Jeff LangmaidFounder, The Evidence Based Chiropractor

This Upper Cervical Study Measured the BRAIN… Not Pain

3 Jun 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:30

In this YouTube segment, Jeff Langmaid introduces a brand‑new randomized controlled trial that examined the immediate physiological effects of an upper cervical adjustment. Rather than the usual focus on pain reduction, the study measured how the brain and body communicate right after the adjustment, using neurophysiological metrics. Langmaid highlights that the findings were surprising and run counter to many practitioners’ expectations about what should happen post‑adjustment, suggesting that the adjustment influences brain‑body signaling in ways not previously documented.

Again, brand new randomized controlled trial, and it looked at really what happens immediately after an upper cervical adjustment. So whether you're upper cervical specific or not, almost all of us deliver upper cervical adjustments at some point in time in our practice. And this study looked at it not in a way most studies do. They didn't measure pain. They actually measured how the brain and body are communicating. I love that. And what they found was pretty fascinating because it challenges what a lot of people expect to see after an adjustment.