We're Dedicated To

Your Good Health

A Different Perspective of Health

The chiropractic view of health emphasizes that the structure and condition of the body influences how the body functions and its ability to heal itself. Chiropractic is a health care discipline which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery, yet we have a wide variety of methods at our disposal to assist patients, with an excellent record of success.

Although chiropractic shares much with other health professions, its emphasis and application of philosophy distinguishes it from traditional medicine. Chiropractic philosophy gravitates toward a holistic ("total person") approach in evaluation and in healing, combining many elements. Because helping the body heal itself involves many factors, chiropractors also provide lifestyle advice to help prevent illness and injury, in addition to active treatment. Advice given in our office regarding diet and nutrition, fitness, ergonomics, and other topics contribute to overall wellness. By making the right choices, one can live a life of vitality, rather than a life of pain and limitation.

About the Chiropractic Profession

The chiropractic profession is the third largest branch of the healing arts, next to medicine and dentistry. Chiropractic has been a licensed health care profession for about 100 years in the United States, but earlier forms of this concept of diagnosis and treatment have existed for thousands of years. Chiropractic is concerned with the joints of the spine and other portions of the body, the connective tissues and the nervous system and how function affects human health. Chiropractic doctors use many types of current diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, with a specialization in spinal and other regional manipulation to joints which are "fixed" or have become less moveable than normal, which has typically led to to pain, stiffness and many other symptoms if not addressed. Manipulation increases mobility and reduces pain. Other methods include cervical and lumbar spine traction, electrotherapies, ultrasound, diathermy, acupuncture and many other means as active treatment. Chiropractic is a science with an approach to health care that does not include the use of pharmaceuticals or surgery, as chiropractic physicians do their best to help their patients avoid both of these. In some cases, medication or surgery may be an adjunct to chiropractic care or may be the only solution. If this is determined to be the case, Dr. Lewis will advise accordingly.

Widespread Use of Chiropractic Care

Nummerous articles over the past ten years indicate a substantial increase in non-drug and non-surgical "alternative" care, with "overall prevalence of use increased by 25%, total visits by an estimated 47%, and expenditures on services provided by practitioners of alternative therapies by an estimated 45%." According to a survey in the Journal of the American Medical Association, one person in nine (11%)in the United States had used chiropractic care within the preceding twelve months.

What Causes Back and Neck Pain and Other Biomechanical Problems to Develop?

Alteration of function can result from any number of factors, such as injuries, but stress, tension, or over-use can also play a role. These events can alter our "wiring" and create pain and limitation of movement in our bodies.

Dr. Lewis is trained to locate the source of the pain or discomfort, which may actually be far from the actual location where the symptom is occurring. The well-known success with chiropractic care occurs by focusing on the source of the problem, with a concerted effort to avoid merely masking the symptoms.

A treatment program is designed to help return the affected region (and the body as a whole) back to normal movement and function, with as rapid a reduction of pain and other symptoms as is possible. Depending on the length of time the problem has existed and the condition being treated, both the treatment and the home instructions will vary.

Tonya M.: A Typical Visit to our Office
How do we try to assist our patients?

One day, Tonya straightened up after bending over during yard work and felt increasingly sharp lower back pain, something she’d never had before. Soon, she began having pain and numbness in one leg. After tolerating this for a couple of days, she consulted Dr. Lewis, who performed an examination using analysis of spinal movement, combined with an orthopedic and neurologic assessment. He asked questions to obtain as accurate a picture of the problem as possible concerning working conditions, previous health history, medications and lifestyle. Vital signs were obtained, and Dr. Lewis may also examine other body systems, such as the heart or lungs when necessary.

In Tonya’s case, Dr. Lewis discovered that the lower lumbar spinal joints were nearly immovable, with quite a bit of muscle contraction in the lower back. Tonya’s x-rays showed narrowing of the spinal joints and some arthritic “wear-and-tear” beginning in the lower back. What has happened to this otherwise healthy woman to cause her symptoms and her exam findings?

It is the same thing that happens to many of us. Sometimes, there is a direct injury, but much of the time a series of small insults to the body finally take their toll. The repetitive nature of Tonya’s yard work caused the body to develop protective muscle spasms to prevent further injury to the spine. This led to fixed spinal joints and worsening of her symptoms, initiating an irritation of a nerve leading from the back to the leg. With the low back muscles pulling against very tight joints, further irritation caused swelling and inflammation, with some trauma to the muscle. As a background to all of this, some smaller prior back strains, a tension-filled job that keeps her in one position at a computer all day, a weight gain, pregnancies and very little exercise over the past several years have begun to have collective effects in the form of back and leg pain.

The solution as seen by a chiropractic physician such as Dr. Lewis might be to decrease Tonya’s symptoms by returning mobility to the fixed spinal joints through the use of gentle manipulative procedures (also called adjustments), supported by the use of ultrasound and other therapy modalities.

Manipulation of joints, while not always the mode of care for every case, can be very helpful for certain conditions. Manipulation helps add flexibility to muscles and ligaments, stimulates blood circulation, while nerve fibers fire rapidly at the moment of the procedure. This causes stimulation of what are called "mechanoreceptors," along with the stretching of muscle receptors called muscle spindles, which assists in improvement of mobility and reduction of symptoms.

Integration of different types of home care instruction is part of the care plan, including exercises as soon as Tonya is ready for them.

In many cases, Tonya will begin to recover quickly, but in some cases, it may take some time for resolution. Her exam results will help design a treatment plan that is appropriate.

Tonya might also choose to have Dr. Lewis perform acupuncture for pain and muscle contraction relief. In other cases, Dr. Lewis might also consider sending Tonya to the massage therapist in our office, to a physical therapist or, if necessary, obtain another opinion from another health care provider. Additional testing is also sometimes ordered in certain cases, such as an MRI, nuclear medicine scan or bone mineral densitometry. Chiropractic care is not indicated or successful in some cases. Some back problems require other treatment interventions in addition to or instead of chiropractic care, including physical therapy, medication or surgery.

It is a goal in this office that Tonya will recover, will continue with her prescribed home activities and not need to be seen again. However, Dr. Lewis does have a special program for certain patients who need to return on occasion because their past history indicates that an occasional check-up is beneficial and this can be discussed.

Sports Injury Care in Our Office

Dr. Lewis has considerable sports injury training and personal experience and can provide his expertise in the assesment of athletic and exercise/fitness status, as he works with many runners, cyclists, tennis players and golfers. In addition, he has treated many school athletes and a number of professional athletes. Muscle strain, joint pain, tennis elbow, runner's knee, lack of mobility, tendonitis and muscle instability are just a few of the symptoms that may be experienced in a typical sports injury. He can offer training and nutrition suggestions, do periodic reevaluations to monitor progress toward fitness or competition goals, and work to prevent injuries, as well as provide in-office and home rehabilitation instruction if there is an injury. Sports activity care is a major focus of our practice.

Chiropractic care not only addresses a number of sports injuries, it can help athletes increase their performance. Active treatment can includes the use of muscle techniques, therapies for strain/sprain injuries, joint manipulation for mobility problems and a thorough foot orthotic need assessment, including input by a certified orthotist.

Acupuncture in our Office for Pain Relief

Acupuncture is a safe and effective method of treatment that encourages the body to promote natural healing and improve functioning. Dr. Lewis has been certified in acupuncture for over 25 years and the use of acupuncture can be very helpful for pain relief and reduction in muscle spasm reduction in certain conditions. it is primarily used in our office for neck and back pain, knee and shoulder pain and can be very successful for for certain types of headaches.

Acupuncture is performed by inserting tiny needles and then applying supplemental electrical stimulation at precise acupuncture points. Acupuncture has a powerful muscle relaxation and pain killing effect by helping the body to produce more endorphins, interrupting the pain and muscle spasm cycles. Most people are surprised to discover that acupuncture produces little, if any discomfort. As with any other treatment modality available in this office, the choice of employing acupuncture is left to patients.