Marina
Lower Haight
(415) 525-4966
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M-F: 2pm - 6pm,
M-F: 2pm - 6pm,
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Techniques
Chiropractic Manipulation “Adjustment”
During the course of your examination, your Ultimate Sports Medicine doctor may find that you have a restriction in one or more of your joints. These joint restrictions can occur anywhere in the body. For example, when they occur in the spine, patients often describe their back as being “out.” Other joints like knees, elbows, ankles, and shoulders may simply feel pinched or “caught.” Sometimes this will feel like a sharp focal pain, other times, there is no noticeable pain or discomfort at all.
Not all patients require manipulative therapy. If a joint restriction is discovered during the course of your examination, your doctor will explain the details and treatment options to you.
Joint restrictions inhibit normal movement and athletic performance, as well as cause muscle guarding and often, pain. Additionally, they place stresses on adjacent structures, causing them to become overworked and inflamed. In other words, the pain you feel in one area may be caused by a joint restriction in another.
Chiropractic manipulation, or an “adjustment”, is a highly effective and painless procedure which returns the joint to its normal function, often providing immediate relief. The chiropractors at Ultimate Sports Medicine are the most highly trained professionals in administering this safe and effective therapy.
Most of the cases we see at Ultimate Sports Medicine include some type of soft tissue injury. Most often, soft tissue is referring to the muscles, discs, ligaments, nerves and tendons. These tissues can be injured with direct trauma or overuse from improper body mechanics. When injured, the tissue becomes fibrotic, forming adhesions leading to pain and dysfunction. Examples of these soft tissue problems include frozen shoulder, plantar fasciitis, Iliotibial band syndrome, tendonitis, lower back pain, and sciatica.
Fibrotic soft tissue causes movement restriction, which can lead to pain. Active Release Techniques® is the gold standard in releasing adhesions and restoring normal function. It is the first treatment choice for athletes. For more information visit Activerelease.com
Soft tissue such as muscle, tendon, and ligament can become fibrotic (infiltrated with scar tissue often referred to as adhesions) from either direct trauma or from chronic over or improper use. These adhesions can cause pain, weakness and can inhibit athletic performance.
At Ultimate Sports Medicine one method we use to treat adhesions is Graston Technique®. It uses specialized instruments to diagnose and treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. Using Graston instruments to amplify the abnormal tissue texture helps the doctor locate the adhesions. Then the instrument is used in a gliding fashion to break up the adhesions.
Breaking up the adhesions helps to decrease pain, improve circulation to the area and improve motion. Your Ultimate Sports Medicine doctor may suggest Graston Technique® as part of your treatment in conjunction with chiropractic and corrective exercises, which work synergistically to correct your injury.
You may have noticed athletes at the past several summer Olympic games with brightly colored tape on their bodies. This tape, called RockTape, is used by top athletes to improve performance by decreasing pain and increasing range of motion.
RockTape is a therapeutic adhesive tape, which can be used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. The tape allows the skin to be lifted providing greater circulation to the area. This facilitates healing and decreases swelling.
Additionally, RockTape is effective in improving proprioceptive feedback to the central nervous system. In other words, it helps the brain recognize where the body part is in space and time. This helps with coordination of athletic activities such as jumping and cutting.
Your Ultimate Sports Medicine doctor may recommend RockTape to support your healing process or to help you at your next sporting event. If you think RockTape may have benefits for you, please do not hesitate to ask your doctor.
Cupping
Cupping is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine which treats damaged tissue by using suction cups. These cups draw toxins from damaged tissue to the lymphatic system. Cupping has additional side effects like reduced pain and improved local circulation.
As you may have seen at recent Olympic games, cupping is the latest in soft tissue therapy. Professional athletes and weekend warriors alike are discovering the powerful benefits of cupping for recovery and performance. At Ultimate Sports Medicine, cupping is also used for myofascial release in addition to the Traditional Chinese Medicine method. We use modern soft silicone cups, which are comfortable, effective and generally do not leave the circular dark purple marks.
The suction cup is placed over the injured area; the patient is then instructed to move through a range of motion while the cup remains in place. The decompression force of the suction allows both the fascia and muscles to pass under the cup separating adhered tissues. The result is reduced pain and greater range of motion.
If your USM doctor determines this is an appropriate treatment for you, he may suggest this option to you.
The FMS is a system that documents movement limitations and asymmetries through a specialized grading and ranking system that monitors basic movement patterns in non-painful individuals. This allows us to identify potential risk factors that could become problematic if an individual chooses to push their physical capacity through fitness, sports, or repetitive daily activities. By tracking the FMS scores we are able to prescribe corrective exercises that will be most effective in restoring basic fundamental movements.
At Ultimate Sports Medicine, many of our patients are seeking relief from pain. Others are looking for an improved sense of wellbeing or improved athletic performance.
Pain, performance and a sense of wellbeing are all influenced by how we move. Abnormal or compensatory movement patterns impede athletic performance, which will eventually lead to injury and pain. The earlier these patterns are detected the better.
The majority of causes of musculoskeletal pain are a result of nonimpact injuries, or in other words, faulty movement patterns. SFMA helps determine the root cause(s) of these faulty movement patterns, such as joint mobility issues, soft tissue injuries or motor control issues. It functions as a guide for your doctor in determining the most effective treatment plan to alleviate your symptoms and restore optimal body mechanics. That is why at Ultimate Sports Medicine, along with traditional orthopedic and neurologic testing, we include SFMA as part of our physical examination.
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