(250) 477-4868
refinedhealthclinic@gmail.com
1258 Esquimalt Rd., Victoria, British Columbia

Chiropractic Care

At Refined Health our Victoria Chiropractor Team sets itself apart by being part of a multidisciplinary group of medical practitioners who care for the overall health of each and every patient.

Traditionally, chiropractors treat patients with hands-on techniques, and are best known for working with the spine.  Using these refined techniques, chiropractors can effectively reduce pain, improve mobility, and restore health through the use of a manipulation, an “adjustment” of the spine.  But the effectiveness of chiropractic is not just limited to the spine, as superior results have been proven with treatment to areas such as the shoulder, hips, and feet.

Who can benefit from Chiropractic Treatment?

Chiropractic is effective for people experiencing pain or reduced functionality resulting from:

Arthritis “Osteoarthritis”: This is also known as “degenerative joint disease” and it can be very painful, even debilitating, for those who live with it.  Despite common belief, chiropractors can be some of the most effective doctors for people suffering with arthritis, because joint motion through chiropractic adjusting is exactly what the body needs to slow, halt, and/or improve the prognosis of this condition.  Arthritis is a condition that requires management, as there is not a cure for it, but if we can help our patients reduce their need for medications through our chiropractic and massage care team, natural health care will be your best medicine!

Hip Pain: There are many causes of pain at the hips, but the primary reason for these pains is because the hip joint is responsible for absorbing a lot of pressure, repeatedly, day after day.  To add to it, any falls, car accidents, sports injuries, fractures/surgeries can worsen any previous or existing hip joint problems.  Muscle-related issues can also cause or result in pain at the hip joint, as well as conditions of the low back, and knees.

Other common conditions include:

Neck Pain

Fibromyalgia

Plantar Fascitis

Muscle Strains

Immobilitiy-Related Conditions

The Chiropractic Adjustment, explained:

An “adjustment” is a movement applied to a joint by a chiropractor.  No other types of practitioners are allowed by their regulatory bodies to perform adjustments; they are a specialty of Doctors of Chiropractic.

A lack of public awareness of chiropractic adjustments has led to intense public confusion, scrutiny, and misunderstanding of what it is that an adjustment does, and what is happening in the body during an adjustment.  This lack of awareness is also the likely reason why chiropractic is still not accepted as comfortably as western medicine has been in North America.

There are typically several parts consisting of a chiropractic adjustment:

1) A calculated thrust (usually quick in nature), is applied to a vertebrae or joint.

2) Gas is released from the joint space.  This is often accompanied (but not always) by the sound of a “pop”.  This release of gas results  in relief and reduction of built up joint pressures.  The “pop” is a very normal, and natural sound made by the body.  Some people may experience this noise with their day-to-day movements, and it is an indication that the body is able to move in such a way to reduce building joint pressures, which is very healthy!

3) A change in the patient’s sensation at the location which the adjustment was applied.  The most common change is a sense of relief, very often described as “feeling less pressure”.  Sometimes, because chiropractors have to treat areas that are already sore or painful, the area where the treatment was applied may feel some irritation for a brief period of time after.

Chiropractic adjustments, or manipulations, are for the correction of abnormalities in joint motion, including improved range of motion, pain relief, reduced stress on surrounding tissues (muscles, other joints).  Abnormal joint motion, whether in the spine or other body parts, is related to more widespread abnormalities in the body as well, because the body is a complex machine which requires all its parts to be moving well in order to function properly.  Spinal and other joint health is therefore connected to full body health, so that the body works in sync with all of its parts. 

Chiropractors can get a very good idea of overall body health by understanding your body’s joint motion.  They can also evaluate the stress that the body is facing on its nervous system, which is protected system inside the spine – this is why it is so crucial to have proper spinal joint motion.  Imagine it like a luxury car: it is only a well-running machine if all of it’s moving parts are working properly.

Your treatments may also consist of additional therapies to improve your chiropractic experience and enhance your treatments’ outcome:

• targeted movements including stretching, muscle release, massage to positively affect surrounding tissues

• exercises or special methods of stretching to improve mobility and reduce pain

• proper direction on hot and cold therapies, and when/why/how they should be used

Your chiropractor’s goal in caring for you is to resolve your symptoms entirely, or manage them as best as possible given the condition you are living with. 

Chronic Lower Back Pain: Statistics show that approximately 85% of North Americans experience low back pain, and it is the number one cause of work-related absences.  This is also the most common reason someone might seek a chiropractor (until they learn about everything a chiropractor can treat!).  Most of this chronic low back pain is undiagnosed, and it is something most people just live with, because they’ve been told “it is normal”. 

No pain is normal, and especially not chronic lower back pain – don’t let anybody tell you differently!  Pain is common, but it is not normal. Chiropractic can relieve the symptoms associated with chronic low back pain, and can manage the acute flare-ups that are very common of this condition.  Chiropractic has also proven to be more effective in managing and treating low back pain than opiods and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.  Treatment for chronic back pain is often long-term, and patients will often return for a chiropractic treatment when a recurrence happens, so that a chiropractic treatment can properly address the pain.

Headaches: Headaches are often related to the movement of the neck vertebrae and joint pressures.  Restricted mobility of the neck, along with increased pressure between the joint surfaces, can create nerve sensitivity – this leads to headaches.  Headaches resulting from tension in the neck, shoulders, and upper back may also be relieved by chiropractic adjustments and other mobilization techniques, including specific stretching procedures.

On a side note, Dr. Youlton loves treating patients with headaches because her success rate is very high, and the relief that it provides her patients is of most crucial concern for Carly.  When Dr. Youlton can make a headache feel better, it makes her feel good, and very glad to help!