What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a form of complementary medicine that is used to diagnose, treat, and prevent neuromusculoskeletal disorders using joint manipulation and soft tissue manipulation. An initial chiropractic evaluation will consist of a thorough history, visual inspection, biomechanical evaluation, neurological evaluation, gait analysis, postural evaluation, and manual palpation. This allows the doctor to create an individualized treatment plan. Each patient’s treatment plan will also take the individual patient’s goals into account to optimize patient performance.
Chiropractic Manipulation
A chiropractic adjustment works by providing a high velocity, low amplitude thrust into a joint. This provides enough force to stimulates the firing of muscle spindles and joint mechanoreceptors in the area being adjusted. This sends afferent sensory information to the brain and causes the release of endogenous opioids. The release of endogenous opioids in the brain decreases nociception (pain). By decreasing nociception (pain) in the brain, it is believed that chiropractic care decreases sympathetic nervous system activity which in turn decreases muscle tonicity and pain. Furthermore, through activating muscle spindles and joint mechanoreceptors, we can increase proprioception to the adjusted joint resulting in an increased range of motion and restoration of proper joint biomechanics.
Lameness
Lameness due to musculoskeletal disease is the most common diagnosis in equine veterinary practice and one of the most difficult to properly diagnose. At this time, musculoskeletal injuries are a predominant cause of time lost in training, loss of use, and death of sport horses. At Peak Performance we offer a conservative management option for preventing and treating common neuromusculoskeletal conditions.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care:
- decreased pain, inflammation and muscle hypertonicity
- increased joint proprioception and range of motion
- reduced risk of injury
- improved athletic performance due to increased muscle and joint proprioceptive input
Common Conditions Treated:
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Sacroiliac dysfunction
- Facet syndrome
- Kissing spine
- Osteoarthritis
- Tendonitis
- Ligament injuries
- Gait abnormalities
- Compensation injures
- Altered/poor performance