Chiropractic Treatments And Therapies
What are the basic treatment methods used by chiropractors?
The natural methods of care that chiropractors use to get and keep their patients well include manual therapies inclusive of chiropractic adjusting. There are techniques designed to be able to relax muscles; there's cross friction massage, there's the release technique. There are different types of modalities that use natural frequencies such as micro-current. There's ultrasound that uses ultra high frequency sound waves. There's interferential current that's used to relax muscles and promote healing and recovery. There's cold laser that uses light in different frequencies to induce physiological responses that are consistent with healing and recovering wellness. There are home exercises that are done that the patient can do to help regulate body function, inclusive of stretching, strengthening and coordination exercises. There's the use of therapeutic nutrition and diet, and the use of dietary supplements to be able to support recoveries, whether it be to create tissue healing, or whether it be to create energy so that the body has the best ability with which to heal. There's also the use of in-home therapy equipment like rebounders, stationary bicycles, and surgical tubing for strengthening; there's just a complete compendium of resources available that create the chiropractic tool kit that the patient receives as part of the individualised care that they get from their chiropractor.
Which types of chiropractic therapies are considered to be the most effective?
The most important chiropractic techniques, that are selected for a patients personalized regimen of care, are those that work for the patient. In each chiropractic model, whether it's adjusting, home exercise, supplementation or use of a model, they're all equally effective when they're used appropriately for the patient's personalized condition.
Do chiropractors "crack joints"?
Chiropractors do not crack joints; chiropractors adjust sublexations. The sound that you hear is not bones grinding across bones because no joints in the body touch each other. There is an envelope and there is a fluid between the different bones that make up a joint. When a chiropractor shifts a joint back to the normal position there is a liberation of gas that's in the joint fluid which creates the sound that you hear. You don't always have to hear it to have had a successful adjustment, but when you do hear it, it's a shift in joint fluid pressure with the liberation of nitrogen gas coming out of solution, rather than joints cracking.
Why do chiropractors adjust joints?
Chiropractors adjust misaligned or subluxated joints to restore normal alignment but most importantly, normal functioning to the area. What that does is allows the nervous system to communicate most appropriately between itself and the region of the body that it services. It reduces muscle tension in the area so the joints move the way that they're designed to. It makes sure that the muscles are working in cooperation with each other to perform energy efficient stream of motion.
Why does a joint adjustment make a noise?
A joint adjustment makes a noise because there is a shift in joint fluid pressure. It's not because bones are grinding across bones, because bones don't touch each other. The shift creates a liberation of nitrogen gas that's packed into the joint fluid that lubricates and nourishes the joint.
How can chiropractic massage help me?
The benefits of chiropractic massage are that it can assist any elongating tissue, breaking up scar tissue that may be limiting range of motion. It can also be used to take tension out of the body so that the body can more appropriately do the home exercises that the chiropractor requests of the patient. Chiropractic massage also allows the patient to recover a little bit faster from day to day, which is important because of the stress and strains that a patient has to deal with on a daily basis.
How can having a chiropractor stretch my muscles help me?
Having a chiropractor stretch your muscles can help you. Any time you have a short muscle in the body that needs to be stretched, a short muscle puts distortion and kinks the body, so it takes a lot more energy and effort to move. That displacement also puts a lot of stress on the areas of the body that aren't designed to handle it, increasing the likelihood of an injury. Tight muscles also turn off the muscles that work opposite in the body, thereby creating muscle weakenss and imbalances that will eventually lead to strain in predictable locations in the body, ending up in some type of pain and disability. So having a chiropractor stretch your muscles is beneficial.
How can herbs recommended by a chiropractor help me?
Nutritional supplements and herbs can benefit a patient in a variety of different ways, and they need to be individually selected for the presentation of the patient. They can be used to control pain and inflammation. They can be used to accelerate tissue repair with injury. They can be used to generate energy that's required for a repair process to happen quickly. They can also be used to support generalized health in a wellness setting, which we encourage all patients to eventually get to.
How can nutritional supplements recommended by a chiropractor help me?
Nutritional supplements, as recommended by a chiropractor, can benefit a patient in a variety of different ways. They can help control pain and inflammation during the acute phase of an injury and they can be used to help support accelerated tissue repair while the body is repairing itself from injury. Nutritional supplements can also be used to give the body the building blocks to repair itself, just from the daily grind of living in today's society. They can be used to promote wellness and a body that is able to function and maintain itself over a lifetime, and they can also be used to be able to support immunity. The applications of nutritional supplementation in a chiropractic practice are virtually unlimited.
What is "chiropractic manual therapy"?
Chiropractic manual therapy refers to the natural methods of using the hands to be able to create some desirable outcomes in the body. For example, adjusting is a chiropractic manual therapy. Breaking up scar tissue is a manual therapy. Stretching tight muscles is a manual therapy. Relaxing muscles that tend to be too tight is a manual therapy. Mobilizing joints in the early phases of a recovery from an injury is a chiropractic manual therapy.
What are "chiropractic physical medicine modalities"?
Chiropractic modalities refer to modalities that use either frequencies, wavelengths, microcurrents, heat, cold, vibrations, to induce physical responses in the body. For example, you can use the cold laser to control pain and inflammation and accelerate tissue repair. You can use vibration to mobilize a joint that isn't quite ready to have a manual adjustment in a classical sense. You can use heat to accelerate blood flow, to bring nutrients to heal and take waste products away from an injury during the early phase of its repair.
How can "physical medicine modalities" help me?
Well, the chiropractic modalities can help a person in a variety of different ways. There are certain things that modalities can do better than the hands. For example, in terms of creating blood flow in a new injury that needs a pipeline to bring nutrients to heal and repair, the hands can't do that quite as well as a modality. So you could use ultrasound, laser, microcurrent to do that. So they can do things slightly better for the body than the hands can. That's why when you have a toolbox of resources, you can tailor the treatment plan for the patient in a very personalized way.
How can exercises recommended by a chiropractor help me?
Exercises recommended by a chiropractor can help a patient in a variety of different ways. Without the active side of care, the chances of a body ever reacquiring the physical skills to be able to embrace life to its fullest is very remote. When a patient accepts responsibility for doing exercise as part of their care, they're actually developing a body that's capable of bracing all of life's opportunities so that they can be the best person that they can be.
How can a diet recommended by a chiropractor help me?
So a diet can help a patient in a variety of different ways: Number one, it can help a patient lose weight. If they have osteoarthritis every pound they lose takes a lot of the stress and the strain off of the body. It also makes a person be able to move better and embrace life more fully. A diet can also be used to support recovery. For example, certain diets actually enhance the inflammatory process that stalls and reduces effectiveness of care. Diets can also have a profound influence on the body's ability to generate energy which is essential for not only living life but also for repairing injury. Diets also provide the building blocks that the body needs for body growth and body repair.
What should I do if I don't see any improvement after chiropractic treatment?
If you don't feel any improvement after chiropractic treatment, the expectation may be inappropriate. You may be expecting too much too quickly. In the report of findings where the chiropractor gives you his recommendations, there should be timetables given that establish certain milestones for your recovery that should be hit with consistent regularity.