Low Back Pain
Dr. Megan Yim is currently at the clinic Tuesdays. She will expand her hours in September. For more information about our practitioners, reviews, blogs, rates and exact hours please visit the information tab, found under the main menu.
While the main goal of chiropractic is to relieve pain, it also addresses health as a whole. Chiropractic deals with mechanical disorders of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system, and how these disorders affect general health. Chiropractic is a drug-free, surgery-free, hands-on, natural approach that includes the use of chiropractic adjustment to the spine and other joints.
Chiropractic adjustments are used to restore proper motion/alignment of the vertebra; this in turn has positive benefits to your nervous system. Often restrictions may occur due to strain on the joints or muscles. Strain may be related to many factors, including acute trauma, overuse or improper posture. Joint misalignments may affect how the nervous system communicates between your brain and the rest of your body. As a result, your body no longer moves or functions the way it should. Poor function can lead to pain, stiffness, numbness/tingling, headaches, stress, disability, physiological dysfunction and an overall decrease in health.
Reasons to visit a chiropractor:
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What to expect on your first visit?
A detailed history of your current complaint, as well as general health history will be taken. This will be followed by an assessment of your ranges of motion, muscles and joints, and nervous system. After the history and exam, we will discuss your diagnosis and treatment options, as well as a plan of management specific to you and your condition. Most often, treatment begins on this first visit, unless further medical investigation or imaging is required.
What techniques are used?
A hand held electronic massager is used at the start of the visit to relax the muscles. Hands-on adjusting is the primary technique used. Sometimes patients have specific conditions where manual adjustments are contra-indicated. In this case, we use instrument adjusting, and/or gentle mobilizations. Most often, a combination of all these techniques is used. If your chiropractor feels a referral to another practitioner will help, they will discuss options with you.
How many visits will be needed?
Everyone is different and therefore responds differently to chiropractic care. Often, by the time patients visit the chiropractor, the issue has reached the chronic stage. Sometimes it symptoms are a result of years of poor postural habits, faulty motor control patterns (due to muscle imbalance), and various other stresses of daily living whether physical, chemical or emotional. It takes time to retrain the muscles and ligaments that support the spine.
In other words, if it took a long time for dysfunction to develop, it will likely take time for full functional recovery. Despite this, patients often report symptom relief after one or just a few treatments. This depends on the individual and their condition. Starting early is advised because each visit builds on the one before.
Many patients opt for regular monthly visits, after their condition has resolved. Regular maintenance visits can help prevent a recurrence of pain and dysfunction and keep your body ‘tuned up’ and able to perform the tasks of daily living.
We happily accept patients from the greater Victoria area. We are UVic’s complementary healthcare clinic. Our approach is comprehensive; we work closely with each other to help restore our clients back to optimal health. Our clinicians deal with a wide range of symptoms including: muscular dysfunction, joint pathology, gastrointestinal problems, lack of energy, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. We use techniques such as diet changes, massage, joint manipulation, eastern techniques like needling and others to combat these common conditions.
