From chronic back pain, to migraines, to acute ankle sprains, or simply helping you maintain optimal shape, chiropractic treatment can help alleviate your pain and improve your general wellbeing and overall function. Chiropractic care is a hands-on, non-invasive therapy that focuses on your spine, muscles, joints, and nervous system.
Chiropractors will use the best available evidence, as well as their experience, to help identify and diagnose the cause of your pain or discomfort, and come up with a treatment plan that will work best for you.
After the initial assessment, you will be provided with the best treatment options for you. Then, you and your chiropractor will choose which treatments you are most comfortable with that will yield the best results. These treatments can include:
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Manual joint manipulation (including spinal manipulative therapy) or mobilization
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Soft tissue therapy
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Electronic modalities, such as interferential current (IFC) and low-level laser therapy (LLLT)
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Acupuncture and electro-acupuncture
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Rehabilitative exercise programs
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Advice and exercise
One of the most common concerns associated with chiropractic is the associated “crack” or “pop” heard with joint manipulation. These manipulations are a gentle, but quick, thrust applied to a joint in order to restore the normal range of motion to the joint and improve its function. This “pop” is known as cavitation and is actually caused by the sudden release of pressurized gas from within the joint. When a manipulation is applied to the spine, it is called spinal manipulative therapy. Both joint manipulations and spinal manipulative therapy have several high quality studies showing how effective it can be for pain relief, reduced medication and opioid use, neck and shoulder pain, migraines, and much, much more.
Tune in for Part 2 where we dive into neurofunctional acupuncture (electro-acupuncture) and various types of soft tissue therapy (ART and instrument-assisted soft tissue) that chiropractors can do to help you get back to your best self.
If you would like more information on chiropractic, check out these links below:
https://chiropractic.on.ca/chiropractic-care/about-chiropractic-care/what-is-chiropractic-care/