Chiropractors are doctors that diagnose and treat patients who have issues that relate to their musculoskeletal system. Chiropractic care is considered, by the medical community, to be an alternative form of medicine. Chiropractors do not provide traditional means of care. They do not prescribe drugs nor do they provide surgical care. In fact, their approach to health and healing is quite different than traditional medicine. Chiropractors approach care by focusing on the patient’s overall health and well being. Chiropractor’s main plan of treatment is through spinal manipulation. Many chiropractors are also experts in nutrition and overall health and can recommend specific diets, supplements, certain therapeutic exercises and more to go along with your treatment plan.
Many people each year visit a chiropractor for extremity pain, complaining about issues related to knees, elbows, hips, wrists, shoulders, ankles and so on. There are numerous causes for extremity pain ranging from repetitive motion, falls, playing sports, improper sitting, overexertion or simply just gradual buildup of biomechanical stress. Commonly, people with extremity issues are diagnosed as having tennis elbow, heal spurs, carpal tunnel syndrome, runner’s knee, frozen shoulder, arch collapse and more. Traditional medical treatment for such conditions can range from pain medication to muscle relaxants to steroids or as a last resort surgery. Many people do not like these options, and instead will look for alternative treatment options, including chiropractic care.
When you suffer an injury to one of your extremities in can be downright painful. Not to mention, that you more often than not will also have a slew of other not so pleasant symptoms. These can include reduced range of motion, inflammation, calcium buildup and even scar tissue. Good Chiropractic care, with a focus on therapy to the extremities can help to greatly improve the range of motion to the joints, enhance blood circulation to the area and reduce scar tissue. Overall, chiropractic care can shorten the healing time without the use of drugs, steroids or surgery.
When you first visit a chiropractor for extremity pain, they will exam you, try to determine the cause of the injury, offer treatment options and then work with you to determine a plan of action. Most often the treatment plan will consist of spinal manipulations along with other treatments like heat therapy, massage, hot and cold therapy and a variety of active range of motion exercises that you will be asked to do at home. The chiropractor, when developing your treatment plan, will take into consideration such things as your age, lifestyle and any other current health conditions. At the beginning of your treatment you may need to visit your chiropractor a couple of times a week and then gradually decrease your visits as you begin to see improvement.
If you have extremity pain in your ankles or knees, for example, the chiropractor may also recommend and prescribe custom made stabilizing orthotics. Many issues that people have with joints and even back pain can be caused from foot pronation. For many people, spinal manipulations in conjunction with stabilizing orthotics and some corrective exercises can completely eliminate lower joint extremity pain.
Chiropractors very often, will also offer a variety of other services to patients who are interested. Many chiropractors, in addition to spinal manipulations, orthotics, therapeutic exercises, and so on also provide consultations on dietary and healthy lifestyle issues. Many will provide individual or group consolations, focusing on different areas of your overall health and well being. Some provide individual plans to help you lose and maintain a healthy weight. Many chiropractors will also offer a variety of nutritional supplements to their patients for purchase.
Your Tulsa Chiropractor,
Dr. Ryan Marshall, D.C.