THERAPY
Therapeutic Modalities: Helping Your Body Calm Down, Heal and Move Forward asap
At Active Family Chiropractic, each therapy is chosen for a specific reason. Depending on your condition, therapy may help decrease pain, calm irritated tissues, reduce muscle spasms, improve muscle activation or make movement more comfortable.
The important thing to understand is that therapy should be part of your plan. Every plan.
Therapy may help your body feel better and it may help your tissues heal faster, but it does not automatically correct poor movement patterns, repair previous injuries, rebuild weak muscles or change the habits that contributed to the problem in the first place.
That is why therapy is party of your Alpha 5 Phase plan.
the therapies we regularly use at afc az
Cold laser therapy, also called low level laser therapy or photobiomodulation, uses specific wavelengths of light directed into the affected area. Despite the name, it does not freeze the tissues, burn the skin or shoot anything into your body. This laser is NOT like the movies burning through the bank vault wall.
The light energy is intended to influence cellular activity and support the body’s natural healing processes. Research suggests that low level laser therapy helps reduce pain and improve function in certain musculoskeletal conditions, although results depend heavily on the condition, dose, wavelength and treatment schedule.
LLL(low level laser) has been studied for conditions such as arthritis, chronic joint pain, low back pain, tendon problems, plantar fasciitis and shoulder pain.
Cold laser may be used when an area is painful, irritated or slow to recover. Treatment is generally comfortable, and most patients feel little or nothing while it is being applied.
Potential benefits may include:
Reduced pain
Improved local tissue recovery
Support for irritated muscles, tendons and joints
Improved comfort during movement and rehabilitation
Laser therapy is not magic fairy dust, although sometimes patients report back to us that it "was magic?" It is a tool that may help create a better environment for healing while we address the mechanical and functional reasons the problem developed.
Interferential current therapy (IF) uses electrodes placed on the skin around a painful or irritated area. Two electrical currents cross or “interfere” with one another, creating a gentle electrical stimulation within the treatment area.
Most patients describe it as a comfortable tingling or buzzing sensation. It should not feel sharp, burning or painful.
IF is most commonly used to help temporarily reduce pain, calm muscle guarding and make it easier for a patient to move. Research suggests it may provide short-term pain relief for some musculoskeletal conditions.
Interferential therapy may be helpful for:
Acute or chronic back pain
Neck pain
Muscle tension or guarding
Joint pain
Pain that makes movement or treatment difficult
This therapy is often used to turn down the volume of pain.
It does not erase the reason the alarm started. Once the area is calmer, we can move on to the remianing phases of your Alpha 5 Phase Plan.
Electrical muscle stimulation( EMS), often called muscle stim or neuromuscular electrical stimulation, uses controlled electrical impulses to create or assist a muscle contraction.
Unlike interferential therapy, which is primarily used for pain control, muscle stimulation is generally selected when we want a muscle to contract, wake up or participate more effectively.
This may be useful when pain, injury, surgery or poor movement patterns have caused a muscle to become weak or inhibited. In other words, it has simply stopped showing up for work.
Research indicates that neuromuscular electrical stimulation can help improve muscle activation and strength in certain rehabilitation settings, particularly when it is combined with active exercise.
Muscle stimulation may be used to:
Reduce muscle inhibition
Assist weakened muscles in contracting
Support rehabilitation after an injury
Help retrain proper muscle activation
Reduce some types of muscle spasm
Support strengthening when normal exercise is initially difficult
. It is most useful when it helps prepare the body for active movement and strengthening.
Therapeutic ultrasound (TxUS) uses sound waves rather than electrical current. A handheld applicator is moved over the skin with a conductive gel, allowing ultrasound energy to travel into the tissues.
Depending on how it is applied, therapeutic ultrasound may create thermal or nonthermal effects within the treatment area. It is commonly used for muscles, tendons, ligaments and other soft tissues.
Therapeutic ultrasound may be used to:
Warm deeper soft tissues
Reduce stiffness
Improve comfort before stretching or movement
Support the treatment of certain tendon or muscle conditions
Help prepare an area for hands-on treatment or rehabilitation
Ice therapy, also called cryotherapy, lowers the temperature of the tissues near the surface of the body. It may temporarily reduce pain by slowing nerve activity and decreasing sensation in the area.
Ice is most commonly used following a new injury, a painful flare-up or exercise-related soreness.
Research supports a short-term reduction in pain after some types of exercise and injury, but the ideal timing and duration remain debated. Excessive or prolonged cooling may also temporarily reduce muscle performance.
***It is important to remember, especially post-workout, that the inflammation created by the damage from the workout, acts as a beacon for the body to come in and repair - which means that we do NOT ALWAYS want to dull the signal by using ice.
Ice may be helpful for:
A recent injury
A painful flare-up
Exercise-related soreness
Temporary pain control
Swelling following certain injuries or procedures
Ice is best used for comfort and symptom control. It does not repair damaged tissue by itself, and more is not always better.
Never apply ice directly to bare skin. A protective layer should be placed between the skin and the cold pack. Stop immediately if the area becomes excessively painful, white, blotchy or completely numb.
Patients with poor circulation, reduced skin sensation, vascular disease or certain medical conditions should speak with a qualified healthcare provider before using ice.
Heat therapy raises the temperature of the tissues near the treatment area. It may help muscles relax, decrease stiffness and make movement feel easier.
Heat is often useful for chronic muscle tension, stiffness or an area that feels tight and guarded. Clinical guidelines support superficial heat as one non-drug option for short-term relief of acute or subacute low back pain. Research also suggests that heat may reduce some forms of exercise-related muscle soreness.
Heat may be helpful for:
Chronic stiffness
Tight or guarded muscles
Muscle spasms
Preparing an area for stretching or movement
Temporary relief of uncomplicated back or neck discomfort
Heat should feel comfortably warm, not painfully hot. Falling asleep on a heating pad is not recommended.
Heat may not be appropriate over a new injury, an area with significant swelling, broken skin, active infection or impaired sensation. Patients with circulation problems or certain medical conditions should consult their healthcare provider first.
Which Therapy Is Best?
There is no single best therapy for every patient.
The appropriate choice depends on:
What tissue is involved
Whether the problem is new or chronic
Whether pain, stiffness, weakness or muscle guarding is the main concern
Your health history
Your current phase of healing
How your body responds to treatment
Sometimes the right choice is laser. Sometimes it is electrical stimulation, ultrasound, ice or heat. Sometimes the best choice is to skip passive therapy and get the body moving.
The goal is not to keep you attached to a machine forever. The goal is to help you move from pain and limitation toward strength, stability and confidence.
putting it all together
Therapy can help settle the problem down.
Chiropractic care can help restore motion and improve joint function.
Rehabilitation (stretches and strengthening) can help rebuild strength and better movement patterns.
But to truly "bounce back" you need all of them; that is what the Alpha 5 Phase System is built on:
That is how we move beyond chasing symptoms
&
start building a body that works better for the long haul.
the alpha 5 phase system.
remember: no one is coming because the hero you need is already inside you
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Mon: 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Tue: 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Wed: 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Thu: 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Fri: Appointment only
Sat: Appointment only
Sun: Closed
129 S Smith Road Tempe, AZ 85288
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