Sinus Pressure and the Upper Cervical Spine

In the upper cervical spine, there are four main structures to focus on. They are:

1. The Foramen Magnum of the Occipital bone 

2. The Atlas vertebra (1st cervical bone)

3. The Axis vertebra (2nd cervical bone) 

4. The Brainstem of the Nerve System. 

The Brainstem exits from the Foramen Magnum. The Atlas and Axis bones protect and surround the Brainstem. The brainstem connects all the nerves from the brain to the nerves of the body. 

Regarding Sinus Pressure the secondary focus is on the:

• Trigeminal Nerve

The Trigeminal nerve comes out of the skull close to the foramen magnum. It has three main branches, the ophthalmic, the maxillary and the mandibular. The mandibular branch supplies motor and sensory information to the jaw, ear and teeth. The maxillary branch supplies sensory information to the jaw, nasal cavity and sinuses. The ophthalmic branch provides sensory information to the eye, sinuses, and skin of the upper face and scalp.

The Nerve System in general has four main functions: 

1. It controls all the movements we make

2. Senses everything we feel

3. Regulates all our body organs

4. Relates us to the outside world

When nerves get stressed, it effects their sensitivity, perception and behavior to perform these functions. The stresses are physical, chemical and emotional in nature. These stresses create nerve tension and spine imbalance.

One specific job of the brainstem is to adapt to these stresses and help bring the spine back into balance. If the stresses are too great for the brainstem to adapt, compensations arise. One particular compensation that occurs in the upper cervical spine is a Vertebral Subluxation.

A vertebral subluxation will cause the Atlas and Axis bones to lock in a misaligned position. This lock will sustain Nerve System tension and spine imbalance. This tension leads to abnormal sensitivity, perception and behavior of the brainstem and connecting nerves.

Over time, this disruption can lead to symptoms of the involved nerves. The usual symptoms of Sinus Pressure are:

• Nasal inflammation (Sinusitis) 

• Discharge from the nose

• Drainage down the back of the throat (postnasal drainage)

• Nasal obstruction or congestion

• Pain, tenderness and swelling around your eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead

• Reduced sense of smell and taste

• Ear pain

• Aching in your upper jaw and teeth

• Cough or throat clearing

• Sore throat

• Fatigue

If we reference the Trigeminal nerve we can see that it associates with Sinus Pressure symptoms. 

The goal of Chiropractic is not to medically treat the symptoms of Sinus Pressure. The aim of Chiropractic is to correct nerve tension and spine imbalance. Chiropractors correct this by adjusting the vertebral subluxation of the upper cervical spine. 

Correcting the subluxation better optimizes the function of the brainstem and associated nerves. The Nerve System overall can sense, perceive and behave at a greater potential when a subluxation is corrected.  

- Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP

Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.