Probably the number one bad rap on
Chiropractic is from patients who seemingly need to continue care for a
lifetime. Many people have chronic and
reoccurring neck, back and other joint problems that seem to respond well to
Chiropractic care, but unfortunately continue to reoccur over and over like a
chronic ankle strain that just never goes away.
Traditional practices of
Chiropractic utilize the primary technique of adjustments along with various
physical therapeutic agents such as ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation,
diathermy, traction, and others. While
there are differences in philosophies of Chiropractic and different adjusting
styles, I believe that this general overview of traditional Chiropractic will
hold true. My Chiropractic practice
includes manual adjusting as a primary tool, but I no longer rely on the
therapies mentioned because I do not believe they provide a long-term
therapeutic benefit that ‘fixes’ muscle weakness and imbalance.
I have found that muscle weakness
from injury is grossly overlooked and is a “missing link” to the structural
stability of the joints. Muscles move
bones and are the primary stabilizers of the joints. It makes no sense to
adjust the joints of the body without evaluating and fixing muscle weaknesses
that leaves the joints unsupported. As
I have observed my patients over the past few years, it has become very
apparent that time does not fix these muscle strains. Also, exercise and/or stretching does not fix these muscles any
more than the various physical therapeutic modalities mentioned above.
My current practice of Chiropractic
includes the very specialized “tool” of Applied Kinesiology (AK). Kinesiology is simply the study of movement
of muscles, and is taught to people studying to be athletic trainers, coaches
and PhyEd teachers. This level of
kinesiology shows the anatomical features of muscles with the origin, insertion,
and also the action of the muscles to allow us to isolate the muscles and test
them individually.
“Applied” Kinesiology is taught to
licensed health care providers, and shows us how to apply the knowledge
regarding the muscles to determine why muscles may be not properly supporting
the joints. When muscles are found to be weak/imbalanced, practitioners of AK
can find the factors involved with the muscle weakness, whether it is a problem
with the nerve communication to the muscle from spinal misalignment
(subluxation), muscle weakness from injury or other factors.
When muscle injury has occurred, the
muscles are affected deep, at the level of the individual muscle fibers.
Applied Kinesiologists have found that specific deep tissue techniques reset
muscle strength very quickly, effectively and efficiently. When patients see immediate improvement of
range of motion and reduced pain, they are quickly convinced that something
very good is happening.
I find muscle weakness involved with
most structural problems of the body whether it is a shoulder injury, a back or
neck problem, or any other joint problem.
When the supporting muscles are ‘fixed’ with these techniques, chronic,
reoccurring joint problems are relatively uncommon. All injuries have this scenario in common. Some injuries are merely more or less
complex than others.
Because of the effectiveness of our
work, we are restoring health and function of the body most effectively and
efficiently; even helping individuals who have suffered “permanent” injuries.
To fix those injured muscles makes all the difference in the world. With the current emphasis on measuring
outcomes, results are rightly the most important final answer.
No technique gets better outcomes
than those we are achieving. Period!