Most pain is simple aches and pains that come from muscles and joints. Rarely, pain can be from something more sinister (e.g. cancer, inflammatory disorders). We are trained to identify red flags and refer/manage this appropriately. Identify and eliminate the physical stressors that are causing too much strain on the body and consistently aggravate you. For an athlete, this can be seen by correcting training errors that may be overloading your system. For the office worker, we might change the way you use your computer.
Identify and correct the faulty movement patterns that may be predisposing your body to improper stress. There is often an ideal way to move. We look for faulty movements, that cause increased stress and correct these with various methods.
“Correct Weakness and Loosen Tightness”. It sounds simple, but this typically involves advanced palpation skills and assessment protocols to identify the correct structures and muscles that need the appropriate work. We use a number of techniques for this step that are detailed below. “Loosening” or decreasing tension in tight structures involves manual therapy, joint manipulations, soft tissue release, Active Release Techniques and Acupuncture. “Strengthening” is much more than making a muscle stronger. It is the right choice of exercise for the right patient at the right time. We are often correcting imbalances or changing the way in which you move through corrective exercise or manual therapy that corrects joint problems that actually create weakness.
Be Thorough- Thinking that an elbow problem is just an elbow problem leads to suboptimal results. Elbow pain can come from the shoulder, the neck or even the nerves leading to the elbow. Addressing the entire region is often necessary.
