our services

Functional Rehabilitation

Functional rehabilitation is not only strengthening muscles around a joint that has pain, but is looking at the “big picture” of how your body functions as a single unit. I begin with an in depth look into your pains location, onset, aggravating and ameliorating factors, and how those relate to your repetitive lifestyle strains. Following this interview is an examination including palpation and inspection of your neurologic system, posture, muscle lengths and strengths, and joint function. I then inspect how your body performs certain movements to identify any biomechanical deficits. This information allows me to make a connection between your pain and your biomechanical imbalances and find your major functional disturbance and then formulate a method of restoring your body to its optimal function.

Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy

Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy/Spinal Manipulation or “adjustment” refers to gentle pressure or a high-velocity low-amplitude thrust to help restore function and motion to a joint that has become restricted. The manipulation also stimulates the nervous system to help reduce pain and relax local musculature. The noise that can be heard with an adjustment is that of release of nitrogen gas from a joint capsule. It has been researched and documented that motion is restored following an adjustment but no bones are moved for this to happen. There have been many studies that have proven its effectiveness, safety, and high levels of patient satisfaction. As a result, in 1994 the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research published this technique as a gold standard for low back pain. Since then more research has been done on neck pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, infantile colic and rehabilitation, all supporting the role of Chiropractic and its manipulative procedures.

Foot Orthotic Therapy

The feet are the foundation of the body. They provide for shock absorption, propulsion, balance, and aid in posture. Abnormalities and dysfunction in the foot can cause significant pain in the back, knee, hip, leg and foot. Orthotic therapy can be used to help alleviate these pains and/or to improve walking, running, skiing, snowboarding, skating, hard court sports and track and field sports.
The common misconception is that foot orthotics are a “one-time fix” for your feet, ankle, knee, hip or low back. You get casted, fork over some money, the orthotic is built and put in your shoes and you’re good to go. The fact is, is that if your foot becomes dependant on the orthotic the muscles in your feet just become weaker. A correct use of an orthotic device should be to allow you (the patient) to have a better foot position while working to strengthen the muscles of the foot, gain coordination, strength and endurance in hopes of eventually restoring the normal, proper function of the foot so that you can be active without pain and dysfunction.
If an orthotic device is meant to change your particular foot biomechanics for the better, a lot should go into the evaluation of how your foot works, including range of motion, muscle strength, muscle recruitment patterns and joint function. If you need an orthotic for cycling, then evaluation or your stoke pattern should be assessed. If you run, your running gait should be evaluated. All this information should be processed before determining if orthotic therapy is right for you. Then, specific exercises and stretches should be given to start working to improve your foot mechanics.
Xtreme Footwerks is a small orthotic fabrication company down in Colorado that builds orthotics for my patients. I’ve had the privilege of learning about foot mechanics and orthotic therapy from Sean Eno, the owner and pedorthist who builds the orthotics. Xtreme Footwerks has produced the most biomechanically sound and effective orthotics I’ve seen through the years of working with several orthotic companies. I can’t say enough about their devices and how they’ve help my patients.

McKenzie Therapy

The McKenzie Method, also known as Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) is an approach that is trusted and used by practitioners and patients worldwide for common problems of the back and neck. Each distinct syndrome is addressed according to its unique nature with mechanical procedures utilizing movement and positions.
Unique to the McKenzie Method is a comprehensive and logical step-by-step process to evaluate the patient’s problem quickly.
Research has shown the initial McKenzie assessment procedures to be as reliable as costly diagnostic imaging (i.e., x-rays, MRIs) to determine the source of the problem and quickly identify responders and non-responders.
Patients gain an experiential education learning to self-treat their present problem. By implementing this self-care regime and modifying behaviors, patients can minimize the risk of recurrence as well as rapidly manage themselves when symptoms occur.
For more information on McKenzie Method, please refer to the website:
www.mckenziemdt.org

Myofascial Release / Guasha

When tissues are injured, adhesions or scar tissue can build up causing restrictions in normal movement. Myofascial release is a blend of stretching and massage using traction and positioning of the body to relieve muscle spasm and “release” adhesions or scar tissue allowing them to regain full range of motion. Guasha is an Asian medicine technique that incorporates round edged instruments to assist in this process and aid in faster recovery. This therapy is used for many different conditions and is effective for people of all ages.

SportsMotion® Software

ProMotion Chiropractic and Rehabilitation is the only facility in the area to utilize stop motion video software to aid in analyzing movement. Many of the subtle movements involved in running, walking, cycling and golfing are too fast to be effectively analyzed by the eye alone. That’s why being able to record your movement and slow it down to 1/60th of a second is so useful and that is precisely what “SportsMotion” software does. Combined with years of experience and education in biomechanics, Dr. Handschin can accurately assess biomechanical aberrances, make a diagnosis, and effectively treat you to make the changes necessary to get you out of pain and back to what you love to do.