Chiropractors Use Multiple Methods And Tools To Treat Patients

Customarily known as "back crackers," today's chiropractors have added additional equipment to their treatment kit. Hands-on vertebral manipulation is still an important part of their repertoire, but it is now joined by various other therapies including electrical stimulation, ultrasound and laser, to help patients with injuries or chronic pain.

There are many reasons to visit a doctor of chiropractic, though we typically think of lower back pain relief. Chiropractors are becoming increasingly the doctor we think about when dealing with sports injuries, arthritis, auto accident injuries, recurring headaches, or neck pain that doesn't want to go away.

Basically, chiropractors' treatment goals are to realign spinal structure; alleviate inflammation and to restore homeostasis, or balance, to the circulation of vital fluids, such as lymph and blood. With correct alignment, the body is able to remedy properly and much more quickly. Depending on an individual patient's injury and lifestyle, a chiropractor will call into play spinal realignment, therapeutic massage, and/or various forms of electrical and laser treatments.

With electrical muscle stimulation, electrodes are placed directly on the skin over trouble spots. Various levels of current can be used to boost blood circulation to the injury - which will in turn, reduce pain, swelling and inflammation. Varieties of this treatment modality include:

• Interferential current -two separate frequencies that work together to stimulate the large impulse nerve fibers. The idea is to "close the gate" on the pain messages to the brain and spinal cord.

• Micro current uses a gentle current to "amplify" the body's own impulses to reduce pain.

• Russian stimulation - originally developed for the Russian Olympic team for muscle mass augmentation, this electrical "steroid" uses medium strength frequencies to strengthen injured muscles and reduce spasms.

• Biphasic is a machine-delivered therapy that features two levels of energy pulses, depending on the patient's condition.

Another treatment is the use of ultrasound - a deep heat therapy intended to reduce swelling and help control pain. The sound waves, which can be pulsed or continual, act as micro-massagers for the body. The goal is to enhance circulation of blood to the injured area.

Cold laser therapy is just what it sounds like - a low level (or cold) laser treatment that acts at the cellular level to encourage the body's output of healing energy. The process works much like acupuncture using the same pressure points that correlate to different parts of the anatomy - but of course, there are no tiny needles injected into the skin.

It is good to know that today's chiropractor always does a complete physical and verbal evaluation of each patient before beginning treatment. A complete evaluation will include an individual's health history, x-rays where determined appropriate, lifestyle, expectations, and specific needs. Often, a treatment plan will run the gamut from therapeutic massage and alignment to appropriate electrical stimulation and more.