ProAdjuster Chiropractic Services

Chiropractic:

Chiropractic is a health care discipline and profession that emphasizes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine, under the hypothesis that these disorders affect general health via the nervous system. The main treatment involves manual therapy, including manipulation of the spine, other joints, and soft tissues; treatment also includes exercises and health and lifestyle counseling. Traditional chiropractic assumes that a vertebral subluxation or spinal joint dysfunction interferes with the body's function and its innate intelligence, a notion that brings ridicule from mainstream science and medicine.

Dr. Guy uses two different types of adjustment. The first and most common type of adjustment is the manual adjustment.  This is where the doctor will use an adjusting table to manually manipulate the body.  The second type of adjustment Dr. Guy uses is a computer controlled adjustment called the ProAdjuster.  This adjustment is performed with the patient sitting in a chair face forward and down.  Then the doctor will use a piezoelectric sensor to tap his way along the patient’s spine and measure the resistance in each vertebra.

Based on his finding the doctor will adjust accordingly. This form of adjustment is non invasive and very comfortable for the patient.  It does not involve any twisting motion of the neck or body. About 60% of our patients prefer this type of adjustment.

For more information download our 8 page brochure about the proadjuster.

Massage Therapy:

Medical Massage is result oriented and the treatment is specifically directed to resolve conditions that have been diagnosed and prescribed by a physician. The therapist may use a variety of modalities or procedures during the treatment, but will focus the Medical Massage treatment only on the areas of the body related to the diagnosis and prescription.

Dr. Guy employs multiple massage therapists because of how greatly this modality compliments Chiropractic.

When a patient receives a massage before their adjustment it helps to loosen tight muscles and generate blood flow to parts of the body that lack in good circulation. With good blood flow the body can repair damaged cells and tissue much more quickly. 

Intersegmental Traction:

Intersegmental traction (IST) tables gently help re-establish the normal ranges of the body’s spine. Intersegmental traction tables also help facilitate muscle relaxation and reduce muscle spasms. It has been shown that daily use of an intersegmental traction table greatly accelerates recovery progress from a back injury.

The intersegmental table is able to change the contact pressure of the roller in a non-invasive stretching and massage of the spine and surrounding muscles.  IST is a great way to relieve light soreness in the back and small muscle spasms before an adjustment.

Decompression Therapy:

Decompression therapy is a form of traction therapy.  With this type of therapy the patient is strapped to a table that slides.  The upper torso is strapped to the side that does not move and the lower body is strapped to a computer controlled device that slowly pulls in the opposite direction.

The reasoning behind this is to allow room between the vertebrae to allow the discs to go back inside.

This therapy is only used for patients who have stenosis, herniated or bulging disks in the lumbar region or cervical region.

Posture Pumps:

Posture Pumps provide a form of therapy called disc rehydration therapy.  These pumps help the spine push old blood out and bring fresh blood in to the discs between the vertebra.  The discs between the vertebrae do not have their own direct blood supply.  They receive blood flow by being compressed and expanded over and over. When the body develops arthritis or a muscle spasm that reduces movement in the spine, the discs compress and decompress less often and in turn break down. That is called disc degeneration.

Disc degeneration is reversible and with the posture pump, over time we can restore the discs' density.

Pettibon System:

The Pettibon System is a comprehensive rehabilitation program for the spine's hard and soft tissues. It uses x-rays for diagnosis, assessing progress, and proof of treatment effectiveness. It tests each patient's ability to respond to care, and trains patients in home care for faster correction.

This is a new system that helps restore natural curvature to the spine.  The main tool we use from the Pettibon system is the wobble chair.  This chair is used by the patient to stretch and strengthen the muscles in the lumbar region of the body.

If used properly the wobble chair will increase range of motion and increase functional use of the lumbar region with less pain.

Subluxation Station:

The Subluxation Station is a set of 5 very specific and specialized tests to analyze a person’s nervous system.

The first test is a thermal test. It measures the temperature difference on the left and right side of the spine and compares it to normal body temperature

The second test is a surface EMG test.  This EMG test measures the muscle activity along the spine to see if any muscles are in spasm.

The third test is a range of motion test. This test measures a person’s range of motion and rates it against normal range of motion for an average person fitting the same age and gender

The fourth test is a trigger point test.  We use this test to measure the amount of pain a person is feeling in 1 specific spot compared to another.

The fifth and last test is called pulse wave profiler or PWP. This test measures three things at once. First it measures skin condition, second it measures skin temperature, and last it measures heart rate. It will take measurements over a period of 1 minute and then over a period of 5 minutes and average the two findings together.

With these five tests conducted correctly we can get a very good idea of what nerves are having a problem in the body and we can let the patient know what functions may be showing symptoms due to that specific nerve impingement.

Every new patient will get a nervous system scan using this station.

Ultrasound Therapy:

Ultrasound therapy utilizes high frequency sound waves. These sound waves are transmitted to the surrounding tissue and vasculature. They penetrate the muscles to cause deep tissue/muscle warming. This promotes tissue relaxation and therefore is useful in treating muscle tightness and spasms.

The warming effect of the sound waves also causes vessel vasodilatation and increase circulation to the area that assists in healing. The chiropractic assistant can also adjust the frequency on the machine to use waves that will decrease inflammation.

Ultrasound is very helpful in assisting the doctor to relieve deep aching pains you may be having.

Trigger Point Therapy:

Trigger Point Therapy is the combined use of EMS and ultrasound therapy. The EMS will stimulate the surface soft tissue and muscles while the ultrasound stimulates deep tissue. This type of therapy is mostly used for parts of the body that are damaged on multiple layers.

Our office uses Trigger Point Therapy on patients with ailments such as tennis elbow, strained backs, spinal subluxations and rotator cuff problems.

We are one of the first offices in the Fort Myers area to offer this type of therapy.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation:

Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is the elicitation of muscle contraction using electric impulses. The impulses are generated by a device and delivered through electrodes on the skin in direct proximity to the muscles to be stimulated. The impulses mimic the action potential coming from the central nervous system, causing the muscles to contract.

When a patient is in a lot of pain and has trouble moving, EMS therapy is used to block the pain receptors in the body for that specific area.  The process of blocking the pain allows Dr. DiTommaso to adjust the patient and deliver a deeper more effective adjustment.  It also helps to reduce muscle spasms and swelling.

Hot Pack Therapy:

Our Chiropractic Assistants will wrap moist hot packs in several layers of towels. They are then applied directly on the exposed area that needs treatment. The heat provided by the hot packs has several important benefits. It relaxes tight muscles causing tissues to relax. This decreases pain caused by muscle tension or spasms. It also causes vasodilatation of the blood vessels which increases circulation to the area. Patients with muscle strains, spasms, or arthritis often benefit from treatment with moist hot packs.

Our patients love using hot packs with their treatment. We usually apply hot packs to patients before their adjustment, just like the E.M.S. treatment, and most of the time we use E.M.S. and hot packs simultaneously. With the increased blood flow and relaxation created by the hot packs and the stimulation created by the E.M.S. our patients get up feeling refreshed, relaxed and ready for their adjustment.