vagus clinic
What is Functional Chiropractic?
Functional chiropractic treats the whole body, not just the symptom. Rather than treating structure, it looks at the dysfunctional movement that creates injury and works to make a person more functional. The main purpose is to restore function and health.
DR. LEAH BARBARO
Vagus Chiropractic - At-Home Executive Services In a Clinic Setting
At-Home Executive Service in a Clinic Setting
Hour appointments are more beneficial to patients
Multiple modalities used in one session to optimize each treatment session
We want to get our patients better in the least amount of time possible
For too long we have seen traditional clinic settings that focus on multiple weekly visits, short treatment times, robotic-like practitioners, symptom-driven treatments, and minimal non-lasting results. Seeing and hearing so many horror stories of unsatisfied patients and underwhelming care, we knew something needed to change.
Our patients are our number one priority and we try to give people the maximum one-on-one benefit in the time we have with them, with the most hands-on work possible. We do not want to see patients - which might sound contrary to regular business practice. However, we are healthcare workers NOT traditional business operators. We want our patients to be able to get better as quickly as possible, therefore requiring fewer treatments. Our goal is to get our patients better while establishing a relationship where they know they can come to see us if they are in need, but they are not being forced into many unnecessary visits. We want to help our patients realize that they are their best health advocates and that they need to also take initiative through exercises, training, and supplements to help themselves achieve optimal benefits.
At the Vagus Clinic, we have tried to emulate “At-Home Executive Services In a Clinic Setting”. We have found greater benefit in longer appointments, where multiple modalities can be used in a session treating various areas, versus shorter 15-20 min appointments requiring a patient to make multiple weekly visits.
This mentality has not only made for better patient outcomes and results with care but also takes into consideration a patient’s time constraints and busy schedule. It is also less stressful on the practitioners who truly care about their patients’ well being because we can focus one on one with patients making the most changes possible in a visit.
What we offer at the vagus clinic:
Chiropractic Treatment
Functional Medicine
Supplements
Orthotics
Shockwave Therapy
Chiropractic Treatments:
Initial Visit
Subsequent Visit
1 hour
45 minute
1/2 hour
Mobile Visit
1 hour minimum
Functional Medicine and Chiropractic Treatment
Internal health plays a role in symptoms and healing
Supplementation is important to health
Fixing your gut can help promote the effects of hands-on treatment
After treating many patients, we have realized that although injuries and pain may present as physical ailments, the most beneficial way to get significant, long-lasting results does not rely solely on using the hands-on treatment. Most of the time, a person’s internal state of health will also play a role in why they may be experiencing certain symptoms or how their bodies will react and take the chiropractic treatment they are given.
We have noticed a significant difference in treating those that have gone through functional medicine testing and/or take supplements on a regular basis, and those who have not. When patients fix their gut or supplement with high-quality supplements their bodies and tissue react to this positively. When they are treated it is easier to make changes to their physical states because their tissue is more malleable and mobile and they heal from their physical ailments a lot quicker.
TECHNIQUES
With any technique, some people respond better than others. Everyone is different. Not every person will like every technique we use, and not every technique creates an equal change on every person. Some people prefer acupuncture to cupping, or vice versa. Some people have bodies that respond very well to acupuncture, whereas on others it will have a minimal effect. This is why we use a multi-modal approach to treatment so that we can tackle each problem and create a solution while working within the parameters of a patient’s preference.
Soft Tissue Therapy
Two-point technique
Pin one end down and work through the line of tissue at the other
Helping to mobilize tissue and increase blood flow
The style of soft tissue therapy used at the Vagus Clinic is unique as it was created by Dr. Stephanie Canestraro as a way to pin the tissue down on one end of a fascial-muscle chain and work through that line of tissue on the other. As earlier stated, at the Vagus Clinic we do not treat structure - we treat function. We do not solely treat an individual muscle when we do soft tissue treatments. Our goal is to treat along different fascial lines in the body to help reduce tension from different areas and therefore lessen overall pain. This technique helps to mobilize the soft tissue and increase blood flow to the area to promote healing.
Usually, a point of pain is not actually the source of the pain, but the weakest area in a body that becomes the pain centre due to tension coming in from different directions. Therefore, when treating an issue with soft tissue therapy we treat multiple areas to take tension off the one pain point.
For example, if a patient was suffering from right-sided neck pain we would not only treat the neck but also the chest, mid-back, shoulder, arm, forearm and wrist to take tension off of the neck, as well as treating similar structures on the opposite side to get the best results.
Cupping
Fascia is saran wrap in the body
Adhesions can be created in a fascial-muscle interface
Tension in this layer can create pain
Cupping takes fascial tension away
What is cupping? What is fascia? How do they relate?
In addition to soft tissue therapy, another area we focus on is cupping. Cupping-technique looks to treat the fascial tissue in the body more so than the muscle.
Fascia can be likened to saran wrap in the body. It helps keep everything in place and moving together. There are also many fascial lines in the body; including down the front, down the back, along the sides, and across the body. This is very beneficial for many movement patterns, however, this can also cause problems.
The body is made up of layers - skin, fat, fascia and muscle. The fascia and muscle lay together and glide along with one another. When adhesions form between this fascial-muscle interface it creates tension along that facial line. Therefore, even if the muscle is released there may still be fascial adhesion blocking the muscle from moving through its full range of motion resulting in limitation and pain. Cupping technique has been helpful to break down these adhesions, promoting blood flow to the area and restoring a smooth glide between the fascial-muscle interface.
How does cupping work?
With traditional cupping, cups are suctioned to an area of the body and left there for a period of time. At the Vagus Clinic, however, we find more benefit in using oil and moving a cup along a fascial line to release adhesions in a whole area versus just one area. This can sometimes be more painful than traditional cupping and not everyone enjoys it. For this reason, we can get a similar effect by suctioning multiple cups along a fascial line and then have the patient move multiple times to stretch and relax this area. Both of these styles of cupping help to target the whole fascial chain and add a functional aspect that we find helps restore the patient’s mobility quicker.
Does cupping bruise?
Cupping technique does and can bruise, however, the amount it bruises will depend on the severity of the tightness of the tissue below the cups. The tighter the tissue and more “injured” the more likely the tissue is to bruise and the deeper the colour of the bruise. An area with minimal tension will either not bruise or bruise very lightly
The theory of why the bruising occurs is that cupping helps to draw stagnant blood, stuck in the fascial-muscle interface, to the surface to therefore allows newly oxygenated blood to flow into the muscle to allow healing. Oxygenated blood flow is necessary for healing in every condition.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture needles are placed in tissue to create change
Helps to bring blood flow, calm the nervous system, relax tissue tension
Electro-acupuncture “stim” can be used to enhance needle effects
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a tissue technique, where needles are placed into various parts of the body to create a change. Acupuncture helps to signal blood flow to come to the area of dysfunction, it helps to target the nervous system, and it helps to stimulate and relax muscles.
The type of acupuncture that is practiced at the Vagus Clinic is Contemporary Neurofunctional Acupuncture. Where traditional acupuncture may look to try to change energy flow or the “Chi” in the body, our goal with acupuncture is to change tissue. We “acu” along an area to either have an effect on an aggravated nerve or to help the muscles calm down, and take the tension out of that area.
The best way to think about acupuncture is that we are tricking the body into healing itself. The needles are “foreign objects” placed into the problem areas and the body responds to these foreign objects by sending blood flow and healing properties to rid of the invader. This blood flow helps to heal the tissue!
We also use acupuncture to help effect the sympathetic nervous system in patients that have a lot of stress, anxiety, headaches, etc and need to stimulate relaxation.
Electroacupuncture?
Electroacupuncture uses a stimulation device that attaches to the tops of the needles. The point of electroacupuncture is to send a small current into the needles and therefore into the tissue. This is beneficial because it helps to enhance the effects of the needles and creates a quicker change. The electro-stim acts as a beacon - to tell the body which areas are most in need of blood flow and healing!
Does it hurt?
Although the needles are small, some people are more sensitive than others. People with heightened or overworked nervous systems, tend to be more sensitive to acupuncture needles and may find them more uncomfortable. Areas of the body that are tighter may also be more susceptible to discomfort when the needles are inserted. Sometimes the actual tissue will twitch as the needle hits a motor point in a tension burdened muscle.
Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Therapy
Similar to cupping-technique
Works on the fascia layer
Promotes blood flow and releases tension
Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Therapy is similar to cupping in that it is used to created a change along the fascial-muscle interface. There are many tools of various shapes and sizes, composed of different materials, like metal, porcelain and plastic. The one most commonly used at the Vagus Clinic is a metal-based tool. This is usually moved along the surface of the skin with oil to help target a fascial line promoting blood flow and release tension in that tissue chain.
Adjustments
Adjustments put a small force through a restriction or limited joint
Sometimes creates a “crack or pop” sound
Helps to restore full range of motion in a joint
Traditional chiropractors use adjustments as one of their main methods of treatment. At the Vagus Clinic we use adjustments only if requested by the patient and only if they are required. Although adjustments are completely safe, they are not always necessary to make a change and not everyone likes the “cracking” sound an adjustment creates. We find that for best results we adjust people at the end of a treatment if it is still warranted, after the muscles and fascia around the joint have been released.
An adjustment takes a joint that is restricted, or not moving, through its full range of motion, and puts a high velocity low amplitude force through that joint creating a gapping. This gapping allows air to release from the joint - which is the “cracking” or “popping” sound that people hear. From there, as the air is released, the joint is coated with fluid to allow it to glide and move more smoothly. There are also theories that adjustments can; stimulate blood flow to an area (which is helpful for healing), help release endorphins (“happy hormones” to make the patient feel better) and help stimulate the mechanoreceptors on the skin (which block pain).
Shockwave Therapy
Sound energy converted to mechanical-pulsating energy
Increases blood flow to an area of adhesion and tension
Shockwave is a technique used where sound energy is converted into mechanical energy and this mechanical energy then has effects on the cellular level of the tissue to create change.
Shockwave therapy sends pulses into the muscle at various frequencies, depending on the injury. This helps to promote blood flow to that area, helps to break down scar tissue or adhesions and helps to stimulate tissue regrowth and regeneration.
Although shockwave can be used on various tissues to help release tension, it has been proven to help with certain known conditions like “plantar fasciitis” and “Achilles tendinitis”.
Orthotics and Bracing
We assess your gait and can tell you if orthotics or bracing are a good option for you. This assessment is done at your appointment, and that is enough at the moment, as it is not a huge part of our practice.
Exercise and Rehab
Promote health through exercise
Help to target healing with exercise and rehab
Referral to personal trainers and physiotherapists
At the Vagus Clinic, we feel very strongly that in order to help a person reach their optimal potential, it takes more than just hands-on treatment. Similar to how we feel about proper supplementation, we believe there are other necessary factors that will target every aspect of a patient’s health and well-being.
Regular exercise is not only imperative for general health and internal systems, like the cardiovascular system, but if done properly it is also helpful for injury prevention and maintaining autonomy in our lives as we age. This is why we have teamed up with personal trainers, to build a referral system between trusted practitioners to ensure our patients are getting the best care possible. We also believe that rehab in conjunction with treatment is extremely important. When a patient comes in with a complaint, we offer at-home exercises, to target areas such as mobility, strengthening and proprioception.
