Blood pressure: what upper cervical research has looked at

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The best-known study in upper cervical research is about blood pressure. In 2007 a team at a university hypertension center tested a NUCCA atlas correction against a sham procedure in people with stage 1 high blood pressure. QSM3, the method used at our office, is a progression of NUCCA, so this work matters to us. Two smaller studies follow it here.

3 studies on this page

Designs: Randomized controlled trial, controlled trial, not randomized, observational study
Published: 2001 to 2019
NUCCA lineage: marked on the NUCCA studies. QSM3, the method used at our office, is a progression of NUCCA.

Where these studies sit, by design and year

3 studies, published 2001 to 2019. Strongest design: controlled trial. 1 in the NUCCA lineage, ringed.

the studies

What each study looked at

Strongest study design first. The dots show the design, from a single case (one dot) to a controlled trial (four). How to read this library

Randomized controlled trial2007NUCCANUCCA lineage

Blood pressure in 50 adults: a NUCCA correction compared with a sham

Who and how many: 50 adults with stage 1 high blood pressure at one center in Chicago, average age about 53, 70% men. No one took blood pressure medication during the 8 weeks: 26 had never taken it and 24 had come off it before the study began.
What was measured: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure at the start and at week 8, and the position of the atlas on X-ray. Half the group received a NUCCA correction and half a sham procedure, and the study was double-blind.
What was found: At week 8, systolic pressure had come down by an average of 17 mm Hg in the NUCCA group and 3 mm Hg in the sham group. Diastolic pressure came down by 10 versus 2. Atlas position changed in the NUCCA group, heart rate did not change, and no side effects were recorded.
Limits: Small and short: one center, 50 people, 8 weeks, mostly men. The authors called it a pilot, and a pilot is a reason for a larger study, not a final answer. It can't say how long the changes last.

Read the abstract on PubMed → Source 1

Controlled trial, not randomized2001Vectored atlas correction

Systolic pressure right after an atlas correction, compared with resting

Who and how many: Established patients in a private practice: 40 with signs of upper neck dysfunction and 40 without, in the first test, and 30 who served as their own comparison in the second.
What was measured: Blood pressure and pulse with a digital cuff, before and after resting, and after a specific, vectored atlas correction.
What was found: Systolic pressure dropped significantly after the atlas correction but not after resting. Larger drops went with older age and higher starting pressure.
Limits: Immediate readings only, with no randomization, no blinding and no sham procedure. The author names these weaknesses himself.

Read the abstract on PubMed → Source 2

Observational study2019Upper cervical

Pulse pressure in 130 people after six weeks of upper cervical care

Who and how many: 130 patients at five practices, grouped by their starting pulse pressure, which is the gap between the top and bottom blood pressure numbers.
What was measured: Pulse pressure before and after a six-week course of care with an upper cervical technique.
What was found: In the group that started high (above 49 mm Hg), pulse pressure came down by an average of 8.9 mm Hg, a statistically significant change. The low and middle groups did not change significantly.
Limits: Observational and practice-based, with no control group. People who start at the high end of any measure tend to read closer to the middle when retested, and a study without a control group can't separate that out.

Read the abstract on PubMed → Source 3

before you draw conclusions

What this research does and doesn't tell you

The NUCCA trial is double-blind and sham-controlled, and it is still a pilot of 50 people over 8 weeks. The other two either measured blood pressure right after a single visit or had no control group. Never stop or change blood pressure medication on your own. That decision belongs with the doctor who prescribes it.

Published research can't predict what will happen for any one person, including you. Studies report averages and single stories; your nervous system is your own. That is why The Lazar Method^™ starts with measurement, not with a promise.

We measure first, so the answer is about you, not an average.

Before any correction we measure how your nervous system is regulating your body: heart rate variability, thermal and muscle tone scans, PostureIQ™, and digital X-ray of the upper neck. QSM3, the method used at our office, is a progression of NUCCA. Dr. Jonathan Lazar, D.C., or someone personally trained by him, will go over your scans and images with you.

If we can help, we'll tell you. If we can't, we'll help you find someone who can.

Talk it through on a 15-minute Clarity Call →

This page is educational and is not medical advice. Keep the doctors who know you in the loop.

citations

Sources

Bakris G, Dickholtz M, Meyer PM, Kravitz G, Avery E, Miller M, Brown J, Woodfield C, Bell B. 2007. Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial pressure goal in hypertensive patients: a pilot study. J Hum Hypertens 21(5):347-52. PubMed 17252032 · DOI 10.1038/sj.jhh.1002133
Knutson GA. 2001. Significant changes in systolic blood pressure post vectored upper cervical adjustment vs resting control groups: a possible effect of the cervicosympathetic and/or pressor reflex. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 24(2):101-9. PubMed 11208222 · DOI 10.1067/mmt.2001.112564
Kessinger R, Qualls T, Hart J, Dallies H, Anderson M, Wayland J, Bradshaw L. 2019. Pulse pressure findings following upper cervical care: a practice-based observational study. J Can Chiropr Assoc 63(1):51-58. PubMed 31057178 · free full text

Titles are quoted exactly as published. Sources checked 2026-11-03.

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