Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic care is most often associated with the treatment of back and neck pain. Chiropractic care can successfully treat a wide range of neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, plus many more conditions and complaints. The following are just some of the conditions that can be successfully treated by chiropractic care:
- Neck, mid-back and lower back pain
- Leg & hip pain
- Shoulder, arm & hand pain
- Knee pain
- Foot & ankle pain
- Accidents & injuries
- Joint Pain
- Carpal Tunnel
- Allergies & Sinus Conditions
- High Blood Pressure
- Sleep Disorders
- Sports Injuries
- Childhood illnesses & conditions (ear infections, allergies, bed-wetting, etc.
- Plus many other conditions
Chiropractic Care Made Simple
To understand chiropractic, you must first understand that your BRAIN and NERVOUS SYSTEM control every body function you have. From the way you smile, to the way your stomach digests food, it is the responsibility of your BRAIN and NERVOUS SYSTEM to see to it that everything is functioning at 100%. Your brain and nervous system is the "Master Computer" that controls everything that goes on in your body. This is the normal, natural and optimal way your body should function. THAT'S HEALTH!
In order for your brain to control all body functions, it must somehow communicate with your body. It does this through your spinal cord, which runs inside the spine. It is much like a telephone cable, made up of millions of 'wires' called nerves. These nerves connect ALL your body functions to your brain.
As long as your spinal cord and nerves are allowed to function and transmit information with NO INTERFERENCE, your body will function at its peak and you should have 100% health. This is called NORMAL.
However, many people have what our profession refers to as a VERTEBRAL SUBLUXATION, a 'misalignment' of one of the bones in the spine 'pinching', irritating or other wise interfering with the normal communication between your brain and your body (this is a very simplified explanation of a complex process). Subluxations interfere with normal nerve function and cause nerves to malfunction causing an organ or tissue or the spine itself, to MALFUNCTION.
If allowed to remain uncorrected, this malfunction will eventually produce a DISEASE PROCESS or sickness of some sort (arthritis, etc.), such as constant heartburn, indigestion etc., will eventually lead to ulcers or cancer.
When your body is no longer able to tolerate this situation, or condition, it will then produce SYMPTOMS to let you know what has been going on. Symptoms are the last stage of this process.
You must understand that SYMPTOMS (the most common symptom is PAIN) are similar to a fire alarm; when a fire breaks out in your home, the alarm warns you that you are in danger.....that your house is about to burn down! Your symptoms (pain) play a similar role. They let you know that your life support system, your health, is in danger.....that there is a threat to your health and well-being.
At this point, you must make an important decision:
Put out the fire (CORRECT THE SUBLUXATION)
Turn off the alarm system (SYMPTOMS) by taking medications or hoping it will somehow "go away."
WHICH CHOICE DO YOU THINK IS MORE LOGICAL?
Let me ask you, if all I did was eliminate your symptoms, would you be healthy? - Of course not.
WHAT IS THE ANSWER THEN?
To correct the vertebral subluxation allowing your body to function at 100%, all of the time.
Laboratory research on Vertebral Subluxation is being conducted throughout the world! For example, Dr. C.H. Suh, one of the foremost specialists in spinal biomechanics in the world, has demonstrated that even the slightest pressure (about the weight of a 25 cent coin) on a spinal nerve root destroys the function of that nerve 60% in a matter of minutes and causes it to malfunction.
Clinical research has shown that a Vertebral Subluxation, if not corrected, will usually intensify and advance throughout a lifetime, in a series of four ADVANCED DEGENERATIVE PHASES, ultimately terminating in a permanent condition and a permanent lack of health at phase IV.
Phases of Chiropractic Care
Most people who visit a Chiropractor for the first time, usually do so because they are in pain or have some sort of discomfort.
What most people do not realize is that the problem that is causing the pain did not necessarily start today, last week or even last year. Most problems start many years before the pain starts. Even if you have recently been in an accident, chances are there is still some underlying damage or "wear and tear" that existed before, and was aggravated by the accident.
You have many choices concerning your health and the pain you may be experiencing. Your first choice may be to do nothing at all. This, of course, is not a good choice because over time your problems may tend to get worse. Therefore, we offer various types of care.
The first type of care is called relief care. This type of care occurs when a patient has pain or discomfort. During Relief Care, our focus is to correct the problem and offer pain relief as quickly as possible. Upon your initial evaluation, Dr. Motamed will present a personalized treatment plan. It is important to follow your treatment plan as closely as possible and reschedule any missed appointments.
Often, a patient comes into our clinic, and Dr. Motamed presents a treatment plan, and the patient follows the plan....until they feel better. The patient often discontinues care at this time. The problem with this is that there usually is a "next time". Although we started to correct the problem, we did not necessarily correct the problem 100% or as much as we could have.
This occurs because the patient starts to make progress and starts to feel good, so they stop their Chiropractic care before the problem was fully corrected. After a while, the problem usually returns, and the treatment process must begin again. That is why many people who visit a Chiropractor usually say they get good results, but the pain comes back after they stopped their care. They didn't follow through with the recommended number of visits.
The second phase of care is what we call "Corrective or Reconstructive Care". This type of care is an attempt to correct the patient's spinal problem as much as possible. Upon completion of Relief Care, Dr. Motamed will perform another exam, similar to the initial exam. The findings from your initial exam will be compared to the findings from your second exam to measure your progress. Dr. Motamed will then recommend a Corrective Care plan.
When someone is on this type of care, Dr. Motamed will continue your treatment for a spedified period of time. At the end of this phase of treament, he will perform a progress exam and he may recommend new x-rays. The progress exam is very similar to the initial exam. We use the results from the initial exam and any subsequent progress exams to measure the progress that the patient is actually experiencing. This way we can measure and document the progress without having to rely on symptoms like pain as our only guide.
It is important to continue corrective care even if all symptoms have disappeared.
Maintenance Care - Wellness Care
Based on the progress exams, when Dr. Motamed feels that you have made as much progress as you can, you will begin a Wellness or Maintenance Care plan. Maintenance care for your spine is very similar to maintenance care for your car. Most people don't wait for the engine in their car to "seize up" before they change the oil or give it a tune-up, hopefully we change the oil and maintain the car regularly.
Maintenance care is also similar to going to the dentist. We have all been taught since we were young that we should go to the dentist regularly if we want our teeth to last our entire lives. Our spines also need regular maintenance care. If we take care of our spines throughout our lives, we should have fewer problems and disabilities as we get older.