Tallahassee Neurology Specialists is pleased to announce we are now offering chiropractic care through Spine & Joint Wellness Center a division of Tallahassee Neurology Specialists, P.L. located on the first floor of our building.

• CHIROPRACTIC CARE
  • Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT): Spinal manipulation is a technique that treats back pain, neck pain and other musculoskeletal conditions via the application of force to the spinal joints, with the idea being that such treatment of dysfunctional areas in the spine can restore the spine’s structural integrity, reduce pain and initiate the body’s natural healing processes. Spinal manipulation has been practiced since ancient times, although it is commonly associated nowadays with the different types of spinal adjustments that are used by chiropractors. Spinal manipulation may involve the manual or mechanical application of various types of thrusts on the spine, and this treatment may be used by not only chiropractors, but also osteopathic doctors and other medical professionals. Various techniques utilized by Dr. French include:
    • Manual adjusting / hands-on manipulation
    • Extremity Adjusting
    • Thompson Drop Technique
    • Flexion-Distraction Technique
    • Instrument Adjusting:
      • Activator Method
      • Arthrostim Method

• PHYSICAL THERAPY
  • Various stretches and exercises are employed to increase flexibility and stabilize and strengthen the spine.
  • Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF): Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation is a more advanced form of flexibility training that involves both the stretching and contraction of the muscle group being targeted. PNF stretching was originally developed as a form of rehabilitation, and to that effect it is very effective.
  • McKenzie Method: The McKenzie Method is a reliable assessment process intended for all musculoskeletal problems, including pain in the back, neck and extremities (i.e., shoulder, knee, ankle etc.), as well as issues associated with sciatica, sacroiliac joint pain, arthritis, degenerative disc disease, muscle spasms and intermittent numbness in hands or feet. Developed by world-renowned expert physiotherapist Robin McKenzie in the 1950s, this well-researched, exercise based approach of assessment, diagnosis and treatment uses a comprehensive and clinically reasoned evaluation of patients without the use of expensive diagnostic imaging (e.g. x-rays and MRIs). The treatment principles of the McKenzie Method promote the body's potential to repair itself and do not involve the use of medication, heat, cold, ultrasound, needles, or surgery. McKenzie allows patients to learn the principles and empowers them to be in control of their own symptom management, which can reduce dependency on medical intervention.

• MANUAL THERAPY
  • Manual traction: Cervical and lumbar traction is a common nonsurgical treatment for a herniated disc in the neck or lower back that relieves pain by opening up the cervical and lumbar foramen to reduce pressure on compressed nerve roots exiting the spinal canal. Traction can either be applied manually or by spinal traction devices.
  • Myofascial Release Technique: Myofascial release technique is a powerful injury treatment technique developed in Europe with the world’s fastest sprinters. Recovery rates once considered impossible by traditional therapists and sports medicine doctors were achieved, through methods based on European osteopathy techniques, along with insights from quantum physics. In recent years, myofascial release technique has been given clinical application for chronic back and neck pain conditions. Myofascial release technique deals directly with the reasons for soft tissue dysfunctions and subsequent referred pain and nerve entrapment. In acute conditions, myofascial release technique affects the insidious way scar tissue is formed, and in chronic conditions, myofascial release technique breaks up the fibrotic and adhered mass of scar tissue to quickly allow the muscle to return to its natural resting length. Once the muscle or muscle group has returned to the original resting length, there is an immediate release from the pain induced by the inflammation response. Patients are placed in a particular position so that the muscle begins to stretch in a very specific direction or plane. When the exact location of the injury has been defined, a determined pressure is applied directly into the affected tissue or along a specific line of injury. At the same time, the patient is given a set of instructions that now engage the antagonist of the muscles involved. The muscle is extended from a fixed position in a determined direction under a pinpoint of pressure. Decrease in pain and increase in range of motion are often immediate, offsetting any minor discomfort experienced. 
  • Trigger Point Myotherapy: Trigger point myotherapy is a noninvasive therapeutic modality for the relief and control of myofascial pain and dysfunction. The goal of treatment is the recovery from or a significant reduction in myofascial pain. The treatment goal is achieved through a systematized approach. Treatment consists of trigger point compression, myomassage, passive stretching, and a regime of corrective exercises. Success may be measured subjectively by the level of pain reduction experienced by the patient and objectively through increased range of motion, strength, endurance, and other measures of improved function. Trigger point myotherapy relies heavily on dotor-patient interaction, including verbal and nonverbal elements. The doctor encourages the client to be personally responsible for their improvement, with attention to such factors as nutritional intake, stress, proper exercises, mechanical abnormalities, and other physical components. These elements protect the client from delayed diagnosis, delayed treatment, or contraindicated treatment, which are the concerns of first order. Trigger point myotherapy is an integrating approach to myofascial pain and dysfunction. 

• MASSAGE THERAPY
  • Deep Tissue Massage: Techniques that utilize deep-tissue/deep-muscle massage are administered to affect the sub-layer of musculature and fascia. These techniques require advanced training and a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology. It helps with chronic muscular pain and injury rehabilitation and reduces inflammation-related pain caused by arthritis and tendinitis. It is generally integrated with other massage techniques.
  •  Sports/Athletic Massage: Sports massage is designed to enhance athletic performance and recovery. There are three contexts in which sports massage can be useful to an athlete: pre-event, post-event, and injury treatment. Pre-event massage is delivered at the performance site, usually with the athlete fully clothed. Fast-paced and stimulating, it helps to establish blood flow and to warm up muscles. During the massage, the athlete generally focuses on visualizing the upcoming event. Post-event massage is also delivered on site, through the clothes. The intent here is to calm the nervous system and begin the process of flushing toxins and waste products out of the body. Post-event massage can reduce recovery time, enabling an athlete to resume training much sooner than rest alone would allow. When an athlete sustains an injury, skillful massage therapy can often speed and improve the quality of healing. 
  • Pregnancy/Prenatal Massage: Performed by a licensed massage therapist, many methods of massage and somatic therapies are both effective and safe prenatally and during labor and postpartum periods of women’s pregnancies. Prenatally, specific techniques can reduce pregnancy discomforts and concerns and enhance the physiological and emotional well-being of both mother and fetus. Skilled, appropriate touch facilitates labor, shortening labor times and easing pain and anxiety. In the postpartum period, specialized techniques rebalance structure, physiology, and emotions of the new mother and may help her to bond with and care for her infant.
  • Acupressure: Acupressure is an ancient healing art that uses the fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body’s natural self-curative abilities. When these points are pressed, they release muscular tension and promote the circulation of blood to aid healing. Acupuncture and acupressure use the same points, but acupuncture employs needles, while acupressure uses the gentle, but firm pressure of hands and feet. Acupressure can be effective in helping relieve headaches, eye strain, sinus problems, neck pain, backaches, arthritis, muscle aches, tension due to stress, ulcer pain, menstrual cramps, lower backaches, constipation, and indigestion. There are also great advantages to using acupressure as a way to balance the body and maintain good health. The healing touch of acupressure reduces tension, increases circulation, and enables the body to relax deeply. By relieving stress, acupressure strengthens resistance to disease and promotes wellness. In acupressure, local symptoms are considered an expression of the condition of the body as a whole. A tension headache, for instance, may be rooted in the shoulder and neck area. Thus, acupressure focuses on relieving pain and discomfort, as well as responding to tension, before it develops into a disease/before the constrictions and imbalances can do further damage. The origins of acupressure are as ancient as the instinctive impulse to hold your forehead or temples when you have a headache. Everyone at one time or another has used their hands spontaneously to hold tense or painful places on the body. More than five thousand years ago, the Chinese discovered that pressing certain points on the body relieved pain where it occurred and also benefited other parts of the body more remote from the pain and the pressure point. Gradually, they found other locations that not only alleviated pain, but also influenced the functioning of certain internal organs.
  • Gua Sha: Used in China for more than two thousand years, gua sha means to scrape toxins. A method of promoting blood circulation and removing toxic heat, blood, and lymph from the body, gua sha involves scraping the skin with a flat tool to facilitate pain relief, open pores, increase deep cleansing, and improve circulation.

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