Articles
YOUR HEALTH and soft tissue therapy
Dr. Sarah Simison - BHK, DC
What are some other techniques my chiropractor may use to help treat me?
When tissues are injured in acute trauma or chronic strain from overuse they become tight and stiff. This stiffness is often the cause of your pain, and contributes to restricting the proper movement function of the surrounding joints. When injured, scar tissue builds up around theses tissues which binds them together creating pain, inflammation, and reduced mobility. This leads to improper muscle function and chronic issues.
Active Release Technique® (ART)
Active Release Technique® is a manual therapy that specifically targets the muscles and the fascia that surrounds them by breaking up the scar tissue adhesions and allowing muscles to function properly once more. The Doctor will use her hands to isolate specific muscles, and while applying tension to those muscles, elongate the muscle, breaking up the build-up of scar tissue. The effects are long lasting and often felt after only a few treatments. For more information, see http://www.activerelease.com/what_patients.asp.
Graston® Technique
Graston Technique targets muscles and ligaments using surgical grade stainless steel instruments with treatment goals similar to those of ART®. The stainless steel resonates in the Doctor’s hands indicating areas of increased scar tissue and fascial adhesions. This indicates areas in which treatment will provide optimal results. The different instruments contour to different shapes of body parts and allow the Doctor to target deeper tissues and scar tissue build up. For more information, see http://grastontechnique.com/AboutUs.html.
What is Contemporary Medical Acupuncture?
Medical acupuncture targets nerves in order to reduce pain, stiffness, and dysfunction. Medical acupuncture has many effects; The needle stimulus interrupts the transmission of pain from the injury site to the brain; it stimulates healing at the injury site by stimulating the nervous system to release specific pain controlling and anti-inflammatory chemicals; relaxes muscle spasm by fatiguing the muscle through the electrical stimulation of the specific muscle; and increases circulation at the injury site which helps to decrease inflammation at the site of injury. For more information, see http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/acupuncture/C_MA_Course/index.html#intro.
For more information or to book your chiropractic appointment, please call or email the clinic.