At Louisa Chiropractic Center, we take great pride in providing the finest chiropractic care to each and every patient. We have included information below about the different chiropractic services offered in our Louisa chiropractic office, but please call us at 540-967-2522 if you have any questions!
Any services or treatments, as they should at any healthcare facility, depend on a good and accurate diagnosis. There is no treatment that can have any reasonable hope of success, if the diagnosis is wrong!
Just like your medical doctor, chiropractors are trained in all varieties of diagnosis – not just musculoskeletal evaluation, but dermatology, ophthalmology, GI (gastrointestinal), GU (genitourinary), neurology, orthopedics, rheumatology, radiologic diagnosis of bones, joints, organs and soft tissue, and infectious diseases. This does not mean, necessarily, that we treat all the things we find. It is extremely important for an accurate evaluation, that all things are considered before ruling it in or out. This is called a differential diagnosis. As an example, if a patient comes to my office with low back pain, regardless of their own guess as to what is causing it, I need to be sure that it isn’t a kidney stone or infection, some type of gall bladder or liver disease, prostatic inflammation or cancer (males, of course), a pelvic inflammatory disease cause by an STD or ectopic pregnancy (females, of course), fracture or cancer, just to name some of the more obvious causes. Most of these I would not treat myself, but before I assume that it is “just” low back pain, I must rule out the likelihood that it is any of these other possibilities. Chiropractors are trained for this, which is why no referral is legally required (although some insurance plans may), while physical therapists, licensed acupuncturists and others are required by law to have a referral (in most states). A physician, in each specialty and sub-specialty, has different tools in his or her toolbox. A good doctor is one who not only knows what is wrong with their patient, but also knows what he or she can or should treat, and makes referrals to other qualified physicians, in their patient’s best interest, for all things beyond the scope of their expertise. That said, in this office, we offer the following services:
1. Chiropractic manipulative therapy done “by hand” — no gizmos, “clickers,” or gadgets.
2. Acupuncture (done with sterile, disposable needles) and acupressure (manually treating acupoints). In most instances, acupuncture is done without electrical stimulation of the needles.
3. Physiologic therapeutics, to include ultrasound, TENS, acupuncture and various electrical modalities. I generally prefer to refer out for rehab and work-hardening.
4. Nutritional counseling.
5. Massage therapy, done by licensed massage therapists, by pre-arranged appointments.
6. Physical examination as pre-treatment assessment, and also for clearances for school athletics, pilot or commercial driver’s licenses and disability assessment to include DMV handicapped rating.
7. Evaluation or “second opinion” of plain film or digital radiographs (X-rays), CT scans and MRIs. We no longer take our own X-rays, but refer out for them when indicated.