upper cervical chiropractic care is a natural choice for improving the life of small children and babies, especially those who experienced a difficult birth, or who are suffering from chronic health problems.

Generally speaking, both babies and small children respond quickly to upper cervical adjustments, and the gentle approach is very safe and appropriate for their small bodies.

How is Blair Upper Cervical Care different than other kinds of chiropractic care?

From the patient’s experience, upper cervical chiropractic care is very different for several reasons.

There is no popping or twisting of the neck or spine.
The adjustment is based on measurements taken from x-rays, so each individual patient receives an adjustment tailor-made for their body.
The focus is on restoring total body balance to the spine and nervous system, not just restoring your joint motion.

I don’t have a “cervical” problem. Can you still help me?

Yes. Sometimes the name “upper cervical” is confusing. It refers to the neck part of your spine, specifically the top two vertebrae where the head joins the neck. That is the point of application of the upper cervical procedure. However, the effects can be felt across the entire body, including in the low back.

That is because the area where Dr. Gibson works has a lot of control and influence on the body’s nerve system, and the important posture control centers for the body. Our upper cervical procedure often changes the level and rotation on the hips, and the amount of muscle tension traveling down the whole back. Even if your problem is on the other end of the body from the neck, Dr. Gibson may be able to help.

That said, there are specific times and indicators when an evaluation of your structure and adjustment away from the area of the neck can be necessary. If you fit into this group of patients, then care will be given to evaluating you for misalignment and structural breakdown away from the neck.

Does the adjustment hurt at all?

The procedure is purposefully gentle because of the way the body responds to sudden motion at the top of the spine. It is extremely rare for a patient to say that the adjustment hurts.

However, like any other health care procedure, sometimes changes within the body after the adjustment can cause some temporary and minor discomfort as the body responds to its new alignment. Dr. Gibson will prepare you for all of these possibilities when you visit with him.

How long until I’m better?

Upper cervical chiropractic care doesn’t provide you with any new body parts, nor does Dr. Gibson prescribe drugs that are meant to take away symptoms. Your body is given a new sense of balance, and an opportunity for self-healing.

All proper healing takes time, and your particular case depends on your health history, what other health challenges you may be facing, and other factors, like your current medications and your stress levels.

Many patients will usually feel some change within the first seven days after the initial adjustment. For many that will be a decrease in symptoms. Dr. Gibson will evaluate your situation and give you a more specific healing time frame based on the area of the body tissue involved, and your unique history.

Generally speaking, children respond a lot faster than adults because they do not have the same level of spinal degeneration or the poor postural habits that are found in many adults.

How often do I need to come back?

Upper cervical procedures are meant to restore proper body balance and allow the body a greater ability for self-healing. For most people that does not come from a one-time adjustment, so a proper care plan is necessary to make sure that you’re progressing under Dr. Gibson’s care.

While everyone’s response is different, generally speaking, those who choose upper cervical care make fewer repeat visits than with other forms of chiropractic care. The emphasis in this form of spinal care is not on getting repeated adjustments, but making sure that your adjustment is holding.

Do you take x-rays?

Yes. Our upper cervical procedures are guided by objective measurements of your postural alignment, including x-rays at the junction of the head and the neck. What gives Dr. Gibson the ability to adjust so precisely and track the progress of your spinal structure is his use of x-rays.

Why don’t you make a chiropractic adjustment at every visit?

The goal of a traditional chiropractic adjustment in most practices is to restore motion in the spine, anywhere where there might be problems in the joints of the spine. In this system, multiple adjustments over multiple visits is expected and helpful.

As a chiropractic procedure, however, the goal of the upper cervical correction is to restore balance across the entire spine, expecting problems of joint motion to change and improve the longer the spine stays in balance.

Over time this new balance gives your body an opportunity to heal, relax, and find a new equilibrium. Some days feel really good. And other days don’t feel so great. Dr. Gibson will always check if you are maintaining your new alignment based on objective measurements of your posture, and other functional checks of your health. He will only adjust the upper cervical spine when there is a clinical indicator to do so.

Generally, the fewer adjustments one receives, the faster the patient tends to progress through their upper cervical chiropractic care plan. Holding means healing.

Do I need a referral to see you?

While Dr. Gibson does receive referrals from medical doctors, physician’s assistants, dentists, nurses, massage therapists, and other body workers, referral is not necessary to seek a consultation with Dr. Gibson.

Of course the highest compliment to our practice is when one of our patient’s refers a family member of friend in for a consultation.

Why aren’t there more chiropractors like you?

We often speak with patients who have very powerful and positive experiences with this care who want to refer family and friends from outside our area. They can get frustrated when discovering that there are very few upper cervical chiropractors.

The reasons for this are many.

The first is that not every chiropractic school teaches the importance of addressing the upper cervical spine with a specific protocol, so not every chiropractic student is exposed to our unique perspective on caring for the spine.
The second is that this work requires discipline and education, and travel for more education, which for many reasons, can be a hurdle that stops some doctors (especially young doctors) from participating.
As a whole profession, chiropractic care is often misunderstood and under-used by those who would most likely benefit from it, which means that we have fewer chiropractors than our society needs.