Modalities and Physical Therapy

Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is the use of ice to reduce the temperature of tissues below the surface of the skin. Cooling the skin’s surface constricts the blood vessels, numbs painful areas, and helps relax muscle spasms. Cold reduces nerve transmission and provides temporary pain relief. Ice is most often used to manage acute injuries or acute flare-ups of a chronic condition. Cooling the injured tissues is effective in reducing and preventing inflammation. Ice should be applied to the injured area several times a day during the initial stages of an injury.
Benefits of ice:

Helps reduce swelling and inflammation
Numbs affected area to reduce pain
Reduces muscle spasms
Inexpensive and can be self-applied

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Heat
Superficial heat is used to help raise the temperature of the soft tissue directly below the surface of the skin. Heat enlarges the blood vessels below the skin’s surface, relaxes tissues and can temporarily relieve pain. Heat helps to relax muscles in spasm and to temporarily relieve the symptoms associated with chronic pain and muscle tightness. Using heat on tissues experiencing long term spasm or irritation is an easy way to increase flexibility, range of motion, and promote increased circulation to speed the healing process.
Benefits of heat:

Helps increase circulation
Decreases muscle tension
Reduces joint stiffness
Prepares tissues for rehabilitation
Inexpensive and widely available

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Myofascial Release Therapy
Myofascial release is one of the treatments used when dealing with the muscular component to an injury. It is also used in the treatment of trigger points, which are areas of increased neurologic activity in muscle tissue that can cause secondary referral of pain. Fascia is the interwoven connective tissue that surrounds the muscles and internal organs. Fascia shrinks when it is inflamed, is slow to heal because of poor blood supply, and painful when inflamed because of its rich nerve supply. Myofascial restrictions occur when the fascia is disrupted or stretched by an injury, no matter how minor. Myofascial release removes restrictions that impede movement.
Benefits of Myofascial Release:

Increase flexibility and range of motion
Eliminate trigger points and associated pain referral
Relieve nerve compression or entrapment
Restore postural alignment
Stimulate blood flow to aid in toxin removal and muscle nourishment
Decrease scar tissue

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Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a treatment modality used by a wide range of health care specialists. Sound penetrates solids very well and so does ultrasound. This means it can penetrate below the skin surface into injured tissues, such as an inflamed tendon, and can dissipate its energy as heat to help speed the healing process. The benefits of heat from ultrasound include promotion of muscle relaxation, increased local metabolism, reduction of pain by sedating nerve endings, and it helps reabsorb blood or lymph that has escaped into surrounding tissue due to injury. Ultrasound waves also have non-thermal benefits resulting from the vibration of molecules within the tissue. These effects include increases in the flexibility of connective tissues such as joint capsules, ligaments, and tendons. It helps break up adhesions and scar tissue, and there is an increase in cellular membrane permeability that helps to accelerate healing. Ultrasound can also stimulate the growth of new collagen, which means it can help rebuild injured tissues.

Electrical Stimulation
Electrical stimulation uses an electrical current to cause a single muscle or a group of muscles to contract. By placing electrodes on the skin in various locations, contraction of the appropriate muscle fibers takes place. The intensity of the current can be adjusted to allow for a forceful or gentle muscle contraction. Electrical stimulation can maintain the health of the muscle by promoting an increase in blood flow, providing nutrients to the soft tissue. It decreases fibrotic changes, strengthens healthy muscle, helps prevent or reverse disuse atrophy, maintains or improves mobility and can promote peripheral circulation. There is also a relaxing effect that occurs as the muscle being contracted fatigues. There are various types of electrical stimulation in use today and the type used and its specific application will depend on the condition being treated.

TENS Units
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a type of nerve stimulation designed to control pain. TENS units vary in their ability to control parameter ranges of amplitude, frequency and pulse width. The units are small; battery powered, and light weight. They are designed to provide sensory and not motor stimulation. This is important to note when using TENS units because motor stimulation will initiate or produce muscle contractions in cases of severe pain that may aggravate the condition. Electrodes are placed in specific locations on the skin surrounding the area of pain and are connected to the TENS unit. TENS units are designed to be used at home, as part of a comprehensive treatment program designed for pain management.

Traction
Traction is the therapeutic use of manual or mechanical tension created by a pulling force to produce a combination of distraction and gliding to relieve pain and increase tissue flexibility. Indications for traction therapy include, but are not limited to, extremity pain or tingling that is temporarily relieved with manual traction, spinal nerve root impediment due to a bulging, herniated or protruding disc, decreased sensation that temporarily improves with manual traction, increased muscle tone that is reduced with manual traction, muscle spasms that are causing nerve root impingement and general hypo-mobility of the lumbar or cervical spinal region.
Benefits of Traction:

Separates and stretches spinal segments and/or extra-spinal joint surfaces
Relieves the effects of compression on articular surfaces that are due to muscle spasm or other compressive factors
Reduces the circumference of the intervertebral discs and thus aids in restoring its position to one that allows for normal biomechanics
Relieves the compression effects of foraminal distortion, as with nerve root encroachment
Promotes distraction and gliding of joint facets
Relieves muscle spasm
Dissipates edema or congestion in an area, especially when applied intermittently
Stretches fibrotic tissues and breaks adhesions
Triggers proprioceptive reflexes
Temporarily immobilizes or splints parts

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Therapeutic Exercise
Therapeutic exercise incorporates a broad range of activities intended to improve strength and flexibility, increase range of motion and functional capacity, and can improve cardiovascular fitness. It will help restrengthen muscles and other soft tissues following injury and will decrease the potential for recurrence. If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, sports injury, or just through every day activities, it is essential that you begin an active, structured exercise regimen as soon as possible to decrease the likelihood of future complications due to the injury.

Exercise is one of my first recommendations when it comes to health and longevity. This is primarily due to the many "anti-aging" effects exercise provides. Many people believe that weight gain, weakness and stiffness are inevitable with age. However, there is plenty of research indicating that much of the decline attributed to aging can actually be attributed to sedentary lifestyles and that regular exercise will help people remain healthy and independent well into their later years. In fact, people who are physicall fit, eat a healthy, balanced diet and take nutritional supplements can present with biological ages of 10 to 20 years younger than their true chronological age. Not quite the fountain of youth, but who wouldn't like to look and feel 10 to 20 years younger!

Whether or not you were physically active in the past is irrelevant to the present. The sooner you begin exercising, the sooner you will begin to receive the innumerable health-related benefits of exercise.



		Home Biography FAQ's Why See Me? Spinal Decompression Blood Chemistry & Nutritional Analysis Modalities/ Physical Therapy Testimonies Contact Me		Modalities and Physical Therapy To aid in the treatment of neuromuscular and musculoskeletal injuries and conditions it is often beneficial to utilize physiotherapy modalities in conjunction with spinal manipulation. There are many different forms of modalities in use today for the treatment of acute and chronic injury. A few of the most commonly used are listed and their benefits explained to help in understanding when and why they are used. This information is not intended to be medical advice. If you have an injury, or other condition you are looking to treat, you should consult your health care provider. Cryotherapy Heat Myofascial Release Therapy Ultrasound Electrical Stimulation TENS Units Traction Therapeutic Exercise

				Cryotherapy Cryotherapy is the use of ice to reduce the temperature of tissues below the surface of the skin. Cooling the skin’s surface constricts the blood vessels, numbs painful areas, and helps relax muscle spasms. Cold reduces nerve transmission and provides temporary pain relief. Ice is most often used to manage acute injuries or acute flare-ups of a chronic condition. Cooling the injured tissues is effective in reducing and preventing inflammation. Ice should be applied to the injured area several times a day during the initial stages of an injury. Benefits of ice: Helps reduce swelling and inflammation Numbs affected area to reduce pain Reduces muscle spasms Inexpensive and can be self-applied Return to top Heat Superficial heat is used to help raise the temperature of the soft tissue directly below the surface of the skin. Heat enlarges the blood vessels below the skin’s surface, relaxes tissues and can temporarily relieve pain. Heat helps to relax muscles in spasm and to temporarily relieve the symptoms associated with chronic pain and muscle tightness. Using heat on tissues experiencing long term spasm or irritation is an easy way to increase flexibility, range of motion, and promote increased circulation to speed the healing process. Benefits of heat: Helps increase circulation Decreases muscle tension Reduces joint stiffness Prepares tissues for rehabilitation Inexpensive and widely available Return to top Myofascial Release Therapy Myofascial release is one of the treatments used when dealing with the muscular component to an injury. It is also used in the treatment of trigger points, which are areas of increased neurologic activity in muscle tissue that can cause secondary referral of pain. Fascia is the interwoven connective tissue that surrounds the muscles and internal organs. Fascia shrinks when it is inflamed, is slow to heal because of poor blood supply, and painful when inflamed because of its rich nerve supply. Myofascial restrictions occur when the fascia is disrupted or stretched by an injury, no matter how minor. Myofascial release removes restrictions that impede movement. Benefits of Myofascial Release: Increase flexibility and range of motion Eliminate trigger points and associated pain referral Relieve nerve compression or entrapment Restore postural alignment Stimulate blood flow to aid in toxin removal and muscle nourishment Decrease scar tissue Return to top Ultrasound Ultrasound is a treatment modality used by a wide range of health care specialists. Sound penetrates solids very well and so does ultrasound. This means it can penetrate below the skin surface into injured tissues, such as an inflamed tendon, and can dissipate its energy as heat to help speed the healing process. The benefits of heat from ultrasound include promotion of muscle relaxation, increased local metabolism, reduction of pain by sedating nerve endings, and it helps reabsorb blood or lymph that has escaped into surrounding tissue due to injury. Ultrasound waves also have non-thermal benefits resulting from the vibration of molecules within the tissue. These effects include increases in the flexibility of connective tissues such as joint capsules, ligaments, and tendons. It helps break up adhesions and scar tissue, and there is an increase in cellular membrane permeability that helps to accelerate healing. Ultrasound can also stimulate the growth of new collagen, which means it can help rebuild injured tissues. Return to top Electrical Stimulation Electrical stimulation uses an electrical current to cause a single muscle or a group of muscles to contract. By placing electrodes on the skin in various locations, contraction of the appropriate muscle fibers takes place. The intensity of the current can be adjusted to allow for a forceful or gentle muscle contraction. Electrical stimulation can maintain the health of the muscle by promoting an increase in blood flow, providing nutrients to the soft tissue. It decreases fibrotic changes, strengthens healthy muscle, helps prevent or reverse disuse atrophy, maintains or improves mobility and can promote peripheral circulation. There is also a relaxing effect that occurs as the muscle being contracted fatigues. There are various types of electrical stimulation in use today and the type used and its specific application will depend on the condition being treated. Return to top TENS Units Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a type of nerve stimulation designed to control pain. TENS units vary in their ability to control parameter ranges of amplitude, frequency and pulse width. The units are small; battery powered, and light weight. They are designed to provide sensory and not motor stimulation. This is important to note when using TENS units because motor stimulation will initiate or produce muscle contractions in cases of severe pain that may aggravate the condition. Electrodes are placed in specific locations on the skin surrounding the area of pain and are connected to the TENS unit. TENS units are designed to be used at home, as part of a comprehensive treatment program designed for pain management. Return to top Traction Traction is the therapeutic use of manual or mechanical tension created by a pulling force to produce a combination of distraction and gliding to relieve pain and increase tissue flexibility. Indications for traction therapy include, but are not limited to, extremity pain or tingling that is temporarily relieved with manual traction, spinal nerve root impediment due to a bulging, herniated or protruding disc, decreased sensation that temporarily improves with manual traction, increased muscle tone that is reduced with manual traction, muscle spasms that are causing nerve root impingement and general hypo-mobility of the lumbar or cervical spinal region. Benefits of Traction: Separates and stretches spinal segments and/or extra-spinal joint surfaces Relieves the effects of compression on articular surfaces that are due to muscle spasm or other compressive factors Reduces the circumference of the intervertebral discs and thus aids in restoring its position to one that allows for normal biomechanics Relieves the compression effects of foraminal distortion, as with nerve root encroachment Promotes distraction and gliding of joint facets Relieves muscle spasm Dissipates edema or congestion in an area, especially when applied intermittently Stretches fibrotic tissues and breaks adhesions Triggers proprioceptive reflexes Temporarily immobilizes or splints parts Return to top Therapeutic Exercise Therapeutic exercise incorporates a broad range of activities intended to improve strength and flexibility, increase range of motion and functional capacity, and can improve cardiovascular fitness. It will help restrengthen muscles and other soft tissues following injury and will decrease the potential for recurrence. If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, sports injury, or just through every day activities, it is essential that you begin an active, structured exercise regimen as soon as possible to decrease the likelihood of future complications due to the injury. Exercise is one of my first recommendations when it comes to health and longevity. This is primarily due to the many "anti-aging" effects exercise provides. Many people believe that weight gain, weakness and stiffness are inevitable with age. However, there is plenty of research indicating that much of the decline attributed to aging can actually be attributed to sedentary lifestyles and that regular exercise will help people remain healthy and independent well into their later years. In fact, people who are physicall fit, eat a healthy, balanced diet and take nutritional supplements can present with biological ages of 10 to 20 years younger than their true chronological age. Not quite the fountain of youth, but who wouldn't like to look and feel 10 to 20 years younger! Whether or not you were physically active in the past is irrelevant to the present. The sooner you begin exercising, the sooner you will begin to receive the innumerable health-related benefits of exercise.

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