Chiropractic and Massage
Tools and Techniques
Chiropractic care isn’t only done by cracking necks and backs. There is a wide range of techniques, from incredibly gentle to less gentle. At The Ridge Chiropractic, we adjust using the techniques that best align with each patient’s preferences and specific diagnosis. Every visit and patient are different, and so is the combination of techniques we use for treatment.
At A Glance: What Tools & Techniques Do We Use?
Diversified Technique
The Diversified technique is a high velocity, low amplitude manner of manual adjusting. In other words, it uses short and quick movements to adjust your joints. This creates a very gentle approach to manual adjustments. This is the most effective treatment that we offer because of the high level of results that we get with it.
Arthrostim Tool
Arthrostim is a gentle tool that allows your chiropractor to make adjustments by oscillating (or vibrating) the joints like an incredibly gentle jackhammer. It stimulates the joints, which improves communication between the joints and the brain.
Activator Tool
An activator is a spring-loaded tool that allows us to target specific joints. It provides the same results as an adjustment done with the diversified technique, but it doesn’t require muscles to be stretched during the adjustment. Your chiropractor will place the Activator on a specific spot that needs to be rotated, laterally flexed, etc. This can be done on the spine or neck if you don’t want a manual adjustment.
Drop Table Adjustments
Drop table adjustments are made by slightly raising the table. As the chiropractor applies force to your back, the table will drop back into place. This technique allows us to use increased speed, resulting in greater depth of adjustment without using more force.. If we were to make the same adjustment without the drop table, it would require us to apply more force when making adjustments. One area of the body that is particularly good for the drop table adjustment is the pelvis because it is in line with the drop table peak.
Deep Tissue
Deep tissue massage or myofascial release is the type of massage that we use as part of our chiropractic process. The myofascial release gets to the deeper levels of the muscle to affect the deeper tissues. Your therapist will typically use their hands, elbows, or forearms, and sometimes use an instrument to assist. This method allows us to do incredibly focused deep tissue massage to the areas that need it. We believe in incorporating massage into our chiropractic care plans because the muscles and joints are so intertwined that it doesn’t make sense to address one and not the other. You can read more about our chiropractic process here.
Hot Hydrotherapy and Cold Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is a technique that uses either hot or cold water to treat the muscles. Cold hydrotherapy may be applied via ice packs to reduce inflammation or through ice massage soon after an injury to control inflammation. Hot hydrotherapy would be applied with moist heat packs when dealing with muscle spasms or tension. This treatment will usually be done alongside the massage portion of your chiropractic appointment.
Flexion Distraction
For Flexion Distraction, you will lay on the adjusting table on your stomach. The table will start to flex and slowly lower, then raise the bottom half of the table. This gently puts a flexion in the spine and is fantastic for people with disc issues by slowly pulling apart the discs. This then increases the joints' fluid and encourages the joint to go back together in the correct spot.
Trigger Point Therapy
Trigger point therapy is a type of massage technique that targets specific points on the body. The massage therapist will use trigger point massage when there is a specific point of the muscle causing issues. This generally occurs when there is a nerve bundle in the muscle that’s causing issues to show up elsewhere in the body. For example, a trigger point in the neck might show up as pain further down into the arm. Two different trigger point massage techniques can be used to address the issue - Cross Fiber Friction and Ischemic Compression. Cross Fiber Friction is when the massage therapist goes back and forth across the muscle fibers to break up the area. Ischemic Compression is when the massage therapist applies constant pressure to the point before releasing, causing increased blood flow to the impacted point.
Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Massage (IASTM)
IASTM is when the massage therapist uses tools to do Cross Fiber Friction. The tool allows them to get deep into the muscle and scrape at the muscle belly, realigning the muscle fibers. This is a great technique for the bottom of feet, forearms, or anywhere there are more tendons than muscles.
Cupping
Cupping is done by applying a glass cup to the surface of your skin and drawing out pressure so that your skin gets partially drawn into the cup. This method draws toxins to the surface and allows them to get flushed out of the body. Your muscles might have toxin build-up due to overuse or spasms. We use this method for patients who aren’t responding well to massage or if the issue is in the fascia instead of in a trigger point.