Robitaille Family Chiropractic

Doctors of Chiropractic have an anatomical focus of the spine.  That means 4 years of specific training on rehabilitative and corrective techniques for musculoskeletal conditions related to the spine and extremities. 

Should you trust your joints and spinal discs to someone with less training? 

Here is a short list of the most common conditions we see from 'head to toe'.

Headaches - From tension headaches to migraines, it is always beneficial to reduce cervical spine (neck) tension and improve alignment and biomechanics.  Covering up symptoms with medications may have its place short term for relief, but is it really a lifetime solution?  We focus on correcting the underlying cause of the muscle tension, stiffness, and pressure that leads to headache.  How do you know if you have an underlying neck problem?  Check your posture.  If you "slouch", if your shoulders round forward and your head protrudes forward, there will be underlying changes in your cervical spine.  Correcting it has a huge impact on headache, neck pain, and overall tension across the shoulders.

Neck Pain - Whiplash can happen anytime.  Auto injury is first thought of, but other falls and sudden changes of direction (easily seen when kids are tossed up and down) can cause whiplash.  Any injury to the neck muscles, joints, or discs will make it weaker and influence posture.  Damage (even minor) accumulates over time in the spine.  Computer use, sleeping with 2 pillows, and sitting long periods are just a few things that can cause and reenforce forward head posture.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (When neck pain radiates out to the shoulder or even further to the elbow and hand) This is common with contact sports as well as heavy computer use.  Usually presents with the deep muscles of the neck on the sides near the clavicles becoming very tight.

ARTHRITIS can be implicated in many musculoskeletal problems.  Chiropractic adjustments will help improve function and do more than just cover up the pain.

Shoulder Pain - Extremity adjusting is a specialty of Dr. Robitaille.  He had enough sports injuries of his own to really take interest in this area during his training.  The shoulder can quickly be evaluated for muscle weakness and joint dysfunction.  Many people are amazed how quickly the shoulder will strengthen when chiropractic care is used.  We are balancing the mechanics of the area.  As far as we know, no other health care professional treats the shoudler (and other extremities) like we do.

Tennis Elbow - Adjustments are applied to a misaligned ulna or radius bones if necessary.  Rehab without prior alignment to the elbow will never result in 100% recovery.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - "Preventing Carpal Tunnel for Less Than 1 Penny" is a popular presentation in our office.  Adjustments to fixated carpal bones along with rehab and ergonomics training goes a long way in helping this repetitive stress syndrome.

Upper Back Pain - Do you slouch?  Strengthening your upper back is only part of the answer.  We teach everyone the basics of posture rehab.  Chiropractic care ensures proper spinal function and mechanics (important in arthritis prevention) and restores posture.  Posture is a reflex.  You cannot hide it.  Stretching and strengthening alone will not create long term posture change.

Low Back Pain - The condition most commonly associated with Chiropractic care.  There are many causes.  Our conservative approach achieves great results relieving pain and restoring normal movement.  Taking pressure and irritation away from spinal discs and surrounding nerves is the key to solving low back pain.  We also provide home-care instructions specific for your individual alignment and level of function.  Remember, it is never just a muscle problem.  What to muscles connect to?  Bones.  It is all connected.  Local nerves, joints, discs, muscles, tendons, and ligamnets: soft tissues function and heal better with improved alignment.

Sciatic pain or "sciatica" - Can originate in the low back, but we commonly see the main cause in the SI (sacroiliac) joints of the pelvis.  Balance the pelvis, relieve disc pressure, reduce the pain.  Stubborn cases may take longer than 'simple' low back pain.  We often combine light traction and cryotherapy with our treatment. 

Knee pain - We always check the pelvis and the ankles when assessing the knees.  An unbalanced pelvis can cause muscle tension in the quadriceps muscles.  Where they insert on the medial knee is commonly a tender point associated with fibromyalgia.  Specific muscle testing is used to determine if adjustments will improve the alignment of the tibia.  Many knee pain sufferers present with a fixated (and tender) articulation where the head of the fibula meets the tibia. 

Foot and Ankle Pain - With the amount of daily stress the 26 bones of the foot take, it makes sense to make sure there are no fixations in the foot and that all 3 (not one) arches are working properly.  If they are not, stress is added to the ankle, the knee, hip, and low back.  Dr. Robitaille suffered numerous ankle sprains and finally an ankle fracture during his years of soccer and rugby.  He knows first hand the benefits of unlocking the ankle and relieving heel pain.  He is also not afraid to touch people's feet (lol) because he knows how much his technique helps.

If you have any questions about the conditions listed above or about another condition not listed, please email Dr. Robitaille directly at www.drjeff@getwellri.com

Fibromyalgia, scoliosis, pregnancy care, care after spinal surgery, TMJ pain and clicking, whiplash from auto/work/sports injury, BACKPACK Safety, and more.