A Digital Motion X-Ray films your neck through a sequence of positions. Here is what your clinician is watching for in each one — and what the motion means for the ligaments, joints, and nerves underneath.
As the head bows forward, the vertebrae should fan open evenly at the back. One level that gaps open too far is moving more than it should.
What the motion infers
Excess posterior gapping at a single level points to stretched or torn posterior ligaments (interspinous / capsular) — a sign the passive restraints have lost tension. Collagen-based laxity shows here first.
Tipping the head back closes the joints at the rear and opens the front. A level that slides backward (retro) or hinges too hard flags instability.
What the motion infers
Posterior listing or a hard hinge in extension implicates the anterior longitudinal ligament and disc. Paired with flexion findings, it separates a truly unstable level from a merely stiff one.
Viewed at an angle, the facet joints should open a small, even amount. One facet gapping wider than its neighbors is over-moving.
What the motion infers
Focal facet gapping = capsular ligament laxity at that joint. It is the earliest motion sign of segmental instability, often before anything shows on a still film.
In extension the nerve-exit windows narrow. If one closes down onto the nerve root, that is encroachment.
What the motion infers
Dynamic foraminal narrowing that pinches the exiting root explains position-dependent arm symptoms — and is only visible while the neck actually moves.
Forcing the shoulders back rotates the collarbones down onto the lower neck, squeezing the space over the first rib where the nerves and vessels pass.
What the motion infers
This is why 'pinch your shoulder blades back' can backfire: it compresses the carotid sheath / neurovascular bundle. It reframes why our forward-roll cue protects that space.
Rolling the shoulders up and forward rotates the collarbones off the lower neck, decompressing the outlet beneath them.
What the motion infers
The proprietary forward-roll opens the costoclavicular space — the mechanical basis for cueing 'roll up and forward, neck floats back and tall' instead of squeezing the blades together.
Looking through the open mouth from the front, C1 sits squarely on C2. Bending the head side to side, one lateral mass sliding out past C2 is overhang.
What the motion infers
Lateral overhang of C1 on C2 signals alar / transverse ligament compromise at the most mobile joint in the spine — an upper-cervical instability that a static film routinely misses.
Turning the head, C1 rotates around the dens of C2. We watch whether it rotates symmetrically or one side slips forward and stays.
What the motion infers
Asymmetric or excessive C1-C2 rotation that does not reduce points to rotational instability of the atlanto-axial joint — tied to dizziness, balance, and that 'nervous-system on edge' feeling.
Illustrations are proprietary DMXRays anatomy, a clinician-reviewed set in progress. Educational and informational only — not a diagnosis. Imaging must be interpreted by a licensed clinician.