Chiropractic care offers a variety of methods and types of treatments. Spinal manipulations and spinal adjustments are the primary form of chiropractic care. Proper placement of joints is achieved by chiropractors using their hands to manipulate tissues and joints. Chiropractors apply a manual force that helps promote joint mobility after a tissue injury Other instruments chiropractors use for adjustments include drop tables, ArthoStim (TM) adjusting instruments and activators. While people generally experience immediate pain relief, pain continues to diminish with repeated treatments and time.
Chiropractors often offer ultrasound therapy as one of their methods of care. Chiropractic ultrasound is not the diagnostic ultrasound associated with medical ultrasound, but is more like a mini-massage. Ultrasound helps reduce swelling, decrease pain, spasms, and stiffness, and create an increase in blood flow, making it a good choice for many applications. It also tends to relax patients, making their spinal adjustments more effective.
Manipulating the soft tissue structures is the main goal of massage therapy. This manipulation helps to alleviate and prevent pain, stress, muscle spasms and discomfort while promoting health and wellness. Practitioners use their hands to cause movement, apply pressure to the body and hold areas during their manual soft tissue manipulations. The benefits of massage include: improved posture, lowered blood pressure, improved circulation, deepened breathing, deepened relaxation, improved range of motion, improved flexibility, relieved headaches, improved surgery rehabilitation, strengthened immune system and an enhanced general sense of well-being.
Low level laser therapy (LLLT), often referred to as cold laser therapy is a technique that lasers lightwaves into affected tissues to decrease pain and enhance healing. Your body is able to repair itself faster after treatments with the laser. Another benefit is that the laser helps reduce inflammation, which helps a multitude of conditions for which people seek chiropractic care. Other conditions that benefit from LLLT include: back and neck pain, whiplash, muscle sprains, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and bursitis, as well as pain located anywhere throughout the body.
Acupuncture (a traditional form of Chinese medicine) is also offered at many chiropractic clinics. Acupunctue helps the body regulate it’s vital energy flow, also known as qi. Spiritual, emotional, mental and physical health are all believed to be controlled by this vital energy. Tiny needles are inserted along meridians, or pathways along the skin in the most common form of this treatment. While back pain is the most common reason people visit an acupuncturist, acupuncture is also beneficial at relieving pain in the neck, joints and head. This therapy also helps control pain from menstrual cramps, arthritis, dental work, knee injuries, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia and carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, people are often using acupuncture instead of over-the-counter pain medications, which often come with negative side effects.
Most clinics also offer lifestyle and wellness coaching, specifically in the areas of nutrition, exercise and ergonomics. Chiropractors believe that the body was designed to be healthy, and has an innate ability to maintain proper health if treated well. Most chiropractors can identify triggers in your daily life and routine that could be causing you problems, and offer solutions to keep your body functioning it’s best.
Chiropractors use a wide variety of tools and techniques. The care method they choose in your treatment plan will depend on the condition they are treating, as well as what your body responds best to. Sometimes you may need to visit a few chiropractors to find the doctor that is the best fit for you.
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