Chiropractic

About Dr. Redwood's Practice

Chiropractic is a century-old, American-born healing art based on the relationship between the body's structure (especially the spine) and its various functions. Chiropractors correct spinal imbalances or dysfunctions called subluxations with specifically applied hands-on adjustments, a method also known as spinal manipulation.

The vast majority (90 percent) of chiropractic patients seek help for musculoskeletal problems like back pain and related leg pain, neck pain and related arm pain, and headaches. While chiropractic spinal adjustments are directed to restoring motion at specific vertebral joints, the effects of these adjustments extend beyond the local area where the adjustment is applied, to all structures served by the nerves originating in the area of the spine that is adjusted. Aside from back pain, neck pain, and headaches, chiropractic care (which includes both hands-on adjustments, physiotherapy, and recommendations on exercise and nutrition) is also helpful for injuries and pain in other joints (jaw, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle). In certain cases, it also appears to influence the function of internal organs.

In 1994, an expert panel on low back pain at the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research concluded that spinal manipulation is among the most effective methods for both relieving pain and restoring function for patients with lower back pain.

What is involved in chiropractic treatment with Dr. Redwood?

There are a variety of chiropractic adjustment styles, and Dr. Redwood uses both classical adjustments and lighter touch, low-force adjustments, depending on the patient's needs and preferences. In cases where it will be helpful, he also uses physiotherapy methods such as ultrasound (a form of deep heat treatment) and trigger point release (a hands-on treatment for muscular tension). He also recommends specific exercises to aid in recovery. Dr. Redwood's practice includes acupuncture; some of his patients are treated with chiropractic only, some with acupuncture only, and some with both methods.

What should I expect on my first visit?

Please allow about an hour for your first visit, which includes a consultation, examination, and initial treatment. (Subsequent visits generally take 10-20 minutes, depending on which therapies are needed.) Dr. Redwood takes a thorough case history, reviewing the symptoms for which you are seeking treatment as well as other aspects of your health. The physical examination includes orthopedic (movement) and neurologic (nerve) evaluations, as well as a hands-on palpation examination, in which joint movement and alignment are evaluated, along with muscle and ligament tension and balance. If you have previously been treated by other practitioners for your condition, it is helpful to bring records or reports with you, including results of any x-rays, MRIs, or laboratory tests.

For your first visit and all other visits, please be certain to eat a small meal or nutritious snack sometime within the previous few hours.

How soon will I experience positive changes?

As with all types of treatment, the speed of response varies. While some patients have a dramatic, positive response to the first adjustment, improvement more often is gradual, since it usually takes time for the body to incorporate the changes brought about by the adjustments. Most patients feel significant improvement within several visits. Except in extremely unusual circumstances, if a patient is not experiencing any noticeable improvement within several visits, Dr. Redwood will refer him or her to a different doctor or practitioner.

What is the normal course of treatment?

This varies based on the specifics of each case. In more acute and severe cases, treatment may begin with a few visits per week, tapering down the frequency of visits when a good response is sustained. Dr. Redwood tells his patients, "You are welcome to get as well as possible, as fast as possible." Once a stable level of recovery has been achieved, some patients choose to continue chiropractic care on a periodic preventive basis, while others choose to return if symptoms return.

Can I receive chiropractic care while also receiving other treatments?

Yes. Chiropractic is complementary to conventional medicine and to various alternative approaches. Dr. Redwood has received chiropractic referrals from medical physicians and massage therapists, and often provides chiropractic care for patients who are also receiving other treatments of various types.

How does chiropractic work?

The nervous system is the key to understanding chiropractic's effects. Because the spinal column houses the nerves of the spinal cord and the nervous system is influenced by spinal manipulations (adjustments), the doctor of chiropractic pays special attention to the vertebral column in evaluating and diagnosing a patient's condition. As nerves exit the spinal cord, they may be irritated or inflamed by movement dysfunctions at the spinal joints. Spinal adjustments appear to relieve this condition, resulting in decreased pain and improved function, both near the spine and in areas supplied by the spinal nerves.

Do chiropractic adjustments hurt?

Adjustments may occasionally cause some temporary soreness or stiffness. Dr, Redwood has a variety of adjustments in his repertoire and always chooses the one most likely to help most, with the minimum of discomfort.

What scientific evidence is there for the effectiveness of spinal adjustments?

Over the past 30 years, a substantial body of research has shown that spinal adjustment/manipulation is helpful for low back pain, neck pain, tension headaches, migraine headaches, whiplash injuries, fibromyalgia, and infantile colic. In 1994, the federal government's Agency for Health Care Policy and Research found spinal manipulation to be one of only two effective treatments for low back pain, and the only treatment that both relieved pain and restored function.

A Few Words from Dr. Redwood's Patients

"I had severe headaches for 20 years that started with a football injury when I was 16, and got worse and worse. I tried everything medical doctors had to offer - strong medications of all kinds, CT and MRI scans, all of it. I finally came to Dr. Redwood, because he had helped my brother. I was desperate. Within a month of starting chiropractic adjustments and changing my diet, my headaches were gone." J. R.

"In my work as a nurse, I often get low back pain from lifting heavy patients. I went to Dr. Redwood during a very intense episode lasting two months, where I had sharp back pain that radiated into my left leg. Medications hadn't helped, and neither had taking several days off work. After my first visit to Dr. Redwood, my leg symptoms were gone. Within three weeks of treatments, I was pain-free." G.T.

"I had stabbing low back pain for over 20 years, which started with an automobile accident. Nothing helped. Eventually, my medical doctor referred me to Dr. Redwood. After my first chiropractic treatment, the pain decreased by 80 percent. It's been a couple of years since then, and my severe pain is now a thing of the past." C.J.