Chiropractic

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hiropractic is an alternative therapy that focuses on the spine as well as the myriad of conditions relating to the musculoskeletal system. A chiropractic practice does not involve any substance injections, drugs, or surgeries. Rather, it relies on spinal correction/adjustment, manipulative therapy, nutrition therapy, and various therapeutic exercises to treat patients. Contrary to focusing on a single disease, the following practice emphasizes the entire body to allow optimal neurotransmission between the brain and its cells. Like other specialists in the medical profession, the study of chiropractic entails a completion in the undergraduate education, four years of a graduate program, and qualified certifications to treat prospective patients.

“Chiropractic is essential not only in temporary pain treatment but also in pain prevention and maintenance of a healthy body condition.”

Chiropractic is highly renowned for its non-surgical therapy procedures that minimize the pains arising from the muscles, joints, bones, and soft tissues. Additionally, this medical field shows the greatest satisfaction ratings in treating symptoms of headache, cervical pain, and back pain above Physical Therapists, Primary Care Physicians (PCP), and other specialists. The chiropractic practice treats injuries and tissue damage from a repeated stimulus such as improper posture and prolonged sitting hours without a proper backrest. Chiropractic therapy recovers the reduced flexibility in the joints, which are a result of the damaged tissues. Currently, countless research has proven that chiropractic serves as an effective mitigator for back and chronic pain.

Chiropractic is essential not only in temporary pain treatment but also in pain prevention and maintenance of a healthy body condition. At Dr. Kim Health Care, we provide chiropractic techniques not limited to Activator Methods, SOT, Cox, Applied Kinesiology, Thompson Drop-Table Technique, and Upper Cervical Treatment. Additionally, we offer exercise therapy and various treatment instructions to our patients.

Upper Cervical

Orthospinology is an upper cervical specific procedure based on the Grostic technique, which has been highly effective for over 60 years. Dr. Grostic’s grandfather, John F. Grostic, developed the Grostic technique in 1942 that was later modified into the development of the Orthospinology, NUCCA, and Atlas Orthogonal procedures.
Dr. Grostic utilizes the Grostic/Orthospinology Procedure, which is a low force, non-rotary upper cervical (neck) technique. If adjustments to the lower spine are required, Dr. Grostic will utilize a low force, non-rotary drop table, hand held instrument or flexion-distraction adjustment technique.

Thompson drop technique

“The Thompson Technique is a full-spine adjusting technique that emphasizes high-velocity, low amplitude, and some low-force procedures, using a drop table as an indispensable adjunct. At the heart of the analytic component of the Thompson Technique is the Derifield leg check, adapted from the original work of Dr. Romer Derifield. The Derifield-Thompson leg-check analysis enables the differential diagnostic distinction between primarily cervical and pelvic involvement, as well as distinguishing among the various subentities within these primary diagnostic categories.”
“The Thompson Terminal Point drop table aims not only to protect the patient from being overadjusted, but to promote the clinical longevity of the doctor. The adjustments themselves are considered by Thompson practitioners to be ‘low force, high velocity,’ in that a light thrust triggers the drop section release mechanism. Lumbodorsal and extremity problems are afforded less attention, but also need to be addressed after the primary cervical and lumbar areas have been addressed.”

Activator

The Activator Technique is a device-assisted method of spinal and joint manipulation. Categorized as a mechanical force manual assisted (MFMA) instrument, the Activator Technique consists of a small handheld device known as an Activator Adjusting Instrument (AAI), or more simply, an Activator.

Also referred to as the Activator Method Chiropractic Technique, the Activator Technique delivers controlled and reproducible impulse force to vertebrae (the small bones that make up the spine) as well as the joints that connect them. While originally the Chiropractic Activator was a spring-loaded instrument, it has evolved into an electronic tool which delivers a mechanical force. Both forms of the instrument are known for delivering targeted and gentle impulses to the spine.

Chiropractic Manipulation and Adjustment

A chiropractic practice demands the precision of a trained chiropractor’s hands to realign the subtly twisted spine of patients. In doing so, the abnormal pressure affecting the spinal nerve is removed and a healthy body condition is maintained via the cultivation of smoothly operating nerves from the brain to the rest of the body.

Therapeutic Exercise

Therapeutic exercise serves an essential role in stabilizing, recovering, and improving the musculoskeletal system as well as the cardiovascular system. For patients who suffer from neurological damage or disease such as stroke, therapeutic exercise is of utmost priority. Not only is therapeutic exercise considered one of the non-surgical treatment methods for patients in the early/initial stage of pain symptoms, but also highly effective in the recovery of diseases for patients after they have undergone surgeries. The mechanism behind the therapeutic exercise is that it targets body parts that are causing the pain symptoms and either strengthens or relaxes the area, allowing the pain to be eliminated shortly. Of equal importance, therapeutic exercise prevents the recurrence of the disease while stabilizing the body from the pain symptoms. At Dr. Kim Health Care, we prescribe therapeutic exercises that are customized for each patient to foster disease prevention and body resiliency.

Applied Kionesiology

Applied kinesiology (AK) which is also know as muscle strength testing, is a method of diagnosis and treatment based on the belief that various muscles are linked to particular organs and glands, and that specific muscle weakness can signal distant internal problems such as nerve damage, reduced blood supply, chemical imbalances or other organ or gland problems. Practitioners contend that by correcting this muscle weakness, you can help heal a problem in the associated internal organ.

Rolling Bed

Commonly known as the rolling bed, the Intersegmental Traction Table elongates the spinal joint of patients with its rollers attached beneath the table’s surface. Through the spinal elongation for each joint, a patient’s mobility is increased while stretching the muscles as well as the ligaments. When laid onto the table facing the ceiling, the rollers underneath the surface smoothly stretch the spine via an upward and downward motion.

Cold Laser Therapy

Commonly known as soft laser or low-intensity laser, cold laser therapy is beneficial in providing solutions to pain control, fibrositis, nerve, and trauma. At the cellular level, the low-intensity laser promotes the natural curing process of damaged cells by inducing a series of enzymatic and bioelectrical reactions. The cold laser therapy is non-surgically applied to a wide spectrum of symptoms not limited to acute, chronic joint pain, arthritis, neck pain, fibromyalgia, lower back pain, tendonitis, and knee pain.

Non-surgical decompression therapy

A non-surgical decompression therapy utilizes a decompression treatment machine that minimizes the various pressures that harm the spine. By proceeding with this therapy method, pain symptoms from spinal sprain and muscle stiffness are mitigated. Additionally, a non-surgical decompression therapy treats symptoms from a neck injury as well as cervical spondylosis. The following therapy applies to the cervical spine, thoracic spine, and back, providing an excellent non-surgical treatment for symptoms of lower back pain, facet syndrome, sciatica, spinal stenosis, disc degeneration, herniated neck disc, and herniated back disc.

Therapeutic Modalities (TENS)

The term TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, a tool that provides treatment via the transmission of electrical stimulation to the percutaneous nerve. The skin layer, as well as the muscles, are electrically stimulated in low frequency to ease the pain around the affected areas. In an optimal strength and velocity level, the TENS controls the electrical stimulation across the body to treat muscle stiffness from common pain areas not limited to the arms, legs, shoulders, and back.

Cox Technic

Cox Technic is non-surgical, doctor-controlled, hands-on spinal manipulation performed with the patient lying on The Cox Table, our proprietary, specially designed chiropractic instrument. This table permits the effective administration of flexion-distraction and decompression adjustment and manipulation.
Flexion-distraction and decompression helps relieve spinal pain and return patients to their desired quality of life by …

  • dropping intradiscal pressure to as low as -192mm Hg
  • widening the spinal canal foraminal area by 28%
  • reducing pressure on the spinal nerves
  • returning motion to the spinal joints

Evidence-based Cox® Technic is appropriate for conditions causing low back and leg pain as well as neck and arm pain. It also reduces pain attributable to…

  • disc herniation
  • a slipped disc
  • a ruptured disc
  • facet syndrome
  • stenosis
  • spondylolisthesis
  • other conditions

SOT (Sacro Occipital Technique)

Recognized for its effectiveness in back pain injury resulting from an automobile accident, the Sacro Occipital Technique (SOT) adheres to the lever principle and realigns the twisted pelvis by placing a supporting device known as the SOT block directly underneath the pelvis. Additionally, this technique is utilized for muscle as well as organ relaxation. Protocols that do not directly correct/align the spine include Psoas major, iliofemoral ligament, short lower extremity, and long lower extremity relaxation therapy, and disc treatment (for disc protrusion or disc herniation). These protocols are utilized to treat functional impairment and neurological disorders by providing relaxation to the epidural system and soft tissues such as muscles and ligaments. By manipulating the sacrum and the skull which altogether impacts the contents within the neural tube, the SOT brings changes to the fluid dynamics that allow for the 1st wave of a breathing mechanism in the craniosacral. Not only is the SOT known to mitigate problems arising in the guts and the spine, but it also eases conditions such as nerve reflexes and asthma.

Ultrasound

Via a mechanical vibration, an ultrasound creates high frequency alternating electric current that is used to treat the deep muscle tissues. Additionally, an ultrasound serves a wide array of benefits not limited to increased metabolism and blood circulation, tissue relaxation, joint construction, adhesion prevention, reduced joint stiffness, pain relief, fracture relief, and recovery from inflammation.

Paraffin Bath

A paraffin bath is a type of thermotherapy that utilizes the wax conditioned in warm temperature to provide benefits such as increased blood circulation, waste elimination, muscle relaxation, and skin moisturization. Due to its ability to evenly deliver heat in curved parts of the body such as the hand and feet, the paraffin bath is also highly effective in mitigating symptoms of hand and feet numbness.