What
is Chiropractic?
“Chiropractic
is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of
the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the
effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic
services are used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal
complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck
pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches.”
American Chiropractic
Association (ACA)
https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/Why-Choose-Chiropractic/What-is-Chiropractic
Patient
Satisfaction
“Chiropractic
patients were found to be more satisfied with their back
care providers after four weeks of treatment than were medical
patients. Results from observational studies suggested that
back pain patients are more satisfied with chiropractic
care than with medical care. Additionally, studies conclude
that patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care
than they were with physical therapy after six weeks.”
Hertzman-Miller
et al (2002), American Journal of Public Health
Widespread
Use of Chiropractic
“Chiropractic
is the largest, most regulated, and best recognized of the
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professions.
CAM patient surveys show that chiropractors are used more
often than any other alternative provider group and patient
satisfaction with chiropractic care is very high. There
is steadily increasing patient use of chiropractic in the
United States, which has tripled in the past two decades.”
Meeker, Haldeman
(2002), Annals of Internal Medicine
Shoulder
Conditions
Shoulder
injuries and conditions are commonly seen and treated in
our office, such common conditions include bursitis, rotator
cuff tears, tendonitis, frozen shoulder and impingement
syndrome. The shoulder is a complex joint, it is the most
mobile joint within the human body. There are four major
muscles and tendons known as rotator cuff, together they
stabilize the shoulder girdle and each muscle requires correct
performance and function. Here at Atwater Chiropractic,
we thoroughly evaluate and assess the involved shoulder
and take Xrays if necessary. We provide effective, conservative,
nondrug, nonsurgical interventions by using myofascial release
techniques and physiotherapy to loosen the tight muscles
and remove any adhesions inhibiting shoulder function. Gentle
adjustments are applied to the associated nearby joints
when necessary following the “kinematic chain”
such as the neck, mid-back, elbow, wrist and hand. We use
kinesio-tape to stabilize the shoulder and provide a natural
anti-inflammatory method to speed up healing and remove
inflammation. We provide personalized home exercises and
stretches which are simple and effective to keep the shoulder
pain from coming back.
This article provides a helpful summary of the scientific
evidence that doctors of chiropractic use for treatment
of common shoulder conditions. For more information on Evidence
of Chiropractic Treatment of Shoulder Conditions, the complete
article is online at:
http://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754(17)30009-X/fulltext
Acute
and Chronic Lower Back Pain
Lower
back pain is common and everyone experiences it at least
once in their lifetime. The cause of lower back pain comes
in many forms, to name a few we see in our office everyday
are slipped discs, sprain/strains, sciatica, arthritis and
muscle spasms. Lower back pain can be debilitating and our
approach at Atwater Chiropractic Inc. is to find the cause
and correct it. We begin by taking a detailed history, perform
a thorough exam (including postural analysis, range of motion,
muscle tension, orthopedic tests, and neurological tests),
and determine if imaging studies are needed such as x-rays
or MRI. Treatments are always personalized to patients because
our bodies and symptoms are all unique. Common treatment
plans include gentle joint adjustments, spinal decompression
therapy (refer to our state of the art DRX traction table),
muscle work using myofacial release or stretching, ergonomic
evaluation, and instructions for home exercises to strengthen
your body so there won’t be future recurrences of
lower back pain. We want you to be pain free quickly, permanently
and safely and we will treat you with that goal as our focus.
We successfully treat patients with lower back pain everyday
in our clinic. For more information about lower back pain
issues and chiropractic care, please refer to articles below:
“[Chiropractic
Manipulative Therapy] in conjunction with [standard medical
care] offers a significant advantage for decreasing pain
and improving physical functioning when compared with only
standard care, for men and women between 18 and 35 years
of age with acute low back pain."
“In those receiving both standard medical and chiropractic
care: Both back pain and physical function significantly
improved compared with the group receiving only standard
medical. Most (73%) participants rated global improvement
as pain completely gone, much, or moderately better. Only
17% reported this improvement in the standard medical care
group.”
“Adding chiropractic to standard medical care resulted
in significant improvement over the current standard care
model for treating acute low back pain in active-duty men
and women. This evidence supports the idea that collaborative
treatment including chiropractic care can result in improved
health outcomes” (library.palmer.edu).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23060056
“Patients
with chronic low-back pain treated by chiropractors showed
greater improvement and satisfaction at one month than patients
treated by family physicians. Satisfaction scores were higher
for chiropractic patients. A higher proportion of chiropractic
patients (56 percent vs. 13 percent) reported that their
low-back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly
one-third of medical patients reported their low-back pain
was worse or much worse.”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161475400901702
How
many visits is most effective for patients with low back
pain?
“Participants receiving 12 sessions of Spinal Manipulative
Therapy over a 6 week period had less pain and disability
after 12 weeks compared with those receiving 0, 6, or 18
sessions.”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1529943013013909#
Comparing
the Effects of Chiropractic and Medical Treatment for Older
Adults
This research suggests: “…when chiropractic
care is delivered in practice at care levels comparable
to those used in clinical trials… it confers significant
and substantial benefits to older adult functional ability
and self-rated health” for as much as 2 years.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161475414000323#
For
Headaches
“Cervical
spine manipulation was associated with significant improvement
in headache outcomes in trials involving patients with neck
pain and/or neck dysfunction and headache.”
McCrory, Penzlen, Hasselblad, Gray (2001), Duke Evidence
Report
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Donald_Penzien/publication/266449595_Evidence_Report_Behavioral_and_Physical_Treatments_for_Tension-type_and_Cervicogenic_Headache/links/54b014bd0cf220c63ccddc8f.pdf
“The
results of this study show that spinal manipulative therapy
is an effective treatment for tension headaches. . . Four
weeks after cessation of treatment . . . the patients who
received spinal manipulative therapy experienced a sustained
therapeutic benefit in all major outcomes in contrast to
the patients that received amitriptyline therapy, who reverted
to baseline values.”
Boline et al.
(1995), Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
Neck
Pain
Neck
pain can have a negative effect on productivity and overall
quality of life. Here at Atwater Chiropractic inc., we commonly
see patients with torticollis, degenerative discs, whiplash
sustained from motor vehicle accidents, pinched nerve causing
symptoms that refer or radiate into the one or both arms,
straightened or reversed curvature of the neck, chronic
muscle tightness, and poor posture induced neck pain. We
use the latest methods to determine the factors causing
your neck pain. At Atwater Chiropractic Inc. we have been
trained in many different techniques so that the treatment
of your specific condition can be personalized and effective.
We treat neck symptoms everyday in our practice using gentle
manual adjustments, low-force Activator instrument, gentle
traction and stretching. These methods are used to put motion
back into the fixated joints and reduce pain. We perform
postural analysis to address poor posture, it is a cause
of neck pain especially in our modern society where slumped
shoulders and poor upper back posture are commonly seen.
We teach our patients proper ergonomics, how to foam roll
to increase flexibility and improve their posture at home
and work. We use KinesioTape and Instrument Assisted Soft
Tissue Massage techniques when indicated to help correct
posture and get rid of chronic neck tightness and pain.
After a few visits, most patients report “feeling
taller, have more confidence, more alertness, refreshed,
and overall feeling awesome!"
“In
a Randomized controlled trial, 183 patients with neck pain
were randomly allocated to manual therapy (spinal mobilization),
physiotherapy (mainly exercise) or general practitioner
care (counseling, education and drugs) in a 52-week study.
The clinical outcomes measures showed that manual therapy
resulted in faster recovery than physiotherapy and general
practitioner care. Moreover, total costs of the manual therapy-treated
patients were about one-third of the costs of physiotherapy
or general practitioner care.”
http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7395/911?variant=full-text&eaf=
“In
this trial of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) versus medication
or Home exercise advice (HEA) for the treatment of acute
and subacute neck pain, SMT seemed more effective than medication
according to various measures of neck pain and function.”
http://annals.org/aim/article/1033256/spinal-manipulation-medication-home-exercise-advice-acute-subacute-neck-pain
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