Circulation issues, cellular damage, and other musculoskeletal problems plague anyone from athletes to people who are just getting older. Without treatment, these problems can escalate and impact your quality of life. Luckily, there are a multitude of treatment options available to you, amongst which is vibration therapy.

What Is Vibration Therapy?

Vibration therapy is a form of physical therapy that relies on vibrations. It originated in 1867, when Russian physician Gustav Zander discovered that the vibration from a device he made helped to heal circulatory issues in the body. Since then, vibration has been found to have many therapeutic benefits, from relieving constipation, to increasing bone density, to improved circulation, leading to vibration therapy becoming common practice. 

How Does It Work?

Vibration therapy utilizes rapid-fire vibrations to force your muscles to contract and release. This stimulates blood flow and circulation and tissue growth. Targeted vibrations also provide pain relief by disrupting pain signals. Vibration therapy enhances your body’s natural ability to heal itself and is non-invasive. 

What Does Vibration Therapy Look Like?

When you schedule an appointment for vibration therapy, you’ll either receive localized treatment for problem areas or treatment for your whole body. Vibration therapy uses machines called vibration plates in order to create vibrations. Your physical therapist will have you either sit, stand, or lay on it, depending on what you’re trying to treat. The machine will then vibrate, forcing your muscles to contract. Vibration therapy appointments usually don’t take too long, making it a time-efficient treatment method. 

Vibration therapy can be combined with other treatment options like other forms of physical therapy or massage therapy for the best results, but it is also effective on its own for certain issues.

What Is It Good For?

Because vibration therapy forces your muscles to contract, it relieves tense muscles. The increased blood flow promotes natural healing, with how the vibrations can target specific damaged areas of the body and assist your natural healing process by guiding the blood there. The vibrations can relieve pain of compressed nerves, and both ease the pain of and boost the healing in injured tissues, muscles, ligaments, and discs. 

Vibration therapy also offers many other benefits. It can alleviate stress with how the vibrations make you feel like you’re exerting yourself, ergo reducing your cortisol – or stress hormone – levels, same as if you were working out, as well as boost your metabolism. It can increase your range of motion, due to bringing down inflammation and relieving tense muscles. It can improve your strength through promoting healing in your muscles. 

Are There Any Risks?

Generally, vibration therapy is a very safe method of treatment. Same as anything else though, there are some risks associated with it. The primary risk of vibration therapy is the vibration level being set too high for the patient, which can result in back pain and potential injury. With a professional physical therapist, though, you likely won’t need to worry about that. You may also want to first consult with your physical therapist if you are pregnant, have heart disease, are on blood thinners, or have any other conditions that you think vibration therapy may aggravate.

How Do I Know If Vibration Therapy Is Right For Me?

You may consider vibration therapy if you suffer from chronic pain, inflammation, tissue damage, or muscle tension. In addition to these, vibration therapy has been found to be helpful for a number of other health issues, such as:

• Parkinson’s disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Fibromyalgia
• Lymphatic drainage
• Arthritis 
• Cystic fibrosis
• And more.

If you’re considering vibration therapy, talk to a professional! They will be able to advise you on whether it is an option for you or if you should consider another method of treatment.

Do You Have Questions About Vibration Therapy?

Here at Elite Chiropractic, we offer vibration plate therapy, along with a multitude of other chiropractic treatment options. When you work with us, we’ll find the right method to help whatever issues you’re suffering from. For any questions about our services or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at Elite Chiropractic today!

Whether or not you love reading, you might have heard of the recently released novel The Great Gatsby: But Nick Has Scoliosis by Dick E. Heese. To help you understand what scoliosis is, this article will go to the signs and symptoms of scoliosis. It will also provide some information on how scoliosis can be treated. 

Although this article provides information on scoliosis, please do not use it as a replacement for professional help. Scoliosis is a serious condition that should be treated by a licensed and experienced professional. Keep reading for more information on who can treat scoliosis.

What is scoliosis?

Scoliosis is a condition in which an individual’s spine is curved. That means that a person with scoliosis often struggles with posture, walking, and other aspects associated with the spine. The spine usually begins to curve at the beginning of puberty and this curvature can range from mild to severe cases. Most cases of scoliosis are mild. But in severe cases, individuals will need surgery to strengthen and straighten the spine. According to John Hopkins Medicine, there are 3 million new cases of scoliosis each year, most of them occurring to children around the ages of 10-12 years old. 

Symptoms of scoliosis in older populations

Just because scoliosis tends to occur around the time of puberty does not make it a “young people’s issue.” In fact, scoliosis is an issue for people of all ages. That is, those who have it tend to have had the changes in their spine at an early age while the effects of this curvature might show up at a later time.

Here are some signs of scoliosis:

• Difficult with walking or awkward posture while walking
• Difficulty with breathing
• Pain in your back
• Clothes don’t feel right when you wear them 
• Feeling bad about your posture or being told that you have a “poor posture.”

Manage scoliosis with the help of a chiropractor

You can learn to manage scoliosis with the help of a chiropractor. A chiropractor will be helpful in a variety of ways. Here’s just two ways that a chiropractor can help with scoliosis. 

A chiropractor can help with the pain associated with scoliosis

Oftentimes, people with scoliosis assume that surgery is the main way of treating scoliosis. The reality is that there are many alternative and less invasive ways of managing scoliosis. With the help of a chiropractor, you can try things like chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and exercises to help you with this condition. You shouldn’t have to choose between the extremes of a surgery or living with the main. There are options available to you when you turn to a chiropractor. 

A chiropractor can teach you how to manage scoliosis from the comfort of your home

A licensed and skilled chiropractor will help you manage scoliosis from home. That is, they will teach you exercises that can help you with this condition. Additionally, they will go over lifestyle changes that can help with scoliosis. Lifestyle changes may include learning to stand rather than sit, learning the correct posture associated with different positions, and other aspects. This will be beneficial to you in the long run since a chiropractor should equip you with the tools that you need to learn how to manage this condition.

Move from living with scoliosis to thriving with Elite Chiropractic

At Elite Chiropractic, we would love to help you move from living with scoliosis to thriving! We believe that we can help you manage your condition so that it doesn’t function as a barrier to living your best life. We offer a variety of modalities and therapies that can help you. 

If you’re in the state of Washington, contact us at 509-436-8530. You can also reach out to us here. We would love to see you living the life that you deserve!

Whiplash is a common injury that is most often sustained during automotive accidents. When you are experiencing whiplash, there are many long-term problems that can develop without the appropriate treatment. If you suspect that you have experienced whiplash, it will be important to visit a skilled chiropractor for the appropriate treatment. At Elite Chiropractic, we often work with whiplash injuries to restore comfort and quality of life. Here are a few things that you should know about whiplash.

What is Whiplash?

Whiplash is an injury that tends to occur when there is a substantial amount of force that travels through the spine and neck. This frequently occurs when the neck is jerked in an abrupt motion. Whiplash commonly occurs from car accidents, but isn’t always caused by car accidents. Fast motions like those caused by a fall or impact can result in whiplash injuries.

Symptoms Aren’t Always Immediate

If you have been in an auto accident, it will be essential to obtain medical treatment, even if you don’t think you have been injured. The symptoms of whiplash aren’t always immediate. They may occur after a matter of days or even weeks. If you start to experience stiffness in the neck, pain in the neck, or headaches, it is possible that you have whiplash.

Whiplash isn’t Only Caused by Car Accidents

Whiplash isn’t only caused by car accidents. Though these accidents commonly cause the force required to cause whiplash, they aren’t the only way that these injuries occur. It is also important to note that there are factors that may cause an individual to be more vulnerable to whiplash. Age increases the likelihood of whiplash and women are more common than men to get whiplash.

Professional Treatment is Essential

If you suspect you have whiplash, it is essential to ensure that you obtain professional treatment. Without this treatment, it is possible that the injury will lead to permanent damage and detract from your quality of life. Professional treatment will help you to restore your health and minimize the chances of long-term injuries.

Rest Isn’t Always Best

With many injuries, rest is the best thing you can do for your body. However, this isn’t the case with whiplash. Resting the area impacted by whiplash can often cause the problem to become exacerbated, which will lead to more serious injury. Consult with your chiropractor to determine the ideal steps to take to help your body recover fully from the injury.

Whiplash can have a huge impact on your life. If you suspect that you are experiencing whiplash, it is important to visit our office for the necessary treatment. When you work with us, we can help you to diagnose and receive treatment for your whiplash. For more information about the signs of whiplash and the best possible treatment, contact us at Elite Chiropractic today!