Arlen’s atlas therapy

IIn our centre we treat infants with KISS- and KIDD- syndromes, as well as children and adults.

Atlas therapy was developed in France and is a method of treating the first cervical vertebrae.
This method particularly effects changes to the central nervous system and enhances vascular circulation to the brain. The therapy often plays an important role in reducing muscle tension in a number of painful conditions or neurological diseases. Best results are achieved with atlas therapy in the treatment of dizziness.

Arlen’s atlas therapy is the gentlest form of therapy in manual medicine.

It constitutes a new kind of concept in which the implementation, therapeutic aims and results essentially differ from traditional chirotherapy. Atlas therapy primarily affects the common regulatory system for muscle tonus, the vegetative nervous system, equilibrium and self-awareness of the body. There are no treatment-typical risks involved in atlas therapy due to the fact that it does not require traction, rotation or backward tilt of the cervical spine. With proficient application it is inconceivable that the transverse cervical artery should be injured and this has never been described to date.

Method and effects

The atlas – the name of the first cervical vertebrae – forms a joint with the base of the skull. The nerve supply in the muscles and connective tissue around the atlas is exceptionally dense. These nerve sensors register and control the position of the body in space and help to regulate the degree of tension in the entire human musculo-tendon system. They are directly connected to the balance system as well as to the specific centres in the brain responsible for gross and fine motor skills. They are also indirectly involved in processing pain signals. The muscles, tendons and nerves of the upper neck therefore constitute a sensory organ, which transmits information to the brain where it is processed into appropriate reactions. Pathological conditions – for example tension and locomotor dysfunction – cause false information to be transmitted. With atlas therapy it is now possible to normalise these false information processes thereby relieving or eliminating the pathological condition.

AThe patient sits in an upright position; in accordance with the analysis of the position of the atlas short selective impulses are given to the side of the atlas body with the middle finger. The impulse has to be short enough for no protective reflex to be initiated, i.e. it should be completely painless.

The length of the impulse is about 12-15ms, which is just about a blink of the eye.

The intensity of the impulse has to be variable and completely reproducible at will.

Indications for treatment

Therapeutic success has been described for:

sensomotor disorders of integration ability in children (the ‘minor development disturbances’, ICP, KISS, KIDD)

Atlastherapie-nach-Arlen-1

spastic and gross or fine motor skills disorders
neural and muscle disorders with increased muscle tonus, including muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis)
scoliosis
post polio syndrome
respiratory disorders
mastodynia
dizziness and cervical vertebrae-related hearing and speech disorders
therapeutic success is known, but not assured, for tinnitus as complementary therapy in the treatment of craniomandibular dysfunctions (CMD)

Therapeutic success for multiple sclerosis depends on the stage of the condition; patients who are not predominantly wheelchair-bound can attain long-lasting success. Significant and lasting reduction of spasticity is possible.

In general: atlas therapy cannot restore destroyed structures, but in combination with the build-up of specific muscles it can improve the functioning of intact structures.

In our centre we use this method to effectively treat infants suffering from torticollis, KISS syndrome or KIDD syndrome (Kind syndrome) as well as dizziness.

Dr. Surminski supplement manual medicine by adding Arlen’s atlas therapy (as integrierte Manualmedizinische Entwicklungstherapie - IMMET) in a course taken with the Ärztegesellschaft für Atlastherapie und Manuelle Kinderbehandlung (ÄGAMK).

Should you have any further questions or want to make an appointment: Call us at 030 - 44 35 193 0, or send an email.

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