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Owatonna Chiropractor Unpacks Massage Devices and Percussion Instruments

Many patients come into the office with aches and pains. It is a fact of life that when we are subject to the law of gravity on a constant basis our skeletal structure will be exposed to pressure and injury. Whiplash injuries, disc herniations, and work injuries are all sources of insult to the neuromusculoskeletal system. Obviously, there are many possible ways to be injured beyond what has been highlighted.

The injuries that we sustain to our spines can have devastating impacts upon our quality of life and overall well-being. Many patients come into my clinic with previous injuries that are still causing them back pain, neck pain, headaches, migraines, and sciatica even years after their injuries took place. The conventional method of chiropractic care is to provide chiropractic adjustments to reposition the bones of the spine, break up the scar tissue that’s present, and help the body heal itself by taking pressure off nerves.

While conventional chiropractic methods provide amazing results for people, it is important to recognize that addressing the underlying soft tissue injuries, which often complicate pain syndromes, is equally important to improving clinical outcomes. This is where myofascial release technique and trigger point therapy come into play. These techniques are focused on addressing the spasms, imbalances, muscle tightness, and pain which too often accompany misalignments in the spinal column.

Myofascial release technique involves releasing the muscles through pinning and stretching the muscles while having them go through ranges of motion. For example, the supraspinatus muscle is often involved in rotator cuff disorders, so by pinning the muscle belly just above the shoulder blade and having the patient draw their arm away from their body the muscle can elongate under pressure which will help it to relax quickly. Trigger point therapy, on the other hand, is focused on compressing a muscle in a location which is causing a reflex pain syndrome somewhere else in the body. Compression of the muscle causes ischemia which is a loss of oxygen to the muscle tissue. The reduced oxygen flow causes the muscle to run out of energy which forces it to relax and let go.

These two soft tissue therapies are very different in their approaches, but they are very similar in how effective they are at helping to resolve soft tissue disorders and pain syndromes. Two different instruments are on the market for professionals which can have tremendous benefit when using these soft tissue techniques by augmenting the treatment mechanisms. They are called the Vibracussor and Arthrostim. The Vibracussor delivers impulses at high frequencies that help to reset the muscle fibers and break up scar tissue. The Arthrostim delivers stronger percussion impulses which help to stimulate the nerve fibers inside joints of the spine and extremities which can help to reset the muscle tone of nearby areas. Both approaches help to decrease pain, increase flexibility, and promote healing.

I have found that chiropractic adjustments in and of themselves are very beneficial for patients; however, patients that get a combination of chiropractic adjustments with soft tissue therapy, especially with the Vibracussor and Arthrostim instruments, seem to do very well. These instruments make a difference in patients who have structural changes to their neuromusculoskeletal system like altered curves and improper posture and positioning of the head. The Vibracussor is a favorite when addressing shoulder disorders, especially shoulder pain and rotator cuff tendinopathy. The Arthrostim can help encourage movement in the shoulder joints when there is frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, present.

If you’re loving your chiropractic care, but you don’t think that you are getting the results you are looking for, then consider consulting with a chiropractor that has training in these soft tissue therapies. Addressing the underlying muscular and ligamentous tissue damage could be the key to solving your case. I know it has been in many of my patient’s cases.

About the author:

Dr. Joshua Burnham sees many patients with chronic pain disorders. He is an Owatonna chiropractor that specializes in the Gonstead Technique. You can contact him by reaching out to him through his office’s website.