A Brief Overview of the Various Types of Chiropractic Treatments

Chiropractic Treatments

People with back pain often go to a walk-in chiropractor to seek relief from their back pain and similar neuromusculoskeletal issues. About 22 million Americas visit chiropractors annually. Most of them do so to find relief for various conditions as a result of accidents, muscle strains, and sports injuries.

Chiropractic Treatments

Chiropractic is the diagnosis and treatment of mis-alignments in the joints, especially in the spinal column. What makes it peculiar is that the procedure only uses manipulative treatment and other alternative methods to treat disorders involving the nerves, muscles, and bones.

Chiropractors properly align affected muscles and joints and leave the body to heal itself without any medication or surgery. Manipulation is used to bring back mobility to joints that have been limited by tissue, muscle or even skeletal injuries in some cases. If you’re considering spinal manipulation, consulting a chiropractor in Anchorage, AK, can be a great first step.

While it is a standalone treatment procedure it can also be combined with conventional medicine. Below is a list of some chiropractic treatment that chiropractors use in treating their patient:

Therapeutic stretches:

This treatment is commonly used for treating injured joints. It focuses on restoring the joints so that they can achieve their full range of motion again. This treatment is also called articulatory chiropractic treatment. It also helps to prevent some scar tissues from forming and prevents the occurrence of a new injury. To perform this treatment, the chiropractor moves the legs, arms and other joints of the patient slowly while applying mild force in the direction that the muscles will move when it is being used normally. This is continued until the patient can perform this exercise on their own.

Soft tissue manual therapy:

There are lots of soft tissue therapy that is done by chiropractors. As the name implies it is targeted especially at improving the functions of the soft tissues such as ligaments, muscles, joint capsules, and tendons. Active release techniques and Graston techniques are some of the popular techniques under this chiropractic treatment. Click here for 5 common chiropractic adjustment techniques and their applications.

Myofascial release treatment:

This treatment is for myofascial tissue; a layer of the membranes that cover and connect the muscles of the body. Myofascial release therapy is sometimes done when massaging the body. Trigger points are stiff areas in the myofascial tissues caused by stress and other things that lead to pain. Although pain may also be felt in other parts of the body asides the trigger points, the patient has to corporate with the chiropractor in discovering these places. This form of treatment is also important in cases when the trigger points further restrict the movements of muscles and joints preventing it from performing its normal function. During this treatment, some pressure is applied to these stiff areas to loosen them up, aid movement and reduce or eliminate pain.

Muscle energy treatment:

Muscle Energy Treatment

This treatment is a form of myofascial release. In muscle energy treatment, patient participation is of utmost importance. Its aims are the stiff areas of the body that have become trigger points that cause pain to the body. The treatment is done as the chiropractor applies counter pressure when the patient uses specific muscles, the process is repeated several times with a period of rest in between the treatment. The chiropractor's goal is that the treatment results in the complete range of motion by shifting position slightly after each rest period. Similar to myofascial release, this treatment also reduces pain and aids free movement. In addition to all these, it also aids blood flow to encourage flexibility and healing.

Spinal manipulation:

This treatment is also referred to as direct thrust techniques, its main focus is on the spine and it is also the most popular chiropractic treatment available. Misaligned spinal components cause restrictions in movement and also cause severe pain. To treat this, the chiropractor thrusts the misaligned spine swiftly with high-velocity and low-amplitude. This treatment always produces the cracking sound that everyone has come to be familiar with. This sound is not something to be alarmed about. It is simply as a result of escaping gas that is trapped in between joints. In this treatment, the chiropractor works with the patient to ensure that the right amount of pressure is applied so that the treatment reduces pain and supports health. Hands or a small instrument that is uniquely designed may be used to apply the pressure. Learn more about this popular chiropractic technique here.

5.Spinal mobilization:

For patients that require a gentler touch, especially patients with osteoporosis, spinal mobilization may be used in place of spinal manipulation. Both spinal manipulation and spinal mobilization achieve the aims of spinal alignment and the joints functioning at an optimal level. In this treatment, slow movements against thrust are used for proper spinal alignment and to ensure the proper functioning of the joints.

6.Functional treatment:

This treatment is majorly for joints; the treatment aims at aiding overall mobility which eliminates any form of restriction in the joints. To perform this treatment, chiropractors apply gentle force as the joint is moved in its usual range of motion. when performing this treatment, chiropractors pay attention to the patient's body to check for any form of restrictions in the joint. If any form of restriction is noticed, the chiropractor holds the joints at that point until there is a release, no more restriction. For this treatment to be performed effectively and also safely, not causing any form of harm, in-depth knowledge of the body's system and how it functions is needed.

Conclusion

There are so many types of chiropractic treatments that are available but each chiropractor focuses on a little percentage of the available chiropractic treatments. They master them well and use them for treating their patients.

Chiropractors also recommend lifestyle and diet modifications as a complementary therapy to patients because of their emphasis on health and balance. These complementary therapies support the success of chiropractic treatment.

Chiropractic treatment may be administered with regular forms of therapy although chiropractors themselves do not make use of drugs or surgery. They may, however, refer patients to regular health care providers for additional or supplementary treatment if there is a need for it.

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