At Spine & Extremities Center we have several unique modalities and services not offered regionally and are used in a combination very difficult to find.
These include Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy (MyACT by ELvation Medical USA) with the PiezoWave2 Device, Class IV medical laser, Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT), and infrared sauna.
Those who suffer from fibromyalgia know the symptoms. They experience the widespread musculoskeletal pain that most people associate with this disorder. But the only ones that really appreciate the entire spectrum of this condition know the other problems. Chronic debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbances, and mood issues amongst others.
Fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by an abnormal response to painful stimuli by the brain and spinal cord. Things that shouldn’t hurt do. It is like your nerves are hypervigilant. The nervous system should warn the body of pain and other things in your environment. But when pain impulses to the brain occur repeatedly and relentlessly over non-threatening stimuli it is overwhelming. This chronic state of pain and stress results in fatigue. Physical, mental, and emotional thresholds are breeched. Patients have difficulty finding energy to exercise and eat right. This combined with poor sleep can lead to depression and anxiety. These mood disorders then can cause the brain and spinal cord to perceive pain even more acutely. The tension builds up then within the muscles and soft tissues which then generate more abnormal impulses. This vicious cycle between the central and peripheral nervous system is difficult to break. It is even thought that the brain is taught to “remember” these pain signal patterns. Exercise, sleep, and good nutrition are important to ease the symptoms. But sufferers often don’t have the ability or energy to do these things. It is a “catch-22”.
How do we help break the cycle?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition and the best results are going to involve solutions that become lifestyle changes. Just like diabetes or high blood pressure, fibromyalgia treatment often requires long-term and lifestyle changes as well as therapeutic interventions.
The core of our program is to interrupt the cycle by directly treating the muscles and fascia (tissue that envelopes the muscles) with our Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy (MyACT) and Class IV medical lasers. The MyACT is utilized with alternating treatments with focal point and linear sources. The focal treatments will help reset and restore proper muscle tone and relieve trigger points. The linear source will then diffusely treat the muscle, fascia, and other soft tissues in the patient’s affected musculoskeletal system. The high intensity medical laser will be used at specific wavelengths and frequencies to relieve pain and decrease inflammation.
Osteopathic and chiropractic soft tissue manipulation can be used to further treat the affected areas as well as address the other ligamentous and tendinous abnormalities as needed. It is very difficult to find osteopathic manipulation providers in rural areas, which is unfortunate as this system of medicine was founded on treating the musculoskeletal system and fascial distortions with manual, hands-on techniques. Both of our doctors provide the advanced soft-tissue manipulative therapies most efficacious in treating fibromyalgia patients.
We recommend high-velocity, low amplitude (HVLA) spinal manipulation as this allows the spine and skeleton to function with less restriction which reduces stress on the muscles. HVLA has also been shown to inhibit (decrease) pain impulses sent to your central nervous system through a complex mechanism known as manipulation induced analgesia (MIA). As with the other conditions we treat at SEC, this spinal manipulation is not required for participation in our treatment program.
Another unique tool we have to offer is our infrared sauna. The radiant energy and heat soothes muscles and improves circulation. Most patients find these sessions very relaxing and this helps with the health-related anxiety many patients have.
Our goal is to get the musculoskeletal system optimized so that patients can go exercise, sleep better, have the energy and motivation to eat better, and relieve the pain so that they can go out and live life again. Which ultimately is the best solution to this debilitating and pervasive condition.
The initial treatment series is over 4-5 months and includes eight extended combination MyACT/medical laser sessions and eight additional laser sessions to be used in between combination treatments. Enrollment into the program entitles these patients to reduced costs for the other services we have discussed above including osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT), chiropractic adjustments (spinal manipulative therapy), and infrared sauna use.
The price for this program is $995 for the Myofascial Acoustic Therapy and medical laser treatments of the most commonly areas affected, which are the neck, shoulders, thoracic, lumbar and sacral/hip regions.
Osteopathic/chiropractic manipulation can be added into a session at the patient’s discretion and are $35 per visit. Infrared sauna sessions are discounted for our fibromyalgia patients and are $25 a session. We are also able to coordinate these sauna sessions with manipulative therapy if desired as many patients find the sauna a perfect way to prepare for a spinal manipulative treatment or soft tissue mobilization session.
New patients to our practice can schedule a “new patient visit” to discuss and be evaluated for this program. This consultation is $75 and includes manipulation and a laser session.
To make an appointment, call or text 814-227-5855.
Spine and Extremities Center is located at 457 South 5th Avenue, Clarion, Pennsylvania 16214.
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