Reintroducing Focus On Health-Our Clinical Model Explained
If you’ve landed on this page, you are likely wondering what our clinic philosophy is. You may be searching for answers to your pain, or want to better understand what it is that we can do to help you. You may even be wondering what chiropractors do. Speaking as someone who had never seen a chiropractor prior to working here, I had all of these same questions.
At Focus On Health, we push the boundaries of what chiropractors do. Our clinical care is driven by functionality, not just pain reduction. We don’t do the kinds of tricks that you see on social media. There is no mic to pick up loud cracks and pops. Simply put, we help our patients see long-lasting results through evidence-based care.
Our model is different from most, so it can be a bit confusing if you haven’t encountered something similar. Not only do we aim to debunk myths, but we also want to help our patients become better than before. So, let’s explore what makes our model different and what it can do to help you.
Difference #1: We Use Movement to Diagnose Our Patients
On day one, all of our patients are introduced to the clinic through the Selective Functional Movement Assessment, or SFMA. The SFMA looks at movement from the top down to assess patterns over pain. While pain can often be a result of dysfunctional movement patterns, dysfunction can show up unexpectedly, leading to a different diagnosis. Through this diagnostic criteria, our patients' pain is treated at the source of the issue rather than just following the symptom.
What does this mean for you? When you come into the clinic, you may notice that we treat different areas of the body than where your pain is. This rests on the principle of regional interdependence. You can think of your body as an assembly line, and if one employee is not doing its job, the others have to pick up the slack. Our body is a connected chain, so dysfunction in one area can lead to pain in the other. Hip dysfunction can result in knee pain, but without correcting the hip, the knee pain will never go away.
So, while it may feel weird to go through a series of movements when you are experiencing pain, it actually helps us gather crucial information.
Difference #2: We Use a Variety of Tools to Help You
Once we understand what you are experiencing, we have a number of cutting edge tools to help get you out of pain. We utilize traditional chiropractic methods like manual therapies and adjustments, but we also have dry needling, graston (scraping) and cupping at our disposal. If we are not getting the results we want, have a Radio Frequency and laser machine to accelerate healing at the cellular level. So, adjustments are actually a small part of what we do.
This also means that each patient’s pain is approached uniquely. Depending on the issue, the length of time you have been experiencing it and the ultimate goal, each patient will take a different journey in the clinic. Every body is different and should be treated as such.
Difference #3: We Use Movement to Treat You
This is probably the most important step in our journey. When you see the doctor, they are resetting your system. This allows the joints to be freed, muscles to be loosened and nerves to be calmed. But, once this change occurs, it is essential that the system is retrained to create long-lasting effects. During at-home and in-clinic exercises, your system is learning a new way of moving, which will ultimately keep you pain free.
Stability has to accompany mobility. Getting range of motion back is wonderful, and can solve many problems, but the body has to know what to do with this new found freedom. By using corrective exercises and functional strength training, our patients rewire what is happening in their body. Not only do they feel better, but they can do more for longer.
Difference #4: We Have Long-Term Strategies
Not only do we want to see our patients move well, but we want to see them move often. Once our patients are out of pain, we want to ensure that they stay that way. Through our in-clinic gym and our health coaching program, we have options to keep people moving. As mentioned, our body acts as a system. If our diet or exercise needs correction, our body will feel the effects. There are many instances where lingering joint and muscle pain can be aided by adequate fueling strategies.
Again, each person is different so all programs are designed to fit your unique needs. Whether that looks like different modifications during class, personal training or one-on-one health coaching, we have options to keep people moving and feeling better. And if these options aren’t getting the results we want? We have a vast network of allied health professionals to refer our patients to.
Difference #5: We Don’t Want to Keep You on a Plan Forever
We love our patients and we love seeing them get better. Our model thrives on people feeling better and returning to their favorite hobbies. We want to empower our patients with the tools that they need to be successful. So, this often means that at the end of care we find a dose that makes the most sense for each of our patients. We want you to return to your gym, running and biking, allowing you the freedom to come in as you need to.
Assuming that you have reached a point where your pain is gone, you are moving well and you have an adequate movement strategy, we work together to find an interval of care that works for you. Some patients come in bi-weekly while others come in quarterly. What’s great is that the door is always open, and if at any point that dosage needs to change, we are here to help you find what you need.
At Focus On Health, we want to be the guide in your healthcare journey. Our model allows our patients to get the care that they need, whether that is in the clinic or in the gym; oftentimes it is both. We don’t want to trap people and we don’t feed into gimmicks, our care is evidence-based and malleable based on the patient. We are lucky to have patients who have been with us for 15 years, while also seeing new faces each day. Starting a new health journey can be daunting, but here at Focus On Health, we hope to make that step just one bit easier.
Alex