Our Services
Chiropractic Adjustment
Manual: The doctor will use their hands to deliver a safe quick low impulses to areas of restriction. A drop table is a lighter manual adjustment where a piece of the table falls to create speed and use less force for an adjustment.
Talk with Doctor Mel about any concerns or questions you have with different ways to get adjusted!
Other Tools for Adjusting
Tools: There are other tools to adjust the spine and extremities such as using an Activator or pelvic blocking. An activator is a little instrument used to target misalignments, the doctor might use it one or more times in an area until the restriction is released. Pelvic Blocking is utilizing the body weight of the patient to help align the ilium.
Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization
The doctor uses a small metal tool and a lubricant to treat myofascial restrictions and adhesions. This technique is designed to stimulate a controlled local inflammation response to areas of scar tissue, facial restrictions, or adhesions. At the cellular level, this technique increases fibroblast proliferation, collagen synthesis, maturation, and remodeling of collagen to be organized. Some may notice slight bruising or redness after treatment. This is due to an increase in vascular response to the area and helps it heal. There is also a neurophysiologic effect due to the stimulation of mechanoreceptors on the skin responsible for pain perception. This effect causes a decrease in pain post-treatment. IASTM has been shown to improve range of motion, strength, and pain perception. This is a tool used to help allow the body to heal faster.
Cupping
The doctor uses special cups on areas of the body with muscle tightness to reduce pain, and inflammation, and increase blood flow and relaxation. This technique has been used since 1,550 B.C. with the Egyptians. The cups are placed on the skin and create a vacuum suction, they can be left alone for a few minutes or they can be moved over the skin while performing the activity. You might experience redness or bruise due to blood arising to the surface of the skin and removing toxins while letting the muscles heal. The more often cupping is done the less bruising and redness will occur.
Trigger Point Therapy
Trigger points are taut areas, known as “knots” within skeletal muscle and connective tissue called fascia. These areas can be a source of pain in different areas of the body. There are many ways to treat trigger points such as sustained pressure, movement and posture correction, massage, and electrical stimulation. The theory why trigger points are painful is that muscle tightness decreases blood flow which decreases circulation and causes nutrients to not be able to get to the muscle. Trigger point therapy is holding areas of tension to cause nitric oxide signals to open microcapillaries and increase blood flow and align the facia layer that surrounds the muscle. In turn, this helps improve circulation and normal movement of muscles. Trigger point therapy may not completely eliminate the trigger point but should help motion and decrease tightness and pain within the muscle group.
Exercise Therapy
Motion is medicine! Moving your body is health! Focusing on any type of motion that feels comfortable to you is BETTER than none! You may need specific exercises to help rehab your injury or prevent injuries.
Laser Therapy
Low-Level Laser uses an infrared frequency that causes the body’s cells to go through a cascade of events. This increases cellular energy to increase circulation, decrease inflammation, and pain relief, promote tissue repair, reduce muscle tightness and spasms, and improve healing. Overall, it promotes an accelerated healing process. Laser therapy is great for joint injuries, arthritis, and other musculoskeletal injuries. It may take a few treatments to start to feel the benefits. Treatment length and number of treatments vary for each condition.
Ultrasound
Therapeutic Ultrasound is a modality that applies heat deep into soft tissues of the body, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Benefits include: increased circulation, decreased pain, increased elasticity, and an overall decrease in the recovery time. During the treatment, you may feel a slight heat or tingling around the area . This non-invasive and non-painful modality helps the body heal itself faster.
Electrical Stimulation
Electrical stimulation is small electric impulses applied to a muscle. These impulses improve circulation, strengthen muscles that are weak or not functioning properly, and decrease muscle pain and spasms. There are different types of stim depending on the patient’s condition.
What to expect: 2-4 small electrodes will be placed on the area of treatment. Then the machine will be turned up to a comfortable range based on the patient’s preference. Depending on the type of stimulation and condition the patient's muscles might contract during treatment or the patient can fully relax.
Yoga
Yoga has many benefits for the body such as improving strength, flexibility, balance, mental clarity, and much more. Yoga and Chiropractic go hand in hand. They both maintain joint and soft tissue alignment which helps reduce the risk of injuries. Yoga and Chiropractic care can be combined together to teach you to be in tune with your body, in turn creating a space for your body to move safely.
Assisted Stretching
Assisted stretching is where the Doctor Mel will stretch you in various positions to improve flexibility, increase range of motion, relieve muscle tension, and help prevent injury.