Chiropractic Adjustment at Manhattan Wellness Group
What is Chiropractic Adjustment/Manipulation?
One of the most common and well-known therapeutic procedures performed by chiropractic doctors is spinal manipulation (sometimes referred to as a chiropractic adjustment). The purpose of spinal manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. A single traumatic event can cause tissue injuries, such as the improper lifting of a heavy object or repetitive stresses like sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for an individual.
Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, allowing tissues to heal. To reduce back and neck pain, chiropractors often use manual therapies such as Mobilization, Chiropractic Manipulation, and Adjunctive Therapies. This method of treatment to the spine includes a direct thrust by a trained chiropractic doctor. The push applies pressure to a specific vector on the spine and results in a joint release. This release moves the joint its physiologic or normal operating range of motion but below its anatomical or maximum motion limit. This rapid thrust or gapping of the facet joint surfaces is often accompanied by an audible “crack” or “pop” caused by the formation and collapse of tiny gas bubbles (this is called cavitation) in the joint fluid. This sound and the gas bubbles have no therapeutic properties but may indicate a clean separation of the joint surfaces.
Spinal manipulation can be used as a treatment for the following purposes:
- releasing pinched joint capsules
- reflexively relaxing tight muscles
- breaking down adhesions (scarring) in and around the joint
- unbuckling mechanically locked joint segments
Chiropractic Manipulation: Treating Neck Pain
Adjustment and Manipulation techniques are also used to treat cervical disc complications. The pain from a cervical disc is a result of the nerve route getting trapped or pinched. Patients may experience pain down their arms extending to the hands and fingers due to irritation from the cervical nerve roots.
Chiropractic Manipulation can be used to treat many causes of neck pain, including mechanical neck pain and neck pain stemming from a disc problem. Mechanical neck pain can arise from the muscles, ligaments, tendons, capsules, and fascia. The result is stiffness and pain.
Joint Mobilization
Joint Mobilization is a subtype of chiropractic manipulative therapy in which the therapist moves the joints in specific directions and depths with, or without, the patient’s assistance, to stretch the joint and its surrounding tissues. All our chiropractors are trained in the use of thrust and non-thrust joint manipulation techniques.
Chiropractors employ a variety of different forms of manipulation from a basic holding stretch to a full thrust manipulation. The choice of which type of manipulation to use depends on the patient’s individual case and symptoms.
Factors include, but are not limited to:
- the patient’s specific problem; for example, a herniated spinal disc may or may not preclude the use of manipulation
- the patient’s underlying condition(s); for example, severe joint degeneration or osteoporosis
- the likelihood of potential problems or patient reactions with a particular form of manipulation; for example, the patient not relaxing during treatment or the degree of muscle spasm being too high
Treatment at Manhattan Wellness Group
Dr. Rashad Trabulsi, and Dr. Alex Kazhdan lead a team of chiropractors in New York City at Manhattan Wellness Group. With over 20+ years of combined experience, they are well-profound and knowledgeable in their field.