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Muscle Therapy
(by Dr. Glenn Foss - November 13, 2008)
Treatment of muscle and other soft tissue injury has traditionally included various types of massage, acupressure, trigger point therapy, “deep tissue” techniques, heat/cold therapy, ultrasound, electrotherapy and stretch/strengthen exercise, among others. More recently, improved understanding of neurophysiology has led to the development additional techniques for soft tissue rehabilitation. Because chiropractors specialize in treating neuromusculoskeletal conditions, many chiropractic offices provide many versions of soft tissue techniques.
Iscemic compression and cross friction massage are soft tissue techniques that chiropractors have found particularly effective for both quick pain relief and rapid injury rehabilitation. It involves a specific force or pressure for a specific time to the treated area. These techniques are sometimes simultaneously combined with movement and specialized breathing. What makes this technique so effective is its ability to immediately activate important nerve-muscle reflexes. When these reflexes are stimulated the result is almost instantaneous relaxation of a muscle, allowing the muscle to lengthen. In many cases, practitioners have observed rapid decrease in pain and inflammation, and marked improvement in range of motion.
By essentially “resetting” a muscle’s resting tone, this technique seems to facilitate better and faster tissue healing. Not only does it dissipate chronic muscle trigger points and tendonitis, these techniques also appears to improve glide within and between tissues, and breakdown scar tissue adhesions in muscles, tendons, ligaments and around nerves.
Chiropractors have used these techniques to successfully treat many soft tissue and joint conditions that other therapies have failed to resolve. For example, a patient recently visited a chiropractor complaining of debilitating back, hip and groin pain that began following a car accident many years earlier. She said she had tried “everything” to cure her problem, to no avail. Walking, gardening and golf were among the favorite activities she had been forced to give up long ago, and only extra-strength painkillers enabled her to make it through the day. Utilizing these soft tissue techniques as part of her chiropractic care, she experienced significant symptom relief after only a few weeks of treatment. She is now going for walks again, gardening and looking forward to golf.
Drs. Glenn and Christine Foss are the owners of Advance Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy Center in Riverdale. Both doctors have been practicing chiropractic for over thirteen years and have been amongst the communities leading health care providers. As innovators in health care, they have merged chiropractic and physical therapy services together to enhance the quality of patient care and overall treatment outcome. If you have any questions for either of the doctors or would like to schedule a consultation please call 973-616-4555.
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