Immune function: what upper cervical research has looked at

You catch everything that goes around, and it takes you longer than everyone else to get over it.

Illustration: the top vertebra of the neck, with fine blue nerve branches spreading out from it

The nervous system and the immune system talk to each other constantly, which is why researchers have asked whether care at the top of the neck shows up in immune markers. One multicenter study has measured this. It is small and early, and it is described here exactly as far as it goes.

1 study on this page

Designs: Prospective observational study
Published: 2022

Where these studies sit, by design and year

1 study, published 2022. Strongest design: cohort, pilot or before-and-after study.

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

Prospective observational study2022Upper cervical

A saliva immune marker in 41 people, before and after an upper cervical correction

Who and how many: 41 people at five chiropractic offices in North America.
What was measured: Secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), an antibody in saliva that is part of the body's first line of defense, before care, 30 minutes after the first upper cervical correction, and two weeks later.
What was found: SIgA rose significantly 30 minutes after the correction and was back near its starting level at two weeks.
Limits: Preliminary, with no control group, and a short-lived change in one marker. It says nothing about getting sick less often.

Read the abstract on PubMed → Source 1

before you draw conclusions

What this research does and doesn't tell you

One marker, a short-lived rise, and no control group. It does not show that anyone got sick less often, and we don't suggest it does.

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

Schalow PR, Kimball KA, Schurger FT, Sooley GR, Bales SP, Rochester RP, Brooks RT, Hunt JM. 2022. Secretory Immunoglobulin A and Upper Cervical Chiropractic: A Preliminary Prospective, Multicenter, Observational Study. J Chiropr Med 20(3):121-127. PubMed 35463842 · DOI 10.1016/j.jcm.2021.10.003 · free full text

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

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