What to Expect

Your First Visit

Your first visit will take approximately 1 hour.  Dr. Dargout will discuss with you your current complaint as well as any other medical, family, and social history.  She will perform an orthopaedic, chiropractic, and neurological exam on the area of complaint as well as a spinal scan.  The results of these exams will be reviewed along with any imaging you may have had in order to determine the proper course of care for your particular condition.

Types of Treatment:

A  Manual Adjustment is what people typically think of when they think of chiropractic care.  The doctor will apply a force using their hands to a specific area of the spine that is determined to have restricted or decreased motion.  The force applied will restore motion to that joint.  In so doing the patient will typically, but not always, hear an audible “pop” similar to the sound made when someone pops their knuckles.   The sound that is made is the exchange of gases within the joint space, like when you open a soda bottle.

Pro-Adjuster is a low force form of treatment utilized in this office.  It uses a tool designed to measure the mobility of the joint and then adjusts the joint using a pulsed force.  Please see the tab for Pro Adjuster for more information.

Flexion- Distraction is another low force adjustment utilized specifically for the low back.  The doctor will locate an area of restricted motion or an area that is compressed and stretch the joint.  The disc and joint space are decompressed allowing for the return of motion to the joint.

Drop table is a specific method of evaluating and treating the pelvis, and sacro-iliac joints.  When the sacro-iliac joints are out of alignment it can cause a functional short leg.  It can often refer pain into the legs and is commonly confused with “sciatic” pain. Describe what it is?

Adjunctive Therapies:

Graston (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Therapy) is a treatment method to alleviate the pain and dysfunction in the soft tissues (muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia).  Using a steel tool (Dr. Dargout uses the STARR tool and has completed Graston module 1 training) the doctor is able to detect and correct restrictions and scar tissue within the soft tissue.  This allows the treated area to return to the first phase of healing and properly lay the fibers in the direction they are intended to be, thereby restoring range of motion and decreasing pain.  Graston technique is especially successful in overuse injuries such as tendonitis of the ankles, wrists, shoulders, carpal tunnel, plantar fascitis, etc.

Temporal Mandibular Joint (TMJ) dysfunction is the dysfunction of the jaw joint that often manifests as headaches, fullness in the ear, tooth pain, in addition to discomfort or popping when chewing.  Many people are unaware that Chiropractors are trained to treat this joint and often receive referrals from dentists and oral surgeons to treat this condition.  Dr. Dargout uses a combined treatment approach of muscle work, low force manual adjustment, as well as home care exercises to correct the movement patterns of the jaw joint.

Electric Stimulation and Moist Heat are therapeutic tools used to repeatedly contract and relax the muscle which allow for quicker healing by both decreasing muscle tension prior to the adjustment and increasing blood flow to the area.

Ultrasound is also utilized to increase blood flow to the area as well as decrease muscle tension.  Ultrasound is combined with electric stim and allows for the therapy to go deeper into the muscle tissue.

Following Treatment:

It is normal to experience soreness following a treatment. The discomfort may feel similar to exercising for the first time after not exercising for several months/ years.  Because many of the areas have not seen movement in quite some time, restoring the motion to the joint will cause some inflammation as the body attempts to rid the area of scar tissue and built up waste product.  Icing the area for 20 minutes every two hours (several times) will decrease the inflammation and therefore limit and decrease the pain.  Do not apply heat as this is like adding fuel to a fire for inflammation.