Peotone Chiropractor, Peotone Illinois: Services

Services Available at Natural Health & Wellness Center

Spinal Adjustments

The cornerstone of chiropractic health treatment is the spinal manipulation or “adjustment”. It may involve gentle pressure, a quick but gentle thrust, or mild traction and gentle stretching, to restore normal motion to joints that have become restricted or locked or misaligned (subluxated). While manipulations are sometimes performed by other physicians, Doctors of Chiropractic have the most extensive education, training and experience in spinal (and extremity) manipulations. Performing 94% of all spinal manipulations rendered in the U.S. Numerous scientific studies have proven the efficiency, safety, cost effectiveness, and high levels of patient satisfaction of chiropractic adjustments. As a result, it is one of the only two treatment protocols given the highest recommendation for the treatment of low back pain by the Agency for Health Care and Policy Research (AHCPR) an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But don't be deceived, spinal adjustments remove subluxations and make corrections which address more than just back pain. By adjusting the spine and better aligning the spinal bones, the spinal cord and the full potential of the nervous system to monitor, control, and heal the body. Since the nervous system controls every function of your body, wouldn't you naturally be healthier if your spine were free of subluxations?

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Custom Orthotics

Your feet are the "foundation" of your health. Problems in the feet can set off a chain reaction of symptoms, including uneven shoe wear, irregular gait, arch pains, knee pain, back pain, and even headaches! If examination concludes that there is a problem, custom-made orthotics may be recommended to correct an anatomically short leg, pronation problems, and postural and structural abnormalities. The procedure for fitting you for the orthotics takes very little time and is easy to do. Once the digital foot scan is taken, it is sent to a laboratory, where your customized orthotics are designed and tailored for your specific needs. If you experience foot pain in your day-to-day activities, or in your sport of choice, custom-made orthotics may be part of the solution.

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Advanced Corrective Plan

For those of you who are interested in more than periodic symptom relief and really want correction of your structure, this program's first phase will last 6 months. Your intensive corrective program will consist of some or all of the following: Chiropractic adjustments, custom fitted orthotics, appropriate physical therapy, core stability and flexibility exercise program, weight or circuit training program, weight management, habit modification and muscle management program. At the end of 6(six) months, a complete re-evaluation, including re-x-rays will be performed. The goals of this 6 month program are: re-education of the muscles and joints of the body, improved structural balance (muscle, joint, and skeletal), increased injury prevention, and structural improvements seen on x-ray. Future treatment is based on your progress and need for additional correction or maintenance.

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Spinal & Sports Rehabilitation

Studies repeatedly show that patients who understand the need for and engage in an active exercise program get well faster and stay well longer. Whether you suffer from an acute injury or chronic pain, whether you are an athlete or mostly sedentary, a plan can be designed to meet you needs. Since most of my patients present with some muscular-skeletal complaint, I often prescribe home stretches along with a muscle management program, which utilizes The Stick. The muscle system is critically important for maximal structural well-being. Any type of repetitive motion, such as specific exercise or job duties, will use the same muscles repeatedly. Very often these muscles fail to ever fully recover. This will lead to muscle fatigue, injury, and pain.

The Maggs Muscle Management™ Program was designed to maximize the efficiency of the warm-up for a muscle, accelerate the recovery of the muscle and increase the potential capacity of a muscle.

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Physiotherapy

Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Often referred to as "muscle stim," the therapy involves low levels of electrical impulses delivered to the injured, painful tissues to reduce pain and speed healing. Often described by patients as a pleasant, "tingling" sensation, or "electrical massage," these impulses stimulate the body to release natural pain relievers, called endorphins. These endorphins reduce pain and inflammation, thereby promoting faster healing of the injured tissues. This therapy is often used to treat acute or chronic pain, as well as strains or sprains of the muscles, joints, and soft tissues of the spine and extremities.

Ultrasound

This treatment should not be confused with diagnostic ultrasound, often used in prenatal screening, but is instead a therapeutic procedure that utilizes sound waves to treat injured muscles, joints, and soft tissues. The sound waves vibrate the tissues back and forth, creating a deep, micro-massage effect. In the case of a recent injury, this helps to decrease scar tissue and adhesion formation, which would otherwise interfere with the body's healing process. The sound waves also decrease inflammation by destroying unwanted inflammatory cells. The sound waves also accelerate healing by stimulating the activity of the cells responsible for cellular and tissue repair. In chronic cases, special settings are used to create a deep-heating effect, heating the tissues far below the skin's surface. This heat, along with the vibrations that are caused by the ultrasound, help to "melt away" the muscle spasms and "knots" felt in our muscles.

Traction

Whether applied manually or mechanically, the benefits of traction are similar. It is an excellent therapy choice to reduce pressure on cervical (neck) or lumbar (lower back) discs. Traction effectively reduces joint and nerve pain, pressure, and inflammation, caused by bulging or herniated discs. This procedure is quite comfortable, and lasts several minutes.

Ice Therapy

Ice therapy or cryotherapy is often thought of as the therapy of choice for acute injuries. Actually, the application of ice over any painful tissue is usually effective at any stage of an injury. It works by constricting blood flow to the tissue, thereby reducing swelling, pain, and muscular spasms. It is very important to use ice correctly. It should be used for a maximum of 20 minutes, but may be applied each hour. Also, it is important that you do not apply the ice directly to the skin. Instead, wrap the ice pack in a paper towel or thin damp cloth prior to applying to the injured area.

Heat Therapy

The use of heat is effective in treating conditions that are more chronic in nature. It is not recommended that heat be used within the First few days or weeks of a new injury, especially when any signs of swelling are present. The best forms of heat are in the form of a warm bath/shower or a moist heating pad. Avoid "dry" heating pads, as they can promote additional swelling and inflammation. As with ice therapy, apply the heat for a maximum of 20 minutes per hour. Never go to sleep with a heating pad, as this can result in increased pain and tissue damage.

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Nutrition and Natural Medicine

The doctor may recommend a nutritional consultation and the use of vitamins, minerals, herbal therapies and dietary modifications as a valuable part of your treatment plan. These will aid the body in a variety of ways, including:

decreasing inflammation and pain
decreasing muscle tension and spasm
accelerating the repair of injured tissues
preventing and treating colds and flu by stimulating immune system function
decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression
promoting better quality sleep
improving allergies and sinus conditions
decreasing heartburn, bloating, gas, and reflux
lowering blood pressure and cholesterol
decreasing liver toxicity associated with hepatitis or long-term use of prescription medication
decreasing motion sickness, pregnancy-related morning sickness, and nausea
improving athletic performance

For overall health and wellness, a healthy diet, plenty of water (8 – 12 glasses of pure water each day), adequate sleep, rest, and exercise, are all essential. In addition, part of a healthy lifestyle should include a high-quality multiple vitamin/mineral, taken 2 – 3 times per day. Our office utilizes only the highest quality supplements from the most respected and reputable companies such as Metagenics, Standard Process, and Phytopharmica.

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Acupuncture

The doctor may recommend acupuncture as a valuable part of your treatment plan. Dr. Hoch holds both graduate and post graduate certificates in acupunture and meridian therapy

Benefits of acupuncture:

Pain relief for acute and chronic conditions
Decreases stress and anxiety
Accelerates the healing process
Aids in smoking cessation
Relieves acute and chronic sinus congestion
Complements other treatments for internal disorders

Most people (even those afraid of needles) are surprised at how painless acupuncture is. The needles are extremely thin, not at all like those used for medical injections or shots. The sensitivity of different acupuncture points may vary. Some points are not felt at all, while others may feel like the brief sting of an mosquito bite. Once the needles are in, no pain is felt. A treatment usually lasts 15 – 30 minutes. For your protection, all needles are sterile, one-time-use, and disposable.

Acupuncture and other forms of traditional Chinese medicine have been in existence for over 4,000 years. Yet the explanation for how acupuncture works has been largely based on theory. The basic theory is outlined in a text from 200 B.C. It acknowledges in people and nature a vital energy or life force known as Qi (pronounced "chee"). Qi flows through the body via channels called meridians. If the Qi flow is altered, the resulting deficiency, excess, or stagnation of qi causes bodily malfunction, illness, and inability to heal properly. Acupuncture, in which needles are inserted into specific points along these meridians, restores the proper Qi flow, thereby returning the body to a state of improved health and decreased pain.

Chiropractic doctors and other licensed practitioners administer about 10 million acupuncture treatments each year in the US, most commonly for pain control, sports injuries, and smoking cessation. As the popularity of acupuncture increases, researchers have become more interested in proving exactly how acupuncture works. To date, researchers have been able to measure an increased flow of acupuncture-induced endorphins. This explains the pain-relieving effect of acupuncture. Also, functional MRI's have measured changes in the activity of key centers of the brain, where pain is interpreted, when certain acupuncture points are treated. There are other beneficial effects of acupuncture also being researched, including the treatment of: nausea, asthma, sinus conditions, colds and the immune system, and other internal disorders. Furthermore, acupuncture has been observed clinically to enhance healing, and provide long-lasting pain relief.

Acupuncture's clinical results are attracting interest from mainstream medicine. A panel of independent experts convened in 1997 by the National Institutes of Health concluded that acupuncture is safe and effective in treating nausea and pain due to cancer and chemotherapy drugs. It is also shown to be as helpful as prescription medication in treating post surgical and other forms of pain, and without the harmful side effects and toxicity. In our practices, we routinely see excellent long-term results with acupuncture, even when other forms of treatment have failed.

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Massage Therapy & Myofascial Release

The doctor may recommend massage therapy as a valuable part of your treatment plan. The doctor may recommend massage therapy as a valuable part of your treatment plan. Dr. Hoch works closely with experienced massage therapists outside the office, to ensure that you receive quality care.

Benefits of Massage Therapy: