Downey Chiropractic Clinic
Put Our Years of Experience to Work for You
The Downey Method
Let’s face it, there are a lot of great chiropractors out there. If you find one you like, you should stick with them! We’ve developed the Downey method after years of practice experience on patients like you, not just information gotten out of a book or on the internet. We accept referrals from all types of physicians and practitioners. We specialize in the treatment of chronic and difficult cases. The following are highlights of what we do.
1) We look at the patient as a whole person. Unfortunately, too many physicians focus on treating just a particular symptom without taking a look at the bigger picture. Our approach, called the holistic approach, focuses on your overall health, and not just the absence of disease or pain.
2) We use specific chiropractic adjustments, not just joint mobilization. There are physical therapists out there trained to do joint mobilization. Joint mobilization while it has its merits, is designed to move joints globally (meaning several at a time.) We use state of the art digital x-ray coupled with an extensive examination, to determine the specific joints that need attention. Moving specific joints in the proper direction often gets results when other methods have failed. Specific joint adjusting is also more difficult to do because a global technique tends to move the joints that need it the least, because they aren’t having a problem. Make sense? Joint mobilization is like taking a shotgun approach to a problem rather than a high powered rifle.
3) We adjust all your joints. When you come in to see us, we are concerned about the state of all your joints, not just the one or two causing symptoms at the time. That is of course if you want us to. Not every chiropractor is trained to adjust all your joints. We are.
4) We adjust your cervical (neck) spine in the seated position. Many chiropractors believe (as do we) that the first misalignment of any spinal joint is to the posterior (or moves backward.) That’s because of the way the spinal joints are shaped. Removing posteriority of the cervical spine is difficult to do without the practitioner being able to make a corrective move from back towards the front (standing behind the patient.) This cervical move called the Gonstead technique, takes years to perfect, and most practitioners resort to using techniques to move the neck with the patient supine (laying face up) on a table. This makes it difficult to correct the misalignment of posteriority, because the physician cannot stand behind the patient. That is why we often get results when other methods have failed.
5) We do acupuncture (and more!) if warranted. We find some patients need even more stimulation to accomplish a healing response than by specific chiropractic adjustments alone. That is where acupuncture comes in. In addition to using acupuncture points, we are uniquely trained in the anatomy and neurology that goes along with the use of acupuncture. These points, called extra points in the acupuncture world, assure a result that acupuncture points alone might miss. We thought you’d like to know.
6) We use physical therapy to round out our approach. Not all chiropractors do physical therapy. We do. We also refer regularly to physical therapists if we feel a more extensive program than we provide is necessary.
7) We want your health goals, not ours. Not everyone wants to be in shape to run a marathon. Maybe you just want to be able to pick up your children or swing a golf club without pain. What you want is what we want! Seems pretty simple doesn’t it?
8) It’s your health and our reputation. We literally see patients from all over the United States and even foreign countries. We take a lot of pride in only working on patients we think we can help. If we can’t help you, we just tell you!
It's Really Quite Simple...
1) All joints (especially spinal joints) require movement to lubricate.
2) Joints that move better last longer and cause less problems (like pain, etc).
3) Even healthy joints that don’t move will degenerate.
4) Keeping your joints moving will prevent unnecessary wear. Joint manipulation performed by a competent chiropractor maximizes this motion.
5) Spinal joints (as opposed to other joints in the body) affect the nervous system, which is why patients notice symptoms such as numbness, tingling, headaches, arm or leg pain, and even organ problems, away from the spinal area that is causing it.
6) A competent chiropractor will first do a consultation and examination to determine if your problem can best be helped by what they do. If you are not a chiropractic candidate you will be referred to someone they think can help you.
7) A competent chiropractor will also work on all the joints that need attention whether they are currently causing symptoms or not. That is, of course, if you want it (see #4 and #5 again).
8) Our digital x-ray system clearly shows joints that are beginning to degenerate, as well as the extent of damage done to joints that have been neglected for a long period of time.
9) In our medically oriented, media driven society, methods that don’t use drugs or surgery, such as chiropractic, have never gotten the attention or respect that they deserve.
10) In recent years however, medical doctors have begun to refer their patients with neck or back problems to physical therapists. We applaud this change, but it is just a start. It also means that the pain pills, muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories that they have prescribed for years, which simply have masked the symptoms of the joint problem without getting to the causes, was also probably wrong. Give round one to the chiropractors!
11) One big reason medical doctors refer their patients to physical therapists and not another physician like a chiropractor, is that they can dictate the therapy their patients receive and maintain control of their patients, including follow-up visits. Keeping patients in the medical “system” prevents them from learning about ways to avoid drugs or surgery for some of their health problems. Heaven forbid!
12) Now, what most people don’t realize, is that chiropractors use manipulation and physical therapy in their offices. It is like a one-two punch in that it is even more effective in dealing with joint problems than just physical therapy alone when performed in a physical therapists office.
13) In addition, chiropractic, which includes physical therapy, is significantly cheaper than the cost of physical therapy.
14) “Why can’t medical doctors and chiropractors work together?” you ask. Good question. The fact is, we need to. It’s the right thing to do, for both ourselves and the patients that we serve.