Frequently Asked Questions in Concord CA

A chiropractor is a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) that is focused on the detection and correction of pinched nerves or subluxations. We will study the spine through these categories:

• Visualization - Visualization is a way to cross-reference all the other findings. Your chiropractor is an expert in looking for subtle changes in your posture and movement which could indicate any problems.
• Instrumentation - The instrument of choice in the Gonstead System is the Nervoscope. The Nervoscope detects uneven distributions of heat along the spine which can be indicative of inflammation and nerve pressure. This instrument is guided down the length of your back and feels like two fingers gliding down each side of your spine.
• Static Palpation - This is simply the process of feeling (or palpating) your spine in a stationary (or static) position. Your chiropractor will feel for the presence of swelling (or edema), tenderness, and any abnormal texture or tightness in the muscles and other tissues of your back.
• Motion Palpation - This process involves feeling the spine while moving and bending it at various angles. This enables the chiropractor to determine how easily or difficult each segment in your spine moves in different directions.
• X-Ray Analysis - Digital weight bearing state of the art X-rays enable your doctor to visualize the entire structure of your spine. This is helpful in evaluating posture, joint and disc integrity, and vertebral misalignments and ruling out any pathologies, or recent fractures that may be present or contributing to the patient's condition. These full-spine radiographs are taken in the standing, weight-bearing position to fully substantiate the examination findings.

Yes, Chiropractors are doctors of chiropractic (D.C.) just like there are other types of doctors such as doctors of medicine (M.D.), doctors of osteopathy (D.O.), Doctors of Dental Surgery (D.D.S), etc.

The first chiropractic adjustment was in 1895 when its founder D.D. Palmer adjusted his janitor that had gone deaf after falling and hitting his neck on something. He thought that if the force to his neck made him deaf, possibly a force put into the neck could restore it, and he was right!

A chiropractor allows the body to function at 100%, aka optimize wellness. We understand that the body is a self healing and self-regulating machine that only fails to function properly when there is interference somewhere.

Essentially, if the brain, spinal cord, and body are not aligned properly, the communication between these parts becomes less than 100% (think a dimmer switch on a light not at 100%, or a kinked hose that doesn't have full pressure.) If this function is restored, the body begins to work as it should, and whatever function was diminished begins to function properly again!

If you are not expressing 100% health 100% of the time, chiropractic is for you!

Common symptoms of a pinched nerve include:

Neck pain, Headaches, Migraines, Dizziness, Vertigo, Ear infections, Shoulder pain, Arm pain, Carpal tunnel, Mid back pain, Chest pain, High blood pressure, Heartburn/acid reflux, Indigestion, Infantile colic, ADD/ADHD, Asthma/emphysema, Muscular atrophy, Low back pain, leg pain, Restless leg syndrome, Plantar fasciitis, Sciatica, Piriformis syndrome, Neuropathy, Tingling/Numbness, Seizures, Infertility, Irregular cycles, Incontinence, Menstrual cramps, Anxiety/Stress, Mood swings, Fatigue, TMJ, Arthritis

Yes! Don't believe us? Come in and see for yourself!

Absolutely! The mayo clinic states that Chiropractic adjustment is safe when it's performed by someone trained and licensed to deliver chiropractic care. Just like you wouldn't take your car to a shop and ask them to use one of their wrenches to pull out one of your teeth, chiropractic adjustments are always safe when done by a caring and competent chiropractor.

The amount of sessions you need will depend on the severity of your condition which your chiropractor will determine through your consultation, examination, and x-rays (if necessary).

The care from a chiropractor will depend based on your condition. If we are focused on correcting a structural problem, it will vary in cost depending on the person. Each persons care is tailored to their spine and who they are as a person and as such the cost will vary with each person.

Our office has helped over 18,000 patients since 1986! There is a reason Barton family chiropractic has been known in our community for over 35 years! We listen, we care, and we get results! We are known for taking on tough cases that previously could not be helped and for providing gentle but long lasting structural correction, not just patching up your spine with a temporary band-aid.

You can find a chiropractor near you by searching chiropractor near me or shoot us a call or a visit if you are out of town and we would be happy to find you an excellent chiropractor in your area.

The Gonstead Technique, Diversified Technique, Spinal Manipulation, The Thompson Drop-Table Technique, extremity sports adjusting, The Activator Method, Flexion Distraction, network, Sacro-occipital technique, and Spinal Decompression just to name a few.

Our office utilizes the Gonstead Technique.

A chiropractor treats subluxations, aka pinched nerves that happen when the bones in the spine are not properly aligned and are not functioning properly.

Chiropractors relieve pain by addressing the root cause of the injury which allows the area that has been damaged to heal the way that it belongs rather than just covering it up with medicine.

Chiropractors "treat" people, in their entirety, as chiropractors we take care of people and allow their body to function the way it should and the body itself heals when it is functioning properly. That being said somethings that we see improvements with in our office include the following:

Neck pain, Headaches, Migraines, Dizziness, Vertigo, Ear infections, Shoulder pain, Arm pain, Carpal tunnel, Mid back pain, Chest pain, High blood pressure, Heartburn/acid reflux, Indigestion, Infantile colic, ADD/ADHD, Asthma/emphysema, Muscular atrophy, Low back pain, leg pain, Restless leg syndrome, Plantar fasciitis, Sciatica, Piriformis syndrome, Neuropathy, Tingling/Numbness, Seizures, Infertility, Irregular cycles, Incontinence, Menstrual cramps, Anxiety/Stress, Mood swings, Fatigue, TMJ, Arthritis

Absolutely!!! Pregnancy is one of the most important times to see a chiropractor! Not only does chiropractic care help you have a comfortable pregnancy, it helps to have an easy delivery and to stay active while pregnant. Chiropractic care can help alleviate back pain, hip pain, pubic symphysis pain, abdominal pain, and ligament pain, as well as improve fetal positioning through restoring neuro-biomechanical function of the spine and pelvis.

The ICPA (international chiropractic pediatric association) and Webster technique share the following regarding chiropractic care when pregnant:

"Chiropractic care in pregnancy is vital to the normal physiological function of both the mother and baby throughout pregnancy and birth. More women and birth providers are discovering the many benefits associated with chiropractic care in pregnancy and recognize this area of expertise through Webster Certification.

The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic sacral analysis and diversified adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of sacral subluxation/ SI joint dysfunction. In doing so, neuro-biomechanical function in the pelvis is facilitated.

Sacral subluxation may contribute to difficult labor for the mother (i.e., dystocia), caused by inadequate uterine function, pelvic contraction, and baby mal-presentation. Correction of sacral subluxation may have a positive effect on all of these causes of dystocia."

https://icpa4kids.com/training/webster-certification/webster-technique/

Reports state that 80% of the population experiences lower back pain! Rather than cover up the symptoms we work together with outpatients as a team to find the root cause of the injury whether that be an old sports injury, lifting injury, day-to-day trauma from labor, or a desk job, the list goes on and on.

In a day and age where we are constantly looking down at our phones, laptops, babies, etc. and living sedentary lives, neck pain is all too common, headaches, migraines, dizziness etc. all oftentimes associated with neck pain as well. As mentioned above not only do our doctors work towards resolving neck pain but getting our patients to a point where they are stable and can live the life they deserve without the constant neck pain, tension, headaches, etc.

Sciatica is simply a pinched nerve! The sciatic nerve starts from L4-S3 in the low back and causes pain tingling and numbness to occur. Chiropractors address which of the nerves is being pinched by the spine, and un-pinch the nerve to allow for the body to heal!

There is little to no pain with being adjusted, if a patient just had a piano fall on them they will be in an excruciating amount of pain and will need to be adjusted much differently than a weekend warrior looking for a tune up! Each patient is tailored to the pain the patient is in. typically if you aren't in pain prior to the adjustment you wont be in any pain afterward. A small amount of soreness can happen in some cases just like you would feel after a workout or a massage.

Absolutely! After a thorough history/examination involving orthopedic, neurologic, and chiropractic-specific testing, as well as digital weight-bearing x-rays your chiropractor will determine if it is safe for you to be adjusted and how you will be adjusted based on your spinal condition.

The noise associated with some adjustments is simply gas/air being released from the joints.

As said above, each patient is adjusted according to their spine, a newborn baby's adjustment will look drastically different than a football player which will be drastically different than adjusting my grandmother's. We are all unique on the inside and out and we treat you that way 🙂

Our goal as chiropractors is to remove nerve interference and allow for the body to heal. If your pain is being caused by a chiropractic problem, it will definitely help with your pain, if someone has played professional football their whole life, will they be completely pain free after 1 adjustment? Probably not, but their body will begin to heal over time.

No! chiropractic adjustments are based on exam findings as well as specific angles used to adjust based on your x-rays. A single vertebrae can move in 16 different directions and if you just twist your neck or low back the odds of you realigning your spine are not in your favor. Even chiropractors cannot adjust themselves, and they know the most about the spine and its function. Self-manipulation can cause a spinal condition to become much worse. The short: Keep it to the professionals!

If X-rays are necessary at your initial visit, you may be asked to come to your first appointment with clothes not containing metal, or given the option to change into shorts and a gown that have no metal in them, however, no clothing will need to be removed for treatment.

If X-rays are necessary at your initial visit, you may be asked to come to your first appointment with clothes not containing metal, or given the option to Absolutely! "Why would children benefit from seeing a chiropractor? Let's go all the way back to when a child is born. When newborns deal with colic, reflux, breastfeeding difficulties, sleep disturbances and chronic infections, they can often be traced to nervous system irritation caused by spinal and cranial misalignment, as mentioned in the piece.

They're all reasons why many parents choose to have their newborn's spine checked soon after birth. The spinal challenges don't end there though. From learning to hold up the head, to sitting upright, to crawling and walking, these are all activities affected by spinal alignment. Therefore, it's imperative to have your child looked at by a chiropractor during the time these developmental milestones are reached.

As children become older, factors such as sports injuries, falls, playground bumps and more come into play. And don't forget about those heavy backpacks and the amount of time they sit in the classroom. All of these add up to physical stresses to the growing child's spine and nervous system."2

2 https://northernnevadachiropractic.com/blog/pediatric-chiropractic/how-your-child-can-benefit-from-chiropractic-care/

They are relatively similar in total student contact hours: an average of 4,822 hours in chiropractic schools compared with 4,667 hours in medical schools (Coulter, et al, submitted). After completing their academic and clinical studies, chiropractic students will then begin their time as an "intern" practicing adjusting and patient management with other students under the supervision of another doctor at the college, once proficient they will be begin seeing patients at the college until they have completed their required amount of cases and adjustments just like a medical doctor would do in their internship. After graduating and passing their national board examinations and state board examinations, chiropractors are required to complete continuing education each year where they sit under teaching and learn the newest and best practices for treating their patients so you can be assured your chiropractor is providing you with cutting edge care for you and your family.