Chiropractic Kinesiology
Modern day Chiropractic care goes deeper than what is traditionally thought of as treating bad backs and pain. At Delson Institute for Wellness we are committed to functional medicine, chiropractic, physiotherapy and ultimately preventive care. Delson Institute for Wellness treats all patients with the belief that the basic principal of optimal health is finding the root of your aliments and not simply treating symptoms.
Chiropractic techniques used at the Institute
The doctor using AK finds a muscle that is imbalanced or weak and then attempts to determine why that muscle is not functioning properly. The doctor devises a treatment that will best balance the patient’s muscles. Treatments may involve specific joint manipulation or mobilization, various myofacial therapies, cranial techniques, meridian and acupuncture skills, clinical nutrition, dietary management, counselling skills, evaluating environmental irritants and various reflex procedures. These assessments are used in conjunction with standard methods of diagnosis, such as clinical history, physical examination findings, laboratory tests, and instrumentation to develop a clinical impression of the unique physiologic condition of each patient, including an impression of the patient’s functional physiologic status. When appropriate, this clinical impression is used as a guide to the application of conservative physiologic therapeutics.
The Triad of Health is interactive and all sides must be evaluated in order to diagnose the underlying cause of a problem. For example a chemical imbalance caused by poor digestion or mal-nutrition can cause structural and/or mental symptoms such as mid back pain, anxiety or depression. Diet and nutrition can have a profound effect on the brain’s chemistry. What we eat for dinner can influence our sleeping, our dreaming, and how we feel upon waking. Applied Kinesiology enables the doctor to evaluate the triad’s balance and direct therapy toward the imbalanced side or sides. A Doctor using AK during an examination will add a new dimension to standard diagnostics by drawing together the core elements of complementary therapies, creating a more unified approach to both diagnosis and treatment.
AK skills are developed and approved by the International College of Applied Kinesiology Board of Standards. These skills are refined from many disciplines including Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Medicine, Dentistry, Acupuncture, Biochemistry, Psychology, Homeopathy, and Naturopathy etc. Members of these professions share knowledge through the publications and conferences of the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK).
Dr. VanRumpt, in 1923 while still a student at the National College of Chiropractic, became interested in a different approach to structural analysis and correction. He initially found that the mere pressure of spinal palpation on his patients often resulted in unexpected structural, symptomatic, and physiologic changes. He soon felt that a low force approach could not only be an alternative to the more forceful methods taught in school, but might even surpass them in power and results.
Dr. VanRumpt began teaching his method of analysis and adjusting to other doctors in the early 1940s and continued single handed until 1986.
Chiropractic Nutrition
There are two main types of ranges in the field of blood chemistry analysis: a pathological range and a functional range. The pathological range is used to diagnose disease; the functional range is used to assess risk for disease before disease develops. The references that are provided with laboratory test results are referred to as “the pathological range”, because if the results are out of range, it usually indicates potential for pathology or disease.
The main difference between the functional and pathological range is the degree deviation allowed within their normal ranges. For example the functional range for glucose may be 85-100 mg/dl, but the pathological range may be 65-100 mg/dl. Levels above the pathological range may indicate diabetes. Levels above the functional range, but before they reach the extremes of the pathological range, may indicate insulin resistance and future risk for developing diabetes.
Conventional medical training is concerned with the diagnosis of disease and rarely preventative medicine; therefore, patients are usually not consulted regarding the parameters of the functional range. Healthcare providers that practice prevention medicine are those most inclined to incorporate consulting patients when their levels present outside of the functional range. If biomarkers can be managed before they fall within the pathological range, prevention medicine can be practiced.
When lab results fall within the patterns of a functional imbalance, strategies such as lifestyle, diet, nutrition, and other non-invasive therapies may be recommended. Many traditional healthcare providers do not embrace the concept of a functional range. They believe that care should only be provided when disease is present. This view is generally formed from conventional medical training which ignores the philosophies of preventative medicine and nutrition. Traditional medical training teaches physicians to evaluate blood chemistry in comparison to ranges that determine pathology. If pathology is not present, the patient is considered “healthy”.
The main difference between healthcare providers who embrace or reject functional ranges basically boils down to the definition of health. Some healthcare providers define “health” as the abstinence of disease, and therefore if you are not diseased than you must be “healthy”. Other healthcare providers define health as being free of disease but also having adequate energy levels, healthy digestion, ideal physiological function, etc. It is obvious that those in society who feel that prevention and “health” are more than just being disease-free will embrace the importance of the functional range, and those that view “health” as only free of disease will only accept the validity of the pathological range.
Functional ranges have been determined by healthcare providers and researchers who embrace the principles of preventative medicine, such as those who practice diet, nutrition, and lifestyle changes. Much of the research regarding functional ranges has been established by well-respected organizations such as the American Association of Clinical Chemists (AACC).
Clinical nutrition centers around blood chemistry and laboratory analysis to screen and identify imbalances in body metabolism. These learned skills required to analyze blood chemistry provide patients with sound recommendations, an ability to screen for health issues and a quantitative monitor for changes in treatment.
Conventional medicine is generally concerned with the diagnosis of disease and rarely preventative treatment.
All first time patients will have an initial in-depth intake appointment, a full blood panel analyzed and a individualized protocol put together based on the findings. The goal is a maintenance plan with clearance of initial concerns. Patients are then placed on a general check-up schedule and monitored for optimal health and disease prevention.
Our clinics nutritionist provides this step-by-step protocol, education and guidance to a healthier lifestyle. She intends her practices to be incorporated with ease and eventually become second nature. She works to move people away from quick fix diet fads and random supplementation. These practices which do not address lifestyle changes and clinical diagnosis, ultimately fail in the end.
Whether treating a current disease or preventing one and optimizing your health through transitional meal plans, supplementation, blood chemistry analysis and laboratory testing, clinical nutrition stands to benefit everyone.