How Can Muscle Treatments Help?
My background in athletic training and kinesiology has given me the knowledge to work on balancing muscles to make a treatment more successful.
Because of the muscle work that I do, patients often report that their adjustments are more comfortable, that they feel more relief directly after a treatment, and that they have longer lasting results. The most successful chiropractic treatment is one that addresses the whole body - muscles, bones, and all. One of the most frequently asked questions from a patient is, "So is my problem muscular or skeletal?" My answer, "Yes."
Let's explore the relationship between muscles and bones a little more by starting with the basics.
What is a muscle?
A muscle is a band of fibrous tissue inside your body. Muscles are attached to bones via a tendon. Muscles have the ability to contract, producing movement in or maintaining the position of parts of the body, aka your bones. Simply put, muscles make bones move.
Logically we can conclude that it is much more effective to treat both the muscular AND the skeletal system. You can not isolate any one system or issue because the whole body is a synergistic unit. You could receive a neck adjustment every day for the next 4 weeks, but if the muscles are neglected and unbalanced, the problem will most likely never fully resolve. Which leads to the next point. A problem with your lower back could be originating from a misaligned (chiropractic term: subluxated) area in your neck. You may be asking, "how is this possible?" The answer: fascia.
So what is fascia?
Fascia is a sheet of connective tissue that runs from your head to your toes, and is an all-encompassing, interwoven system of fibrous connective tissue found throughout the body. In simpler terms, it is tissue that is found around your muscles and connects your head to your toes. Did you catch that? Your head is literally connected to your toes.
Why is it so often that we go in to a doctor's office for a problem, and only that problem is addressed?
Science has proven that EVERYTHING in your body is connected in some way. As your chiropractic physician, it is my duty not to put blinders on and ignore the rest of your body. If you come in for a low back issue, I will evaluate you head to toe. To receive the best outcome, it is essential for us to stand back and look at your body as a whole; thus the term we use so often, "wholistic healthcare."
