The patient lies on his or her side on a low inclined bed with a head support. The adjustment is performed with the side of the heel of one hand on a corner of the Atlas vertebra located just behind the patient's earlobe. The chiropractor applies a force directly along the determined vector direction to return the atlas to its proper position.

The doctor clasps one hand about the wrist of the other hand, sets the heel of the lower hand on the bone and aligns his arms and the top of his sternum directly down the force vector determined from the X-ray. He does not push by straightening the arms, nor does he push by rocking his back or body forward. With either of these motions, the heel of the hand does not move along a line connecting the top of the sternum and the heel of the hand. Instead the NUCCA upper cervical chiropractor locks his body in place, and the force comes from the shoulders by contracting the head of the triceps muscle. There is no audible sound or movement of the head or neck during the adjustment.

Brain Stem