-About Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a health care discipline which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. It is concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the nervous system and on general health. There is an emphasis on manual treatments, including spinal manipulation. The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. In addition , chiropractic physicians recognize the value and responsibility of working in cooperation with other health care practitioners when it is in the best interest of the patient.

In the human body, the spine supports the weight applied to it by gravity, and protects the nerves that carry messages between the brain and body. The spine is flexible so that you may stretch, twist and bend. A healthy spine supports your weight and protects your nerves while letting you move easily throughout the day

The spine is made up of bones called vertebrae. These bones stack one on top of the other, and protect your spinal cord and nerves and allow you to move.

Discs hold and cushion the vertebrae and absorb shock as you move, allowing for motion and spacing between the vertebrae so that nerves may pass freely from the spinal cord to the muscles and organs of the body.

Muscles allow you to move, and hold up and attach to your spine. If muscles are strong and flexible, they can better keep your vertebrae and discs in line. If they are tight and restricted they can pull on the vertebrae, causing them to become misaligned and press on discs and interfere with proper nerve flow, causing pain stiffness and weakness. Ligaments are strong cable like tissues that connect and support the vertebrae.

Years of stress and too much use and abuse can cause your spine to degenerate, or simply, wear out. Joint inflammation known as arthritis may result. Joints may lose alignment and discs can wear down, and you may start to feel pain and stiffness.

A spinal joint is where two vertebrae meet. Poor posture, strain, and injury can push a joint out of line, and vertebrae become restricted, and don't move as they should. Discs and muscles can become stressed, and nerves may be pinched and irritated.


With repeated stress, and with aging, a disc wears down. A disc begins to dehydrate and degenerate when one reaches their 30's, and continues to degenerate with repetitive motions and age, making it weaker and more susceptible to injury and/or displacement. Bone spurs may develop, and muscles and other soft tissues may stretch unevenly. Nerves may become irritated and painful.

If the disc thins further, or if muscles attaching to the vertebrae become tight and pull them out of alignment, nerves may become pinched. Pain may become severe, and your ability to move may be greatly reduced. ** Picture ******

Another syndrome that may affect spinal health is facet syndrome, whereby a facet, i.e. a joint where two vertebrae meet, may become misaligned or locked out of place. This can be due to an injury, often while lifting, bad posture, or other causes. Symptoms may include soreness and stiffness in your back or neck. The pain may feel worse when you twist, rotate, or bend backward.

The sacroiliac joints are where your hipbones join your low back at your pelvis. These joints may commonly become strained and lock out of alignment, causing strain to the many muscles which attach to the pelvis and forcing them to tighten up, this affecting your low back or lower extremities, sometimes causing a condition known as sciatica, commonly presenting as a discomfort that travels from your low back down into your buttocks, legs, and occasionally past your knees and into your feet. Other times the sacroiliac may cause a sharp pain in either hip.

Common treatment for these and other conditions include the use of physical therapy modalities to loosen up and relax musculature that is associated with the restrictions or misalignment of the joints of the spine or other areas, followed in many cases by an adjustment in which these joints are carefully manipulated to move them back into proper alignment. This is more often than not a gentle and painless procedure, and usually a patient will notice some degree of improvement immediately or later that day.

-About Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a very effective treatment for many conditions, acute or chronic, and often works in cases where other treatment methods have failed. It can be used for a variety of purposes, including addictions, headaches, and most commonly for pain control.

When inserted into specific areas of the body, acupuncture needles promote circulation and release natural pain relievers called endorphins which help to calm and to promote relaxation. They also send signals to the brain via nerve fibers which travel more quickly than pain fibers, allowing the brain to process the signal from the treatment and stave off pain. In addition, when muscles are in spasm due to knots or trigger points which are too tender to treat with other methods, acupuncture can provide a more gradual and painless release of these areas.

Acupuncture needles are very thin, as opposed to needles commonly used to draw blood, or give injections, which are hollow and large and painful when inserted into the skin. Most often, one will not even feel the needles when inserted, occasionally it will feel like a slight pinch and will go away as quickly as it is felt.

- About trigger point therapy

Trigger points are focused areas of hyperirritability in muscles that, when compressed, are locally tender. They are commonly referred to as knots in the muscle because that's exactly what they feel like.

If these trigger points are sufficiently sensitive, they may give rise to referred pain and tenderness, including headaches arising from muscular tightness in the neck and shoulder areas. These trigger points are present in everyone, and are most common in the shoulders, where most of us carry our stress. They may be present without causing any discomfort, but may become activated if a muscle remains in a shortened position for an extended period of time, such as when sleeping, or if the muscle in which they are found is repetitively strained by being held for extended periods of time in the same position, such as typing, or cradling a phone to one side. They can also become activated when chilled by a cold draft, air conditioning, or if the person is fatigued or suffering from post exercise stiffness. They can also be activated by a viral illness, which explains many of the aches and pains commonly suffered along with flu and chronic viral infections.

When a trigger point becomes active the body will normally brace against pain by adopting "guarding habits" which limit motion and ward off pain. These habits lead to recurrent or chronic episodes of pain that are more dull than acute, accompanied by stiffness and dysfunction of the muscles involved. Eventually such muscles become weakened, even atrophied from disuse, and one will report difficulty with certain movements or simply turning the head.

- Massage Therapy

Our massage therapists are certified.

Some benefits of massage therapy include reduction of muscle tension, pain, stress, and anxiety, through increased circulation and elimination of toxins. Often massage therapy works hand in hand with other treatment plans.

- Other services

In addition to services described we offer the following:

-EKG
-Addiction therapy utilizing acupuncture for weight loss, smoking cessation, other addictive behavior.
-Custom foot orthotics, shoe inserts
-Gift certificates, good for any services
-Nutritional supplements
-Basic lab work

We are also available for on site calls to your office, home or venue.