Many times when I’m out with friends, I am asked, “What do you do?”
The obvious answer is that I’m a chiropractor in Tulsa who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of acute neck and low back pain. The word “acute” simply means that it’s a quick onset of pain rather than something that drags out over a long period of time. You might suffer acute pain from working in your yard and lifting bags of leaves, which in turn tweaks your lower back. This type of pain responds well to chiropractic treatment.
My number one “go-to” treatment in my toolbox is joint or soft tissue manipulation which helps me understand if you have something that’s stuck or whether the problem is in the form of soft tissue, muscle, tendon, ligament or fascia injuries. My main objective is to get you moving so that your function sees improvement. Some of my other tools lie in the specialties offered by others in my clinic and those range from physical therapists, massage therapists and yoga instructors. Through these gifted providers, we can offer comprehensive care to all of our patients.
When to Seek Help for Pain
If pain has reached the point where it is affecting your function or daily activities, this is probably a warning sign that you may need help from a specialist. For example, if you’re an attorney or an accountant, someone who sits behind a desk for long periods of time, you might start to notice the inability to sit for long periods without pain to your lower back – this is definitely a warning sign. We like to see our patients as quickly as possible once this sort of pain develops and patients respond much faster to early treatment which might mean seeing you only two or three times.
Also, we always discuss efficient and conservative treatment plans with our patients in an effort to educate them on how they can prevent a reoccurrence, or if they do tweak their back again, how they can best manage it on their own.
Giving Patients Custom Treatment Options
The art of giving a patient an accurate diagnosis is something I find very rewarding. The word “diagnosis” means discovering what a patient’s problem is and providing the best treatment plan for their needs. Many times, proper diagnosis tells me what I should NOT treat as well as what should be treated. Sometimes that diagnosis may dictate a need for physical therapy or massage therapy, in which case I have the ability to literally send the patient across the hall instead of across town to a clinic I might not be personally familiar with.
If you would like to consult Tulsa Spine & Rehab with a pain issue, referral is not necessary. I am a direct access provider and what this means is that you can actually walk in off the street, phone us or go through our website to schedule an appointment. We welcome the opportunity to help you return to a more functional lifestyle.
