What Techniques Does Our Chiropractor Use?

27 Jan 2020

At Natural Choice Medical Clinic, we pride ourselves on using a variety of contemporary alternative therapies to provide our patients will a personalized, holistic healthcare experience.

Each practitioner at our clinic also has their own set of skills and tools that they utilize to provide an evidence-informed treatment plan.

Dr. Danny Dulay, DC, utilizes a variety of treatment modalities that stem far beyond the typical chiropractic adjustments. Read on to learn about some of the more common techniques he employs in his practice.

Acupuncture

Chiropractors are able to use acupuncture as an effective tool to help manage pain and to restore function during treatments. Chiropractors can use both dry needling techniques as well as electro-acupuncture techniques. Acupuncture works through a number of mechanisms:

1. Blood flow: acupuncture results in improved blood flow to the local area of treatment (i.e., where the acupuncture was performed)
2. Muscle relaxation: dry needling at a trigger point can help decrease the tension within that muscle by resetting the stretch receptors through a muscle twitch response
3. Inhibition of pain: electroacupuncture uses electrical impulses at a certain frequency to  inhibit the signal sent through the pain pathways of the nervous system (specifically the c-fibres)
4. Re-integration of motor function: electroacupuncture promotes improved motor function by creating a better neurological connection with the tissue being stimulated

Soft Tissue Therapy

Chiropractors use a variety of soft tissue therapies throughout a treatment plan for a number of reasons. The main reason that soft tissue therapy is an effective treatment option is because it exploits the two primary drivers of tissue re-modelling: force and direction. By providing certain forces, in specific directions, chiropractors can help influence the environment in which the cells are re-modelling tissue. This directs the connective tissue to allow movements to occur in a pain-free manner, and helps to improve the range of motion that is available within the tissue. 

Manipulations

Spinal and extremity manipulations were once the cornerstone of the chiropractic profession – something that set us apart from all other manual health-care practitioners. However, in the current evolution of the profession, spinal manipulation has become just another tool in the chiropractors toolbox. Although manipulations may not be used by evidence-based chiropractors as they historically were, that doesn’t mean that they are not an effective treatment tool when warranted. Manipulations are great tools to create sensory changes within the nervous system. Spinal manipulation has been shown to improve joint mechanics by stimulating receptors within the muscles that surround the joint. In addition, spinal manipulation has been shown to inhibit certain nerve fibres (C fibres) which deliver information about nociceptive (painful) stimuli to the brain. In more basic terms, spinal manipulations can help decrease the pain response and improves the function of the tissues in the surrounding areas by creating short-term sensory changes.

If you’re interested in how acupuncture, soft tissue therapy or spinal manipulative therapy could help you reduce pain and improve function after an injury, feel free to reach out to us and we would be happy to help answer any questions!

Remember, there is no one modality that is the best for everyone but when used in a comprehensive treatment plan alongside active intervention, each individual modality can have a positive influence on the time and extent of your rehab!

Dr. Danny Dulay