What is your treatment philosophy/mission statement?
Our priority is enabling patients to return to their sport or work activities as quickly as possible and to increase their performance. Through a combination of chiropractic care, soft-tissue work, and rehab exercises, patients will feel the weak parts of their bodies become stronger and the tight, stressed parts start to relax. Similar to dentists who teach you how to take care of your teeth to prevent root canals, we are here to teach you how to properly train and take care of your body to prevent future problems. We help you get better, stay better, and perform better.
How can sports chiropractic improve my performance?
1. Chiropractic Adjustment
Chiropractic adjustments are applied to joints in the body that have become tight and restricted in motion. We employ traditional diversified chiropractic adjustments in addition to light force adjusting, instrument adjusting, and flexion/distraction. Not every method is appropriate for every patient. Part of our initial evaluation involves determining which method is best for you. Adjustments improve the patient's health in three ways. 1. Joint movement is restored. 2. The adjustment helps relax muscles. 3. Pain is reduced.
2. Stretching Tight/Shortened Muscles
Muscles held in a shortened position can become very tight. A common example occurs in office workers who sit and use a computer for most of the day. The muscles at the base of the skull and in the neck become short and tight. The patient will often experience headaches, stiff neck, and pain between the shoulders. Stretching those shortened, tight muscles can reduce the pain and tightness.
3. Rehabilitation of Weak/Inhibited Tissues
In the office worker example, the tight muscles at the back of the neck are accompanied by deep neck muscles that have become weak. Specific exercises are needed to re-activate these weak and inhibited muscles. This helps the patient assume a posture that is less damaging to the body and can also reduce pain. The strengthening of weak muscles is accomplished with our cutting-edge Med-X machines and with simple exercises the patient can perform at home.
4. Addressing Scar Tissue and Adhesions
Areas within a muscle which are chronically inflamed from trauma or repetitive strain develop scar tissue. Scar tissue leads to adhesions or parts of the muscle that stick to other muscles, nerves or ligaments. The scar-tissue also leads to hypoxia (less oxygen) in the muscle and thus further inflammation. We utilize Active Release Techniques (ART) and instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization to break up scar tissue and adhesions; thereby restoring proper muscle function.
5. Nutrition
Inflammation is a major factor in mechanical pain. The average American eats a diet which is pro-inflammatory. This leads to poor recovery from soft-tissue injury. We offer an assortment of high quality supplements and can design a custom nutrition program for you.
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is the science which is concerned with the relationship between STRUCTURE, primarily the spine, and FUNCTION, primarily the nervous system, of the human body as that relationship may affect the restoration and preservation of health.
Chiropractic is the third largest health care discipline in the U.S. after medicine and dentistry. However, of these three disciplines, chiropractic is the only one based upon natural healing methods. Chiropractic physicians do not prescribe drugs or perform surgery. Instead, they respect the inherent power of the human body to heal itself. The Doctor of Chiropractic endeavors to facilitate the body's restoration and preservation of health by helping to maintain a balanced, optimally functioning "neuromusculoskeletal system".
Every aspect of the body is controlled by the nervous system. The spine has both a direct and an indirect relationship to the nervous system, and as such can influence body functions far removed from the spine itself. Because muscles and bones are intimately linked, muscles being attached to bones, the interrelationship between the nervous, muscular and skeletal systems plays a critical role in the optimal health of every organ and tissue in the body. The interrelationship between these three systems, then, is known as the "neuromusculoskeletal system", or N.M.S. The Doctor of Chiropractic can have an effect on the N.M.S. system by making small "adjustments" to the spine, or other articulations of the body, to improve joint, muscle and nerve function.
What is Massage Therapy?
Clinical massage therapy is the application of a variety of massage therapy techniques to the solution of medical problems of soft-tissue (muscular) origin. These problems usually involve pain and/or dysfunction of muscles and/or movement.
While chiropractic addresses the joints of the vertebrae in the spine, massage therapy addresses the soft tissues-that is, the muscles, fascia, tendons, and ligaments. Massage therapy can act as a complement to chiropractic because if muscles are too tight, adjustments either can't be done or will not last. "Bones go where muscles put them. Bones stay where muscles keep them."
What is Acupuncture?
The practice of acupuncture is over 3,000 years old and is based on an energetic model instead of the biochemical model of Western medicine. The purpose of acupuncture is to promote the proper balance and flow of Qi, the vital energy behind all life forms and life processes.
Acupuncture involves the insertion of sterile, disposable needles that are very fine, about the diameter of a human hair. Typically, there is no discomfort involved. The treatment is generally very relaxing and many patients fall asleep during treatment.
What is Active Release Techniques (ART)?
ART is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue system that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fascitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they often result from injury to overused muscles.
ART has been developed, refined, and patented by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. Dr. Leahy noticed that his patients' symptoms seemed to be related to changes in their soft tissue that could be felt by hand. By observing how muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves responded to different types of work, Dr. Leahy was able to consistently resolve over 90% of his patients' problems. He now teaches and certifies health care providers all over the world to use ART.
What is an ART treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements. These treatment protocols-over 500 specific moves- are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.
ART is not a magic medical bullet or a cure-all. ART is non-invasive, very safe, has virtually no side effects, and has a record of producing very good results.
Treatments can feel uncomfortable during the movement phases as the scar tissue or adhesions "break-up." This discomfort is temporary and subsides almost immediately after the treatment. It is common to feel a duplication of your pain symptoms during the treatment (a good indication that the problem has been identified).
Treatments take about 8-15 minutes for area treated and may require 2 to 10 visits. Patients report that "it hurts good."
What are Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI)?
Cumulative trauma and overuse of soft-tissue cause Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI). The incidence of RSI is skyrocketing. Recently, the health care costs for RSI in the U.S. surpassed costs for low back pain as the largest health care expenditure. It is estimated that the cost of RSI in the U.S. alone exceeds $110 billion yearly.
Soft-tissue that is forced to perform the same job over and over becomes irritated and then inflamed.
The body responds to inflammation by laying down scar tissue (adhesive tissue) in an attempt to stabilize the area. Once this happens, an ongoing cycle begins that worsens the condition. The longer this condition persists, the harder it is to break the cycle.
What are adhesions?
Our bodies contain special protein structures called fascia (a type of connective tissue). Fascial tissue interconnects all the components of your body, and acts as a flexible skeleton. When this tissue is healthy, it is smooth and slippery, allowing the muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and organs to move freely and function properly.
Imagine a piece of scotch tape, the smooth side is healthy fascia, the sticky side is scar tissue or unhealthy fascia. Try rubbing both sides of the tape along your skin. The smooth side slips easily across your skin. The sticky side drags across your skin. The drag that you feel, the "pulling" sensation is how an adhesion affects the smooth functioning of your body.
Adhesions attach to muscles, decreasing their ability to work properly. You know you have an adhesion on a nerve if you get abnormal sensations like numbness, tingling, or pain.
When can I start working out again?
Once patients have received ART treatments to resolve obvious soft-tissue injuries, they are often able to return to activities and sports that were previously denied to them by their injury.
At this point, ART can provide patients with a means to enhance their sports performance by identifying and releasing restrictions that reduce their performance in that activity. This typically occurs after the practitioner conducts a biomechanical analysis of the patient's motion. During the biomechanical analysis and the subsequent treatment, the practitioner:
- Evaluates your gait, motion, and posture.
- Identifies the biomechanical dysfunctions that are restricting your performance.
- Finds the soft-tissue structures that are the primary cause of the biomechanical dysfunction, as well as affected structures along the kinetic chain.
- Treats the soft-tissue dysfunctions with ART to restore full function to the affected structures.
What is Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization?
Instruments are used to break down fascial restrictions and scar tissue. The ergonomic design of the instruments provides the clinician with the ability to locate restrictions and to treat the affected area with the appropriate amount of pressure.
The introduction of controlled micro-trauma to an affected soft tissue structure causes the stimulation of a local inflammatory response. Micro-trauma initiates re-absorption of inappropriate fibrosis or excessive scar tissue and facilitates a cascade of healing activities resulting in remodeling of affected soft tissue structures. Adhesions within the soft tissue which may have developed as a result of surgery, immobilization, repeated strain or other causes, are broken down allowing full functional restoration to occur. Ice is sometimes applied to reduce pain and rehabilitative exercises and stretches implemented to increase function and range of motion.
What are Med-X machines?
Med-X machines allow precise isolation of troubled muscles and helps therapists exercise, strengthen and stabilize specific muscles of the lower back or neck. Both treatments (neck and low back) are patented and FDA-approved for the treatment of lower back and leg pain, and neck and arm pain. Both treatments have stacks of research behind them published in leading medical journals.
Med-X research shows that the majority of patients with chronic spinal pain are significantly de-conditioned. Naturally, if you're in pain, you're careful about how you walk, stand, sit, bend over and lie down. When you're in chronic pain, you are very careful. Over time, this leads to muscle weakness that can lead to, or exacerbate many conditions such as herniated discs, facet syndrome, and degenerative joint disease.
We use the following Med-X machines at NW Sports Rehab:
Core Lumbar Strength
Only the Core Lumbar Strength features a patented and effective pelvic restraint system that keeps gluteus and hamstring muscles from interfering with the targeted spinal exercise area. This provides isolation of the lumbar spine muscles, increases stability and allows for specific, intensive strengthening in one of the body's most vital and vulnerable areas. Regular use of The Core Lumbar Strength may help prevent injuries, remedy chronic back pain, and contribute to disc hydration
Core Ab Isolator
Strong abs are vital to spinal support. The patented bio-mechanical design of the Core Ab Isolator provides the highest degree of isolation for abdominal muscles available. Unlike other ab machines, the Core Ab Isolator neutralizes hip flexor muscles and restricts arching in the base of the spine. This provides core abdominal muscle isolation, while eliminating the hazard of lower back discomfort. The result is a superior abdominal burn.
Core 4 Way Neck
The patented Core 4-Way Neck is a bio-mechanically precise 4-way neck machine that trains the flexion and extension muscles of the neck to allow for improved range of motion. It both stretches and strengthens the cervical spinal muscles. This allows for decompression of the upper spine and promotes increased omni-directional strength and flexibility of the entire neck. The Core 4-Way Neck is based on the superior bio-technology of the MedX Medical Neck Extension machine now being used in spinal rehabilitation facilities around the world.
Core Torso Rotation
Revolutionary in its ability to truly isolate waistline muscles, the Core Torso Rotation is the most effective design of its kind. Shoulder, arm and chest muscles are neutralized by a unique padded restraint system. A separate system of padded restraints effectively locks the pelvis and prevents the hip and gluteus muscles from assisting in rotation of the torso.
Core Torso Rotation increases strength and flexibility right at the core of the body. Not surprisingly, it's a favorite among golf pros looking to increase club head speed.
Core Super Stretch
Flexibility is important to spinal health and injury prevention. The Core Super Stretch is easy, pleasurable and its effects can be felt immediately. One-of-a-kind, this patented technology places the body into bio-mechanically advantageous positions for effective stretching.
The hanging stretch, in particular, facilitates spinal decompression. The total 7-stretch program enhances movement around the knee, hip, spine, shoulder, elbow and wrist in addition to stretching seven major muscle groups including vulnerable hamstrings and hip adductors. |
