Procedures

All Procedures

Chiropractic Mobilization and Manipulation

Manipulation and mobilization, sometimes referred to as a spinal adjustment or chiropractic adjustment, is the number one technique used by chiropractic doctors to correct signs and symptoms of an impaired spinal column.

A chiropractic manipulation is specifically intended to correct vertebral subluxations, the term given to signs and symptoms caused by a misaligned vertebrae. A vertebral subluxation may result in many different symptoms, including pain, reduced mobility, and impaired function, as well as sympathetic nervous system, sensory, and motor symptoms.

The positive effects of manipulation and mobilization when properly administered treatment are well-documented. When chiropractic manipulation and mobilization is administered, it affects and/or corrects the alignment and function of a vertebral joint, resulting in improved health and function. Some of the many positive effects of a spinal adjustment include:

Increased muscle flexibility
Increased joint range of motion in all three planes
Reduced pain, or relief from pain
Increased skin pain tolerance
Increased paraspinal muscle pressure pain tolerance
Reduced muscle tension
Increased blood flow
Reduced/balanced blood pressure
Increased melatonin production
Increased plasma beta endorphin levels
Increased substance P and neutrophil respiratory burst
Shortened recovery after injury
Reduced scar tissue formation, or scar tissue elimination
Improved sports performance
Improved sleep, breathing, perception, and cognition
These results create a better quality of life, leading to a healthier and happier person.

Manipulation and Mobilization Methods

Administration of a spinal adjustment varies in technique based on the chiropractic doctor’s training, personal beliefs, and other factors. Most, though not all, involve “thrust manipulation”, which adjusts the spinal column through well-placed force applied by the doctor’s hands.

Thrust manipulation is made diverse through its application in different positions. For example, a patient may sit, lie on their back, side, or stomach, or position themselves on a specialized table. A chiropractor may also use a spring-loaded instrument to apply gentle yet effective force, resulting in a comfortable adjustment.

Chiropractic Treatment Schedule

The number of spinal adjustments necessary for restoring proper function is dependent on several factors. The severity of injury, overall health of the patient, co-morbid risk factors (including depression, anxiety, and others), history of injury, and other key factors all play a role in the schedule of treatment.

Athletic injury treatment may require other forms of treatment, including Kinesiology Taping, Sports Specific Training, and more. These treatments can increase the overall length of care, but, if prescribed, are essential to restoring proper health, function, and athletic ability.

If you are interested in consulting with Accelicare about your sports injury or other chiropractic concern, please visit our contact page to get in touch with Accelicare’s knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Massage Therapy Benefits

Massage therapy has been used for thousands of years to promote healing. Many references to massage have been found in ancient Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Egyptian, Greek, and other writings, with Hippocrates famously defining medicine as, “the art of rubbing.”

In the 1850s, two American physicians studying in Sweden were introduced to the benefits of massage therapy. They brought it back to the United States, where it enjoyed extreme popularity as an effective and enjoyable treatment for a wide variety of ailments and health concerns.

Unfortunately, with the advancement of scientific medical treatments in the ‘30s and ‘40s, massage fell by the wayside and was considered to be nothing more than a relaxation treatment with mild placebo effects. Thankfully, by the 70s, massage was being revived, especially by athletes who found sport massage to be a fantastic way to treat injury, ailments, and more.

Whether you are treated to a relaxation massage or a more intensive Swedish massage, massage therapy has a slew of benefits. Massage may be used to treat, or help treat, pain, stress, anxiety, depression, injury, chronic concerns, as well as promote overall wellness and function.

A massage therapy session may take place in a private office, home, sport facility, or anywhere else a massage table or chair is readily available. The massage therapist may request a brief medical history, including pertinent medication information, history of back or neck pain, the presence of pregnancy, as well as desired massage therapy results.

A treatment session may last 15 minutes to an hour, or even longer. The length of the session is generally determined by the patients’ preferences; however, some massage therapy session lengths may be determined by a doctor’s recommendation.

Studies have found that massage therapy is a viable treatment for many conditions and concerns, including chronic low-back pain, chronic neck pain, as well as a pain-relieving and mood-improving treatment for those with advanced cancer. (It should be noted that cancer patients should receive the go-ahead from their oncologist before scheduling a massage therapy appointment.)

Massage Therapy is very low risk when performed by a trained massage therapist. A few conditions may preclude one from utilizing massage therapy, including:

Bleeding disorders
Low blood platelet counts
Use of blood-thinning medication
Blood clots
Fractured, broken, or weakened bones
Open or healing wounds
Skin infection
Recent surgery

Sports massage therapy is a specific grouping of massage techniques designed to aid in the health and function of athletic bodies. Sport massage treatment methods include deep Swedish massage, compression massage, cross-fiber massage, trigger point massage, lymphatic massage, reflexology, and more.

Sport massage may be performed by a general massage therapist, or a specialized sport massage therapist. The benefits of sport massage are many and varied, providing both healing and preventative measures. Some of the benefits of sport massage include:

Reduced chance of injury
Improved range of motion and flexibility
Shortened recovery time, especially between workouts
Increased blood flow, nutrient supply, and oxygen supply
Improved metabolic by-product elimination

There are three main areas of sports massage:

Maintenance Massage is performed to maintain proper health and function when the body is relatively free of tension, pain, reduced mobility, and other common problems.
Event Massage is performed before, during, or after an athletic event. A pre-event massage gives a “boost” to the body’s function to reduce the risk of injury, diminish stress, and improve range of motion and flexibility. It is also able to improve circulation while warming the muscles, similar to an athlete’s normal readying routine.
An inter-event massage is performed during an athletic event, and focuses on the muscles being used in the event. It is generally short and performed during time-outs to release tension built by the preceding task, and ready the body for the next task.

A post-event massage is generally a lengthy, recovery-centered massage that’s meant to reduce muscle spasms, soreness, and metabolic build-up. It also soothes and calms the athlete’s mind, allowing him or her to cool down after extreme adrenaline.
Rehabilitation Massage is designed to help heal, repair, and comfort injury. Even when a muscle is well cared for with preventative measures being taken, an athlete will experience muscle cramping, tears, bruising, and aches throughout their career. Rehabilitation massage targets these concerns to restore proper health and function to the body.

If you’re interested in consulting with Accelicare about your sports injury, massage needs, or other chiropractic concern, please visit our contact page to get in touch with Accelicare’s knowledgeable and helpful staff.

The Graston Technique

Injury to the soft tissues in the back, such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons, are one of the leading causes of pain in and dysfunction of the back. Even a simple torn ligament or muscle strain can cause extreme pain and limited movement, leading to compromised function and athletic ability.

When a soft tissue injury occurs, the body repairs the tissue in a disorganized pattern, resulting in scar tissue. This scar tissue will not cause pain by itself, but it may lead to limited range of motion and stiffness, both of which can cause chronic back and neck pain.

In addition to pain, untreated scar tissue may cause increasing difficulty of movement, over time leading to reduced athletic function. One of the best ways to treat this type of injury is the Graston Technique.

The Graston Technique also known as Graston Therapy, is a proprietary soft tissue mobilization method designed to detect and resolve adhesions (scar tissue) in the soft tissues of the body.

Originally designed by athletes, Graston Technique chiropractic is performed using six stainless steel tools, each featuring a curvilinear edge and various concave and convex shapes. These tools are precisely moved over the patient’s body in order to detect and treat soft tissue injury. The Graston Technique can decrease overall treatment time, reduce the need of anti-inflammatory medications, speed recovery, and may even resolve chronic conditions.

The Graston Technique tools provide optimized treatment options in many ways. First, they provide benefits that are not unlike those of a stethoscope. While a stethoscope amplifies what the ear can hear, the Graston instruments improve what the hands can feel. Secondly, the stainless steel design of the tools won’t compress like the fat pads of the Graston Technique provider’s fingers, allowing for the treatment of deeper restrictions.

In addition to these two basic benefits, the Graston Technique is further able to treat adhesions and restrictions by providing a unique type of pressure, leading to optimized scar tissue removal.

Utilizing a cross-friction deep tissue massage, the practitioner moves the stainless-steel tools over the patient’s body, allowing them to “catch” on the affected tissue. Once the area of concern is determined, the tools are used to break down the scar tissue, allowing the body to absorb and dispose of it.

During a Graston Technique session, small amounts of trauma are caused to the adhesion or restriction. This trauma temporarily causes inflammation, which leads to increased blood flow, while the technique also encourages increased cellular activity. In this way, the Graston Technique process is able to initiate and encourage the healing of the soft tissues, leading to healthy function and reduced pain.

Graston Technique providers are extensively trained in the method, ensuring proper use and results. Training consists of two modules, totaling almost 24 hours of class time. During these training hours, practitioners are taught basic Graston guidelines, indications, contraindications, treatment strokes, and allowed to perform hands-on practice sessions. The more advanced module includes condition-specific training, as well as how to use the instruments to perform “nerve flossing” to further improve healing and function.

The Graston Technique is not used alone, whether the injury is sports-related, work-related, or otherwise inflicted. The Graston protocol involves warm-up exercises, treatment with the stainless-steel tools, stretching, strengthening, and ice.

Active Release Technique

Active Release Technique, otherwise known as ART therapy or simply ART, is a patented soft tissue system/movement-based massage therapy technique. It is used to treat a wide range of problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves, and is known for being able to resolve the treated conditions quickly and permanently.

Developed and refined by Dr. P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP, the Active Release Technique features over 500 unique moves to treat specific conditions. Dr. Leahy realized that his patients’ symptoms changed based on soft tissue changes and based his method around this phenomenon.

Dr. Leahy found that he could resolve over 90% of his patients’ concerns using his newly developed technique and has since taught his method to health care providers all over the world.

While ART may be used to treat conditions in the muscles, tendons, and other areas, all of the conditions have something in common: they are the result of overuse. Overuse conditions are labeled as such when pulls, tears, collisions, micro-trauma, or hypoxia (lack of oxygen) occur and cause tough, dense scar tissue or adhesions.

These adhesions can build up, thereby tying down otherwise freely moving tissue. The scar tissue can cause shorter, weaker muscles with limited mobility and blood supply, tendonitis, trapped nerves, as well as an overall increase of pain. This scar tissue is also the main cause of the day-to-day back pain and neck pain many people experience.

Some of the many conditions that ART may be used to treat include:

Headache
Back Pain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Sciatica
Shin splints
Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
Tendonitis
Plantar Fasciitis
Knee problems
Tennis elbow
Shoulder pain

Active Release treatment is applied with your chiropractor’s hands. He or she will evaluate the texture, tightness, and mobility of the affected soft tissue by combing over the muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. After detecting the problem areas, your chiropractor will use targeted hand pressure, applied in directions related to venous and lymphatic flow, to break up and remove the adhesions, leading to relief from pain and reduced mobility.

With four levels of Active Release Treatment chiropractic therapy, the method provides comprehensive care. Levels one through three are applied using only the practitioner’s hands, while level four includes patient participation. In level four, the practitioner will apply pressure and provide guidance while the patient actively moves the afflicted tissue.

Level four of ART therapy is especially beneficial, as studies show that people who take an active role in their health care will experience optimized results. However, each level of ART provides its own unique benefits, and as a whole has been deemed a viable method for treating soft tissue injuries.

Active Release Technique training includes workshops and annual seminars. Certification requires a practitioner to pass initial written and practical exams, as well as pass re-credential exams.

If you’re interested in consulting with Accelicare about your sports injury or other chiropractic concern, please visit our contact page to get in touch with Accelicare’s knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Kinesiology Taping

Kinesiology Tape is a brand of elastic therapeutic tape, which is designed to treat athletic injuries, sore muscles, and other common physical disorders. Developed by a Japanese chiropractor in the 1970s, kinesiology tape is now commonly used to relax overused muscles and aid in rehabilitation. It can also improve circulation, reduce pain, and diminish swelling and inflammation, all of which lead to improved comfort and function.

After being publicly used by Olympic athletes in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, elastic therapeutic sport tape became more popular than ever. Olympic beach volleyball athlete Kerri Walsh, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, former number one-ranking professional tennis player Serena Williams, and UConn basketball player Hasheem Thabeet have all used kinesiology tape with great success.

Kinesiology Taping is the leader of cutting-edge taping procedures because it was made with hypoallergenic acrylic glue, all elastic tape products are highly flexible and comfortable. In fact, the tape is specifically designed to be the same weight, thickness, and elasticity as human skin, allowing it to integrate with the body’s sensory system.

Kinesiology Tape does offer tape for normal and sensitive skin types, the products are made with gentle materials. The tape is created with 100% cotton wrapped around thin elastic fibers. This design provides 130-140% elasticity for comfortable wear and movement. The hypoallergenic adhesive is specially applied in a wave pattern, ensuring proper water and air flow.

Kinesiology Tape works across three categories, providing comprehensive care for athletic injuries and concerns. First, it works structurally to support proper posture, prevent harmful ranges of motion, and reduce strain on overused muscles.

Secondly, it works neurologically to provide a slew of benefits. The specialized athletic tape improves sensory stimulation to decrease pain perception, restores normal muscle function, provides support for functional stability, boosts peripheral neuroplasticity, and enhances the skin’s endogenous analgesic system.

Lastly, it works on a micro-circulatory level. Kinesiology Tape supports lymphatic and micro- circulatory flow and targets superficial fascial to lessen viscosity and promote flow and glide.

Foot Orthotics

Foot orthotics is a specific branch of orthotics which focuses on the health and function of the feet and ankles, leading to overall wellness and body function. Known popularly as shoe inserts, foot orthoses are often used by athletes and non-athletes alike to correct anything from pain to odor.

The following are benefits of foot orthotics:

Assist movement
Reduce weight bearing forces
Aid the healing of fractures after the cast is removed
Correct the shape or function of the body
Reduce pain
Restrict movement in a certain direction
Control, guide, or limit movement of a certain body segment

Removable insoles provide a wide range of benefits, including relief from arthritis, injuries, and overuse, as well as typical daily discomfort. Orthotic insoles may be used to correct orthopedic issues, improve athletic performance, reduce extreme odor, or even assist in the correction of leg length discrepancies.

Custom made orthotics are especially beneficial for those who stand, walk, or otherwise move for many hours per day. Custom shoe inserts improve the overall function of the body by properly aligning the bones in the feet, as well as the joints in the ankles and knees. Well-made inserts will even align the hips and lower back, providing relief from pain in those areas.

Even non-athletes experience muscle and ligament stretching and laxness, leading to “swayed ankles” and falling arches. In athletes, these issues are even more prominent, and can cause increased pain and impaired performance. With foot orthotics, the muscles and ligaments are able to hold the bones in place without risk of overuse, allowing proper and comfortable alignment throughout the entire body.

When foot and ankle misalignment is corrected by orthotic insoles, the foot structure will provide more propulsion, leading to bio-mechanic efficiency. Plus, Orthotics can prevent muscular fatigue while boosting muscular performance, allowing the body to perform as well as it can.

Foot orthoses are one of the easiest, most efficient, and most comfortable ways to improve athletic performance, body function, and overall comfort. They can even optimize other chiropractic treatments, allowing you to get the most out of your health care and body.