Gonstead

The focus of the Gonstead adjustment is to be as specific, precise, and accurate as possible; addressing only the problem areas (areas of subluxation). Great care is taken to ensure a bio-mechanically correct position and precise thrust to provide the most accurate and painless adjustment possible. The goal is to restore and maintain optimal health by locating and correcting any interference to the nervous system caused by vertebral subluxation. Gonstead technique utilizes the traditional chiropractic tables as well as the knee chest table and cervical chair to deliver specific adjustments.

Flexion/Distraction

Flexion-Distraction, (F/D) is a gentle, chiropractic treatment procedure utilized for back and neck pain. This painless non-invasive procedure is performed using a special treatment table that allows the practitioner to gently stretch and bend the back in various directions while he/she adds gentle pressure to different parts of the spine. There are no jerking movements at all. The table moves in a smooth rhythmic fashion as the practitioner moves his/her hands into different positions.

Impulse Adjusting

Impulse adjusting is an alternative to traditional manual techniques. It is designed to be both effective to treatment of spinal subluxation, as well as safe for osteoporotic patients. The Impulse Adjusting Instrument® is controlled by micro-computer circuitry housed within the device that produces a controlled force that chiropractors can use to treat different areas of the body. Impulse adjusting is a new technique developed to provide controlled treatments to the specific areas you’re having trouble with.

Impulse adjustments are high-tech. There is no popping or cracking with these adjustments , but rather very precise and targeted adjustments designed to specifically care for just the right areas. Years of research have gone into the development of the Impulse Instruments to create gentle chiropractic adjustments that are safe and effective for patients of all ages.

Graston

Graston Technique is a soft tissue diagnostic and therapeutic method that has been used in out patient clinics since 1994. Graston instruments- made of stainless steel and specifically designed and developed as an alternative to manual transverse friction massage- are used as an aid in the diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue pathology and dysfunction. The instruments provide diagnostic tactile feedback to both the clinician and the patient, as the instruments act as a focused extension of the clinican’s own hands.

Clinical experience has shown that Graston Technique is a benefit to the management of a large variety of musculoskeletal disorders. These include: carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical pain, de Quervain’s Syndrome, epicondylitis, fibromyalgia, IT band syndrome, joint sprain, lower back pain, muscle strain, painful scar, plantar fascitis, post fracture pain and tendinitis. A large case series found that Graston Technique reduces numbness, increases patient functional capabilities both in activities of daily living and work related function.

Since the involved tissue binds with normal tissue, it develops a blood supply. As restrictions are released from healthy tissue, bruising may occur, especially in treating chronic conditions. Some areas of the body that have a very rich blood supply may produce more bruising. An increase in soreness and discomfort is not uncommon after the first treatment session and is most often a positive sign that restrictions have been released. Soreness is usually minimized after 48 to 72 hours and can be controlled with ice and stretching.

If you have not experienced the Graston Technique, yet you have lingering discomfort or stiffness, please ask us whether you may be helped by this effective treatment.

Extremity Adjustment

When chiropractors speak of extremities we will be talking about the joints of the body besides the joints in the spine. This would include: the jaw, ribs, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, fingers, hip, knee, ankle, foot, and toes.

Chiropractors have always looked to the spine for fixations, subluxations, and joint impropriety. These fixations, subluxations, and joint impropriety can also occur in your extremities. These extremity problems can sometimes cause chronic spinal problems. Most often the spine will be checked and adjusted before an extremity will be checked and adjusted (Extremity Adjustments should compliment Spinal Adjustments).

Possible symptoms of extremity fixations, subluxation, and joint impropriety include:

• pain in the extremities or in extremity joints
• fatigue in the extremities
• weakness in the extremities
• catches in the extremity joints
• stiffness or immobility in the extremity joints
• chronic cervical problems
• chronic back problems

The goal of extremity adjusting will be to analyze the extremity, evaluate the extremity, establish an extremity treatment plan and co-ordinate this plan with the spinal treatment plan.

Pettibon

The Pettibon System uses a collection of manipulative techniques, performed both by hand or adjustive mechanical instruments, and rehabilitative exercises. It is a comprehensive rehabilitation program for the spine’s hard and soft tissues. It uses x-rays for diagnosis, assessing progress, and proof of treatment effectiveness. It tests each patient’s ability to respond to care, and trains patients in home care for faster correction.

The structure of the spine and, ultimately, posture are considered to be a requisite to maintaining health and  normal function. Abnormal posture can cause alterations in some of our basic physiological processes, such as headaches, blood pressure, emotions, lung capacity, and hormonal production. Yet maintaining an erect sitting position is difficult because postural control is mainly reflexive and involuntary. Therefore, although we can temporarily change our posture through voluntary muscular action, inevitably our conscious control bows to our reflexive, neurological control of posture. From this, we can logically presume that the best way to make a lasting change to spinal structure, or posture, is to correct posture from a reflexive, involuntary standpoint. This logic forms the foundation for the treatment protocol of The Pettibon System developed by Pettibon to correct the spine and posture through gradual adaptation of the spinal and postural reflexes.

Inversion Therapy

Inversion therapy involves hanging upside down or at an angle to apply gentle traction to the spine. Not only can inversion therapy help to treat back pain, but it can also be used to reverse the negative effects of aging on the spine. When the body’s weight is suspended from the lower body – rather than borne on the hands as in handstands or headstands or hanging from a bar with arms at sides, which are also forms of inversion – the pull of gravity may decompress the joints of the body below the anchor. Hanging by the feet, as with gravity boots or inversion tables, causes each joint in the body to be loaded in an equal and opposite manner to standing in an identical position of joint alignment.

Check out some case studies on inversion therapy

What to Expect During Your First Visit

3 Phases of Chiropractic Care