Our highly trained and skilled physicians are able to utilize physical medicine modalities to treat acute and chronic pain.
Modalities utilized include:
- Soft tissue and deep tissue manipulation, including trigger point therapy, isotonic and isometric muscle stretching
- Hydrotherapy: using different temperatures of water to improve blood flow and move lymph
- Physiotherapy: therapeutic ultrasound, interferential and other electrical stimulation (EMS)
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy is the scientific manipulation of the soft tissues of the body for the purpose of normalizing those tissues and consists of manual techniques that include applying fixed or movable pressure, holding, and/or causing movement of or to the body. Generally, massage is known to affect the circulation of blood and the flow of blood and lymph, reduce muscular tension or flaccidity, affect the nervous system through stimulation or sedation, and enhance tissue healing. These effects provide a number of benefits.
Craniosacral Therapy
The cornerstone of the CS system is the ability of the bones of the skull to move in relation to one another as the cerebrospinal fluid moves through the attached membranes. The CS treatment is based on this relatively recent finding (it was once thought that the bones of the skull were fixed and immovable in relation to one another) as well as on the literature documenting and discussing CS research and theory.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is made in the brain and travels through the CS system. It is then resorbed into the blood via the venous system. Production of the CSF is halted when a certain pressure level is reached. As the pressure subsequently drops with resorbtion, CSF production begins again. This ebb and flow of fluid through the meninges of the brain creates a rhythm (of bone and attached tissues) unique to the CS system.
Since the membranes through which the CSF flows are attached to the skull bones, they move in response to the increase and decrease in pressure. The movement of these bones forms the basis of the CS diagnosis and treatment. The diagnosis of physiological problems is based on the clinician’s ability to assess the rate, amplitude and symmetry of the CS rhythm. The rate of CS rhythm will go up and the amplitude will go down when the meningeal membranes are restricted somewhere. Lack of symmetry helps the clinician assess where a loss of physiological motion is occurring. This could be from injuries, inflammation, scars, fascial adhesions, etc.
There is a connective tissue sheath that surrounds all body parts. This sheath is known as the fascia. It is connected to the CS system and moves with the CS rhythm. There will be a rocking motion of the sacrum and a widening and narrowing of the head during the CS pulse. A skilled clinician will also be able to feel this rhythm on other parts of the body as the fascia moves with the CS rhythm. The clinician will correct the rhythm with gentle, subtle movements of the skull, the sacrum and other areas where fascia is restricted. The following describes this treatment further.