About Upper Cervical
What is a Misaligned Spine?
An initial injury tears loose the connective tissue holding the spine together. This allows the head and neck to move off center. When this occurs, it changes the biomechanics of the spine and produces wear and tear on the joints. As a result, the movement of the spine requires more energy and the body does not function at full capacity. This decreases the patient's quality of life.Once the spine is misaligned, the muscles located in the lower spine tighten and pull the hips out of balance. At the same time, the head and neck return to center. This makes the spine twist and contort. The twisting of the mis-alignment stresses the spine at numerous points along its length and causes pain.
How Does Upper cervical Correct a Misaligned Spine?
The upper cervical procedure acknowledges the mis-alignment of the entire spine. The correction is done at the top of the spine, at the level of the atlas. This transmits a force throughout the spine, removes the stress points, and allows the body to come back to a neutral, balanced position.What is Thompson Technique?
With the Thompson Technique, the first step of the treatment process is to analyze the length of the legs to check for balance in the spine. After the initial leg length analysis and any complementary examinations, we can diagnose the type of misalignment, whether it’s cervical, in the pelvis or in other parts of the spine. Once the problem area is determined, adjustments to the spine are used with a special chiropractic drop table and a combination of varying pressure on the joints or vertebrae.Active Release Technique
In an ART treatment, the provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and mobility of the soft tissue. Using hand pressure, the practitioner works to remove or break up the fibrous adhesions, with stretching motions to lengthen an area of shortened or adhered soft tissue.Dry Needling
Trigger point dry needling (TDN) is the use of solid filament needles inserted through the skin and into the muscle to release painful myofascial trigger points. Dry needling results in the deepest tissue release allowing for improvements in movement and pain. It is called “Dry” Needling because there is no solution injected as with a hypodermic needle. Dry Needling, the needle itself and the effects it produces within the tissue is the treatment.The approach is based on Western anatomical and neurophysiological principles. It should not to be confused with the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) technique of acupuncture. However, since the same filiment needles are used in both dry needling and acupuncture, the confusion is understandable. Dry needling focuses on trigger points while acupuncture focuses on Chinese meridian points.
Dr. Ryan Goris is certified in level 1 and 2 dry needling through the Chiropractic Association of Louisiana and the Louisiana chiropractic board of examiner.