There's a version of the upper cervical explanation that's all nerves, and it's true as far as it goes. Jared Kohler gives his patients the fuller version: the atlas is also plumbing. The vertebral arteries, a major blood supply to your brain, physically thread through holes in that vertebra and bend around it at sharp angles on their way up.
Isn't blood flow to the brain automatic?
For the most part, yes, thankfully. The body defends brain circulation hard. But defended is not the same as unimpeded. Those sharp arterial bends around C1 are a design compromise; the vessels need slack so you can turn your head. When the atlas sits displaced for years, the geometry worsens and the whole system runs at a slight disadvantage, along with the veins draining the head through the same congested space. Nobody faints from this. What patients report instead is brain fog, pressure, and fatigue that builds through the day. Drainage complaints, basically. We laid out that mechanism in Brain fog may be a drainage problem, and Jared's video is a good two-minute version of the same anatomy.
Why should a healthy person care about waste clearance?
Because problems with waste clearance take years to show up. The brain produces metabolic waste around the clock and clears it through fluid exchange that depends on healthy inflow and outflow. Impair the clearance a little for a long time and debris accumulates, which is the pattern researchers keep finding upstream of neurodegenerative disease. We covered the research in Why disrupted spinal fluid flow is linked to neurodegeneration. Jared is honest that he's simplifying complex processes, and so am I. But the two levers he names, neurology and circulation, both pass through one vertebra you can measure and correct.
Who is Jared Kohler?
Dr. Jared Kohler, DCCJP, practices at The Vital Energy Center on Orcas Island in Eastsound, Washington. His site has the current contact details.