Atlas Orthogonal Technique is an upper cervical chiropractic treatment technique created by Roy Sweat, DC.

Upper cervical specific

It is a technique which uses a percussion instrument in attempts to adjust what is perceived to be a subluxation

Vertebral subluxation

Vertebral subluxation is a term that is commonly used by some chiropractors to describe signs and symptoms of the spinal column. Those chiropractors who assert this concept also add a visceral component to the definition...

 of the atlas vertebra

Atlas (anatomy)

In anatomy, the atlas is the most superior cervical vertebra of the spine.It is named for the Atlas of Greek mythology, because it supports the globe of the head....

, the top vertebra in the cervical spine. It is based on the teachings of B. J. Palmer

B. J. Palmer

Bartlett Joshua Palmer born in What Cheer, Iowa, was a pioneer of chiropractic. B.J. was son of Daniel David Palmer , the founder of chiropractic.- Early life :...

, who advocated the Hole-In-One version of spinal adjustment. It is primarily used by straight chiropractors.

Referring to the origins of upper cervical techniques, Dan Murphy, DC, DABCO, wrote:

"Over the past 100 years, the practice of chiropractic has branched into dozens of specialty techniques. However, historically, for a third of this time, from the 1930s into the 1960s, the predominant practice of chiropractic involved primarily the upper cervical spine."