Uncategorized – Elevation Chiropractic & Rehabilitation

Treating Swimmers

Fri, 29 May 2020 22:51:54 GMT

During certain months training is intensified and many frequent and professional swimmers need a little extra care and attention.

While swimming remains one of the most injury-free sports around, swimming injuries do happen, due to repetition and other factors. Treating injuries early, before they become serious, is critical for ensuring that you can continue doing the sport you love.

Physio during Pregnancy

Sat, 18 Apr 2020 22:53:36 GMT

Keeping active and flexible during pregnancy can vastly improve laboring.

Your pregnant body goes through a lot of changes in a short period of time. Physiotherapy can help you with a thorough assessment of your posture, pelvis, pelvic floor and abdominals, and give you pointers on how to get feel like yourself again.

Treating Injuries with Tape

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 22:56:39 GMT

Muscle tape is frequently used in the medical field to assist in the recovery from injury.

Kinesiology tape, also known as kinesio tape, is a stretchy, elastic tape that is almost identical to human skin. It can help you treat a wide range of sports injuries and control inflammatory conditions.

Age is just a Number

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 22:58:39 GMT

You don't always have to feel your age.

Just because you are 60+, it doesn’t mean you should be suffering from chronic pain. Targeted exercises can relieve you of pain and enable to lead an active life. This can slow the aging process and help relieve other signs of aging.

Massage After Auto Accident

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 21:36:08 GMT

Massage After Auto Accident

Vehicle injuries result in more pain than typically realized, even in a low impact accident. Stress hormones act as a pain management mechanism. The hormones provide temporary relief to an affected area. It can often to a full day or three to feel the impact that the stress has had on the body. This is why it is so imperative that you see your chiropractor to check your overall condition prior to moving forward with the assumption that “it’s not that bad”.

Whiplash symptoms often worsen after 24 to 48 hours. At times the symptoms can increase over a 3 week period, making you think it really isn’t as serious as it is. Urgent assessment is necessary to provide you with proper at home management, in office care and possibly prevent a seemingly minor injury from becoming a chronic condition. Massage therapy is a common, non-invasive treatment for an auto accident.

What can Massage Do?

Massage after auto accident can provide a wealth of value to a recently injured patient :

-Stimulate blood circulation and decrease inflammation

-Reduce spasms to the muscle and tissues

-Improve range of motion and overall mobility

-Lower blood pressure

-Improve serotonin levels with helps the mind and body to relax

Overall…help you heal faster!

If you or a friend have recently been involved in an auto accident, don’t hesitate to contact our office at 503-206-4620 and let our professional and extremely skilled staff help you! Massage after auto accident can make all the difference when provided in conjunction with regular chiropractic and rehabilitation treatments.

Difference in Chiropractic & Massage

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 20:35:09 GMT

Chiropractic & Massage Therapy
What’s the Dif?

Do I simply search “massage near me” to find the best therapist?

While doctors and massage therapists use their hands to treat patients, there is a radical difference among the two. Most chiropractors will enthusiastically endorse massage therapy for certain patients. Massage therapy is a very important modality used to aide healing. It does not have the equivalent wide-ranging room of training that chiropractic does, however.

Chiropractors are principal healthcare specialists, helping to treat a number of situations. A key goal is to release subluxations in the spinal column. This is to make sure your frame and the nervous system are functioning at their best. Massage therapists, however, are knowledgeable in treating muscular conditions only. A massage therapist’s mission is to help relieve muscle aching, stiffness and tautness through hands-on actions.

Education and Training

One of the biggest variances between massage therapy when you search “massage near me” and chiropractic care is the volume of education that these persons must complete. A four-year undergraduate degree, as well as a four-year doctorate of chiropractic program, are both required for a Chiropractor to be licensed. During their programs, these individuals must obtain wide-ranging training, complete a residency program, pass several rounds of boards and certification exams and take classes in physics, biology, anatomy and physiology and chemistry.

Massage therapists however usually complete about 500 hours of training. A therapist would be required to update his/her training annually through continuing education courses as well. They must obtain licensure and, like other professionals, maintain a reasonably notable reputation between peers and local community.

Which is right for you?

Elevation Chiropractic takes charge of healing from all angles, not just at the spinal region. Our Chiropractors have the authority to determine if adding massage to your treatment plan is the right decision to progress your healing. Massage can be used to improve range of motion, while your chiropractor challenges a muscle strengthening technique with each one-on-one visit. Searching “massage near me” may lead you to random massage therapists who may not be educated on a daily basis through the direct instruction of a doctor.

At Elevation Chiropractic our doctors develop a tailored treatment plan for each individual patient. Within any particular plan could provide for massage therapy. Every visit you are provided with the healing benefits of massage within our office, our therapists are guided with specific instruction provided to them by your chiropractor. Treatment is tailored from beginning to end, and your care is taken into consideration every step of the way.

Sports Massage – Is it for you?

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 20:34:20 GMT

Sports Massage – What is it really?

Sports massage is focused on athletic individuals ranging from traveling pros to the weekly jogger. Concentrating on areas of the physique that are overworked and strained from tedious and often hostile activities.

How does it help?

Facets of sports massage are increasing in approval as beneficial attributes in a balanced exercise routine. This can be used as a resource to improve training. Additionally to lessen recovery periods for supreme performance throughout physical activity or after a big event. Sportspersons have uncovered that specifically planned sports massage encourages elasticity, diminishes lethargy, expands stamina, helps prevent injuries. Preparing one’s body and mind for optimal performance is an essential tool in sports and regular physical activities, so it is imperative to improve your self-care regimen.

One of the main paybacks of sports massage likened to other modalities is its capability to mark muscle-tendon connections. A 2010 study in the periodical of Strength and Conditioning Research discovered that even a 30-second massage enhanced hip-flexor range of motion. Alternative studies conducted by Margaret Jones, Ph.D., established a notable tendency toward diminished muscle tenderness. This helps specifically in the participants who received massage either before or after a workout. Dr. Jones is a Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. She is also an Assistant Editor-in-Chief for the Strength and Conditioning Journal.

How often is it recommended?

When joining in on steady physical activity, this type of massage is recommended each week or two as part of your usual routine. It’s best to chat with one of our licensed massage therapists to devise a strategy that will work best with your calendar and level of movement. One of our trusted Chiropractors can assist you in a proper referral for sports massage right in our very own facility!

Radicular Pain – Do you have it?

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 20:33:01 GMT

Radicular Pain – What is it and do I have it?

Leg pain can sometimes include other symptoms like numbness, muscle atrophy or being less reactive. Alternatively, can there be a deeper underlying issue? Radicular pain is one that radiates deep to lower region of the body, down to the spinal nerve root. Compression, inflammation or injury to a spinal nerve arising from conditions such as a herniated disc, foraminal stenosis or peridural fibrosis are all causes.

Most complaints surrounding this type of pain are usually labeled as sciatica, or radiculopathy. This is pain that reaches through the sciatic nerve down the thigh. It can also further into the calf or foot if severe enough.

This sounds like me! How do I know for sure?

Reach out to your primary care physician to schedule an appointment. First it is important to rule out other possible conditions. Other contributing factors can cause similar symptoms. There is no way to know for certain until your primary care physician assess all of your complaints and medical history.

Treatment

Radicular pain can be effectively treated without the use of invasive surgery. Here is a short list of what you can ask your physician about to help relieve this pain:

-Rehabilitative Exercises

-Massage Therapy

-Physical Therapy

-Medications

-Epidural Injections

What if it isn’t working?

If alternative medicine isn’t working, we first recommend exploring other alternative treatments. These include speaking with your trusted Chiropractor or Acupuncturist. If that route does not provide optimum relief, then you may need to speak with your primary care physician. Your doctor may discuss decompressive surgery, such as a laminectomy or discectomy.

It is very important to note that alternative care methods take time and effort. If you do not feel relief from a Radicular pain after 1 session, do not be discouraged. Give yourself several months to work toward improvement and healing. The body will naturally respond to these methods over time.

Sciatica – The Struggle is Real!

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 20:31:30 GMT

Sciatca – What is it really?

A great many patients in Tigard struggle with sciatica pain. Here you will get to know the truths regarding sciatica so that you may better assess when proper treatment is necessary. This large, long nerve in the human body emerges from the spine out of the low back region. Running through the glute muscles, it is the longest nerve as it travels down to your lower leg. Its primary function is to maintain the muscles within that area.

The sciatic nerve provides sensation to the entire lower half of your body. This includes your thighs, legs and even areas of the feet. Sciatica is when the inflammation occurs within this nerve causing pain to resonate from it. This pain is most common amongst individuals over the age of 30 who have suffered nerve and disc damage, and/or those who work very physically laborious jobs (such as construction workers or farmers) are more likely to experience sciatica pain.

Sciatic Symptoms

When pain shoots constantly down the nerve within the lower region of the body, and is noticeably persistent on only a single side of the body, this is a clear indication of Sciatica pain. This pain can be experienced in many ways. Patients may complain of a tingling sensation down the legs, and even an aching or burning. Sciatica is commonly expressed within a very specific area of the body. Nausea accompanied by the feeling of pins and needles in the lower extremities, or weakness, is a common sign of onset sciatic symptoms.

Sciatica generally comes on slowly and progresses over time. It does not often start with severe pain. The discomfort is typically exacerbated by sitting for extensive periods of time, or the repeated bending to lift an object. Even a constant bought of sneezing or coughing and sudden movements can irritate this major nerve.

Diagnosing Sciatica

Sciatica diagnosis starts with your local chiropractor or resident physician. They will be able to look at your medical history as well as your descriptions of the pain to decide whether your pain is consistent with sciatica symptoms. A complete neurological examination is also a necessary action to place specificity on your low extremity. Your strength, reflexes and any accompanying pain resulting from specific movements will all be a necessary consideration.

Treatment Options

More commonly, a conservative approach, such as chiropractic treatment, is highly effective. Sciatica can be caused by a variety of underlying issues. Treatments will vary based on the cause. Our treatments are not invasive, and excludes surgical procedures and medications. Our approach is focused on minimizing pain by addressing inflammation, spinal issues, and significantly improving range of motion.

Beat the Heat This Summer!

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 20:25:26 GMT

Portland Summer Heat Got You Down?

Here are a few tips to beat the heat in Northern Oregon this summer.

It has only been a small number of days detached from an extensive stretch of 90 degree Portland summer heat, and another heat wave is already expected in the Portland metro region.

Though the Oregon Coast will be much cooler, with highs in the 70’s departing town is not always a readily available option for most Portlanders.

The creative people at PDX Parent have collectively produced a reference list of activities and venues for you and children of all ages to venture to during these brutal summer days:

• Portland Art Museum – family tours

• Grand Central and KingPins – Children Bowl Free

• Multnomah County Library – summer reading

Here are a few quick guide maps that may help this summer as well:

• PDX Parent Ice Cream Shop Map

• Kind-friendly restaurants

• Kind-friendly breweries and pubs

Here are some additional ways to remain safe and cool during excessive temps:

(Provided to you by the Oregon Health Authority)

Stay chill…

• Air-conditioning is your new friend!

• Minimize exposure to the sun between the hours of 10:00 am to 4:00 pm when UV rays are most damaging.

• Allow fresh air to flow throughout your living space, and close curtains/blinds on west-facing windows during daylight hours.

• Use electric fans to eliminate hot air from rooms or draw in cooler air.

• Wear lite clothing and cover your skin from the sunlight.

• A cool compress, mister, and cool showers can be your new friend.

• Refrain from hot meals.

• Do NOT leave any baby, kid or pet in a parked vehicle.

• Dress little ones in lightweight, lightly-colored outfits.

• Apply sunscreen with at least SPF 15 prior to venturing outdoors.

How Massage Helps After an Auto Injury

Fri, 10 Aug 2018 20:24:44 GMT

Massage Helps Greatly After an Auto Injury

The main problem with auto injury is that the whiplash directly damages the ligaments of the spine which significantly affects the stability of the body’s structures. This is exactly what our team of massage therapists target to help get you better quickly and efficiently.

Signs You May Need to Visit Us

Here are some signs you should look for after a car accident that may indicate you have a bigger auto injury claim on your hands than you realized.

Concussion

You are concussed when you have had a blow to the head that may have taken you temporarily out of consciousness. Most auto injuries happen as a result to a violent shock to the body. Unfortunately the body is so resilient in the moment of shock that we do not typically feel the effects of the injury until days or even weeks later.

If your head was hit during an auto accident, it is very likely that you may have a concussion and not even know it. If you have, and experience headaches since the accident, massage therapy can help reduce them.

Whiplash

A jerk of the head during an auto accident can easily cause instant whiplash to the neck and spine. This is an over extension of the spinal cord that can disrupt nerve endings, pinch nerves, and dislodge hanging ribs. All of these possible and very likely events can lead to ongoing headaches, stiffness, and sore muscles. It is important not to overlook these very important signs. Massage therapy can help those soft tissue regions to relax and allow for proper healing.

Knee Pain

All too often an auto injury will consist of complains of knee pain. This is due to the fact that your body had been thrust forward, forcing your knees into the dash. It is very common for knee injury to go unnoticed as most effected parties are hyper focused on making certain everyone involved is okay, and trying to get everyone out of harms way. You may notice your knees are sore, achy and walking or bending hurts. Massage can help this region greatly!

Other than the obvious spinal injuries than can come with any car accident, these three topics are the ones that most individuals tend to brush off. These three can also cause the most ongoing pain and complains when not addressed with a medical professional right away. Even if you think you feel fine after an auto injury, it is important to be assessed and receive massage to the entire body for a few weeks at minimum to ensure your body is healing properly.

Keep Energized! Ways to Get Through the Day

Fri, 03 Aug 2018 20:24:06 GMT

Lack of Energy? Tips to get through the day and keep energized!
1. Positive Thinking

A positive mindset can help improve your overall feeling of well being and energize your body.

Positive thought does not mean you simply keep your head in the sand and take no notice of life’s less agreeable circumstances. Positive belief just means that you approach ugliness in a more helpful and fruitful way. It is not helpful to relish in the pain and agony of the unknown. A positive outlook is guaranteed to improve your energy, whereas a negative overall outlook is more likely to wane your energy and burn you out quicker both physically and mentally.

Practice reframing.

Rather than stressing about a travel, for instance, be thankful for the fact that you have the funds for a car and get to spend a few extra moments rocking out to music or the news, accepting that there is absolutely nothing you can do about the traffic.

happy

2. Be Active

Get some physical activity to break up your day. Psychology expert, Richard Boyatzis, states that there is strapping evidence to recommend that habitual bodily or leisurely activities throughout your day can arouse compassion and creativity in the workplace.

Pursuant to Robert Gotlin, DO, a specialist in sports medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital and Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, the benefits of physical activity for an improved energy are double: A daily fitness regimen will ignite your body’s energy and mood, both of which contribute to your overall health and well-being.

activity

3. Be Present in the Moment

All too often we as human creatures tend to space out, romanticize and day dream. It’s a great way to pass the time. However, when you are at work or driving the kids around to their various activities, or trying to learn something at school, it is easy to fall victim to disassociating our minds from the present moment. Staying present is the mindful practice of participating in the activities that are in front of your face.

Being Intentional

Mindfully and intentionally staying present is challenging when you are already overwhelmed or feel rundown. When we permit ourselves to day dream, or veer off track from our originally intended task, the body also goes into auto-pilot. When you are being intentional, that means you are mindfully engaging your system. If you are not engaging your system (body and brain) you run the risk of putting it into “rest mode” which quickly drains your energy and causes instant feelings of tiredness.

Engage with others intentionally. Be mindful that your mind may be veering off from the conversation and mindfully bring your energy back into the room. Make it a point to notice the colors in the room. The sounds around you. The sights and what others are trying to communicate to you. This will engage your neurotransmitters and build greater fibers within the brain which in turn stimulate energy in the mind and body.

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Spring is in the Air!

Wed, 11 Apr 2018 20:21:51 GMT

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! Time to Get Moving!

How getting out and moving our bodies can improve your health! So Get Moving! Moving the body and keeping active physically is essential to maintaining flexibility and range of motion. The body was designed for walking, not sitting or slouching at a desk. So get up and get your bodies moving!

Get Active this Spring

Whether it’s a stroll in the park or through the woods with a friend…

Something as simple as a daily brisk walk can help you live a healthier life. For example, regular brisk walking can help you: Maintain a healthy weight. Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

Friends Walk

… or a group walk on the weekend with your besties, getting active on a hike through our gorgeous State Parks…

From helping you lose weight and de-stress to lowering your blood pressure and reducing your risk of many chronic diseases—going for regular walks is one of the best and easiest things you can do for your health.

Get out of the office

… or a walk across the way to grab some lunch instead of sitting in some stuffy breakroom…

Whether you’re feeling stuck at work or you’ve been searching for a solution to a tricky problem, research shows it’s a good idea to get moving: According to a 2014 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, Learning, Memory, and Cognition, going for a walk can spark creativity.

Bike to Chiropractor

…or enjoying a bicycle ride to your local market, or better yet on your way to visit your favorite chiropractor!

Any extra steps taken to get your bodies moving is in your best interest! Take advantage that Spring has sprung! The sun is slowly peaking it way around the cloudy corners to greet you! The air is crisp and fresh! Grab a coat and get moving! You never know what you might discover about yourself.

Got Flora?

Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:20:33 GMT

Gut Flora

Is your mind not properly directing your body? Or is it your body not properly giving to your mind?

A person or child presenting with eczema, asthma, and/or digestive problems would indicate compromised got flora and immunity, and this should be a red flag! Severe eczema, Asthma, allergies, ADHD, epilepsy and insulin dependent diabetes are a cause for concern for everyone. It is more common for our children and adults to have disorders, dysfunctions, syndromes, and disease all relate to inadequate gut flora and viral issues.

Gut Flora

Having good bacteria in the gut is the best way to keep candida, bad bacteria, and viruses under control. Well functioning gut flora will keep those pathogens low. It will also maintain the integrity of the gut wall so it does not cause leaky gut syndrome. The absence of a greatly reduced beneficial bacteria causes a sick person’s digestive system to be taken over by opportunistic microbial gut flora. Constantly producing a river of toxicity flowing from the gut to the brain! This is the toxicity can create autism, schizophrenia, hyperactivity, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and many more psychological phenomena.

What can we do?

1. First thing is to STOP giving your gut what ails it.

Processed carbohydrates feed pathogenic bacteria and fungi in the gut, promoting their growth. Apart from that they create a glue-like environment within the intestinal wall for various worms and parasites to take hold and develop. Yes, we can easily grow worms and parasites within our body when we give our body what they want, and not enough of what they don’t. Micro creatures produce toxic substances that enter the bloodstream and literally poison you while being pumped throughout the body. An immune-compromised person who drinks sugary liquids and munches on fried or processed snacks, will worsen their condition by these food choices. Some common foods that can easily be avoided are breakfast cereals, non-fibrous foods packed with sugar, chips and popcorn, overly processed wheat products such as breads and pastas, and dairy products.

2. Secondly DO feed your gut flora.

Improve your gut flora with both probiotics and prebiotic’s. Probiotics provide your body with naturally occurring bacteria strains that are healthy for your digestive system. Prebiotics are a combination of fiber and starches that actually feed the good bacteria in your gut. It is important that you not only rebuild the good bacteria within your gut, but that you also add more new bacteria to your system. Then you must feed it to grow. What you should know is if you were on steroids or antibiotics at any time in your life, your good bacteria has been wiped out. Therefore it is important to implement new probiotic bacteria and feed it daily. We do this by taking probiotic capsules or fermented drinks and foods, and adding specific fibers and complex starches to our diet, or supplementing a prebiotic powder.

I also recommend a good digestive enzyme, such as papaya seed. This will help aid your gut and intestinal system to process out the bad bacteria as it begins to die. As good bacteria can grow from healthy foods and starches, bad bacteria grows from unhealthy foods and unhealthy starches.

What healthy foods are best?

Food is Medicine

Green leafy vegetables (spinach, collard greens, kale, broccoli, butter lettuce, arugula), zucchini, asparagus, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, apples in the red variety, pears, bananas, raspberries, wild blueberries, papaya, and mango are just a few examples of some perfectly gut friendly foods that you should try to implement into your diet each and every day.

Fermented Foods are Necessary

Health fermented foods that should always be incorporated are kombucha, kefir, pickles, sauerkraut, true sourdough breads or rounds, kimchi, miso, tempeh, and vegan yogurt with live cultures. The consumption of fermented, probiotic foods has many benefits. The microflora that lives in fermented foods creates a protective lining in the intestines and shields it against pathogenic factors, such as salmonella and E.coli.

Remember, when you grow your good gut bacteria, you will begin to flush out the bad cultures. Once you are successful in this, you will find that your bad food cravings may lesson, you may even flush out some unwanted fats, and your energy should improve. Many rave about improved skin conditions, asthmatic symptoms disappearing and improved overall mobility. The most appealing are the reports and studies wherein medication is reduced, and brain function vastly improved! So get eating! What are you waiting for!

But Now We’re Stressed Out!

Mon, 19 Mar 2018 20:19:55 GMT

Mind & Body

The two are one. Twenty One Pilots brought a hit to the music scene with “Stressed Out” that resonated with thousands of fans across the country. “Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days”. What adult doesn’t feel that way from time to time? stressed out

Sports medicine doctors understand the cumulative importance of mental health helping body wellness. Our mind controls the ship, and the ship reacts to it’s every whim. Psychological issues are important in dealing with orthopedic distress and injuries. More often than not, people choose to deny any potential underlying contributions. Sympathy for the human mental function lacks heavily in today’s society. “We’re stressed out” isn’t just some random lyrics in a popular song, it has become a mantra for the modern family just trying to get by.

Make up your mind

Are you willing to support your mind to improve your body? Is being stressed out often directly connected to your immune dysfunction? Is it triggering an Epstein Bar Virus? Is it actually increasing your pain tolerance? These are questions you should be asking yourself. Additionally, psychological stressors unequivocally influence brain function and brain wave activity. Aliening the mind with the body is essential to proper function, reduction of change of injury, improvement of physical and emotional health, and overall quality of life.

But what can you do about it? Below we have listed some beneficial activities that you can add to your daily routine to help you reduce stress and improve the quality of your life.

Just Breath

Unconsciously the human body takes several shallow breaths throughout the day. These short, stinted breaths can actually produce or worsen stress responses in the body when ignored. Without you even knowing. So just breath. Be more mindful of your breathing throughout the day and you may find yourself less stressed out.

Peace & Quiet

It is good practice to take just 10-15 minutes each day in a quiet secluded space where you can rest without interruption. Sit or make yourself comfortable. Notice your breathing. Slow your mind. Feel your breath fill your lungs, and then pay attention as the breath slowly leaves you.

Continuing, take a deep breath slowly through the nose. Hold it for just 1 or 2 seconds, then gently let go of your breath out through your mouth. Feel your body tension release with each breath out.

Slowly stretch your arms above your head, reaching for the sky, while continue to breath in through the nose. Upon holding your breath, then slowly relax your arms and bring them down as you release the air from your lungs and breath out through the mouth.

Repeat these simple steps as needed, and you should feel more relaxed, less stressed out, level headed and able to manage your day better than before.

Massage Rehabilitation After a Slip n Fall

Sun, 18 Mar 2018 20:22:42 GMT

DON’T LET A SLIP N FALL INJURY GO UNTREATED

According to the Mayo Clinic, more than one-fourth of all spinal injuries occur as the result of a slip n fall. Many of these injuries can be serious and long-lasting, especially if not treated properly. An interesting fact about slip and fall injuries, many people often experience headaches and head pain. Even though they never hit their head.

A slip and fall incident is jarring to the body, much like a car accident. The body jerks and twists in abrupt movements that it was not prepared for. Many times this results in headaches, stiffness, and nerve pain. Simple movements after a slip and fall incident will cause discomfort and limited your range of motion. The best method of action is a few weekly sessions of massage rehabilitation and chiropractic adjustments for the first month preceding an injury.

What did our doctor’s have to say?

Our Chiropractors are skilled in providing a wide array of treatment options. Treatment may include: flexion therapy, massage therapy, and others developed for the treatment of chronic and acute soft tissue injuries. Our clinic provides comprehensive slip n fall therapy, relying on state of the art therapeutic techniques based on the most recent of scientific data and studies.

Recent snow, icy roads, and freezing rain throughout the Portland Oregon Metro area has caused an overwhelming report of slip and fall incidents. Hospitals and urgent care facilities are being over loaded with emergency cases. Unfortunately, hospitals can only provide splints and medication to injured patients.

How to treat:

Treatment for soft tissue and muscle strains begins with the body through the use of consistent chiropractic adjustments and massage rehabilitation is essential. These therapies help to release pinching nerves with resulting pings of pain, improve flexibility and range of motion, and inevitably stop the pain all together. An in-office assessment can quickly tell us what your treatment plan needs to be. Furthermore, how often you should be seen, and which at-home exercises we can safely recommend that you can do in your own time to further improve your healing.

Call Today: 503-206-4620

Massage Rehabilitation treatment can easily be referred by our Chiropractors, and sometimes even completely covered by your health insurance. Either way, we have your best interests at heart. You are in good care at Elevation Chiropractic with any injury or flareup, even slip n fall instances. Don’t delay a small pain or discomfort as it can always turn into a much more serious issue down the road that can last for years if you discard it as nothing now.

Our licensed massage therapist are specifically trained to treat soft tissue injuries in a rehabilitative sense. They work with some insurance groups under the direction of Dr. Justin Davis and through his referral to bring your mobility back and reduce your pain levels.

Low Back Attack!

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:19:23 GMT

The Myths of Low Back Injury

As we grow and life moves forward, our knowledge of the body increases. We are able to dispel some common misconceptions about pain and treatment because of this. Most common are the assumption that those with “back breaking” jobs, the one’s who dig ditches or lay tile or work the docks all day long, they are most susceptible to low back injury.

Injury is not a sole cause to back pain; however, most complaints at the physician’s office that do not specify a fall or very specific causation are typically viewed as temporary and self-resolving. Unfortunately, something “self-resolving” can actually prove to be chronic and ongoing if not treatment proactively.

What Can You Do?

1. Get Active

Data shows us that those with a sedentary lifestyle; truck drivers and office staff; are at equal risk. This is the #1 source of weakness induced low back injury.

2. Reduce Stress

The #2 source of back pain in general is emotional stress. No matter the trigger, it is substantially important to minimize stress and increase self-care methods. “Me time” is no longer just a privilege of the Executive Employer. It is clear that todays parent, admin support staff, and student is more in need of regularly scheduled “me time” than any. These types of daily workers are at the top of the stress chain and require relaxation, exercise, therapy, massage and chiropractic care.

3. Mindless Movement

The #3 top common reason for low back injury – mindless movement. Improper exercise, picking up something using the wrong area of the body, sudden twists and turns, impractical shoes, or incorrect breathing and posture are all examples of mindless movement. It is easy to do any of these at any given time throughout the day. At times, these mindless movements can add up to one very big issue. If not treated proactively, one issue can become a chronic ongoing source of pain.

Tired of not giving your body what it needs to work better for you? Click HERE to request an Appointment and put a little “Me Time” into your week! Click HERE to read more about How We Treat our patients.

What Causes Neck Pain

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 21:12:21 GMT

Neck Pain and it’s causes: a Chiropractor’s Perspective.

It’s amazing, but for the better part of a decade now (my how time flies) I’ve been dedicating my life to the study and treatment, in both graduate school and as a chiropractor, to neck pain. What I’ve found is often we as a medical society use a “paralysis by analysis” mindset when looking at neck pain. As a Chiropractor, neck pain is something I see and treat every day. Most Chiropractors across the country deal with the same thing….so what exactly is the cause??

Common neck pain

There are multiple reasons why you may have your current neck pain. A chiropractor or medical doctor may have diagnosed you with any of the following big scary words: disc injury, arthrtiis, degeneration, stenosis, etc. The real question is: are we spending too much time with the specific diagnosis/paralysis by analysis? My perspective is that yes, indeed we are. We may be able to diagnose a possible reason why there is a specific kind of pain at this exact moment in time, but why did the body end up in this position in the first place??

Staying in One Place

Neck pain continues to become more and more common, not only in the US but across the world. At least half of all Amercians have neck pain throughout the course of a year. The largest cause which we are continuing to find is that prolonged sitting and improper posture is the largest affecting factor to neck pain. This causes the joints in the neck to get stuck in the forward/slumped position. The neck is not the only area affected by this position; the shoulders and mid back follow and you get the “slumped look”.

Posture

This slumped look starts locking your joints in the wrong position. A perfect example of what this is doing to your body is when you get up from a seated position: you stretch, you walk funny for a minute = everything is off! If you do this for long enough periods all your joints really get used to being in a certain position, which then causes the muscles to follow the same path. Before you know if you’re very very stiff from your joints, and your muscles and body aches…even though you haven’t been doing anything physical! And with how much our society sits these days, it is easy to see why a chiropractor has got his “hands full” of neck pain patients.

Muscles and Joints

Chiropractic directly treats this problem, by manually and literally taking the neck joints and putting them back where they should be and out of the locked forward position. Muscles causing neck pain is also treated by a chiropractor, as the spinal adjustments turn off muscle spasm and decreases the prolonged tightness and muscle tone to areas surrounding the joints.

We will continue to dive into the different treatment approaches to neck pain, compared and contrasted with chiropractic and other forms of treatment.

Recent Work Injury?

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 21:14:15 GMT

Hurt at Work?

Don’t let a small pain turn into a major problem! Getting hurt at work happens, and we are here when it does.

We have previously touched on workers compensation treatment and work injuries with the main focus of treatment being Chiropractic. Because most common work injuries cause a sprain/strain, Chiropractors (specifically sports-med) are the ideal provider to provide quality comprehensive rehabilitation care.

What do I do?

If you have been injured through a work accident, you have the choice of what kind of care you would like. Many times you have the choice of who you want to be the attending physician for your care. It is common for the human resources department to refer an injured worker to a particular physician, one who knows how to close down a case early.

Note it is your body and your health care! You have the right to choose who you want treating you! If you’re in Oregon and have a work injury, you can get chiropractic care in two ways.

Steps to take:

-After the injury call our chiropractic center immediately and schedule your appointment. If you go this method then you have 30 days of chiropractic care that’s covered for you to help heal your injuries. After 30 days if you still need treatment, we will refer you to a primary care provider to take over as the attending physician. Many times they will refer you back our office for continued care.

-If you have seen another doctor first, then they will be in charge of your care, but most of the time they won’t be the main treating doctor. In fact, the majority of the time they will refer you out to another provider to perform most of the treatment. In this regard you can request a referral for a chiropractor. Ultimately it’s your health, make certain your physician recognizes that and provides you with the comprehensive rehabilitation care that you so desperately need and deserve.

Our doctors are here for your rehabilitative needs. Our office specializes in comprehensive care and provides each patient with a full initial assessment. During assessment your doctor will devise a thorough and tailored treatment plan, and as you progress through treatment he will readjust your plan as needed to provide you with an ultimate care experience.

Our doctors are on multiple workers compensation panels. If you’ve been injured, call us at 503-206-4620 and get in to see us first. As you can see from the facts above, it often will provide superior results to your injuries and pain.

What a Pain in the Neck!

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 21:13:07 GMT

Neck Pain CAN be helped!

I know that dealing with neck pain is never an easy task. You twist, turn, try leaning back, try leaning forward. There’s really not a whole lot you can do in a given day once you start to experience neck pain. Using chiropractic for neck pain is a pretty well-known treatment method these days; unfortunately it has almost become comical at just how simple it is. You come in, lie down on the table, then a few yanks and cracks later you’re done. In and out in 5 minutes flat. Here’s why Sports Medicine Chiropractic treatment is better.

So why fix it if it ain’t broken?

This is a very outdated chiropractic treatment philosophy. These days there are many more clinics adapting a “sports medicine” philosophy.

Let’s take a patient suffering from neck pain. They could walk into 2 different chiropractic clinics and have 2 completely different experiences. One clinic they get the standard treatment (in and out in a few minutes), and the other is sports medicine. At the sports medicine clinics the standard chiropractic neck pain treatment will be applied, but also a whole host of other treatments will be explored:

-Electrical Muscle Stimulation

-Ultrasound

-Soft Tissue work

-Massage

-Therapeutic Exercises

-Kinesiology Taping

Better Care

These are just a few things that are becoming much more mainstream for chiropractic neck pain patients we treat in the Tigard community, all of which lead to a much faster recovery time and ultimately less time and money spent at the doctor’s office. Much more to come on this and other types of conditions, including those that can increase risk of neck pain, that a sports med chiropractor can keep to a problem before it even begins.

Neck Pain Self Treatment

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 21:10:06 GMT

Does it feel like you’ve been K.O.’d?

Dealing with neck pain can be very aggravating. Stiff, sore, aching neck and shoulder. After a while you start to feel like you’ve been in a boxing match, and you didn’t exactly win. So what do you do? If you ask around, friends will give you their take. Blogs online will say to either use heat or ice. Should you stretch or rest? Didn’t someone say something about getting up and moving, or, are you supposed to put it in a brace? Neck pain self treatment can be looked down upon, but there are some helpful tips on what you can do at home safely.

The answer to these questions can be all over the place depending on what resources you use for the justification of neck pain self treatment.

So what can I do?

Neck pain is very common, affecting nearly half of all Americans. This is directly relatable to our increasing reliance on sitting during both work and during our off time. Massage and Chiropractic are the most common initial treatment methods that most people begin with, followed by acupuncture and physical therapy. Then there are many that choose to go the drug and surgical route right off the bat. Neck pain self treatment, when taught with the emphasis of chiropractic, can help to maintain good motion of joints within the neck and back.

How to properly self treat

Although it varies from case to case, there are several general rules when applying self treatment for neck pain. The mostly used general rule regarding neck pain self treatment is ice for fresh injuries. You generally can’t go wrong in the first 24-48 hours of an injury or flareup with an ice cold gel pack on your neck.

Keep Your Body Moving

Sat, 09 Dec 2017 21:08:13 GMT

Keep moving and keep your health!

Sitting Will Kill You!

As a matter of fact, studies have showed that lack of keeping your body moving will actually diminish your lifespan! Sedentary lifestyles to a chiropractor are considered self-destructive behavior. So stop acting out and start stepping out! Chiropractors will appreciate it!

Your Body is Amazing!

Your body wants to show you what it can do, but moving it is the only way to ensure its ability to lower your heart rate and blood pressure and to improve joint health and mental function. Dr. Justin Davis asks “Did you know that the human heart beats around 100,000 times per day?”! But when you live a less active lifestyle, your heart is not operating at its best and sedentary function settles the organs and blood cells, diminishing the flushing out of cholesterol and other fatty tissues that can build up and cause all sorts of destructive issues. This 97223 chiropractor often chats with patient about moving more.

Furthermore, it takes the human body 12 hours to completely digest a meal. When you keep your body moving it aides in digestion so that waste is not left behind to build up and cause additional prolonged digestive and function issues.

Additional benefits of physical activity approved by chiropractors are:

-Improved joint health

-Lower resting heart rate

-Improved immune function

-Increased flexibility

-Improved mental function

-Increased muscular strength and endurance

-Better control of body fat

-Higher quality of sleep

-When you don’t keep your body moving:

*Not chiropractor recommended

-Loss of bone density

-Stiffening of joints

-Weakening of muscles

-Weakening of the heart and lungs

-Degeneration of the cellular energy systems

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that physical inactivity constitutes the fourth leading cause of death globally, causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths** globally. So stop killing yourself! Get up, get moving, take a walk through a local park, walk the dog, go for hike, swim in the river, ride a bicycle, or do 20 minutes of chiropractor recommended yoga in the comfort of your home.

Dr. Justin Davis encourages all patients of all ages and body types to keep your body moving! Lower your heart rate and blood pressure, and improve joint health and mental function with increasing your average steps per day, moving your muscles in your arms and stretching the body more often throughout the day.

Tension Headache Help

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 21:07:26 GMT

HOW can chiropractic assistance help tension headaches?

The looming question: what exactly are tension headaches and how can a visit to our Chiropractic office help? When people think of a tension headache complaints, they usually associated exclusively with muscle tension which is true but is not the entire answer for the underlying causes. While this can be the case, it is often much more complicated than that. Our doctor talks about and shows the relationship between the neck muscles and the neck joints regarding how to help a tension headache. More specifically, what you can do to help

Here’s how most think about treating the underlying causes for tension headaches:

-Massage

-Stretching

-Pills from the Cabinet

-Medical Doctor

What Chiropractic Can Do:

We get a good amount of patients coming into our clinic that complain of headaches. Specifically tension headaches, usually getting the Chiropractors advice occurs after they’ve exhausted the others listed above. The common definition of tension headaches is where as the day progresses there’s a feeling of tightness and tension the upper part of the neck and it gradually turns into pain that starts on both sides of the head. This gradually goes up and over to encompass the entire head region resulting in a headache and you looking up treatments online to get help. Below is a useful video by a Chiropractor explaining some of the underlying causes and how we are useful in helping.

This problem usually occurs from sitting all day in a generally poor posture looking at a computer all day. Or at a phone, which medical providers have started referring refer to as “text neck.” As these complaints continue we at first try to ignore them, then treat with whatever someone we know recommends, but in the end many times a call to the Chiropractors office is what gets the true underlying cause to go away. It’s because when those tight muscles pull on the joints enough then the joints will go out, meaning you can stretch all day but that won’t put those joints back into place.

What you can do?

Please call our clinic today! We are located in just off the freeway in Tigard Oregon, making it convenient to get to us from Beaverton, Portland, Tigard, or Lake Oswego. Here we are going to help treat your complaints to improve your day-to-day function. Another key part is Rehabilitation, where we continue to show you what you can do on your own at home to keep these problems from returning. Check out our Sports Chiropractic approach to Neck Pain HERE.

Let us show you the power of the Chiropractors hand for help with your Tension Headaches! We are at 9370 SW Greenburg Road, Tigard Oregon, 97223. Give us a call today, or you can click here to Request an Appointment where all you need is to put in your email and we’ll contact you. We also conveniently contact you via text message if that is easier; whatever we can do to make it easier to get you the help you need!

Deny the Fried Foods

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 21:05:46 GMT

Put the Fried Foods Down!

We’ve come a long way in our society regarding consumption of fried foods since the original Supersize Me documentary came out. We have certainly improved to where we are making much more healthy choices, especially when it comes to eating out. However, it can be difficult when you’re looking for a quick meal to keep away from fried foods, specifically fried potatoes. In an article recently posted at Medical News Today, there is new evidence that eating fried potatoes weekly can almost double your risk of an early death. The article can be somewhat confusing where it appears at first glance that you increase this risk by eating fries 2-3 times per week. This is not the case, it is 2-3 portions taken in weekly. This could even be your “cheat meal” once a week where you gobble down a double set of fries.

Fried potatoes in your house:

What we’re referring to doesn’t just mean going out to a restaurant for fried foods, but also in your pantry. Remember, fried potatoes also include potato chips along with fries. The potato as an unrefined vegetable can be perfectly healthy included in a regular diet, however it’s when we slather it up with ranch or treated as fried foods before consumption that really turns a vegetable into something more harmful to your health. Here’s a common list of fried foods and fried potatoes that end up consumed without even realizing it:

-French Fries

-Potato Chips

-Hash browns

-Potato Wedges

-Fried potato cakes

So what now?

Here’s your Goal: start small and replace one meal a week with an alternative to fried carbohydrates. For example: a small salad. Continue onward to where you are replacing more frequently the deep fried or carbohydrate rich food with a clean vegetable base. Below is a video with some helpful hints to get started. Remember, you’re not looking to make a complete 180 degree change, but a gradual slow improvement. This can even mean replacing that bag of potato chips you have for lunch with a tortilla salad (salad with sprinkled tortilla chips. Sure it’s not perfect, but it’s about 90% better than those French fries you were eyeing.

Foods that make snacking or meals easier to get crispy vegetables:

Here’s a quick list of some eat to make (or buy) snacks that will replace your desire for some crunchy fried foods. These can be good when you have the urge to grab a bag of potato chips, or sit down to a big plate of French fries. Remember, it’s all about the 90/10 rule; occasionally you will fail just make sure it’s not an epic fail!

-Carrot sticks

-Celery sticks

-Ants on a log with sesame seed butter and raisins

-Brussels sprouts baked with coconut oil

-Grilled broccoli

-Grilled cauliflower

-Kale chips

-Edamame

-Over-baked crispy asparagus

If you ever want more information regarding helpful diet hints, please schedule an appointment by calling our friendly staff at 503-206-4620. Our Tigard clinic is open all weekdays except Thursday, and are open late into the evening. We have more helpful health information and tips at our Facebook page. Our blog also has many good articles we’ve written regarding many health topics, which you can access by clicking here. Learn about Tension Headaches here.

Regardless: hang in there! Easing away from fried foods and changing your diet is a set of gradually steps. And even though you may fall down here and there and indulge in a plate of fries, you’re still going to make progress as long as you keep your goals in front of you. Even the failures still result in a 3 steps forward, 1 step back. And that’s how you reach the finish line of health!

TAX SEASON STRESS!

Mon, 20 Mar 2017 21:32:23 GMT

TAX SEASON STRESS???

Did you know Stress at the Computer is the #1 Cause of Shoulder Pain!

We often discuss seasonal stress and how the #1 cause of neck, shoulder and mid back pain is emotional stress! Your mind is a very powerful machine, and like most machines, when it gets overloaded it heats up, shuts down and takes longer to process simple tasks. When the mind is overworked or stressed, similar reactions can be expected. Don’t let tax season stress get the best of you!

Tax Time

During this time of year when everyone is worried about what their taxes will look like, or stressing over what items they may or may not need to gather together for their yearly assessments, it is easy to become overwhelmed emotionally. Dr. Justin Davis says your mind is already dealing with the day to day events of working, paying the bills, and family obligations and when you add in additional stress, like Tax Season (especially if you’re a CPA), and you can expect to experience additional painful aches and tension in the neck, shoulder and mid back where complaints are typically lower or even non-existent.

When sudden life stress pops up, the body reacts in the same manner as if you were suddenly physically jarred, much like in an auto accident when the body’s muscle tighten up in an attempt to brace for impact. It is a protective instinct for the body to react physically to your sudden emotion. Unfortunately, however, that presents a new set of complaints.

Best way to avoid this?

According to Dr. Justin Davis, preemptive care is the #1 Best Way to avoid stiff, sore, and painful aches due to tax season stress from occurring in the first place. The simplest way is to think of it as an annual treatment program. Get yourself into a good physical state before the impact of sudden stress and tension strikes! Regular weekly adjustments and electrical muscle stimulation can be the best proactive defense in battling against upcoming tax stress.

Stress Relievers

Your body can only be as good to you as you are to it, and a healthy body is one that is functioning at it’s best, not suffering from painful aches at the spur of stress. Healthy bodies deal with pain and stress like mature, capable adults; while an unhealthy physical body with joints out of place and limited mobility will react like a spoiled child at the onset of any additional sudden stress.

Contact Us Today!

Don’t let Tax Season get the best of you! Come on down to Elevation Chiropractic & Rehabilitation and get your joints and muscles healthy and well prepared for the upcoming month!

Improve Energy with Supplements & Exercise

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 22:33:01 GMT

Energy is the #1 Complaint by most adults

It is quite normal to lose energy over time as we age. Hormonal changes cause our metabolic rate to change which further results in fluctuation of body fat and muscle mass. As we age, our fat cells tend to move deeper into the body organs, slowing blood flow and overall function, most often at a very mild rate. Additionally, the body’s cells age as we do, which can attribute to lowered endurance.

When the body is in it’s prime, it calls up a reservist enzyme that protects the cells from damage. However, as the cells age, they lose the ability to mobilize and begin to limit our other functions. This is a natural occurrence, and no one should ever feel alarmed by this. Learn more about Poor Posture and how that limits us here: Elevation Chiropractic & Rehab

What I can do to improve my energy levels?

The great thing about the body is that it responds very well to proactive action! Natural supplements, which can also be taken from a variety of foods, support your health through improving blood flow, elevating the metabolic rate, and aiding digestion. All of the aforementioned contribute to lowered inflammation and stamina.

Learn more about What We Treat here: Elevation Chiropractic & Rehabilitation

Suggested Supplements for Improved Energy:

Energy by Vitabase provides ephedra-free formulation, a complete B-vitamin complex, as well as important minerals and the herbs ginseng and eleuthero to support sustainable levels.

This product does not contain ephedra but instead uses ingredients such as guarana, yerbe matte, and green tea to support the thermogenic processes in the body. These ingredients are a natural source of caffeine and provide the equivalent of about one-half cup of coffee.

Exercises to Improve Energy:

Prevention.com provides 4 Workouts designed to improve your energy. These specific stretches and basic self-care exercises include techniques that everyone can do to improve blood flow, release built-up toxins, and improve mobility. These techniques can keep you moving and active which is guaranteed to spike your natural energy levels.

Keep those Joints Moving!

Is Your Posture Affecting Your Game?

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:31:27 GMT

IMPROVE YOUR GAME WITH IMPROVED POSTURE

If you observe boxers closely, it is readily noticeable that most of them maintain a certain swagger in their overall posture. Attitude is shown in all sports, not just in boxing, that often affects one’s overall posture, not just their mindset of getting into the game. This carries them throughout their career and often times heavily impacts the physical body in a very dramatic way. Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard Oregon Chiropractor, chats with us about posture affecting your game and overall sportsmanship. Improving your posture can and will make a significant difference in way you play, as well as how well you rest when you are not at play.

Sports personalities, like football star Cristiano Ronaldo or tennis sensation Maria Sharapova, knowingly or unknowingly, maintain a kind of deportment, which makes them easily recognizable and popular.

Brands such as Nike (located right next to Tigard Oregon) and Adidas recognized this unusual phenomenon, and have capitalized on it. They see posture, swagger, or even attitude, as an integral part of every successful athlete. Because of this attractive quality, these athletes become role models and make them top choices as spokespersons for sports brands. Dr. Justin Davis tells us such is the impact of maintaining that posture to stay on top of the game. In the Tigard Oregon area we see plenty of these amazing athletes as Nike is located just next door in Beaverton, OR.

One of the unique aspects of ballet training is the requirement that one learns to stand correctly before moving. The balanced placement of the torso over the legs-feet is crucial whereby the pelvis is centered, not tipped forward, sideward or backward. The abdomen is slightly drawn in and the diaphragm is raised. The shoulders are lowered (depressed), dropped naturally resting downward. The head is centered (fixated), and held straight with the eyes looking forward.

One should ‘feel energized’ in the standing position because ‘standing’ is an active position NOT at rest. Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard Oregon Chiropractor will often suggest and refer patients to obtain a standing desk at work and at home for this purpose. Firing the core and strengthening your standing posture is a perfect way to improve your stance. At the opposite end of that, with increased control to your core through the use of improving your posture, you will experience an improvement in your rest as well.

Posture can be defined in several ways:

The position of the body in any environment or mode such as standing, sitting, lying down, leaning forward/backward/sideward, walking, moving, or running. Posture is based on the position of the spine and all the joints in the musculoskeletal system, i.e., the relative arrangement of body parts.

It refers to the physical carriage: The way somebody holds his/her body, especially when standing.
It is a body position the body can assume (standing, sitting, kneeling, or lying down)…
It is also an attitude or frame of mind.
Posture is linked to a combination of neurological factors such as vision, touch, balance, kinesthetic awareness (sense of the location of muscle and joint movement), and a well functioning vestibular (inner ear). Psychological and/or emotional states, low self-esteem, depression, lack of sleep, and burnout are contributing factors that affect body carriage.

HOW PROPER POSTURE AFFECTS YOUR GAME

When you watch a sporting event, many times sports commentators will argue that there are players who are good “on paper”. This suggests that “on paper” assessment has something to do with the character, the temperament, and the posture of the player.

Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard Oregon Chiropractor brings us back to the game. Here’s how your posture can impact your game:

Confidence Boost – Sports enthusiasts appreciate athletes who still maintain their grace even if they are in their moment of great pressure. The more you pamper your nerves during intense moments, the more you get rattled.
Improved Productivity– Improved confidence also boosts your productivity naturally as you are more likely to actively progress toward making better payoff transactions. Scoring more points, subdue more opponents, etc.
Improved Communication – It all leads back to posture. Confidence is improved, action is improved and it is only natural for the leader within to project outwardly and stand tall with direction. Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard Oregon Chiropractor, has proven this in his own day to day activities at the office.

THE WALL TEST

Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard Oregon Chiropractor, discusses a simple at-home test that you can do to see if your posture needs improvement.

Standing with the back against a wall and heels 2-4 inches away, the hips, shoulder blades and back of the head should be touching the wall. If the head needs to be tilted back or the chin lifted to allow contact with the wall, this indicates imbalance in the neck and upper spine. The space present between the lower back and the wall should measure about one to two inches, or the thickness of a flat hand. A larger gap can indicate anterior pelvic tilt, and the absence of a gap may indicate posterior pelvic tilt.

How ever you get there, making an effort in the first place is your first step…and one you won’t regret.

Boost Brain Function

Tue, 10 Jan 2017 22:30:49 GMT

How can we boost the brain function as we age?

As we start aging, the mental faculties of our brain start decreasing. Studies by the University College of London found a decrease of 3.6 percent of mental reasoning in both the men and women as they reach 45 to 49. These results are quite disheartening for the people who still have a long way to go in their respective careers and profession. But, the latest studies as published in the Journal of Alzheimer Diseases shows that by doing weekly yoga and daily meditation can increase brain function memory power including the reduction in depression, Alzheimer, and other related mental problems. Dr. Justin Davis Tigard OR Chiropractor discusses how a healthy diet, strong specific yoga techniques and regular chiropractic adjustments can boost overall brain function.

The Brian

Brain also constitutes of gray matter which is found towards the surface of cerebral corpus and involved in the control of the muscles, sensory perceptions, emotions, speech, decision-making, and self-control. 20% of the oxygen goes into the brain out of which 95% enters the gray area. The more is the gray matter in the brain function, the more your brain functions and you increase the ability to think and make correct evaluations of your decisions. Regular chiropractic adjustments, yoga and other physical postures and pranayama increase the gray matter in the brain and helps aging people in coping with the stress, aging process and memory retention says Dr. Justin Davis Tigard OR Chiropractor.

Studies

Several studies have been conducted demonstrating considerable improvement in the mental functioning with regular chiropractic adjustments and yoga rather than any other form of exercise schedule. The study by Neha Gothe, a profession of kinesiology at Wayne State University found participants performing Hatha yoga are better in brain function tests regarding mental flexibility, switching of tasks etc as compared to the participants performing aerobic exercises.

Yoga

In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra it is mentioned “yoga chitta vritti nirodha”, this famous verse can be translated as “yoga is the reduction of fluctuations of the mind”. Yoga and other meditation techniques like Kirtan Kriya are best to bolster the cognitive function of the brain and to protect it from age-related decline.

Here are few basic yoga poses that are best for boosting the brain functioning:

Dr. Justin Davis Tigard OR Chiropractor

Sarvangasana: This asana increases the blood supply to the brain and helps in building the memory. Lie towards your back. Inhale and raise both your legs straight upwards. Support your back with your hands. Remain in this position for two minutes and come down slowly. Gradually increase its timing, say for 30 minutes.

Padmasana: It is a very simple yoga posture but best to give peace to the mind and enhance the mental power. For doing this pose, you only need to sit cross-legged on the ground with spine straight as shown in the picture. Keep the palms on your knees, close your eyes and relax. You will yourself feel mentally and physically relaxed and mental power increased.

Regular chiropractic adjustments along with these specific yoga exercises, agrees Dr. Justin Davis, is a sure way to boost brain function.

Sukhasana: It stimulates the brain by soothing the mind, body, and soul. Sit straight and spread your legs forward, now keep your left sole towards the inner edge of the right thigh and right sole towards the left thigh as shown in the picture. Place your palms on the knees and concentrate on your breathing with your closed eyes. Sit in this position for few minutes.

Garudasana: This balance posture helps in increase in focus and concentration. In fact, this pose derives its name from the Hindu God, Garuda which is known for its strength, focus, and power.

To perform this pose, stand straight with your both feet together and hands on your hips and look for a steady point. Bend your knees and cross your right leg across your left thigh and hook it behind the left calf. Then cross your arms, and locked against each other and try to join the palms. In this posture, always remember to keep your spine straight and focus and deep through your nose.

Paschimottanasana: This asana helps to calm your mind. To perform this pose, stretch your legs straight in front of you with your toes pointing upwards. Inhale, open your chest and straighten your spine. Then exhale and hold your palms together outside the feet. You can also keep your palms on your shins, or use a strap. Remember to take deep breaths, and as you exhale you will feel you have entered in your posture.

Nadi Shoddana Pranayama: Just five minutes of Nadi Shoddana Pranayama and the difference you will feel will be amazing. You will get clear, calm and focused mind. It is a complete yoga therapy that can increase your energy level and makes you relax whenever you feel anxious. Sit in a relaxed and comfortable position. Press your right thumb over your right nostril and inhale through left nostril. After the inhalation, press your left nostril with the right finger and exhale through the right nostril. Continue to do it for 3 minutes. When you have done it, allow your breath to come back to normal and notice the changes.

Shashankasana: Sharpen your brain by regularly doing this pose. Sit comfortably on your heels while keeping back and your neck straight. Bend your body over the thighs so that your forehead touches the mat.

Along with yoga, a rich diet that includes green vegetables, fruits and omega 3 and regular chiropractic visits are the best for memory and above all keep smiling.

These recommendations are provided by Dr. Justin Davis at Elevation Chiropractic located in Tigard OR. Always discuss any changes in your diet or physical routine with your primary care physician prior to beginning anything new.

Don’t forget to visit your local Tigard OR Chiropractor for your overall health!

Auto Accident? Chiropractic and massage can help!

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 22:28:45 GMT

Auto Accident Care in Tigard OR:

Active release and mobility technique touches on many variables of soft tissue injuries, which happen regularly in an auto accident.

Healing

If left to heal on its own, a muscle injury can result in scar tissue that can result in long lasting pain. Dr. Justin Davis teaches the car accident sufferers of Tigard OR that injuries to these areas can affect the mobility of the ligaments, muscles, blood vessels, fascia, and nerves; even the function of the brain. All of these areas are commonly affected by a car accident. The rehabilitation by our chiropractor, along with massage therapy, is utilized at Elevation Chiropractic through the active release muscle technique. This is used to improve range of motion, circulation, and overall nerve function, including release of pressure and friction.

Whiplash

Injury

The soft tissue injury and muscle damage caused by an auto accident quickly results in inflammation and swelling of the surrounding tissue which then leads to lasting pain. The body responds to this inflammation by laying down cross-fibers on the swollen tissue (aka: adhesion or scar tissue) in an attempt to stabilize the affected area. This is what we see in car accident patients who wait for weeks on end to come in for treatment – the damage has already been done. Unfortunately, this physical reaction needs help from your local chiropractor in Tigard OR, which will be released once the healing process has begun. Alternatives used to release stubborn scar tissue once active release rehabilitation has been performed is the Graston Technique.

More about soft tissue treatment…

READ MORE AND WATCH OUR VIDEOS ABOUT GRASTON HERE. Our Chiropractor, Dr. Justin Davis, and his massage therapists here in Tigard OR, across from the Washington Square Mall, use applied tension to muscle pain rather than compression. By doing this it helps release the restrictions on these soft tissue areas most commonly affected by an auto accident injury.

HOW DOES SCAR TISSUE AFFECT YOUR BODY?

{^^^ SEE LINK TO SEPARATE ARTICLE – RE: ADHESIONS – coming soon}

WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER ACTIVE RELEASE TREATMENT:

Sometimes the treatment for car accident pain can leave an increased feeling of soreness for the remainder of the day. After an active release and rehabilitation session with Dr. Justin Davis you will want to place an ice pack to the swollen area 1-2 times a day for approximately 15 minutes at a time. This decreases the risk of the muscle pain increasing too much and turning from tenderness into full-blow pain. After this then you will want to stretch using the specifically recommended at-home rehabilitation discussed with you by your local Tigard OR chiropractor.

Do your homework…

Finally an at-home therapeutic exercise that Dr. Justin Davis will discuss with you further during your sessions to help keep all of the muscle groups firing correctly and keep the injury under control. These specific instructions will help to prevent re-occurrence of scar tissue related to your car accident. Swelling during treatment and after significant stretching and exercise can be expected and is common. Ice to these areas will aid in reduction of swelling. Always remember, when in doubt – ice it out!

Baby It’s Cold Outside! Avoid those Icy Roads!

Mon, 19 Dec 2016 22:27:59 GMT

Icy Roads Alert!

It’s December and the weather isn’t frightful, but it is getting quite chill which means the risk of a car accident! As the signs icy roads with frost and snow make itself more apparent, it is important that us Tigard OR folk be more mindful of taking precautions when driving, and even walking. This is to avoid physical harm and accident due to the anticipated icy roads that can turn into an unexpected car accident. Dr. Justin Davis, our Chiropractor at Elevation Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is here to help support you through the icy season and keep your back health in check!

Driving on icy roads

Watch Out!

You may have noticed plenty of ice on the streets this morning, as well as on your car! Dr. Justin Davis is our chiropractor here with Elevation Chiropractic & Rehabilitation in Tigard OR and he readily anticipates weather-related injuries throughout the snowy season. A few simple ways to prevent a slip on ice accident or a car accident injury while driving on icy roads is to reduce your speed to a safe and comfortable rate. You should strive to avoid slamming on the breaks, slowing to a halt; and if you begin to slide (according to http://icyroadsafety.com) then turn your wheels in the direction the back end of your vehicle is sliding. Most importantly, always shy away from making any sudden movements while driving to keep that risk of a car accident low.

Walking

For walking conditions throughout Tigard, make certain to wear shoes with a sturdy bottom sole featuring large tracks or raised patterns (like a tire) to help you grip to the ground. Taking a lesson from the penguin is an acceptable way to avoid slippage! Who better than the penguin to educate on the best way to walk in icy roads and conditions. If you find yourself in a slick situation, point your toes out rather than straight or inward, centering your gravity in the core of your stomach, spread your feet so that they are aligned with your shoulders, and take slow, small steps (no more than 5-6 inches) at a time. Be sure to keep your hands free; not hiding them away in your pockets, and extend your arms to keep your balance if necessary. Dr. Justin Davis reminds us all to keep moving throughout the icy season with these helpful tips and rules of the road!

Car Accident?

If you do have a car accident or fall on the ice, give Dr. Justin Davis at Elevation Chiropractic & Rehabilitation a call at (503) 206-4620! Your local Tigard OR Chiropractor is here to help get you on a road to healing! Our webpage on Auto Injury will give you all the information you need on how to deal with the car accident situation and how to focus on the thing that’s most important, which is getting better!

Self Treatment for Rib Pain

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:26:59 GMT

Ouch, it feels like I’m getting stabbed by a knife in my back! Believe it or not, we’re being metaphorical here, we’ve heard these same type of words come out of someone’s mouth in our office in Tigard OR. The ribs and shoulder blade area are the most common area for this type of pain complaint to occur. Dr. Justin Davis believes that as the Chiropractor here at Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation, we need to continually give our Tigard OR patients the tools so that they can help themselves with shoulder blade pain self treatment to keep pain from returning. Specifically we really like to use home exercises, be it a mild 5 minutes every other day to daily 20-30 minute routines, to keep pain from returning. In previous blog posts there’s been emphasis on shoulder pain and back pain that’s actually due to an underlying rib pain problem.

We have a link to our Upper Back Pain page which gives great detail about this type of painful condition. On the page is a video of Dr. Justin Davis reviewing how our in-office treatment helps in decrease rib pain and keeps it at bay, but also the Chiropractor recommended self treatment is very important. This painful condition often doesn’t need too extensive of home care, but an ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure when it comes to persisting shoulder pain and blade pain that is always there or always seems to come back. And very often a foam roller can be a multi-functional tool that helps with many different types of painful conditions we treat here at Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation, and persisting back pain near the shoulder blade is one of the ways we teach home exercises

Above is a video of Dr. Justin Davis demonstrating how to use a foam roller to help with patient home care for persisting shoulder blade pain. We have to be careful when it comes to recommending home exercises because without a Chiropractor exam it is difficult to acertain what would be a beneficial exercise if you have a rib pain problem. It can also be possible that without getting your painful condition evaluated at a chiropractors office that some of the recommended self treatment we show could actually worsen the cause of shoulder pain and back pain. However for more people than not using a foam roller is a safe strategy one can use to help keep pain from returning in several areas of painful conditions.

Although no one person is the same, and that is included with any type of painful condition that walks into our Tigard OR office, there are often similarities as to what is causing back pain. This is because we live in a mostly sitting society which causes several types of problems in the body, which often leads to rib pain problems. When we sit our posture tends to cause slouching and slumping of the shoulders – see picture at the top of the page. When this rounding of the shoulders and back begins then the peak of the back of our shoulder blade becomes more prominent, which then causes rib pain dysfunction. Dr. Justin Davis jokes that as long as we sit all day then Chiropractors will always be in business because rib pain will always return. This is why we recommend to our Tigard OR patients the use of a foam roller for this type of nagging shoulder pain. The foam roller exercises demonstrated by in the video above directly targets the muscles and joints that lead to the sharp shoulder blade pain experienced by so many. The first part of using a foam roller is to work into the muscles around the back pain area and shoulder blade. Once the muscles are worked into around the shoulder blade pain area then often the rib will reduce gradually on its own. However the nice thing about the foam roller is that it also helps adjust the back and rib areas by rolling. Often patients will feel a pop as they are able to self adjust the back pain area on their own.

Again, there is a large emphasis that before starting any type of self treatment for this type of shoulder blade pain that you first get evaluated by a medical professional, in this case a Chiropractor would be the most specialized provider to evaluate the cause of back pain. You certainly don’t want home exercises to worsen a painful condition as part of your home care that is unnecessary or possibly harmful to what is causing the shoulder problem. To keep pain from returning you need to be active and intentional with what your home exercises, but most importantly know what type of self treatment home care is best for your shoulder blade pain. If you have questions about how Dr. Justin Davis can help you, please call our Tigard OR Chiropractor’s office at 503-206-4620. Additionally if you would like to set up a free 15 minute consultation with Dr. Justin Davis you can click the link above to request an appointment.

Rib Pain and Shoulder Blade Pain

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 21:26:18 GMT

Dr. Justin Davis here,

Chiropractor in beautiful Tigard Oregon (especially this time of year with the leaves changing colors, and today I’m giving some information regarding rib pain injuries. If you haven’t heard someone talk about popping out a rib, they are referring to where the upper back meets the ribcage forming a joint. This joint can become locked up, resulting in significant upper back pain and shoulder blade pain in the region. The cause of rib pain can vary significantly, but for many of our Tigard Oregon patients we find that it is often due to a quick unguarded movement or staying in a poor position for a long time. An example would be a quick and violent sneeze or twisting to grab something from falling that causes immediate shoulder pain. Often this upper back pain could be from sitting too long and then getting up too fast, or sleeping in a strange position and waking up with shoulder blade pain. Regardless of the cause, once you are suffering from rib pain you definitely need a Chiropractor to help fix the problem. Below is a video of yours truly, Dr. Justin Davis, reviewing some information regarding rib pain injuries:

The most common

Initial treatment most of the patients we get in our Tigard Oregon office is just letting it rest, which although it may feel okay, usually it ends up causing even more upper back pain in the end. While over the counter medications can help mask the rib pain symptoms, but more than likely a visit to the Chiropractor is necessary. As detailed in the video above, muscle work to calm down the spasm around the shoulder blade pain will initially help. After this then a Chiropractors adjustment to the area can be performed to the area, followed by immediate electrical muscle stimulation. At the end we usually find out Tigard Oregon patients respond well to kinesiotaping over the area of shoulder blade pain. We plan to release further videos revolving around this type of self care that will be done in the near future. Usually takes 1-3 visits before the rib pain and associated shoulder pain is gone. If you are experiencing these types of symptoms, get in to see us immediately. Just look up Chiropractor Dr. Justin Davis at 503-206-4620, located at Elevation Chiropractic in Tigard Oregon. One of the worst things you can do when you have upper back pain, which could very well be a rib injury, is let it sit. Once the muscles and joints get used to the rib pain area then often it will stay at a dull pain temporarily but come back really strong at a later date. -Dr. Justin Davis

Sleepless in Tigard

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 21:25:35 GMT

Sleepless nights?

Dr. Justin Davis, Chiropractor, and father to a 10 month old baby boy, knows all too well about being sleepless in Tigard.

Changes in life causing sleepless nights

“The first 2 months were an absolute blur”, Dr. Justin Davis says as he recalls his introduction to parenthood. “I never realized just how important sleep was until we had our first little monster. Suddenly 8 hours per night of sleep changed to 4-6 hours.” Soon colds became more relevant in the household. Forgetfulness and potential accidental injuries are suddenly something to be aware of! Stress can easily creep up on you with lack of sleep as well.

Daily Goals

Our goal is improved health, and with that this local chiropractor will assess your sleep habits to ensure your stress and chiropractic needs are not an associated reaction to sleeplessness. When you improve your sleep, your ability to mindfully assess projects, interact with others, even avoid potential injury is automatically improved as well. Weekly adjustments by your chiropractor, and even massage therapy, can help in improving sleepless nights.

Getting more sleep

If you aren’t getting enough sleep then you will run the risk of incurring an injury if you are engaged in sports or athletics. As a Chiropractor, Dr. Justin Davis aims to help his community not only with pain, but overall health. This also includes quality rest to keep injuries to a minimum. Healing can even take longer when your body is not well rested. Over 50% of adolescent athletes report getting less than 8 hours of sleep. This statistic is shocking! As it is, adolescents require more than 8 hours of sleep each day, and are placing themselves at a high risk of injury, exhaustion and reduction in grades and focus during moments of loss of quality sleep.

Reach Out

Dr. Justin Davis is most certainly not a “sleep” doctor, but as a Chiropractor, he does treat quite a lot of exhaustion related injuries. If you are suffering from loss of mobility, focus, increased injury, stiffness, overall mental fatigue, and stress or feeling overwhelmed due to loss of sleep; it is very possible that your body is begging to be adjusted! Give our office a call today for an initial visit and full physical assessment to see if chiropractic rehabilitation is recommended for you.

Carpal Tunnel and Instrument Assisted Mobilization

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 21:24:47 GMT

Carpal Tunnel and Instrument Assisted Mobilization:

Carpal Tunnel is painful and can cause mobility limitations. Dr. Justin Davis works with specific therapies to treat this syndrome everyday.

Can I get Relief?

There is finally some relief for carpal tunnel sufferers that chiropractors are beginning to use more regularly. Although there are few chiropractors in the Tigard OR area that truly specialize in carpal tunnel, it is certainly something that Instrument Assisted Mobilization continues to help with, and something we do here at Elevation Chiropractic. Wrist and hand pain and numbness in the wrist is very common, and is something Chiropractors can help with using the Instrument Assisted Mobilization, along with home rehabilitation to help.

Numbness and Tingling

Many times the wrist pain and numbness/tingling is not actually a true carpal tunnel syndrome, but actually a combination of problems leading to what is referred to as neuritis. This is where several different causes can create the symptoms in the hand and fingers, usually tight muscles, ligaments, and joints. However sometimes it is a true case of carpal tunnel syndrome, but regardless the Chiropractors treatment we apply is similar for all cases: loosen up the area with Instrument Assisted Mobilization tools. Once the muscles, tendons and ligaments are moving better – with less scar tissue – then further home care rehabilitation can be applied. This is why here at Elevation Chiropractic, we not only use Instrument Assisted Mobilization for the carpel tunnel syndrome suffers of Tigard OR, but also teach rehabilitation exercises and self care to help deal with the complaints from coming back.

What is “Instrument Assisted Mobilization”?

The demonstration video above is just one of the treatments Dr. Justin Davis did on this particular patient at our Tigard OR location; it gives a good quick version of what Instrument Assisted Mobilization looks like for a carpal tunnel sufferer. The video goes briefly into the different ways the Instrument Assisted Mobilization is applied by chiropractors or physical therapists, including to surrounding areas of the arm outside of the carpal tunnel.

Further therapies included

We did not include the rehabilitation component of the treatment, but making sure a patient has good home care is definitely a great way to help solve the problem as quickly as possible. This is a great treatment for anyone suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, or general arm and hand numbness or tingling.

If you, or someone you know, has these complaints and are looking at different chiropractors in the Tigard OR community, please call our office at 503-206-4620 to setup a consultation at Elevation Chiropractic.

Instrument Assisted Mobilization for Shoulder Pain

Tue, 24 May 2016 21:23:29 GMT

Shoulder Pain – Scraping the Area with Instrument Assisted Mobilization

As a Sports Chiropractor in Tigard, I see a decent amount of the local population’s athletes. And whether an athlete or not, most patients respond to more aggressive type of treatments. This is compared to Tigard Chiropractors who perform more passive and basic chiropractic care. And when it comes to shoulder pain, one of the treatments we utilize at our clinic is something called Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization or IASTM. Below there’s a quick video of what this looks like. There’s a 30 second intro, so if you just want to see the muscle scraping, go just under a minute in.

Using Chiropractic Instrument Assisted Mobilization for shoulder pain may be a little aggressive for some, in which bruising is common, as well as soreness for several days, but it can really change a lot of things. Our muscles can develop small adhesions in them, which is more or less scar tissue, that changes how the muscles work. Instead of being able to bend and stretch like a normal healthy muscle, the muscle develops little balls or lumps in it. Any chiropractor Tigard will tell you that in the shoulder muscles this can lead to shoulder pain, and Instrument Assisted Mobilization helps break up those small balls or lumps. Depending on how bad an area is, anywhere between 3 and 8 minutes is usually applied to a muscle group. For shoulder pain, using Instrument Assisted Mobilization to the whole rotator cuff and upper shoulder area really helps with relief.

When a new patient comes in to my tigard chiropractic clinic, and they are interested in Instrument Assisted Mobilization for shoulder pain, I typically tell a patient that it takes anywhere between 4-8 visits to really change things. But typically visit to visit there is gradual improvements, where the lumps decrease, and bruising or soreness decreases. Usually the first 2-3 visits have the most soreness, but afterwards the area feels much looser. If you have any questions about graston technique for shoulder pain, or would like to get treated at my Tigard Chiropractor location, please call us at 503-206-4620. -Dr. J

Go to Sleep!

Mon, 16 May 2016 21:22:45 GMT

Sleep and Injury Risk:

Well hello there, Dr. J, Chiropractor Tigard Community and all that, and oh yeah, very recently a new father. The past 2 months have been an absolute blur, as all parents can attest, but there’s something I noticed the other day I needed to take heed of. I never realized just how important sleep was until we had our first little monster and suddenly 8 hours per night of sleep changed to 4-6 hours. And I know all about the studies of sleep and pain or injury, but it wasn’t until I was face first in the middle of it that I realized the struggle is real! (#thestruggleisreal )

There’s a great graphic that I’ll post below showing some of the results of a sleep and athletics study performed by the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25028798 ) that goes through the information regarding amount of hours of sleep and injury rates. This is especially true, as a Chiropractor for Tigard local athletes, and especially high school athletes, which the study focused significantly on.

If you aren’t getting enough sleep then you will run the risk of incurring an injury if you are engaged in sports or athletics. As a Chiropractor, I aim to help the Tigard community not only with pain but overall health. This also includes quality rest to keep injuries to a minimum. I myself have experienced during my regular workouts just how much easier it is to be injured, and keep it injured after it occurs due to healing taking longer. For all of the kids who take place in sports each year, we really need to have more emphasis on proper sleep training and education on and off the sports field. This is especially true in that over 50% of adolescent athletes report getting less than 8 hours of sleep.

I’m certainly not a sleep doctor, but as a Chiropractor for Tigard local athletes, I can say that I do see a lot of injuries. And I can’t help but think how many of those injuries and pain are involved with poor sleep. Below is a video with some good tips that will help with getting to sleep and staying asleep. -Dr. J

Working your Core

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 21:22:05 GMT

Working as a Chiropractor in Tigard I have found that many patients that walk into my clinic tend to know they need to “do more core workouts.” During treatment we tend to find in many patients that there is either a core weakness or an imbalance of the core muscles. Many time one side of the “core” area is unstable. And of course when I say core muscles, I’m not just referring to the abdominal muscles, but to all the parts that make up the core. So when someone comes in and confesses to me, “Yeah I know I should be doing more core workouts to help with my low back pain,” it usually means they’re just talking about situps, crunches, or planks. In dealing as a Chiropractor Tigard community this means some education is needed on how to properly maintain the “core.

Don’t get me wrong, these abdominal exercises will certainly help with low back pain, but these aren’t the core. These exercises work the abdominals, but also the other areas such as diaphragm and the pelvic floor muscles that are worked during abdominal exercises as well. This is the key; you aren’t just working the ab muscles, but the entire torso area, which is so important to not only low back pain but overall stability and longevity in life.

Although exercises are great to help with low back pain, the problem therein lies that they are just that…exercises. Most people are too busy to perform exercises regularly. As a Chiropractor Tigard I make sure that patients learn how to use their core (again, not just abs) in everyday activities. You just need to learn how to properly engage your core and supporting stabilizers in daily activity. If you’re in Tigard and looking for a Chiropractor to help you learn these type of maneuvers, visit our clinic at 9370 SW Greenburg Rd #605, Tigard OR 97223. -Dr. J

Neck Pain Self Treatment

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 21:20:23 GMT

WHAT A PAIN IN THE NECK!

That term is no joke! Neck pain can be one of the most common and persistent pains you will endure. Neck pain self treatment is a commonly looked down upon suggestion. However, when done simply and correctly, it can be an effective regimen to add to your daily self-care routine.

As a Chiropractor in Tigard OR I get a lot of questions regarding “What can I do on my own for my neck pain?” The short answer is: do something! Get out there and move around; our bodies weren’t meant to sit around all day and this is why we have such problems. And because of all the sitting we get neck pain from developing imbalanced to our neck joints. Our head gets used to being slouched over, which brings along with it the shoulders and pain develops. This ultimately a patient ends up looking up Chiropractor in Tigard OR because of the problems that have arose from these body changes.

But What Can I Do?

Neck pain starts to become chronic because of the body changes that occur with slouched posture. Neck pain self treatment can help reduce these issues.

So we need to get some stretches to help relieve these. Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard OR Chiropractor, recommends self treatment for neck pain which can be found on our Neck Pain Page. This involves several types of exercises and stretches which can help decrease the pain. Further self treatment would be to change how you are sitting to be more correct and upright. You can do this by pushing your back to the chair more and sit closer to your desk. Once you’re closer to the desk lean back your upper back and shoulders into the back of the chair and make sure your screen is at eye level. This is the correct sitting position to keep that neck pain under control and keep you out of the chiropractor’s office

Contact us

An assessment and further in person instruction on how we can get you out of pain can immediately get you back on track!

If you live in Tigard and would like more information, please contact our Chiropractic Office at 503-206-4620 to schedule an appointment.

Dealing with Hip Pain

Tue, 22 Mar 2016 21:21:04 GMT

Hi all, Dr. J here, Tigard Chiropractor. So many people complain of what they consider “hip pain.” Hip pain can mean many different things to different people; it could be anywhere between lower low back pain, pelvic and tailbone pain, or lower leg pain. Of course it could also be actually stemming from the true hip joint – or acetabulofemoral joint. An examination which involves chiropractic, orthopedic, and neurological testing will help us pinpoint where the actual hip pain is coming from. The next question is how to treat.

At our Tigard Chiropractor clinic we utilize ways to teach you not only where the hip pain is originating from, but how to treat it. We start with our usual 3 Step treatment theory to help get the symptoms down. As the hip pain complaints continue to progress and get better then we start to see what types of home care treatments you can handle. Along with giving home care recommendations and treatments, we’ll evaluate what kind of changes you can make to your daily movements and ergonomics. Whether you choose our clinic, or another Chiropractor in Tigard, you need to ensure they are helping your hip pain by teaching you how to do things differently. Most of the time hip pain doesn’t come about from a single incident, but by many little incidents: think of death by a thousands paper cuts type of mentality. If we can change how you are doing things in the first place then as time goes on the pain will not return.

If you would like more information from my Chiropractor Tigard Clinic please reach out. So many times people have tried one type of treatment from a chiropractor that did not get good results for their hip pain, and they don’t realize that sometimes you need another tool from the toolbox. We still offer free 15 minute consultations if you’d like to come in and ask me some questions about the type of treatment I perform. -Dr. J

Choosing among the Chiropractors in Tigard

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 22:19:26 GMT

Choose one of the many Chiropractors in Tigard:

Dr. J here, Tigard Chiropractor and Rehab Specialist in your local Tigard and Beaverton area. The reason I started the post with this introduction is there are many different types of chiropractors in tigard and beaverton, but it can be very difficult to decide on who to choose. You can go off of a chiropractor’s website, which will have favorable reviews and all sorts of good information, but you can never really tell if they are going to be a good fit for your type of personality and treatment philosophy. Some people don’t mind coming in for 2 visits a week of chiropractic care for weeks on end, while others are more DIY and want that quick result fast even though it might require a little effort on their end. This DIY mindset is generally how I tend to look at things in general, as well as my Chiropractor philosophy – if you can put in a little extra work but it saves you time, effort, and money in the long run, then why not do it?

Generally what we’re seeing as new Tigard Chiropractors either graduate from school or move into the area is many are trying to remain competitive with the rest of us, so many are trying to go under the heading of a Sports Medicine Chiropractor. This unfortunately is just a general branding and can have little to do with the type of Chiropractic treatment performed at their Tigard clinics. There is a certification a doctor can get which says they are sports med, but they can still continue using the same type of old-fashioned treatment that Chiropractors used back in the 70’s. You don’t want a Tigard Chiropractor (or Beaverton for that matter) that just brings you in for 2 minutes, pops your joints, then sends you out the door and says come see again for three times a week for the next 3 months.

If you’re looking for maximum results in the shortest amount of time and don’t mind putting in a little elbow grease, then your Chiropractor Tigard search should end right here with Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation. How we utilize sports medicine intervention is what you should be looking for at any place you choose around the country: look for a clinic that emphasizes soft tissue and muscle work before/after a chiropractic adjustment. Also one that will use different interventions to treat pain, such as electrical muscle stimulation, kinesiotaping, and exercise to be done at home. Whether you’re looking for a Tigard Chiropractor or one in the middle of the country, finding a place that gives you the power to treat the injury yourself will give you longer lasting relief in the long run. If you’d like more information on this, please call us at 503-206-4620 -Dr. J

Headaches and The Chiropractor

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 22:18:42 GMT

Headaches and The Chiropractor

Egads, after all of these posts regarding treatment by Chiropractor Tigard area, I still haven’t even touched on a very common yet unknown patient type: headache sufferers! Nearly every day there is a patient walking through my doors who is either in a current headache, or has been experiencing one on and off for a few days prior, who we help get back to feeling whole again. There is a large amount of evidence and there are studies showing the efficacy for chiropractic and headaches. The majority of headaches occur because of an imbalance in the upper neck region which connects to the base of the head. This imbalance is between the muscles and the joints, even sometimes the nerves, of this area of the upper neck. When the upper neck joints are not moving correctly it caused altered movement which makes the muscles get tight and then symptoms begin. Complaints can be as dull as muscle tightness, or it can be as significant as a devastating headache. Often it lies somewhere in the middle for most patients who walk into a Chiropractors Tigard office.

When the joints in the neck are treated with a Chiropractor adjustment, it puts everything back to normal in a position that is should have been in, and it restores proper movement to areas that weren’t moving. When the neck is moving correctly then the muscles tighten up less and the headaches go back down. There are several other types of treatment interventions that we use in our Tigard Chiropractic clinic to help with headaches, with which I will review in a later blog on specifics to get the headache to calm down faster. Additionally in a later post I will go over one of the most important things when dealing with a headache: what to watch out for. And of course, this wouldn’t be Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation if I didn’t review some of the ways to self-treat the area, as well as go over some of the things we teach patients to keep the pain from coming back. We do this by showing how to keep the neck joints from going bad in the first place, as well as what to do if they have and the muscles need to be calmed down. If you have further questions about headaches and don’t have time to wait for the posts, then please contact Dr. Justin Davis, Chiropractor Tigard, OR located next to Washington Square mall at 503-206-4620. -Dr. J

DC vs. MD

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 22:18:05 GMT

The Difference between chiropractic physician and medical physician

I started to jump right into a post about how to pick out among the chiropractors in Tigard or Beaverton area, but as I was going about it the post turned really long before I even realized it. Mostly because I was not only distinguishing chiropractic as a profession itself, but also the differences in choosing a doctor. So, before jumping into how to choose a chiropractor in Tigard, let’s go into a little into what makes a chiropractor.

Chiropractors, or Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) are required to finish their pre-med undergraduate education just like any other medical profession such as medical doctors, nurses, dentists, etc. Once they complete the required pre-medicine courses, and generally most get a bachelors degree, then like all doctors, a chiropractor must attend a graduate school. While it is true that chiropractic graduate school is not as difficult to get into as medical graduate school, the chiropractor must still complete a 4 year degree at a nationally accredited graduate school. This training is very similar to a medical doctoral program, where there are thousands of hours spent in the dissection lab, blood lab, classroom, and in the student and outpatient clinics. There’s actually a statistic which shows there is more emphasis on anatomy, radiology, and parts of diagnosis in chiropractic vs. medical education: see below.

All in all, when it comes down to it medical doctors and chiropractors have very similar training, it just comes down to what we choose to emphasize once we’re done with school. Medical doctors have much more training to become better trained in more of a broad state of medicine and healing while most Chiropractors narrow their scope to pain management. And this makes sense, the public isn’t going to go to a chiropractor to have their baby delivered or get their blood drawn. Although chiropractors are primary care physicians, and are able to perform this type of medicine, most do not because our focus is on pain management.

Funny story: I recall when I started my chiropractic graduate school I also had a friend who had just started medical graduate school. We kept in touch for the first 1-2 years, in which we were both surprised to find that our schooling was near identical for those first two years. Same cadaver dissections, same anatomy and physiology courses, same pathology classes. Of course there was some mild emphasis on the respective professions of chiropractor vs. medical doctor, but overall the training is very similar. As the final two years go on there is much more continued emphasis, but it’s funny how similar these two professions are….and at the same time so very different.

Okay that’s enough! The groundwork has been laid as we’ve reviewed the information pertaining to what makes a chiropractor. The next upcoming post will be going over specifics in how to choose between chiropractors in Tigard and surrounding areas like Beaverton or greater Portland area. If in the meanwhile you have any further questions about a condition or pain, please call our office to schedule an appointment at our Tigard location: 9730 SW Greenburg Road #605, Tigard OR 97223. -Dr. J

Why to go down the alternative care route

Tue, 26 Jan 2016 22:17:23 GMT

Why should I choose a Chiropractor in Tigard?

First off I think the actual topic of why to choose a chiropractor is important, let alone on why to choose a chiropractor in Tigard or in the Beaverton area. The treatment which we provide is a conservative style of medicine. The chiropractor’s approach which is very safe and doesn’t deal with slicing the body open or dealing with addictive medications has never been more necessary. This pain management path is one that is really gaining momentum not only in the U.S., but also in the world. Chiropractors in Tigard and in the rest of Oregon are designated as primary care providers, which means we can see you without a referral as well as diagnose you for a disease/injury and manage your care and referrals.

The CDC (which stands for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has recently given the classification of “epidemic” in regards to how bad the prescription drug abuse problem is in the U.S.. We consume 80% of the world’s pain medication in the US, despite being such a small percentage of the world population! To say that the need for conservative pain care is needed, one which doesn’t deal with drug medications, is an understatement. The only thing we need to look at it is: how to make sure you are going to a quality chiropractor.

The nice thing about our area is that there is a decent amount of chiropractic clinics, which means that for chiropractors in Tigard there is competition! When it’s just a one-horse-town where there is a single or low amount of doctors then sometimes the patient care may suffer. It can also mean a very different thing for the amount that is charged. If there were only one chiropractor in Tigard then it is very possible that the price for treatment could be very inflated. I am always surprised at how much prices are for chiropractors when the town has a very small number of them.

We always want what is best for our patients, which is often going up and beyond with treatment without charging an extra arm and a leg. We have developed our reputation as treating our patients like family members. If you’re looking for a chiropractor in Tigard, please give us a call at 503-206-4620 and let us add you to our family! -Dr. J

How Poor Posture Effects the Low Back

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 22:16:41 GMT

Stand up! Stop Slouching!

Here Dr. Justin Davis discusses poor posture and how slumping forward contributes to low back pain.

Poor posture and low back pain

Prior discussions:

Poor Posture:

The slumped posture that our body becomes accustomed to will begin to pull from the shoulders and mid back into the low back region. Kind of like a tight rubber band, the muscles in the low back get tensioned and this causes pain. This is not only treatment treated by standard chiropractic treatment, but also necessary muscle work which can be done by either a massage therapist or soft tissue work done by a chiropractor.

So really, just because you’re experiencing low back pain it doesn’t mean we aren’t going to address the issues going further up the spine. Ultimately not only the posture needs to change, but also the muscle imbalance that has occurred from said posture. Chiropractic treatment and massage treatment for this low back pain will give some relief, but in the end some re-training of the core and shoulder muscles needs to be addressed as well.

Chronic Low Back Pain

This is an area that gets missed so much in modern medicine that a chiropractor will better address, and is also why we have such chronic low back pain going on in our society. It’s because we aren’t looking at the body as a whole, and just treating the targeted areas where there is pain. When you just target the area that hurts, you are ignoring what caused that area to hurt in the first place.

-Dr. J

“Sit up straight!”

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 22:15:52 GMT

The importance of good posture:

We have all heard it said by friends and family: stand up straight! Well unfortunately, mom had it right said Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard OR Chiropractor. Most neck pain comes about from poor posture that we do all day, which any decent chiropractor will tell you right away. The problem with our society these days is we sit for so much that our body starts to get used to being in this position. We sit on our way to work, we sit at work all day, then we get off and come home and end up sitting some more on the couch while “relaxing” after a tough day at work. And unfortunately we see it often at our chiropractic center that most of the time the neck pain comes about from sitting in the diagram below

Neck pain starts to develop when the head gets used to being forward. This causes the shoulders to follow, so we get the sagging shoulders, which continues to contribute to neck pain by reinforcing the bad posture. We can correct this with chiropractic adjustments, but there also needs to be a good home regimen of self treatment and corrections to how you sit.

Good Posture

Unfortunately it’s not quite as easy as mom used to say. “Sit up straight” doesn’t really fix the problem. Simply trying to sit up more erect will only last for about 2 minutes, then everything will go back to the way it has become used to. You need to find out exactly what’s wrong and get a tailored plan on how to fix it. At our Tigard clinic we deal with business professionals all day long who have this problem, but have found a very reliable way of treating it. This leads to long lasting results and empowers the patient to be able to do work from home instead of relying on a visit to the chiropractor every week.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

Fri, 01 Jan 2016 22:15:11 GMT

I know it’s a little late to be quoting Christmas songs, but it certainly is applicable to our current Tigard icy conditions! With the snow and the freezing rain falling it slicks up the roads and the sidewalks, which means car accidents and slip and falls are occurring at an alarming rate for 2016. This also means most Chiropractors offices are getting an influx of patients complaining of neck pain. With both of these types of accidents, slip and fall and auto accident, whiplash is the type of injury. This type of injury occurs when the neck is flung backward at a very fast rate and then goes forward at a similar type of speed. This injury causes significant compression of the neck joints and muscles and ligaments surrounding the region. This in itself causes significant neck and shoulder pain directly, let alone if there was a trauma such as falling on concrete. This type of injury cause is very similar to the low back as well, which has the same type of curve that the neck has.

We treat the Tigard population with these types of injuries literally every day at Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation. Because roads are so often slick with rain we have car accident injuries that occur all the time in Oregon. It is so much worse however when us Oregon drivers attempt to slide around on ice and snow. If you too have some car accident pain, whether it’s neck, shoulders, or low back and hips, let us help you get over the pain and stay pain-free going forward. -Dr. J

Herniated Discs and Chiropractic

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 22:14:20 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Herniated lumbar and cervical discs are see somewhat regularly in a Chiropractic clinics. Working as a Tigard Chiropractor, also as one in Tualatin for 3 years prior to moving his practice into Tigard, I’m quite familiar with the condition. Herniated discs come in a variety of presentation, sometimes a dull roar while other times completely debilitating. From pain with bending or sitting to being stuck in a hunched over position unable to move, we’ve seen quite a bit at our Tigard Chiropractors & Massage Clinic.

At this point in history a less invasive approach to herniated lumbar discs has never been more in demand. Patients, doctors, and insurance companies have seen what the last two decades of cut-first-rehab-later approach does for long term low back pain. And that is….it doesn’t do much! In fact many studies have shown that the conservative and non-invasive care has the same outcomes as surgeries for the long-term in regard to low back pain from herniated discs.

There are many different types of conservative care which can be done by a Chiropractor, including the following to help a disc herniation:

Chiropractic adjustments: to areas surrounding the injured disc to take pressure off the area, as well as light mobilization to the injured area to help re-align the disc.

Home exercises: to help gradually reposition the spine to allow the disc to be in the best position to reduce. Electrical muscle stimulation, muscle work, and kinesiotaping: decrease the tightness and pressure surrounding the injured disc area, which will take pressure off the disc and allow it to heal.

If you have questions specific about yourself or someone you know regarding treatment for a herniated disc, please contact your friendly neighborhood Tigard Chiropractor, -Dr. J.

Bad Posture 2: the low back

Sun, 20 Dec 2015 22:13:28 GMT

How slumped posture also contributes to low back pain:

I previously had a chiropractic post about how posture can contribute to neck and shoulder pain, but I didn’t mention how much this can also affect the low back. Most people don’t think that the neck can contribute to back pain, but you’ll get a very different answer if you ask a chiropractor. The problem comes with the relationship between the shoulders to the mid back and all the way down to the low back and pelvis. When people spend too much time sitting we inevitably fall into poor posture, which we all know affects the shoulders and neck, but it also affects the low back significantly. The slumped posture that our body becomes accustomed to will begin to pull from the shoulders and mid back into the low back region. Kind of like a tight rubber band, the muscles in the low back get tensioned and this causes pain. This is not only treatment treated by standard chiropractic treatment, but also necessary muscle work which can be done by either a massage therapist or soft tissue work done by a chiropractor.

Experience matters

Treat Neck Pain with Sports Chiropractic

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 22:12:37 GMT

Neck Pain treated with Sports Chiropractic

What we do differently at Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation in Tigard, OR is that we combine several different practices of conservative pain management into one treatment for neck pain. While treating with a Chiropractors adjustments exclusively does help with neck pain, we have found that combining a soft tissue element into the treatment goes a long way. We have continued to grow our reputation in Tigard as treating patients with a more thorough care by not only performing necessary spinal and extremity chiropractic adjustments, but also by implementing in-office and home care soft tissue mobilization. This can also be called myofascial release, or essentially massage. In fact we do employ two massage therapists who work on many of our patients before seeing the chiropractor.

How do you help?

We have found that helping the neck and shoulder muscles release first and foremost helps with the Chiropractors treatment for the neck pain. Depending on how the patient responds, usually several treatments are needed for these changes to stick. Some take as little as 1-2, while others it can be up to 4-5. Once the neck pain has reduced the the body has become more accustomed to moving differently, then we teach the same type of treatment for home use as well. This type of neck pain self treatment also takes several visits with the chiropractor, typically 3-4 depending on the findings. At this point the neck pain is in the “self-management” phase, where the patient can perform at home the treatment to help keep the pain down and keep them out of the chiropractors office. There may be a few minor flare-ups, as well as some ups and downs with this home care, but overall we have found that this has continued to help our patients achieve longer lasting results when dealing with their neck pain.

Yours in Health,

Dr. J

Neck Pain and How Sports Chiropractic Can Help

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 22:10:39 GMT

Neck Pain treated with Sports Chiropractic

There may be a few minor flare-ups, as well as some ups and downs with this home care, but overall we have found that this has continued to help our patients achieve longer lasting results when dealing with their neck pain.

Yours in Health,

Dr. J

Chiropractic Neck Adjustments

Sat, 28 Nov 2015 22:09:37 GMT

The Chiropractic neck adjustment: how it works and its effects

So just what do a chiropractic adjustment to the neck do? We know that there’s a loud crunch, and often patients are in one of two groups: either they cannot wait for the crunch, or they are scared stiff of it. Although not all chiropractors neck adjustments involve the popping, in fact there are several techniques which involve low force or no click/pop at all, they are all aiming at the same thing: to affect the joints and the nervous system of the body.

There is still a lot of controversy involving the chiropractic neck pain adjustment, especially in regards to the studies that are out for it, but regardless of the exact way that it relieves neck pain we do know for certain (and studies have shown this): chiropractors adjustment of the neck really helps with neck pain.

Without getting too in-depth into the neurology of how it works, here’s the most well-known effects of the chiropractic neck adjustment:

Release of endorphins: when the joint is popped its called a cavitation, and the cracking sound is the release of gas bubbles in the joint fluid due to pressure change. This is often why you see so many people cracking their own necks – they like the feeling ��

Resetting local nerves of the nervous system: restoring proper motion to a neck’s joint complex will increase the neck’s range of motion. This in turn gives your neck a new set of “out of bounds” so it is able to move through more motions with less pain.

Decreases irritation of nerves: restoring proper motion allows the small nerves around the spine to move more freely and thereby less pain.

Decreases local muscle tightness and spasm in the neck and shoulder regions

If you live in Tigard, OR & surrounding areas and would like more information regarding how chiropractic neck adjustments work, or overall how chiropractic may benefit you, please contact our Tigard chiropractic office at 503-206-4620. You can also email us by clicking the link for Request an Appointment; this will send an email directly to our office manage, who can then Dr. Davis contact you via email.

Yours in Health,

Dr. J

Chiropractic future in Oregon and the Country

Fri, 23 Oct 2015 21:08:52 GMT

Chiropractic future in Oregon and the Country:
Where do they estimate the good old fashioned Chiropractor to be in the future?

There are just a few quick thoughts on the state of all things Chiropractic. Although Chiropractors are still under the umbrella of “alternative medicine” it is obvious that it is becoming a much more recognized form of legitimate healthcare. Chiropractic is actually the largest of all the alternative care professions big a sweeping margin, both in utilization and numbers.

The “Quacks”

The days of “those quack chiropractors” is fast becoming a thing of the past. The number of more medically-based and evidence-based chiropractors coming out of school and applying it into a sports medicine and rehab based clinic setting is now becoming the norm. There are of course still some of the old ways out there, but even these practitioners are becoming more comprehensive, utilizing massage or acupuncture or trainers at their clinics. Oregon…specifically Tigard, OR (shout out to the Tigers!) is one of the leading states in the US that has great sports based chiropractic, mainly because of the large alternative care movement and the multiple world-renown medical – both conventional and alternative – universities that are located here.

Regardless, to make a long-winded story short…or at least shorter….it’s quite clear that there is a gaping hole in regards to conservative pain treatment in America’s current medical model. It’s incredible how many new patients present to our clinic who have already tried the conventional medical model, and are using us as their “last resort,” and end up having a great response to treatment. There’s not only the pain relief approach, but also overall health promotion – teaching changes to exercises, recreation, ergonomics, and diet/supplementation.

FAQ’s

Okay, I’ll get off my soap box now. To end this rant I’ll throw in 3 facts:

#1 – Chiropractors are the most highly rated doctors for back pain. We rank above medical doctors, surgeons, specialists, orthopedists, and physical therapists in regards to patient satisfaction.

#2 – Chiropractors continue to regularly outperform other treatments in efficiency of treating low back pain – studies show they perform better than medications, massage exclusively, over the counter meds, and mild exercise classes like yoga and pilates.

#3 – Chiropractic services are one of the safest and most effective treatments for back pain, neck pain and headaches. Chiropractic malpractice insurance is the lowest among all doctors; this is because they have some of the lowest chances of patients having a poor reaction to treatments compared to other doctors.

Chiropractic for Tigard Auto Accident

Fri, 02 Oct 2015 21:08:07 GMT

Oh no! Is anyone Injured?

You’d be surprised how often people do not check on everyone to see if anyone has been injured at an auto accident. Tigard PD will gladly assist you to safety. Elevation Chiropractic will assist you back to wellness!

Have you recently experienced an Auto Accident?

Dr. Justin Davis, your local Tigard Chiropractor, chats with us on the importance of proper adjustment and care after an auto accident.

The seasons are changing! As summer slowly draws to a close and fall’s colors begin unfolding a few things change, specifically in regards to driving: weather gets colder, roads get wetter and sometimes icier, and the sun goes down a lot earlier. All of these make for fun fall conditions, but it also puts us as Oregonians at a higher risk of an auto accident and injured parties, specifically for us located in Tigard where there always seems to be traffic congestion. Chiropractic is regularly used for auto accident treatment, and it is becoming much more common these days to see the combination of massage and physical therapy type exercises added into it as well. This gives a much more all-encompassing treatment approach, which is exactly what we provide at Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation.

Our Treatment

We have been treating injured auto accident sufferers with quality chiropractic care for years, and have great results with our Big 3 Blend of treatment. It is comforting to see that more and more clinics in the greater Portland area are shifting away from the basic chiropractic care for auto accident injuries and are now starting to add more depth to their clinics with the same type of treatment that we offer. Even if you don’t use our chiropractic clinic for your auto accident pain, then definitely look at a potential clinic’s website, read the reviews, and decide for yourself if they offer the thorough and comprehensive care (chiropractic, massage, physical therapy) that has been shown to work so well together.

Learn more about the future of Chiropractic care here.

Chiropractic and Surgery

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 21:07:15 GMT

Chiropractic and Surgery:

We all know someone who’s undergone a surgery for some part of their body that has broken down. Hips, knees, shoulders, and the back. These are the areas that we come across the most in regards to Chiropractic patients. Either they have already gone under the knife, or they are considering it to deal with their pain. That can also be going in for surgery…again. Often times we do not get to see a patient for a particular condition until after they have already gone the route of medication then surgery. And also, often times it is not uncommon to hear one of these patients say, “I wish I had seen you before I had surgery.”

Chiropractors can keep patients out of surgery, which not only is of benefit to the patient’s physical health, but also a big help to the old pocketbook. In 2011 Medicare found that one such surgery, a spinal fusion surgery, has shown an increase over the previous 10 years of over 450%! Not only this, but also shown that many times the surgery was unnecessary in the first place. Total incorrect billing for these types of surgeries in this year totaled over $180 million. And here’s where it all ties in: why did they find that these surgeries were “unnecessary”? Because a less invasive conservative therapy – hint: chiropractic – was not performed first.

We are continuing to see again and again that what we’ve been told for the past few decades regarding medical care is not always the best route for the patient. The days of going to the doctor’s office, getting an MRI, then doing surgery are long gone. These days it’s very difficult to order an MRI without going through a pre-authorization process to ensure it is medically necessary. This also means that going straight into surgery is much less common, especially when there is a much cheaper and less invasive option like Chiropractic that might keep you out of surgery altogether. If you would like more information regarding how a Chiropractor may help you keep out of surgery, please call our Tigard Chiropractic office at 503-206-4620 and schedule a free 15 minute consultation. -Dr. J

Workers Compensation and Chiropractic

Wed, 27 May 2015 21:06:12 GMT

Oregon Workers Compensation and Chiropractic

I threw a few studies and facts in the last post, not specifically regarding chiropractic and work injury, but most of those studies were in this field. There are a few more I’m going to touch on today that are really eye-opening that show the power of Chiropractic and pain treatment. These next 2 are in regards to several workers compensation studies:

#1 – Workers comp studies have shown that for someone who is injured in at work, they are much less likely to need an invasive type of surgery for their back if they were first seen by a chiropractor vs. a medical doctor. Almost 30 times less likely!!

#2 – This fact is for treatment of an injured worker if the first doctor the patient sees is a Chiropractic Physician. When the Chiropractor is in charge of care/is the attending physician, then not only are the results typically better, but the costs are around 20% less than if the treatment is being attended/first point of contact was a medical doctor

There is no doubt that medical doctors have their role to play in the so much of healthcare; you’ll never hear me say anything bad about a medical doctor. But I guess the take home is that many times if you don’t have a specialty in musculoskeletal pain and injury – which is what we specialize in – then many times the results aren’t as stellar as they could be. When it comes to conservative treatment of pain….in which most of the time it is due to a body mechanic problem (even if there is an MRI or x-ray that shows something more worrisome, these typically are just bi-products of the underlying improper body mechanics)….then many times a sports medicine based chiropractic physician can be the perfect portal of entry for these types of complaints and pain.

Sports medicine chiropractic treatment is the superior subcategory of chiropractors. This thorough treatment offers the fastest results at the lowest cost. Elevation Chiropractic and Rehabilitation prides itself on treating in this manner. If you need care, make sure you get the most evidenced treatment in Tigard. Our location is close and convenient; next to the Washington Square Mall: 9370 SW Greenburg Rd #605, Tigard OR 97223.

Yours in Health,

Dr. J

Chiropractic Studies

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:05:31 GMT

Fun with Studies!

It’s always fun to look at what some of the studies have shown in regards to chiropractic medicine. These are a few that look at topics that are not commonly associated with chiropractic:

Shown to help keep senior citizens – who are known to have balance issues chiefly due to many types of immobility – with mobility and activity. Comparing those senior citizens who are chiropractic patients to those that are not, it was found that those with treatment were more active and mobile. There are several other factors at play here, but it does leave some food for thought.

Increased anti-oxidants in the body: those suffering from pain had their blood labs taken, in which after chiropractic treatment there were significantly increased anti-oxidant levels. Similar studies have shown improvements to immune system response and blood pressure levels as well.

Pregnancy: shown to be very safe and successful with helping the pain associated with pregnancy. Most common is back pain, but there are several other areas that are painful during pregnancy. One study found that 9/10 women had relief after receiving chiropractic care for pregnancy-related back pain.

These are just a few more areas that most do not associate with chiropractic care, but may find it helpful. More stuff to come when Holidays are over! -Dr. J

Neck Pain: Chiropractic vs. Medical Treatment

Fri, 16 Jan 2015 22:04:35 GMT

Chiropractic vs. Medical Treatment for Neck Pain:

“To pop a pill or not to pop a pill?”

That is the question… There are still some people that get really bent out of shape over what is better, a chiropractors or medical doctors treatment in regards to neck pain. I am not one of them. There are plenty of times where both medical and chiropractic is the preferred choice when dealing with neck pain. There are times where pain is so severe that a temporary muscle relaxer or pain reliever is necessary in order to calm the symptoms down enough to where a chiropractor can actually get deep enough in the spasmed muscle to help with acute neck pain. There are also times where I’ve seen a patient who has been prescribed tons of pills for weeks or months on end and just told to let it heal on its own. The words “let it heal on it’s own” are some of the most dangerous words spoken by medical providers.

Medical treatment of neck pain usually revolves around the following protocol: prescribe medication and rest → if it remains, prescribe more and maybe use heat → if it still remains either prescribe more or send to physical therapy – for exercises that may make it worse because there is a locked joint that they’re trying to exercise around → finally, if it is still not going away its time for surgery or injections into the region. There is certainly a time and place for medication, injections, and even surgery, but for the vast majority of neck pain or headaches this is a poor way to treat. This approach to neck pain pretty much does everything but actually look at the possible cause for why it began in the first place: something with your body mechanics is off!! When your car’s radiator is starting to break down and smoke, do you just keep refilling it with water again and again and hope it gets better on it’s own, or do you take it to a mechanic? It sounds to silly in this example, but this is exactly how we treat neck pain. Your body’s engine warning light is going off like crazy and all we’re doing is ignoring it.

The Chiropractic Approach

Chiropractic approach to neck pain is completely different. While there is a time and place for temporary medication, 2 things need to be investigated: 1 – what specifically is going wrong. 2 – what caused it to go wrong? What I see most in clinic is a spasmed neck pain where the only thing the patient can do is hold their head straight forward. Any movement causes significant pain and pinching. In this type of case there is severe muscle spasm that have completely locked down the joints in the neck. Instead of the neck joints being able to glide on top of each other, they are now compressed by the muscle spasm. The chiropractic treatment is to get the neck pain down by calming down the muscles with soft tissue work/massage, then adjust the joints that have been grinding on themselves.

After the painful episode has decreased, then further investigation is done as to why it all began in the first place. Hint: usually it’s bad posture. See my previous post on that. Next entry will involve more information about the specifics of treatment by a chiropractor for neck pain.

If you have neck pain that’s not going away and would like chiropractic treatment, please call our office at 503-206-4620.

Yours in Health

Dr. J

Uncategorized – Elevation Chiropractic & Rehabilitation

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This is a subtitle for your new post

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Oh no! Is anyone Injured?

You’d be surprised how often people do not check on everyone to see if anyone has been injured at an auto accident. Tigard PD will gladly assist you to safety. Elevation Chiropractic will assist you back to wellness!