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Joint
Manipulative Therapies
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Soft Tissue
Manipulation
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Electrical Muscle
Stimulation
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Ultrasound
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Traction
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Ice Therapy
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Heat Therapy
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Myofascial Release
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Orthotics
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Types of Care
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Intial Care
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Rehabilitative Care
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Preventative / Maintenance care
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Supportive Care |
 Chiropractors
diagnose conditions using the same approach as other
health care providers. On your first visit, Dr. Levine
obtains both your past medical history and the history
of your current condition.
- Performs a physical examination which
includes (as appropriate) your vital signs,
observation, ranges of motion of the appropriate
area(s), neurological and muscle function tests,
orthopedic tests to help identify your specific
problem(s), and palpation (examination by touch)
paying special attention to the mobility of your
joints.
- Performs or orders, if required, additional
diagnostic studies to help rule-out or rule-in
certain conditions which may influence the diagnosis
or proposed treatment. X-rays are the most commonly
used additional test.
- If required, you are referred to another
health care provider for specialized tests or
treatment beyond the scope of chiropractic.
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After diagnosing
your problem, Dr. Levine uses a combination of the
following natural treatment tools to return you to
optimum function as soon as possible. See also Types
and phases of care.
• Joint manipulative therapies
• Soft tissue manipulation
• Associated therapies
• Patient education |
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Joint
manipulative therapies help restore normal motion to
your spinal joints and other joints of your body.
Normal joint movement is critical to the health of
your joints. Abnormal joint movement many times leads
to pain, dysfunction and premature joint degeneration.
Years of practice allow Dr. Levine to fully understand
your problem, determine specifically which of your
joints needs to be gently manipulated, and then
perform the treatment to restore proper joint
movement. The major benefits of joint manipulation
include rapid pain relief, better mobility and
decreased muscle tension.
Depending on the condition, joint mobilization therapy
may be used to also help restore normal joint motion.
Mobilization is another type of joint manipulative
therapy in which Dr. Levine gently guides the joints
in specific directions and depths with, or without,
the patient's assistance, to stretch the joint and its
surrounding tissues. The choice between joint
manipulation and mobilization depends will vary
depending on the patient. |
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| Soft tissue
(muscle, tendon, and ligament) manipulation includes
stretching, various forms of massage, and gentle
pressure techniques similar to adjustments. This
therapy helps reduce muscle spasm, fluid accumulation,
and adhesions formed as a result of your injury or
degenerative condition. |
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Often referred to as "muscle stim," the 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, or "electrical
massage," 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. |
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This treatment should not be confused with
diagnostic ultrasound, often used in prenatal
screening, but is instead a therapeutic 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. The sound waves also 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 "melt away" the muscle spasms and "knots" felt in
our muscles. |
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Applied manually, the benefits of traction reduce
pressure on cervical (neck) or 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. |
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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. |
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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 or weeks 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. Avoid "dry" heating pads, as they
can promote additional swelling and inflammation.
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.
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Myofascial release refers to the manual massage
technique for stretching the fascia and releasing
bonds between fascia, muscles and bones, with the
goal of eliminating pain, increasing range of motion
and balancing the body. The fascia is manipulated,
directly or indirectly, allowing the connective
tissue fibers to reorganize themselves in a more
flexible, functional fashion.
Fascia is located between the skin and the
underlying structure of muscle and bone, it is a
seamless web of connective tissue that covers and
connects the muscles, organs, and skeletal
structures in our body. Muscle and fascia are united
forming the myofascia system.
Injuries, stress, inflammation, trauma, and poor
posture can cause restriction to fascia. Since
fascia is an interconnected web, the restriction or
tightness to fascia at a place, with time can spread
to other places in the body like a pull in a
sweater. The goal of myofascial release is to
release fascia restriction and restore its tissue
health for quicker recovery. |
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Orthotics is a field concerned with the application
and manufacture of orthoses, devices which support
or correct the function of the limbs and spinal
column. The term is derived from the Greek "ortho",
to straighten. Sciences such as materials
engineering, gait analysis, anatomy and physiology
contribute to the work done by orthotists, the
professionals engaged in the field of orthotics.
Foot orthotics allow the muscles, tendons and bones
of the feet and lower legs to function at their
highest potential. When appropriately prescribed and
casted in our office, orthotics can decrease pain,
not only in the foot, but in other parts of the body
such as the knee, hip and lower back. They can also
increase stability in an unstable joint, prevent a
deformed foot from developing additional problems
and improve a person's quality of life. |
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Education is
perhaps the most important tool Dr. Levine uses to
treat and prevent pain, reduce stress and promote a
healthy lifestyle.
Dr. Levine can show you how to take care of yourself
at home and on the job to ensure a healthier way of
living. Depending on the problem being treated, you
will learn how to properly stretch, exercise, eat,
work, and reduce your stress. By taking an active role
in your health you will continue on the road to
healthy living. |
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People come to
our office for a variety of reasons, usually because
they are in pain. Some go for symptomatic relief of
pain or discomfort only. Others are more interested in
having the cause of the problem, as well as the
symptoms, corrected and relieved.
We respect your
needs and desires when recommending your treatment
program. Our goals are to improve your health and
improve your quality of life.It is important to
understand that patient cases fall into two
categories: uncomplicated and complicated. Complicated
cases usually require more treatment to obtain the
maximum therapeutic benefit. |
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case is one in which the patient recovers faster, or
at the same rate, as could be expected if left to heal
without any assistance. |
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A complicated
case is one in which the patient, because of one or
more factors, exhibits regression or delayed recovery
compared to the rate expected if left to heal
unassisted.Examples of complicating factors include·
pain for more than 8 days prior to treatment
- severe pain
- four or more previous episodes of pain
- underlying structural changes (for example
degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis)
- reinjury during the course of treatment
Examples of general risk factors for delayed
healing include a poor level of fitness, demands of
daily activities at work, smoking, diabetes, previous
injury to the area or medication for an unrelated
disorder. |
Phases of
careThere are four general phases of chiropractic
care. The first two generally apply to everyone while
the last two depend on your condition and what level
of chiropractic care you require.
- Initial care
- Rehabilitative care
- Preventative/Maintenance care
- Supportive care
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| Your first goal
while under treatment is to start to feel better;
therefore, your office visits are more frequent and
composed of therapies designed to help offer relief of
your symptoms and to show you ways to prevent it from
reoccurring.
Depending on your
age, condition, lifestyle, and response to treatment
repeated visits over weeks may be needed to reduce or
eliminate your symptoms. The goal is to move through
this phase as quickly as possible to stabilize the
situation. Although your symptoms may be largely gone
at the end of this phase of treatment, it is very
important to continue your care into the next phase to
completely heal and prevent any reoccurrence of your
problem. |
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| Underlying tissue
dysfunction and degeneration often remain after your
original symptoms have improved. Rehabilitative care
stabilizes your condition and promotes complete
healing. During this time your visit frequency is
reduced and advanced strengthening and flexibility
exercises are given. You learn how to take care of
yourself for life to avoid reinjury and understand how
to minimize problems should they arise again. |
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After maximum
therapeutic benefit has been gained, you may elect to
see us on a phone-in basis or you may visit us on a
periodic visit basis. Because many problems are due to
chronically poor posture and overuse syndromes,
occasional visits can help catch problems before they
become serious.
The spine and other related joints and tissues are
generally strong and resilient structures; however,
the demands of daily living can make us susceptible to
injury. By identifying and treating problems early on,
often when the symptoms are mild, progressive
dysfunction is limited and escalading problems can be
stopped or minimized.
Our office creates mutually
agreed upon visits that include treatments as well as
reevaluations, specific self-help activities, and
exercise plans. As your life situation changes (for
example, your job stresses) your treatment needs
change and so will your care plan. Our goals are to
improve your health and improve your quality of life. |
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| After maximum
therapeutic benefit has been attained, some patients
over time fail to sustain this benefit and regress
after their treatment has stopped. Typical reasons may
include chronic injuries, ongoing stress at work or
other activities of daily living. These patients are
put on a supportive care plan to help them manage
their conditions and prevent their initial problems
from reoccurring. |
