Our chiropractor is trained in a variety of different chiropractic techniques to make sure we always have the most effective treatment possible for addressing your specific needs.
Listed below are the treatment techniques she utilizes in her office to help restore the body’s proper function and to allow the body to begin healing.
Diversified Technique
This specific technique is sometimes considered a “jack of all trades” and uses a variety of means to detect subluxations and to restore proper vertebral motion. Diversified Technique is one of the original chiropractic techniques created by the founder of chiropractic, D.D. Palmer, D.C., and is taught in chiropractic colleges across the US. Diversified Technique was then refined and further developed by the late Otto Reinert D.C. for the purpose of addressing biomechanical failure in each section of the spine–specifically, as it relates to subluxation. As a result, the focus of the Diversified Technique is on the restoration of normal biomechanical function and the correction of subluxation. In addition to the spine, Diversified Technique also addresses issues with the joints of our extremities, so that Diversified Technique is beneficial in the treatment of sports injuries. Diversified adjusting uses specific lines of drive for all manual corrections, allowing for specificity in correcting mechanical malfunction in the spine. No instruments are used in this adjusting procedure.
Extremity Adjusting
Extremity adjusting is the manual adjusting of joints in the arms and the legs. This is extremely beneficial for sports injuries. Some of the conditions extremity adjusting can benefit include sprained ankles, frozen shoulders, thoracic outlet syndrome, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, medial epicondylitis (tennis elbow), etc. Maintaining proper motion in the extremities can be helpful in maintaining healthy spinal function as well. If the feet and knees are not properly aligned, then it can have an effect on the lower and upper back; also, if the forearms and shoulder are not working properly it can have an effect on the upper back and cervical (neck) spine.
Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy
Myofascial trigger points, also known as trigger points, are described as hyper irritable spots in the fascia surrounding the muscle tissue. They are associated with palpable nodules in the taut bands of muscle fibers. Compression of a trigger point can cause local tenderness, referred pain, or a local twitch response. Activation of trigger points can be caused by a number of factors, including acute or chronic muscle overload, activation by other trigger points, disease, psychological stress (via systemic inflammation), homeostatic imbalances, direct trauma to the region, collision trauma radiculopathy (such as a car crash), infections, and other health issues.
Trigger points form only in muscles. They form as a local contraction in a small number of muscle fibers in a larger muscle or muscle bundle. These in turn can pull on tendons and ligaments associated with the muscle and can cause pain deep within a joint where there are no muscles. When trigger points are present in muscles there is often pain and weakness in the associated structures. These pain patterns in muscles follow specific nerve pathways and have been readily mapped to allow for identification of the causative pain factor. Many trigger points have pain patterns that overlap, and some create reciprocal cyclic relationships that need to be treated extensively to remove them. Here in our office we use myotherapy, motion muscle release therapy, low level laser therapy, and stretching in order to invoke reciprocal inhibition within the musculoskeletal system. A successful treatment protocol relies on identifying trigger points, resolving them and, if all trigger points have been deactivated, elongating the structures affected along their natural range of motion and length.
Somatic Release Technique
This is a technique unique in our office. When the body is injured it tightens the muscles surrounding the traumatized joint in order to prohibit a person from doing further damage. It is the bodies way of making sure we cannot damage or hurt ourselves further, a survival technique that is not always pleasant. Although this is helpful in preventing further damage, it can slow down the healing process and make the adjustment more difficult to achieve and hold. Somatic release technique in our office can be characterized as a “warm up stretch” prior to receiving the adjustment, relaxing the ligaments, tendons, and muscle surrounding the joint, making the body more relaxed and prepared to receive the treatment. By our definition somatic technique is the neurological elongation and relaxation and muscles. It has proved extremely beneficial to all our patients and has speed up and improved their healing process.