Chiropractic Care – Many musculoskeletal injuries and symptoms are caused by “mechanical” dysfunction of the spinal or extremity joints, such as abnormal or decreased motion of the joints and spasm of the muscles.  These joint injuries can often result from either acute trauma or chronic repetitive stress injuries such as poor posture.  Chiropractic care includes joint manipulations, or adjustments, which help to restore normal motion and alignment to the joints, as well as to restore flexibility and mobility to the muscles and ligaments.  This re-establishes normal biomechanics and proper nervous system function.

Sports Injury Management – If you’re a weekend warrior, amateur, or a professional athlete, our customized treatments will help you get back into normal activity safely and quickly with minimal risk of re-injury, by focusing on understanding the nature of injury in popular sports, therapeutic management of the sports-related injury, and by developing effective injury prevention measures.  Whether you wish to return to pre-injury status or are trying to achieve a higher goal, our prescription of sports-specific exercises and goals will improve your balance, strength, coordination and flexibility.

Flexion-Distraction - Flexion distraction therapy is a chiropractic technique that provides flexion and traction to specific areas of the spine. This aids in the re-creation of lost movement as well as the decompression and re-alignment of the spine. This period of repetitive movements tends to accelerate the rate of healing by increasing blood flow and, thus, inducing increased spinal range of motion. This technique has been used with great success for the treatment of disc injuries, scoliosis and various other low back complaints.

Rehabilitation - After a course of active therapy, corrective exercises are designed and prescribed specifically for each patient. These may include the use of physio balls, therabands, balance boards and stretching. Rehab exercises can improve the effectiveness of your spinal correction by as much as 30-40%.

Spinal & Postural Evaluations - An abnormality of posture is a common cause of pain and disability and is often overlooked. Poor spinal posture that persists can give rise to discomfort, pain or disability. Addressing spinal posture is an important issue, as this is directly related to spinal biomechanics and your nervous system.

Pregnancy Chiropractic Care - Pregnancy causes a tremendous amount of stress on the weight-bearing joints of the body. Back pain and sciatica are very common, especially in the last trimester. The baby is directly affected by the misalignments of the mother's pelvis, which may lead to breech positioning and developmental disturbances. Pregnant mothers are positioned comfortably for chiropractic adjustments, assuring safety for the baby.

Children and Chiropractic - As a concerned parent, you want the best for your child and, no doubt, wonder if your child is as healthy as he or she could be. Several factors determine your child's overall health. These include: diet, exercise, proper rest, emotional and spiritual support, and a properly functioning nervous system.

It is an old saying, "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree." We all know how important the formative years are in determining the health of our children as they grow older. It is for this reason that chiropractic care is particularly vital to your child's health.

Many parents wonder at what age children should begin seeing a chiropractor. Experienced chiropractors answer that it is never too early to begin chiropractic care. Chiropractic is one of the safest forms of healthcare, and is perfectly appropriate for children. Chiropractic adjustments are painless and will not hurt your child. Chiropractic care benefits children of all ages and stages of development.

 How a Child's Spine Develops
At birth, a child's spine is a single C-shaped curve; the newborn lacks the strength to hold up his or her head. At about six months, the neck muscles develop and help the infant hold up his head. At about nine months, the lower back curves, the muscles in the lumbar area develop and the child learns to crawl and stand. The child now has three natural curves in the spine to support the body.

As they learn to walk and run, children fall and can suffer strains and sprains as a result. Detecting these problems at a young age is critical for the proper development of your child's spine. Many postural problems and back pains we experience as adults frequently are traced back to falls as children or a traumatic childbirth. Having your child's spine checked by a chiropractor at a young age is important for proper development of the bones of the spine.

How Can Parents Recognize Childhood Spinal Problems?
Unless a child has an obvious problem, it can be difficult for parents to recognize when a child has spinal misalignments. It is not always easy for someone other than a chiropractor, highly trained in evaluating the spine, to determine if the child has a problem, just as it is difficult for someone other than a dentistto determine if a child has any cavities. Both cases take the skills of a trained specialist to perform a thorough evaluation.

There are some signs which parents may look for which can be an indicator of a child with a spinal problem. Common indicators of spinal problems may include the child's head consistently being tilted to one side, restricted head or neck motion to one side, or disturbed sleeping patterns where the child sleeps for only an hour or two at a time.

Children Get Special Treatment

The first thing your chiropractor will do is to conduct a careful and thorough evaluation of your child's spine. Most chiropractors are trained to evaluate pediatric spinal problems and will use gentle, specific skills to identify, evaluate and treat any involved areas.

Treatment for children is appropriate to their size and needs. Spinal adjustments for children are different from adjustments for adults. Your chiropractor places very gentle pressure on the spine of the child to help correct problems and help allow the spine to develop properly. As with adults, your child should feel little or no discomfort. Children usually respond quickly to light adjustments and other chiropractic treatment.

Children's spines are a lot more mobile and resilient than those of adults and as a result, usually require only a few adjustments to restore normal function. The actual number of adjustments, however, may vary depending on the length of time that the condition has been present.

Today, many progressive parents are choosing conservative chiropractic care to help maximize their child's own musculoskeletal development. The chiropractic approach to health is safe and natural, therefore, your chiropractor may be the best doctor to help your child. Parents should feel encouraged to have a Doctor of Chiropractic as part of their health professionals network.

School, Sports & Employment Physical Examinations:

Frequently, licensees are asked to conduct school, sports or employment physicals for high school, college or various employment situations. As a licensee, we are fully authorized to conduct such examinations; however, it is exclusively up to the school or institution whether or not a chiropractor’s signature will be accepted. There is a state statute that restricts high school sports physicals solely and exclusively to medical doctors. For other schools or organizations, it varies from county to county and from school board to school board. Check with the institution before commencing the examination. 


Massage Therapy –
BENEFITS OF MASSAGE

-Helps relieve stress & aids relaxation
-Helps relieve muscle tension & stiffness
-Increases joint flexibility
-Improves circulation
-Reduces blood pressure
-Relieves tension-related headaches
-Increases range of motion
-Reduces levels of anxiety
-Strengthens the immune system
-Improves athletic performance

Lumbar Traction  - Whether applied manually or mechanically, the benefits of traction are similar. It is an excellent therapy choice to reduce pressure on lumbar (lower back) discs. Traction effectively reduces joint and nerve pain, pressure and inflammation caused by bulging or herniated discs. This procedure is quite comfortable, and lasts several minutes.

Ultrasound  - Therapeutic ultrasound is a procedure that utilizes sound waves to treat injured muscles, joints and soft tissues. The sound waves vibrate the tissues back and forth, creating a deep, micro-massage effect. In the case of a recent injury, this helps to decrease scar tissue and adhesion formation, which would otherwise interfere with the body's healing process. The sound waves also decrease inflammation by destroying unwanted inflammatory cells, and  accelerate healing by stimulating the activity of the cells responsible for cellular and tissue repair. In chronic cases, special settings are used to create a deep-heating effect, heating the tissues far below the skin's surface. This heat, along with the vibrations that are caused by the ultrasound, help to ease the muscle spasms and "knots" felt in our muscles.

Electric Muscle Stimulation  - This therapy involves low levels of electrical impulses delivered to the injured, painful tissues to reduce pain and speed healing. Often described by patients as a pleasant, "tingling" sensation, these impulses stimulate the body to release natural pain relievers called endorphins. These endorphins reduce pain and inflammation, thereby promoting faster healing of the injured tissues. This therapy is often used to treat acute or chronic pain, as well as strains or sprains of the muscles, joints and soft tissues of the spine and extremities.

Heat Therapy  - The use of heat is effective in treating conditions that are more chronic in nature. It is not recommended that heat be used within the first few days of a new injury, especially when any signs of swelling are present. The best forms of heat are in the form of a warm bath/shower or a moist heating pad. As with ice therapy, apply the heat for a maximum of 20 minutes per hour. Never go to sleep with a heating pad, as this can result in increased pain and tissue damage.

Ice Therapy  - Ice therapy, or cryotherapy, is often thought of as the therapy of choice for acute injuries. Actually, the application of ice over any painful tissue is usually effective at any stage of an injury. It works by constricting blood flow to the tissue, thereby reducing swelling, pain and muscular spasms. It is very important to use ice correctly. It should be used for a maximum of 20 minutes, but may be applied each hour. Also, it is important that you do not apply the ice directly to the skin. Instead, wrap the ice pack in a paper towel or thin damp cloth prior to applying to the injured area.