Under the care of Dr. Bert Solomon and his staff, all patients are assessed and evaluated on each visit. Progress and efficiency of care is key to success and validation of the time and energy spent in our facility. All patients on every visit are being addressed in 6 areas to maximize the patient’s growth and development while under our care. It is our hope and desire to serve patients well in a hospitable and challenging atmosphere focused on expressing our patient’s full potential.
As a Chiropractic Sports Physician, Dr. Bert has spent the last 15 years developing this strategic plan that focuses on the patient’s Active Range of Motion/Passive Range of Motion, Soft Tissue Changes, Flexibility/Elasticity, Strength and Stability, a Healthy functioning Nervous System, and the patients Somatosensory System. It is the scope of practice of every Chiropractic Sports Physician to diagnose and treat all NeuroMusculoSkeletal dysfunctions. This category of Medicine has everything to do with a patient’s Nervous System, Myofascial (muscle + connective tissue) System, and Skeletal System.
Neurological Function:
The body is controlled and coordinated by the Central Nervous System. The Peripheral Nervous System is identified as the nerves that exit the spine and go to specific areas of the body; in essence creating a mesh of nerves communicating from the brain to the body and the body back to the brain. It is through the CNS and the PNS that all functions of the human body are controlled and coordinated. If a patient has an unhealthy CNS or PNS they will not be able to express an activity of daily living without potential dysfunction and damage to the human body. An unhealthy CNS and PNS may present as radicular signs and symptoms, nerve pain, muscle weakness, organ dysfunction, and or dulled senses. It is paramount to life and breath to have a good functioning nervous system. Without the nervous system there is no life. Think about it! Without a properly functioning nervous system there is only dysfunction. It would be delinquent and neglectful for any Chiropractic Sports Physician to asses and address a patient without having the patient’s neurological function in the forefront of his/her mind.
Active/Passive Range of Motion:
Active range of motion and passive range of motion refer to the ability of individual joints of the body to move freely and fully, thus allowing forces to be distributed evenly across the surface area of the joint. When range of motion is limited in a particular joint, other areas of the body must compensate and provide excessive motion to make up for this deficit, leading to overuse, pain, injury, and an inefficient pattern of movement. Movement and motion are vital to being healthy; without the freedom of individual joints to function normally, the body becomes inefficient while trying to meet the demands of our activities of daily living, work-related activities, recreational activities, and fitness-related activities. This inefficiency of movement will ultimately manifest itself as adaptive changes within the soft-tissue structures of the body before degenerative, arthritic changes occur within the joints.
Soft-Tissue Changes:
The old adage “use it or lose it” has been used to describe the human consequences of inactivity, usually associated with our loss of fitness. The phrase is very accurate though when it comes to performing activities of daily living with limited range of motion. The body is constantly adapting to the physical demands placed upon it. When movement is limited in an area of the body and joints are not mobilized fully, adaptive changes of the soft-tissue structures surrounding the joints occur. Aside from limited range of motion, soft-tissue changes occur as a result of overuse, inflammation, trauma, and postural misalignment. It is our goal to identify and address these adaptive soft-tissue changes associated with the patient’s condition, and to restore and normalize the healthy, visco-elastic properties of these structures.
Flexibility/Elasticity:
The characteristics of pliability, elasticity, and flexibility are found within normal healthy soft tissue. “Soft-Tissue” is associated with muscles, ligament, tendons, joint capsules, etc. Restrictions within the joints and tissues of the body result not only in limitations of our freedom to move and be active, but also manifest as decreased circulation, reduced delivery of nutrients and oxygen, and reduced elimination of metabolic waste. Additionally, restricted tissue is very susceptible to injury and dysfunction. It is imperative for stability and for limiting future episodes of the condition being treated that we address all the healthy characteristics of soft tissue.
Strength and Stability:
In order to maintain a particular level of function the human body needs the appropriate level of strength and stability. For activities of daily living the human frame needs the ability to power through the activity and stabilize itself in order to prevent dysfunction and damage. When dysfunction or damage has occurred it is a necessity to regain and even progress the patient’s ability to control and coordinate these activities of daily living. The human body is a complex machine being tugged and pulled in all directions. Without the ability to control these proper movement patterns needed for activities of daily living the human body is susceptible to dysfunction and damage. Strength and Stability is a crucial part of our patient’s restoration and a keystone for prevention of future dysfunction and damage.
Somatosensory:
The somatosensory system is the brain and body’s ability to know where it is in space and how to react accordingly. The somatosensory system informs the human body about objects in the world around us through touch and about the position and movement of our bodies (proprioception) through the stimulation of muscle and joints. The somatosensory systems also monitor the temperature of the body and provide information about painful, itchy and tickling sensations. These proprioceptors are all over the body in every joint. When your knee bends it is the proprioceptors inside the knee and surrounding soft tissue that communicate with the brain and let the brain know what the knee is doing. The brain, in turn, is able to control and coordinate that knee movement without dysfunction and or damage. Most non-traumatic injuries are caused in part to a dysfunction in ones somatosensory system. The Player on the soccer field who tears her ACL with a non-traumatic injury will almost always show a lack of ability to know what her joints are doing in space and will lack the ability to compensate appropriately. In addition to the visual system and inner ear system, the somatosensory system make up a triad the body and brain use to right itself and maintain a level of balance in the upright position. When you stumble and fall it is this triad that helps you compensate appropriately. This somatosensory system is key in building stability and aides in the prevention of dysfunction and or damage. Any physical medicine that does not focus on this somatosensory system is in our opinion lacking.