Offers Ultrasound Therapy

Many of us have heard about how Ultrasound is used as a diagnostic test to explore disease process and injury in the human body. Diagnostic ultrasound, for example, can be used to look at joints, nerve roots, tendons, ligaments and muscles and pinpoint signs of inflammation and scar tissue. In some cases, ultrasound helps the chiropractor identify the proper course of treatment.

But ultrasound has another exciting application in the form of deep heat therapy. Therapeutic ultrasound uses heated sound waves and applies the energy to soft tissues and joints. The fast-moving waves essentially massage soft tissues effortlessly, and in most cases, painlessly.

Therapeutic ultrasound:

• Alleviates muscle spasms
• Reduces inflammation and swelling
• Improves range of motion
• Helps increase blood flow
• Lowers pain and stiffness

Therapeutic ultrasound is typically applied using a small, hand-held wand. Therapeutic ultrasound is often used as one method to treat Lower Back Pain. It is not used to treat acute inflammatory conditions or in patients who have had a laminectomy.

Offers Massage Therapy

Therapeutic Massage involves manipulating the soft tissues of the body to prevent and alleviate pain, discomfort, muscle spasm, and stress.

As in many kinds of therapy, therapeutic massage is one part of your overall chiropractic treatment plan.

Massage therapy:

• Alleviates headache-associated pain
• Helps improve your ability to walk with a normal and balanced gait
• Helps lower your blood pressure
• Improves your breathing as a result of a more relaxed diaphragm
• Improves your range of motion, muscle tone, and flexibility
• Increases your blood flow, which aids in the healing process and allows muscles to work more efficiently;
• Reduces stiffness, pain and muscle tension

Stimulates the body to release helpful chemicals such as endorphins. Massage has been shown to be an effective treatment for a wide variety of health problems, including:

• Stress
• Sleep apnea and insomnia
• Sinusitis
• Range of motion
• Pain (chronic and temporary)
• Myofascial pain
• Jaw disorders
• Injuries such as pulled or strained muscles and ligaments
• Headache
• Digestive disorders, including spastic colon and constipation
• Circulatory problems
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Asthma and bronchitis
• Arthritis
• Allergies

In some cases, devices may be used to perform massage. Traction massage entails lying on your back on a special table with a pillow under your knees. The table has small rollers that glide up and down your spine. Traction massage helps stretch and massage the muscles in your back, and is not a form of spinal adjustment. In fact, traction massage may sometimes be used to make an adjustment go more smoothly.

Offers Lumbar Stabilization

When the muscles supporting the lower spine need to be strengthened, lumbar stabilization may be used in your chiropractic treatment as a form of Physical Therapy. Lumbar stabilization helps you develop strength, flexibility, and endurance and also has been shown effective in alleviating Lower Back Pain.

The key to lumbar stabilization is achieving a "neutral spine" position. The neutral spine position is that which is the least painful but most sound posture for your lower back.

When your spine is in a neutral position:

• The discs and vertebrae are able to absorb shocks and other forces acting on the spine in an optimal way.
• There is less tension on the ligaments and joints of your spine.
• Your posture is centered.

Once your learn how to go to your neutral spine position, lumbar stabilization teaches you how to maintain that position through a technique called "proprioception." Proprioception teaches you how to know where your joints are at any given time.

Lumbar stabilization helps you:

• Better control the movements affecting your spine
• Heal muscle strains, sprains, and damaged ligaments
• Know how to avoid future injuries
• Reduce pain in your lower back

Ice Therapy

Ice massage, or Cryotherapy, is effectively used to treat many kinds of injuries, including those associated with back or Neck Pain.

Ice causes the veins in the affected tissue area to constrict. This reduces the flow of blood while acting as kind of anesthetic to numb the pain. But when the ice is removed (and this is key), the veins compensate by opening large, allowing a greater volume of blood to rush to the affected area. The blood brings with it important chemicals that aid in the healing process.

Back and neck injuries frequently involve muscle sprains and strained ligaments, which can spasm and become inflamed.

Ice massage can provide a number of benefits, including:

• Assisting the body in minimizing tissue damage
• Mitigating muscle spasms
• Reducing or eliminating pain by numbing sore soft tissues
• Slowing and reducing inflammation and swelling

 

Ice Therapy is not recommended as a form of treatment for any kinds of rheumatoid arthritis, Raynaud's Syndrome (a circulatory disorder of blood vessels of the extremities), colds or allergic conditions, paralysis, or areas of impaired sensation.

Heat Therapy

While Ice Therapy is used to reduce swelling, heat therapy is used to relax the muscles and increase circulation. Both kinds of therapy help reduce pain.

Heat therapy is often used in patients who have chronic, or long-lasting pain. Heat therapy can involve many kinds of methods, from simple heating pads, wraps, and warm gel packs, to sophisticated techniques, such as therapeutic ultrasound.

Back injuries can create tension and stiffness in the muscles and soft tissues of the lumbar region, or lower back. In many cases, your circulation may be impeded. The tension in the muscles can sometimes escalate to spasms.

Heat therapy:

• Dilates the blood vessels of the affected muscles, allowing them to relax and begin healing
• Helps lower discomfort by reducing the amount of pain signals going to the brain
• Increases the ability of your muscles to easily flex and stretch, thereby decreasing stiffness

Heat Therapy, as well as ice therapy, are normally a part of an overall chiropractic treatment plan and rarely accomplish maximum results without it.

Heat therapy is not used on swollen or bruised tissues, or in patients who have dermatitis, deep vein thrombosis, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, open wounds, cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension.

Exercise Therapy

Exercise therapy is a form of chiropractic treatment used to help manage pain, rehabilitate damaged soft tissues such as muscles, ligament and tendons, and restore normal range of motion and function.

Such therapy has been shown to alleviate pain, improve overall muscle strength and range of motion, improve balance, as well avoid further deterioration of muscle tissues. The overall goal of an exercise therapy program is to promote healing and prevent further damage and injury to your body's musculoskeletal system. Exercises programs also help in minimizing scar tissue formation following an injury or surgery.

Most exercise programs are designed to improve cardiovascular conditioning and bolster your strength. Many exercises involve flexing and extending specific parts of the body.

As a patient, you play a pivotal role in the outcome of any therapeutic exercise program. Your dedication to following the steps outlined in the program will go a long way in ensuring its success.

Electrotherapy

Because the body's nerves are electrical conductors, medical professionals have long held that stimulating nerve endings with small electrical current can produce beneficial results.

The theory behind electrotherapy as part of Chiropractic Care is that such stimulation to affected nerves and muscles encourages the body to release pain-killing chemicals, such as opiates and endorphins, and blocks pain signals from being transmitted to the brain.

Electrotherapy is a Pain Management technique, and as such, is part of an overall chiropractic treatment regimen. Electrotherapy is usually involved in the early treatment stages, especially right after an injury. Ice and heat therapy may be combined with electrotherapy to boost its pain-killing powers.

Electrotherapy normally involves placing small adhesive pads on the skin at various points on the body. Electrotherapy is generally not painful. The adhesive pads may cause a minor skin irritation after being removed, and in some instances, patients may feel a mild stinging after therapy.

Common types of electrotherapy include:

• Galvanic stimulation (GS) - High voltage pulsed galvanic stimulation has been used in acute low back pain to reduce muscle spasm and soft tissue edema (swelling). It is commonly used despite the lack of hard scientific evidence for its efficacy. Its effect on muscle spasm and pain is felt to occur by its counter-irritant effect, effect on nerve conduction, and a reduction in muscle contractility.

• Radiofrequency rhizotomy - Normally used for chronic cases of facet joint syndrome, a degenerative condition in which joint cartilage wears thin, causing stiffness, inflammation, muscle spasms, and later osteoarthritis. This procedure applies heated radio-frequency waves to the joint's nerves that carry painful impulses.

• Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) - This is the most common type of electrical stimulation used today. TENS therapy is normally used to treat chronic, or long-term pain in the lower back. Small electrodes are placed inside an elastic-type belt worn around the lumbar region. Percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS), an enhanced and newer type of pain management therapy, makes use of very thin needles (much like those in acupuncture), which are inserted in the lower back by the chiropractor. Small, battery-powered TENS units also are available for use at home, work, or other activities. The patient is able to control the level and frequency of stimulation, and self-administer impulses during episodes of pain.

• Interferential current (IFC) - This is a kind of TENS therapy in which high-frequency electrical impulses are introduced deep into the tissues near the center of the pain.

Treatments

Chiropractors diagnose and treat a broad range of physical conditions in patients with muscular, nervous, and skeletal problems, especially the spine.

Chiropractors make use of conventional diagnostic tests, such as X-rays, MRIs, and lab work, as well as specific procedures that involve manipulation by hand of various parts of the body. Chiropractors are best known for their ability to correct misalignments of the spine, which are called subluxations. But spinal manipulation is only a small part of what chiropractors do as part of an overall plan to manage and relieve pain and many kinds of ailments. Other kinds of treatments chiropractors are capable of providing include:

• Electrotherapy
• Therapeutic exercise
• Ice/heat therapy, including therapeutic ultrasound
• Lifestyle and nutrition counseling
• Massage therapy
• Physical rehabilitation
• Stress management

Treatments of the Sacroiliac Joint

A common joint disorder involves the sacroiliac joint, which links the bottom of the spine with pelvic bone. This joint endures a lot of pressure and absorbs the shocks from the upper body.

 

While it is a very strong and mostly stationary joint, the sacroiliac joint can become damaged or impaired. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction can mimic many of the symptoms of herniated lumbar disc. People with sacroiliac joint dysfunction typically complain of pain on one side of their lower back or buttocks. The pain can sometimes shoot down one or leg or both, sometimes extending all the way down to the foot.

 

Possible chiropractic treatments include:

    -Spine manipulation or adjustment
    -A joint injection (if pain warrants)
    -Analgesics
    -Exercise
    -Ice therapy

Treatments for Whiplash

Whiplash is an injury to the cervical spine, or neck, and occurs when the muscles and other soft tissues are hyperextended or hyperflexed. Whiplash can damage the intervertebral discs of the upper spine.

Most instances of whiplash occur during a front- or rear-end automobile collision. The force of the vehicle being struck, or striking another object are quite powerful, and can cause the neck muscles, ligaments, and tendons to twist and turn with incredible, unnatural force. These tissues, which are stretched far beyond their natural limits, can become torn and in some cases, permanently damaged. In addition, vertebral discs in the cervical spine can bulge, tear, and rupture.

A chiropractic examination of a possible whiplash injury entails assessing whether a serious injury warrants hospitalization, and which tissues and spinal structures have been injured.

The exam may include such things as a cranial nerve examination, reflex and motor skill tests, and motion palpation, which assesses the spinal joints' mobility and pain response.

Possible treatments for whiplash may include:

• Muscle relaxation or stimulation, which entails gentle muscles stretches and/or finger pressure on specific sensory trigger points
• Heat therapy
• Ice therapy
• Spinal manipulation
• Range of motion and other therapeutic exercises designed to test the stability and integrity of the neck muscles and correct unnatural movement patterns in the neck and other areas
• Consultation about proper ergonomics, including tools used during work, as well as mattresses and pillows

Some people who incur whiplash supplement their chiropractic treatment with a device called a cervical collar, a soft cushion that envelopes the neck and keeps the weight of the head from applying undue pressure to damaged tissues during the healing process. Other methods may employ a cervical traction device, which keeps the neck immobile.

Most people who suffer whiplash can heal properly in two to four weeks, providing they follow the treatment regimen outlined by their chiropractor. Sever cases of whiplash involving trauma to the spine or discs may require surgery.

Treatments for Sleep Apnea

Mechanical manipulation can offer some relief for people suffering from sleep apnea. Manipulation may improve the function of the muscles in your chest wall, and thus, help you breathe more easily and boost the oxygenation of your blood during sleep. In addition, manipulation can lower pain and restlessness and improve the reflexes of your spinal cord that control blood flow.

Acupuncture also has been shown to complement other kinds of therapy in treating people with sleep disorders such as apnea. If you have anatomical problems like airway obstructions, acupuncture can sometimes be used to open the airway.

Treatments for Migraines

Some recent studies have shown that patients suffering from chronic headaches and migraines may benefit more from long-term chiropractic care than drug therapy alone.

For headaches that originate in the cervical ( neck) area, chiropractic treatment such as spinal manipulation has been shown to be quite effective. A 2001 Duke University study, for example, found that spinal manipulation provided relief for patients with headaches that originate in the neck, and resulted in fewer side effects than medication. Researchers in that study concluded that such treatments as relaxation training, thermal biofeedback combined with electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy, nutritional changes, and to a lesser degree, acupuncture, are all modestly effective in treating migraine headaches.

Treatments for Discs

A whole host of things can go wrong with a vertebral disc over a lifetime. A traumatic injury can crush or misplace a disc. An excessive pulling or lifting accident at home or on the job can force a disc out of position. And for some of us, simply getting older can cause a disc to deteriorate. This is usually called degenerative disc disease.

The vast majority of disc injuries occur in the lower back or lumbar region. When a damaged lumbar disc presses on a nerve root, it can cause radiating pain, numbness and weakness in other areas of the body, including the buttocks, leg, ankles and toes. Ironically, in many cases, a person with a herniated disc will not feel back or neck pain.

Cervical (neck) discs that have herniated can cause radiating pain and numbness down an arm and into the wrist and hand. Other types of symptoms include shoulder pain and numbness, as well as muscle and reflex weakness.

Chiropractic care entails a conservative, nonsurgical approach to treating disc injuries and other disc-related problems, and is often a course of treatment prior to any surgery, if recommended by a primary care physician or surgeon. And in other cases, disc injuries may heal themselves without any intervention.

Before undertaking any course of chiropractic treatment for a disc problem or injury, patients are thoroughly examined. This examination includes such things as analysis of posture, limb measurements, and pelvic balance, gait and reflex analyses. It is important to know whether the disc problem is a result of an injury or disease. If more information is needed, a diagnostic test, such as a MRI or X-ray, may be required to accurately pinpoint the source of the problem.

Treatments may include spinal adjustment or manipulation, and therapies such as electrotherapy and ice/heat therapy.

Specific techniques for treating disc injury include:

• Flexion-distraction - The patient lies on a specialized table that gently stretches the spine, allowing the chiropractor to pinpoint the affected disc while slightly flexing the spine. These procedures gently move the disc away from an affected nerve, slowing or eliminating inflammation, and pain.
• Pelvic blocking - This method employs cushioned wedges that are placed under each side of the hips. The chiropractor gently maneuvers the pelvic area, allowing gravity to pull the disc away from the affected nerve.

Corsets, Braces, and Splints

Corsets, braces and splints are used in chiropractic treatment. A common application of braces is used to treat children with idiopathic scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.

Back braces are only recommended for younger children (girls between 11 and 13, and boys between 12 and 14). The primary goal of orthodontic treatment involving a back brace is to stop the progression of the curvature; braces do not normally reverse curvature that has already taken place.

Adjustments

Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to be a safe and effective alternative treatment for pain and injury.

Chiropractors perform 95 percent of all adjustments in the world to correct the subluxations, or misalignments, of the vertebrae in the spine. Chiropractic adjustments are performed by applying gentle, yet firm pressure to a bone. The goal of any adjustment is to restore the bone to its natural, or original, position. The important thing to remember is the act the adjustment frees-not forces-a vertebrae to allow it to find its natural position. This is accomplished by the body's innate intelligence.

Chiropractic adjustments are performed to treat a wide variety of conditions, including (but not limited to):

• Arthritis
• Bursitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive strain disorders
• Chronic muscle pain and stiffness
• Headaches
• Most musculoskeletal and sports-related injuries
• Nerve disorders
• Pain and stiffness in the back, chest, abdomen, neck, hips and shoulders, as well as extremities such as arms, legs, and feet
• Sciatica pain
• Scoliosis
• Tendonitis
• Whiplash and other traumatic injuries

Adjustments can be performed while sitting, standing, or lying down. Some adjustments involve special instruments or tables.

Some common adjustment techniques include:

• Instrument adjustments, which involve a spring-loaded device.
• Lumbar roll, in which the chiropractor applies a firm, yet quick thrust to a misaligned vertebra while the patient lies on his or her side.
• Motion palpation, a hand technique the chiropractor uses to determine if your vertebrae are properly aligned.
• Release work, in which the chiropractor uses gentle pressure with the fingers to separate the vertebrae.
• Table adjustments, which entail lying on a specially designed table that drops when pressure is applied to a specific area. The dropping motion allows more gentle adjustments than some manual adjustments do.
• Toggle drop, which entails firm pressure applied on a specific area of the spine by using crossed hands.

Chiropractors take many factors-including size, weight, and muscle structure-into consideration when deciding on which adjustment to make. Sometimes, ice, electrical stimulation, or massage therapy (including traction massage) are used prior to a spinal manipulation in order to relax the muscles.

In some cases, it may necessary to perform an adjustment while you are sedated. Spinal manipulation under anesthesia, which is considered a very safe procedure, is usually reserved for patients with conditions such as chronic neck, back, and joint pain, muscle spasm, shortened muscles, and fibrous adhesions.

Another form of adjustment called craniosacral therapy, or "CST," involves exerting very mild pressure to the body's craniosacral system, which is comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. This includes the cranium-which is composed of the skull, face and mouth, and the "sacrum," or tailbone. CST has been shown to provide relief from chronic neck and back pain, scoliosis, brain and spinal cord injuries, migraines, chronic fatigue, nervous system disorders, jaw joint problems, and stress disorders. (Such conditions as aneurysm and intracranial hemorrhage prohibit this kind of therapy.)

Adjustments almost always do not involve any pain or discomfort. The important thing for a patient to keep in mind is to remain relaxed, because stiffening up may impede the adjustment process. Popping sounds are sometimes heard during adjustments; these are usually pockets of air being released behind a joint or other bony structure.

Adjustments can leave you with a greater sense of well-being, calm, and most importantly, on the road to a life without pain. Following an adjustment, some patients experience mild aching or soreness in their spinal joints or muscles, which can usually be relieved by an ice or heat pack.

Adjustments have been shown to:

• Increase blood flow
• Increase pain tolerance levels
• Increase range of motion
• Increase the body's secretion of "good" chemicals such as melatonin and endorphins
• Reduce blood pressure
• Reduce tension and muscle pressure