Allegheny Physical Medicine, P.C.
Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic Adjustments
Chiropractors use controlled forces, called adjustments, when there are restrictions around joints that the body is unable to overcome itself. Such barriers include muscle spasm, swelling (edema), scar tissue and pain. Chiropractic examination identifies restricted joints whether they are painful or not.

Adjustments help relieve pain, as well as, restore and maintain normal movement, biomechanics and function. Adjustments specifically applied to joints can res tore motion when the body's own muscles cannot.

The controlled force of adjustments safely generates the energy needed to overcome such restrictions and take a joint back to its normal, full range of motion.

Chiropractic Promotes Health Naturally
The purpose of care is to restore and maintain the health of the whole person and not just treat isolated symptoms or diseases. Chiropractic care helps to create the potential for well being and improve the quality of life, rather than just focusing on illness.

Chiropractic care is aimed at restoring and maintaining normal structure, joint, muscle and nervous system functions.

Restoring Function with Chiropractic Care
Function means the ability to perform everyday activities. Function includes range of motion, flexibility, stability, strength and coordination. Improving function is the key to long term pain relief.

Failure to restore function means any pain relief is temporary and increases the risk of chronic pain. Joints that have good function are not painful, perform better and are less likely to be injured or degenerate. Decreased function can lead to injury and pain. Chiropractic helps minimize pain and maximize function by the use of adjustments, exercise and other methods.

Benefits and Goals of Care
The benefits of chiropractic care include pain relief, tissue healing and good function. It may require different amounts of time to achieve each of these goals. Pain relief doesn't mean tissues have healed nor that function is restored. It often takes more time for tissues to fully heal than for pain relief. It may take more time to restore function than it takes for tissues to heal.

Chiropractors carefully monitor pain, tissue healing and function using specific outcome measures to know when a patient has achieved maximum benefit and it is time to end care or shift to a prevention/wellness program.

Chiropractic, Motion and Nutrition of Discs and Joints
Maintaining good motion is critical to the survival of discs and joints. A joint that can't move can't nourish itself.

A healthy exchange of nutrients and wastes only occurs by physically pumping fluids into and out of the disc via spinal motion because discs and cartilage have no blood supply. Movement stirs fluid through joints, washing nutrients in and waste products out. Lack of motion may lead to poor nutrition and disc degeneration.

Chiropractors find joints that are restricted, whether they are painful or not, and by adjustments and exercise help restore and maintain normal motion and nutrition.The discs in the spine live because of movement.