Spinal Decompression

Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression stretches the spine using a DTS Triton table primarily used to treat disc injuries in the spinal cord with the goal of relieving back, neck, leg and arm pain, as well as numbness. (Surgical Spinal Decompression includes both Laminectomy and Microdiscectomy.) This treatment option utilizes FDA cleared equipment to apply distraction forces to spinal structures in a precise and progressive manner. Distraction is offset by cycles of partial relaxation. This technique of advanced traction therapy, with differential unloading due to distraction and positioning, has shown the ability to gently separate the vertebrae from each other, creating a suction inside the discs that we are targeting. This "vacuum effect" is also known as negative intra-discal pressure.

The negative pressure may improve the flexibility of muscles, joints and ligaments in and around the level of the spinal column being treated. This helps induce the retraction of the herniated or bulging disc into the inside of the disc, and off the nerve root, thecal sac, or both. It happens only microscopically each time, but cumulatively, over four to six weeks, results are quite noticeable.

The cycles of decompression and partial relaxation, over a series of visits, condition the development of more range of motion and spinal stabilizer strength. Due to the enhanced diffusion of water, oxygen, and nutrient-rich fluids from the outside of the discs to the inside, these added nutrients and reduced biomechanical stress enable the torn and degenerated disc fibers to begin to heal.

For the low back, the patient lies comfortably on their back or front on the decompression table, with a set of comfortable belt straps snug around the waist and another set around the lower chest. For the neck, the patient lies comfortably on their back with a pair of soft rubber stoppers behind the head and above the ears. Many patients enjoy the treatment, as it is usually quite relaxing and well tolerated.

Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression is very effective at treating bulging discs, herniated discs, pinched nerves, sciatica, shoulder and arm pain, disc degeneration, stenosis & facet syndrome. Patient screening is imperative and candidates are accepted for cooperative care.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractors care for patients with health problems of the neuromusculoskeletal system, which includes nerves, bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. They use spinal adjustments and manipulation, and other techniques to manage patients’ health concerns, such as back and neck pain.

Doctors of Chiropractic are qualified to assess a patient’s medical condition by reviewing their medical history and images, listening to the patient’s concerns, as well as performing a physical examination of posture and reflexes. They provide primary neuromusculoskeletal therapy by adjusting a patient’s spinal column and other joints by hand or another device. In addition, they advise patients on health and lifestyle issues, such as exercise, nutrition, and sleep habits. If needed, they will refer patients to other healthcare professionals.

Chiropractors focus on patients’ overall health. Chiropractors correct misalignments of the spinal joints that interfere with a person’s sensory-motor system and can result in lower resistance to disease, injury, as well as other conditions of poor health. Some chiropractors use procedures such as massage therapy, rehabilitative exercise, and ultrasound in addition to spinal adjustments and manipulation. They also may apply supports, such as braces or foot orthotics, to treat patients and relieve pain. In addition to operating a general chiropractic practice, some chiropractors concentrate in areas such as sports and athletics, neurology, orthopedics, pediatrics, or nutrition, among others.

Oxygen Therapy

Oxygen Therapy, also called Enhancement or Supplementation, is a treatment that delivers a higher concentration of oxygen gas (O2) to breathe. Oxygen is received from tubes resting in your nose or a face mask used in a clinical setting, but a tube placed in your trachea, or windpipe is reserved for severe cardiopulmonary conditions. This treatment increases the amount of oxygen your lungs inhale and deliver to your blood by binding to the protein hemoglobin.

Oxygen therapy may be prescribed for you when you have a condition that causes your blood oxygen levels to be too low. Low blood oxygen may make you feel short of breath, tired, or confused, and can damage your body. Some common ailments that oxygen may help include COPD, Pneumonia, Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Sleep Apnea, and Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Oxygen therapy can be given for a short or long period of time in the hospital, a clinical setting, or at home. Oxygen is produced and used by an oxygen concentrator, which pulls oxygen out of the air for immediate use. Because oxygen concentrators do not require refills, they will not run out of oxygen. Portable devices and units make it easier for people to move around while using oxygen.

Oxygen poses a fire risk, so never smoke or use flammable materials when using oxygen. Side effects from this treatment may include a dry or bloody nose, disorientation, fatigue, and morning headaches. Oxygen therapy is generally safe.

Electrotherapy (Microcurrent Point Stimulation)

Microcurrent stimulation is a therapy used, whereby electric current is provided in millionths of an ampere, because it is believed to be the body's own natural current strength. This therefore restores the body's own natural current. It works on a cellular level to help stimulate the healing process. It is based upon the theory that the body's electrical balance is disrupted when one is injured, so that the natural electrical current of the body changes course. Microcurrent stimulation restores this balance.

Microcurrent therapy can relieve pain, stimulate wound healing, help stimulate the regeneration of injured tissue, provide relief to myofascial trigger points, increase protein synthesis and amino acid transport, and stimulate lymphatic flow. When microcurrent stimulation is provided, it should not be felt, because the sensory receptors are not stimulated. Other electrotherapy pain relief methods, such as TENS, are provided at milliamps, thereby causing muscle contraction. With microcurrent therapy, ATP production increases by 500%. ATP is the primary molecule our bodies use to produce energy and is found in every cell of the body.

When injury occurs, the area that has been injured has a higher electrical resistance than the surrounding tissue does. This decreases and perhaps even stops electrical flow through the injured area, which impedes the healing process and promotes inflammation. When microcurrent is used, this resistance is reduced, which allows electricity to flow through and restore normal function. Used at specific frequencies for a variety of tissues and conditions, microcurrent can often soften tissue and decrease pain, which provides long-lasting pain relief that may even be permanent. This has some promising benefits that may also be applicable to current chronic pain conditions.

Clinical studies in microcurrent treatment have shown to reduce or even eliminate fibromyalgia and myofascial pain. When traumatic injury occurs, such as in automobile, work-related and sporting accidents, microcurrent helps soft tissue, bones, tendons and ligaments seem to repair much more quickly, while inflammation and swelling is also reduced. It has also demonstrated positive results in treating fractures and post-surgical pain, frozen shoulder and carpal tunnel syndrome, disc and joint pain, fibroid and scar tissue, neuralgia and neuropathic pain, TMJ dysfunction and viral infection, as well as edema and lymphatic drainage.

Finally, it may also have general health benefits. Thus far, studies have shown that using microcurrent therapy can help stimulate and rehydrate collagen, increase the uptake of nutrients within cells, and significantly stimulate the excretion of waste products, including heavy metal from inside cells. Therefore, microcurrent therapy may soon be on the horizon not just as a pain relief therapy for those who have been injured or who are suffering from chronic pain, but as a general health and well-being "maintenance" practice used to sustain optimal fitness. Microcurrent is applied by the Dolphin Neurostim or a TENS device with microcurrent mode placing electrodes on specific places on the body and may be used in conjunction with exercise, nutrition, or massage.

Clinical Nutrition

Clinical Nutrition is the study of the relationship between food and a healthy body. More specifically, it is the science of nutrients and how they are digested, absorbed, transported, metabolized, stored, and eliminated by the body. Besides studying and assessing how food works in the body, nutrition therapy is interested in how the environment affects our access, choice, quality, safety, and sustainability of food habits, and what influence these factors have on health and disease.

Professionals in this field assess nutritional needs based on family and medical history, lifestyle, economic status and laboratory tests in order to make recommendations for diets and individual nutritional needs. Adequate nutrient management of patients is a primary solution to clinical malnutrition in the population by providing quality advice on changes to the normal diet that helps treat or prevent disease and accelerate repair.

Nutrients are substances that the body needs to live and grow. The body requires more than 45 nutrients, and the ways they are used are as different as the molecules, cells, and tissues they help to create. Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are called macronutrients and are broken down (metabolized) to provide energy. Vitamins and minerals are called micronutrients and are not used for energy themselves, but are needed to help macronutrients be used for energy. Water is the second most important elementary nutrient; oxygen (O2) is the first.

Dietetics and nutritional science involves expertise in biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, epidemiology, etiology, and pathology. The interactions between biology, chemistry, psychology, ecology, and economy, and how changes in the one affect another is a complex challenge. If economic and environmental changes in a community affect access to food, food security, and dietary health, then this interplay between culture and biology is in turn connected to broader historical and economic trends associated with globalization. Nutritional status affects overall health status, work performance, and the overall productivity in social or economic development for any given group of people.

Exercise Education

Fitness is the ability to perform physical activity. It also means having the energy and strength to feel as good as possible. Getting more fit, even a little bit, can improve a person's health.

Nobody has to be an athlete to be fit. All animals move. A brisk half-hour walk every day can help anyone reach a good level of fitness. And if this is hard, work toward a level of fitness that feels better with more energy.

Physical activity provides an array of benefits. Research has shown that regular exercise among both youth and elders is associated with improvements in muscle development, bone strength, cardiovascular fitness, mental health, and academic performance. People who regularly exercise also are at lower risk for chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and children who start are more likely to carry their active lifestyle habits into adulthood.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children and adolescents participate in moderate-to-vigorous exercise at least 60 minutes every day. However, according to a 2014 report, only about one quarter of youth nationwide get the recommended amount of exercise. Adults and elders should participate in mild-to-moderate activities at least 30 minutes everyday.

Exercise should include aerobic activity (ex. walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking or hiking), bone and muscle strengthening (ex. push-ups, pull-ups, dips, rows, squats, lunges, jumps), and joint and muscle stretching activities (ex. dynamic or static, calf-ham-quad-groin-glute-hip-core-pec-delt-lat-trap-tri-bi-wrist-tips).

Custom Orthotics

The term orthotic can refer to almost any device which is worn inside a shoe. Items called orthotics can be found in health care clinics, retail stores and even online. There are three very different types of orthotics which include custom, customized and off-the-shelf. The educated consumer should be aware of each type. There is a confusing amount of information available on orthotics. For many consumers making an informed decision is difficult. Recognizing a sales pitch and separating it from facts is the key to better health.

Custom foot orthotics are prescription medical devices made from non-weight bearing molds or scans of your feet. They are designed to control alignment and function of the foot in order to treat or prevent injury-causing motions such as pronation (rolling-in) and supination (rolling-out). They also act to make activities such as running, walking and even standing more efficient. Finally, they can act to redistribute pressure on the bottom of the foot to relieve pain from excessive pressure or calluses.

Most foot pain is the result of a faulty relationship between the footwear we embrace and the bones and muscles of the foot. Even the slightest misalignment can result in significant discomfort. This abnormality can result in problems such as bunions, corns, hammer toes, tired feet, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, achilles tendonitis, posterior tibial tendonitis, shin splints, knee pain and even back pain.

The function of custom orthotics is much more than an arch support. Orthotics realign the structures of the foot and leg to prevent bone misalignment as well as muscle, tendon, and ligament fatigue. They are often used after surgery to help stop the recurrence of foot deformities. As the foot rests on the orthotic it is gently and consistently directed into the correct position for walking, running, and standing. Because the foot is now functioning properly, the pain of muscle strain and pressure points is relieved, and the progression of deformities is stopped or slowed.

Only a non-weightbearing laser scan or cast should be used.

Weight-bearing casts and images of the foot have been shown in the medical literature to be ineffective methods for producing functional foot orthotics.

Whether you are sitting or standing does not matter. If your foot is on the floor during the casting process, you are not likely to get an orthotic that provides optimum function.

The medical literature indicates that walking across a pressure mat cannot provide enough information to make a quality functional orthotic. The doctor, and not an assistant, should take the cast of your foot.