Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is the most commonly used modality in a chiropractic office. It can come in many forms and is very helpful to compliment chiropractic care in the office setting. At Drs Collin and Alorna Dolan’s Aurora office, they implement a number of these therapies during patient care. Here is a list the available therapies at Dolan Family Chiropractic.
Electric Muscle Stimulation: It sounds scary but it is far from it. Actually, it is a very common therapy used by chiropractors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers for the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries. With the patient lying down or seated, pads are placed over tight or sore spots and a mild electric current is used to help relax the muscle and deliver comfortable pain relief. Many patients describe the procedure as a concentrated massage or comforting vibration sensation resulting in some of our more relaxed patients falling asleep. This therapy is relaxing and non-invasive and provides exceptional pain relief from muscle pains, joint pain, low back and neck pain, sciatica, and soft tissue injuries like tendonitis, sprains, and strains. We use either cold compress or moist heat packs with the therapy based on the type of injury we are treating.
Therapeutic Ultrasound: Ultrasound uses concentrated sound waves to painlessly penetrate into soft tissue areas including muscles, ligaments, and tendons to reduce cellular swelling and inflammation and break up trigger points and knots in muscles. Drs Collin and Alorna have found that this style of therapy is extremely effective in treating sprains and strains and common joint pain. It is also recommended in the treatment of more complex injuries such as rotator cuff injuries, bursitis, tendonitis, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis and is used by professional athletes around the world.
Traction: Traction is a form of decompression where two segments are gently stretched apart from one another in order to create space between them. This can be beneficial in the spine with disc injuries and arthritis, and in certain joints of the body with soft tissue injuries and degeneration. The forms of traction that we use in our office include intersegmental traction, or specialized spinal roller tables, spinal and joint specific traction using our specialized Cox Flexion/Distraction technique and table, and manual traction performed by hand by one of the doctors. Spinal and joint traction offers pain relief and accelerates healing by restoring movement to locked joints, pumping valuable blood supplies into injured areas, and draining waste products and byproducts out of the area.
