Chiropractic Adjustments

Adjustments

Adjustments - Chiropractic adjustment is a procedure in which trained specialists (chiropractors) use their hands or a small instrument to apply a controlled, sudden force to a spinal joint. The goal of this procedure, also known as spinal manipulation, is to improve spinal motion and improve your body's physical function.

Manual Adjustments - A manual adjustment is a traditional type of chiropractic, in which a licensed chiropractor uses their hands to carefully manipulate the patient’s spine. This adjustment allows the chiropractor to deliver direct, precise pressure onto the affected areas to achieve results. Manual adjustments can help reduce pain, stiffness, and soreness, as well as improve flexibility and blood circulation. There are a variety of manual adjustments that chiropractors can perform, such as the Drop Table, Diversified, Gonstead, and Palmer techniques.

Thompson Table - This treatment technique involves using a drop table to provide low force adjustments, high velocity, and low amplitude. Patients are treated by placing them on a Thompson table. Drop-Table reduces wear and tear on our chiropractor while because the dropping device assists the manipulation while offering patients a less forceful adjustment.

Drop Table Adjustment - During this method, a chiropractor provides a sudden thrust to a patient's spinal or pelvic area. As the doctor makes the thrust, the area of the patient's body being worked on is simultaneously dropped by the table. This technique allows for thorough and less discomforting spinal manipulations. Chiropractic is a healthcare discipline concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the overall function and health of the patient. Many individuals suffering from chronic pain are often prescribed oral pain killers, but this remedy does not always provide relief. If this scenario sounds familiar, have you considered visiting a reputable chiropractor? If you’ve never seen one of these professionals before, you will be pleasantly surprised at the number of painful issues they can help patients resolve. In their practices, many chiropractors help patients recover from pain by utilizing drop table techniques. During the middle of the twentieth century, Dr. Clay Thompson, a chiropractor, experienced difficulty adjusting patients’ spines utilizing the technology of his day and went on to create a customized drop table. After obtaining a patent for his new invention, the Thompson Technique was born.

Drop Table Analysis of Leg Length
In addition to performing adjustments using the drop table, the Thompson Technique includes an analysis of patients’ leg lengths. Chiropractors believe that nervous system imbalances cause muscular issues. These muscular problems can lead to the appearance of one leg being shorter than the other one. During this step of the Thompson Technique, your chiropractor may thoroughly examine the length of your legs and order x-rays. After studying the findings, your doctor will have a better understanding of the type of drop table adjustments you need. Drop table technique is especially beneficial for adjusting the pelvis or sacroiliac joints. Many times during an exam as the patient is lying down, one leg will look noticeable shorter than the other. Short leg syndrome or leg length discrepancy can be caused by contracted muscles around the pelvis or misaligned sacroiliac joints. The muscles most often involved are the quadratus lumborum, multifidus, psoas, and erector spinae. Often times immediate improvement can be seen in short leg syndrome after a drop table adjustment. Just as the spine can be adjusted with this method, so can the joints in the hands, feet, arms, and legs. In addition, this is one of the few methods for adjusting a spondylolisthesis. A spondylolisthesis is a condition brought about when one of the lumbar vertebrae slid forward in relation to the segment below. This condition is easily diagnosed by x-ray.

Drop Table Adjustment Positive Results
For many years, patients have been experiencing positive results from drop table techniques. After receiving an adjustment using this method, you may immediately feel better. Your flexibility, strength and sleep will hopefully begin to improve. If you are an athlete, you may reduce your chances of becoming injured during a sporting event. Patients also report a decrease in the amount of aches and pains they experience after these procedures.

Flexion-Distraction - Flexion-Distraction is a chiropractic treatment technique used to treat many lumbar spine conditions such as Sciatica, Low back pain, disc injuries, Arthritis, Scoliosis, and strain. It is a non-surgical technique to enhance spinal motion and resolve herniations disc and bulges disc. This chiropractic treatment is a safe, gentle, non-force procedure and works very well to pressure the patient’s spinal nerves.

Gonstead Technique - This technique involves the correction of subluxations. A subluxation is a name given to a spinal bone stuck in a specific spot, limiting the body’s ability to stay healthy. The Gonstead technique avoids rotating or twisting the spine during chiropractic procedure because it can increase the rate of degeneration in the spinal pad.

Diversified Technique - This technique is commonly used, with most chiropractors using the diversified method on all their patients. The diversified technique can help repair joint disfunction, restore spinal alignment, and ensure proper movement and mobility. Our chiropractors can restore a patient’s spinal alignment and increase range of motion using hands-on thrusts with the utmost precision

Extremity Manipulation Adjustment - Extremity adjustments involve the manipulation of joints in your body to restore and promote their smooth movement. Once achieved, they help your body mechanics, which refer to how you move as you go about your day. It includes how you hold your body as you stand, sit, lift, bend, carry, and sleep.

Cervical Spine Manipulation Adjustment - A neck adjustment (cervical manipulation) is a precise procedure meant to relieve neck muscle tension, treat headaches, and align your upper spine.

Spinal Manipulation Adjustment - Spinal Manipulation is a technique where practitioners use their hands or a device to apply a controlled thrust to a joint of your spine. The amount of force can vary, but the thrust moves the joint more than it would on its own. Spinal manipulation is different from spinal mobilization, which doesn’t involve a thrust, is performed within a joint’s natural range of motion, and can be controlled by the patient.

Activator Adjustment -The Activator Method chiropractic technique uses a spring-loaded, hand-held mechanical instrument called the Activator adjusting instrument. This instrument allows chiropractors to provide a quick, low-force impulse at specific points During a typical adjustment with the Activator instrument, the chiropractor applies the device to the tissues at or near the affected joint. An initial pressure is followed by a quick thrust from the device, which feels much like having one's reflex tested by tapping the knee. The Activator Method chiropractic technique involves multiple steps. A chiropractor or other health care professional may use all of the steps or may focus on only using the Activator instrument to adjust the spine. A typical treatment will be done while the patient lies face down on the adjustment table. The treatment typically begins with the lower back and progresses toward the head, targeting each vertebral segment individually. The chiropractor will evaluate the patient for signs and symptoms to identify the joints of the spine or the extremities that may be the source of complaints and amenable to treatment with the Activator instrument.

If you need an adjustment and you are looking to find long-lasting relief, talk with our dedicated chiropractor at Vitality Health Center by calling 651-773-9414.

Vitality Health Center serves patients in White Bear Lake, White Bear Township, Gem Lake, Little Canada, Vadnais Heights, Mahtomedi, Maplewood, North St. Paul, Shoreview, Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Woodbury, Arden Hills, North Oaks, Pine Springs, Grant and surrounding areas.