HealthPoint Chiropractic

At HealthPoint Chiropractic we provide gentle, effective chiropractic care for the whole family. We provide a variety of treatment modalities to help the body to heal itself and return the patient to a pain-free and healthy life. Chiropractic medicine is more than just spinal manipulations.

Spinal manipulation (also known as adjustment) is a treatment for joints and muscles in the back and neck that are not functioning properly.

The patient is first positioned in a way that the involved joint or joints can be isolated from the others. Then, the chiropractor uses his hands to apply a gentle thrust to the joint. This moves the joint surfaces, and usually results in a popping sound.

Many times, back and neck pain is the result of joints that are not moving properly. Imagine a door that only opens halfway because of a stuck hinge. You could still use it, but it is more troublesome than a door that opens fully. The joints in your spine can be thought of in the same way. When a proper gentle thrust is applied to a "stuck" joint, its full motion is restored, and associated muscle tension is decreased.

Your bones are not cracking! The popping sound is caused by the release of gas bubbles in the joint's lubricating fluid. To understand this better, you need to know a little bit more about the spinal joints. A joint is made up of the surfaces of two bones that slide over or pivot around each other. These surfaces are lined with smooth cartilage and encased in an elastic tissue called the joint capsule. This capsule is filled with a fluid which lubricates and nourishes the cartilage. The fluid is pressurized and has gasses dissolved inside, similar to carbonated soda. During a manipulation, the joint capsule is stretched and some gas bubbles are released similar to the bubbles that are released when a soda bottle is opened. And that is what causes the popping sound.

Spinal manipulation is very safe. The risk of injury occurring as a side effect of manipulation is very low, especially when compared to other common treatments for back and neck pain. However, as with all medical procedures, there is some inherent risk. That is why it is important to choose a doctor who is well trained, experienced and licensed to perform manipulation. Chiropractors are able to recognize patients who should not receive manipulation, and to minimize the risk of injury to all patients on an individual basis.

This type of therapy uses light electrical pulses that are transmitted to specific areas of the body through electrodes placed on the skin. There are many different types of electrical stimulation. Some are more beneficial for pain relief or to reduce inflammation, some for muscle spasm, and some actually cause muscles to contract in order to reduce muscle atrophy. Some have combination effects. Call or visit our Irwin, PA office for a chiropractic consultation today. We are located at 12381 Route 30 in N. Huntingdon/Irwin.

A TENS (transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation) unit is a small, battery-powered, portable muscle stimulation machine that can be used at home to help control pain. Variable intensities of electric current are used to control pain. This treatment is recommended to help patients get through periods of severe (acute) pain. TENS units are typically not recommended for chronic pain.

Therapeutic ultrasound is a form of deep heat therapy created by sound waves. When applied to soft tissues and joints, the sound waves are a form of micro-massage that help reduce swelling, increase blood flow, and decrease pain, stiffness, and spasms.

Ice and heat have long been used to treat many painful conditions. Ice therapy is often used to reduce swelling and help control pain immediately after an injury. Heat therapy is used to relax the muscles and increase circulation and can provide relief to patients with chronic pain. Depending on the patient's condition, a combination of ice and heat can be used.

Good health is much more than the absence of pain or disease. The lifestyle choices you make on a daily basis can greatly affect your long-term health. We now know that years of seemingly small unhealthy lifestyle choices can, over time, turn into very large health problems. Examples of lifestyle choices and behaviors that can have negative effects on your health include:

• Lack of regular exercise

• Smoking

• Poor diet

• Excessive mental stress

• Over-reliance on medication

• Excessive consumption of alcohol

• Poor posture

• Improper lifting

Dr. Chas Lubert will talk to you about your lifestyle choices, help you sort through and identify unhealthy health habits, and give you practical strategies to deal with and manage them.

Chiropractors commonly prescribe specific strengthening exercises for their patients with back, neck, and extremity problems. These exercises can decrease pain, prevent muscle deterioration, promote joint health, increase strength, stability and range of motion, and protect against new or recurring injuries. Dr. Chas Lubert will show you how to do the exercises and supervise you until you are comfortable doing them on your own. It's important to keep up with your exercises as prescribed (similarly to drug prescriptions). Studies show that individuals who follow their exercise instructions heal faster than those who do not.

Following an injury, therapeutic stretching is an important way to prevent scar tissue from forming. Even after the injury has healed, maintaining a regular stretching program helps keep tissues flexible, increases mobility, and protects you from new injuries. Like exercise, Dr. Chas Lubert will instruct you on proper stretching techniques and will supervise you until you are comfortable enough to do them on your own.

Massage therapy helps improve circulation and reduce pain. Chiropractors are trained in a variety of massage therapy modalities. The need and benefits of these therapies vary from patient to patient. Dr. Chas will choose the best method for your specific needs. Massage therapy at HealthPoint Chiropractic is a hands-on manipulation of the soft tissue and joints of the body. The soft tissues include muscle, skin, tendons and associated fascia, ligaments and joint capsules. The manipulation can physically stretch muscles, ligaments, tendons and fascia, encourage the circulation through the tissue, inhibit muscular spasms and be either sedating or stimulating to the nervous system. This affects all the systems of the body - in particular, the muscular, circulatory, lymphatic (immune) and nervous systems.

In chiropractic traction-massage, the patient lies face up with a pillow under the knees. A system of rollers then moves up and down the spine, gently stretching and massaging the muscles of the back. Traction-massage usually is performed just before an adjustment to relax the spine, making the adjustment easier to perform, more comfortable, and more beneficial.

Many of today's health problems can benefit from massage therapy because the manipulation of soft tissues affects so many of our bodily systems--muscular, nervous, circulatory and lymphatic (immune). Massage therapy's aims are to restore physical function, alleviate pain, relax tight and tense muscles, improve circulation and recovery time, reduce stress, an increase the sense of well-being.

Prolonged periods of stress can subconsciously aggravate, or even cause, such problems as heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, memory loss and decreased immune function. Massage therapy is one of the best antidotes for stress. It boosts the body's immune system, which can become compromised from extended periods of stress. Tension can build up in the muscles, causing a decrease in circulation and nutrient delivery to tissues. Manipulation of the soft tissue decreases muscular tension, increases removal of metabolic waste and promotes nutrient delivery to healing tissue. With a therapeutic massage, stress can be significantly reduced. This, in turn, will increase energy, improve your outlook on life, and in the process boost your immune system function.

HealthPoint Chiropractic

12381 Route 30W Suites B, Irwin, PA 15642

Phone:  724-864-6560    Email: HealthPointChiro@gmail.com