How Chiropractic Care Can Make A Difference to your Health
If you are looking for a holistic approach to the health of your spine and nervous system, Chiropractors are experts. Chiropractic doctors believe that all systems in the body are interlinked and work with them to create proper movement and function within all tissues. They assess, rejuvenate and maintain the health of your body and receive a minimum of 5 years of full-time, specialized training and education on the body and its muscular, skeletal and nervous systems. As a result of this, they can give you a fuller picture of what may be going on with your spine to help restore function. For once function is restored, proper healing can take place. This approach helps with acute or nagging back pain, but as importantly, also prevents long-term damage and future problems from developing.
What Are Some of the Conditions That Chiropractors Treat?
Do you suffer from any of the following symptoms or conditions? If so, seeing a chiropractic doctor can make a difference to your health and wellbeing
- Headaches
- Back pain
- Pregnancy-related back pain
- Pain and stiffness in the neck
- Pain between the shoulder blades
- Hip pain
- Pain and numbness in hands and feet
- Arthritis pain
- Athletic and sport injuries
- Whiplash
- Spinal disc Injuries
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Pre-menstrual syndrome
- Sinusitis
- Fatigue
- Stress and related conditions
- Bursitis
- Tendonitis
- Temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) problems
- Sciatic pain
Benefits of Chiropractic Care
- Improved movement in neck, shoulders, back and torso
- Improved focus
- Better posture
- Greater relaxation
- Relief from headaches, neck and back pain
- Greater adaptability to stress
- Prevention of muscle and joint injuries
- Correction of gait and foot problems
- Improved flexibility
- Relief of pregnancy-related backaches
What Exactly is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic care is a method of healthcare concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system (that’s the interlinking nerves, muscles and bones that make up our bodies) and the effects of these disorders on our health. Chiropractic care approaches illness from a non-invasive viewpoint and does not utilize drugs or surgical procedures. Instead, chiropractic medicine searches for and resolves the underlying problem which may be causing you discomfort and helps the body to repair itself, using its natural ability to return to normal function.
How Long Has the Chiropractic Profession Been Around?
The Chiropractic profession in its modern state was established in 1985. The word “Chiropractic,” from the ancient Greek, means “done by hand.” Chiropractic is the third largest primary health care profession in Canada, and its licensing and standards of practice are set out and regulated by the provincial and territorial governments. Many provincial health care plans and the vast majority of private insurance companies provide for Chiropractic care.
Is Chiropractic Right for You?
Call us at 604-876-9977 or contact us by email to tell us what problems you are facing. We will develop a custom treatment plan that will address both healing and strengthening of your body, returning you to your optimum level of health as quickly as possible.
Chiropractors Have Doctorate Degrees
A Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.), also known as a chiropractic doctor or chiropractor, is a qualified primary-contact health care professional who gives special attention to the spine, muscles, nerves, circulatory and skeletal systems. To practice in Vancouver, a chiropractor must study for a minimum of seven years at university and Chiropractic college and pass a series of rigorous exams through the Canadian Chiropractic Examining Board.
Chiropractors endorse the idea of wellness, a state of health where your body is free of interference from your nervous system, thus allowing full expression and enjoyment of life. Chiropractors offer preventive and corrective care to all types of patients, from infants to seniors, and from athletes to office workers.
What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
Chiropractic doctors seek to relieve pain and illness through skillful adjustments of the spinal vertebrae and other joints. A Chiropractic adjustment occurs when a Chiropractor uses his or her hands to manipulate the body’s joints to enhance motion and function of the spine. Adjustments are customized to meet the needs of the patient and require skill, dexterity, and sensitivity. Proper adjustment and alignment of the body restores and maintains nerve and joint function.
What to Expect at Your Chiropractic Appointment?
Examination
Consulting a Backs in Action is no different than visiting any other healthcare professional. Our Vancouver Chiropractors will start with asking for a case history, including a thorough review of your specific problem, relevant past history and overall health (family history, dietary habits and job duties).
Consultation
Our Vancouver Chiropractors will ask you to perform physical tests and movements to help identify the problem. Only after we determine that your condition can be helped with Chiro will we recommend a plan of treatment. This plan is specific to each individual as one’s lifestyle affects response to Chiropractic care.
Treatment
Treatments usually involve corrective spinal adjustments; however, other therapies may be used to supplement the adjustments. Your Vancouver Chiropractor will focus on improving your specific condition through treatment. The Chiropractor may also suggest lifestyle changes to improve overall health and prevent further injury.
Read more information on our Blog under the Chiro category for health and wellness tips.
- Cold Laser Therapy, sometimes called Low-Level Light Therapy (LLLT), delivers light energy from red and infrared laser radiation to damaged cells. The biological effects of cold laser therapy include increased cell growth, faster wound healing, anti-inflammatory action, increased vascular activity.
- Cold Laser Therapy can also reduce scar tissue formation following tissue damage from cuts, scratches, burns or following surgery. It can stimulate nerve function as well as help with pain reduction.
- Cold Laser Therapy has proven effective on a wide variety of conditions including acute and chronic pain, ligament sprains, muscle strain, tendonitis, arthritis, tennis elbow, back pain, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, frozen shoulder, and fibromyalgia.
GaitScan™
- GaitScan™ is a computer hardware system that uses tiny sensors to record the distribution of pressure under the patient’s foot as he or she walks across the pressure plate. The computer then displays a 2D or 3D visual representation of the pressure underneath the foot.
- This info is put into a report and your Vancouver chiropractor can determine if the pain is related to abnormal foot function or irregular gait/walking patterns and if you will benefit from wearing custom-made orthotics.
Kinesio-Taping (K-Taping)®
- Kinesio-Taping is a rehabilitative technique that provides support and stability to muscles and joints and does so without restricting the body’s range of motion.
- It prolongs the benefits of manual therapy administered by a Clinician by providing extended soft tissue manipulation.
- Kinesio tape which is used in this technique is latex free, able to be worn for many days and safe for all walks of life.
Chiropractic Techniques
Diversified Technique (DT)
- Diversified Technique is the most common adjustment technique used by Chiropractors. The objective is to restore proper movement and alignment of spine and joint dysfunction.
Postural Assessment
- During a postural assessment, a Chiropractor will look for problems at the root of poor posture, spinal curvature, movement and alignment.
- Some postural analyses include changes in stance, alignment of the knees, levelling of the hips or pelvis, height differences across the shoulders, tilting of the head or neck, forward tilting of the pelvis, forward head translation, increase in spinal curvatures and changes to gait.
- Active Release Technique (ART) is a soft-tissue movement-based massage technique utilized by some chiropractors to work directly with muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. It helps to relieve tight muscles and nerve trigger points greatly reducing joint stress and muscle pain
- ART works directly on the muscles and fascia surrounding the nerves to decrease muscle tension, release “pinched nerves”, and help with increasing the healing times of muscle, ligament, and its associated tendon fibres. The fascia and muscles, the connective tissue, surrounding the irritated nerve get stuck and decrease in elasticity, and stop moving normally. ART can help turn on the muscles that have been effectively turned off because of your injury and eliminate your muscular pain.
- The core benefit of ART is preventing and breaking up dense scar tissue which are also known as adhesions. Adhesions limit the normal range of motions of joints and muscles because they cause abnormal binding between muscle groups and are inflexible compared to healthy tissue
Activator Methods Chiropractic Technique (AMCT)
- The AMCT involves comparing the leg lengths of the patient. The Chiropractor carries out muscle tests. If the leg lengths change, it is a sign that the problem is located at the vertebra to which the muscle is attached.
- This method is considered a softer Chiropractic technique and used as an alternative to manual manipulation of the spine or joints.
- The activator, a small handheld springloaded instrument, delivers a small impulse to the spine. It produces enough force to move the vertebrae but not enough to cause injury as it gives no more than 0.3J of kinetic energy in a 3 millisecond pulse.
- The Arthrostim is a handheld tool used by chiropractors to aid them in performing adjustments. It operates on a frequency that is recognizable by the brain and nervous system, delivering 12-14 beats or thrusts per second.
- Due to its speed, the Arthrostim is much stronger and faster than a single adjustment offered by a chiropractor. By taking that energy and dividing it into rapid pulses one after another, it provides a comfortable yet effective way to receive an adjustment.
- It is a great add on to manual chiropractic adjustments or an alternative for patients with lower pain thresholds or pain sensitivities, infants, children and the elderly and patients who dislike or are hesitant to be adjusted manually.