Chiropractors are a regulated healthcare profession of primary health care practitioners.
Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, hands-on health care discipline that focuses on the diagnosis, management and prevention of musculoskeletal conditions, addressing what’s causing your pain, not just your symptoms.
What is chiropractic care?
Chiropractors practice a non-invasive, hands-on therapy, providing diagnosis, treatment and preventive care for conditions related to the spine, joints, pelvis and nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health.
Although chiropractors use their hands for most treatments, they may also use other methods such as specialized adjusting instruments (Activator methods), electrical modalities (IFC), heat, and personalized exercise programs.
Chiropractic treatment works because it treats what’s causing your pain, not just your symptoms.
The treatment your chiropractor provides is not only for pain relief. Periodic chiropractic check-ups help to catch problems early and reduce the chance of flare-ups. Preventive care is a proactive approach to managing the effects of your activities of daily living on your muscles and joints, allowing your body to function at its fullest potential.
How can chiropractic care help you?
There are many reasons to seek chiropractic care in Milton Ontario. Here are some of the most common reasons why almost 2 million patients in Ontario visit a chiropractor each year to help them live healthy, active lives:
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Headache
- Foot pain/ plantar fasciitis
- TMJ pain
- Sciatica
- Pregnancy related back and hip pain
- Sprains & Strains
- Sports injuries
- General health and well-being
Chiropractic adjustments and joint mobilizations
Stressors in our day-to-day life can affect the joints in our spine, and result in decreased mobility in those joints. When this occurs, it can affect many things in your body, most notably your nerves and muscles, leading to pain, decreased mobility, muscle tightness, and muscle spasm.
A manual chiropractic adjustment is a gentle, hands-on maneuver where a controlled and directed pressure is applied to the affected joints to restore proper joint motion and improve function. This allows for decreased muscle tension and increased range of motion.
Dr. Lett utilizes a variety of treatment techniques, including Diversified chiropractic adjustments (Manual adjustments), and low force adjustment techniques (Activator adjustment).
The diversified adjusting technique is the most widely used chiropractic method, and is the form of treatment that most people associate with chiropractic.
Instrument assisted adjusting technique uses a handheld instrument ( Activator) that delivers a quick, gentle force to deliver the adjustment. The impulse is low force, and is safe and effective for a wide variety of patients. Children, pregnant women, elderly patients and athletes can all benefit from this technique.
Other techniques such as gentle low force mobilizations are also utilized.
All techniques and procedures are based on the patient’s age, health problems and individual needs, and care is adapted to the individual patient.
Myofascial release therapy
Myofascial Release Therapy is a form of soft tissue therapy that breaks down scar tissue or adhesions. This allows for increased freedom of movement of your muscles, therefore restoring normal motion and flexibility.
This form of therapy can help improve range of motion, decrease pain, and ultimately aid in the restoration of proper motion and function.
Benefits include:
- Decreased muscle tightness
- Decreased pain and tension
- Improved flexibility
- Improved joint function and stability
- Improved postural alignment and function
Pregnancy and Chiropractic
There are many different reasons why women chose to visit a chiropractor during their pregnancy. About half of all expectant mothers will develop low back pain at some point during their pregnancy.
The growth of the baby in your abdomen results in numerous biomechanical, and postural changes, resulting in increased pressure on the joints in your low back, and increased tension in the low back muscles.
The care your chiropractor will provide during pregnancy is gentle, and techniques are used that avoid unneeded pressure on the abdomen. By releasing tension in tight muscles, and mobilizing restricted spinal joints, pregnancy-related back pain can be decreased.
Chiropractic for young athletes and kids
Like adults, children are prone to typical wear and tear on their bodies.
If your child participates in organized sports, it is likely that they are going through training sessions that are hard on their bodies.
Drills involve repetitive physical tasks that can ultimately affect proper joint motion and flexibility. Having your child assessed for proper joint motion and muscle balance can help reduce the chance of injury, and also improve recovery time after an injury.
The role of chiropractic for young athletes is to keep their bodies moving and operating at an optimal level. This can also help with stability, balance and coordination as the body is better able to function without having to compensate for restricted joint movement.
Adjustment techniques used for kids often involve the use of a hand-held instrument (Activator ) which offers gentle correction.
