What Makes us Different?

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What Makes Lifeline Different?

Lifeline Chiropractic is not different because Dr. Penniston is a chiropractor. There are thousands of chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists that give the structure of the body special emphasis. What really makes us different is that the treatment given to each patient is tailored to the particular circumstances of that patient. Our treatments are not limited to spinal adjustments, nutritional approaches, drugs or any other single approach. Rather treatment is based on patient need, with an emphasis on correcting the root cause.

At Lifeline we use a holistic viewpoint for both the process of discovering the nature of a persons health problem, (diagnosis) and how to best treat that problem. A holistic approach is simply one that does not ignore certain types of causes of problems and does not ignore certain types of treatments. For example, traditional medicine does not generally acknowledge muscle imbalance, bone misalignment, fungal infection or sub clinical nutritional need. Because of this, standard medical care can usually neither accurately diagnose these and other similar problems, nor can it effectively treat them.

Many health care providers who fall outside of the mainstream such as chiropractors, naturopaths and acupuncturists are alternative in the sense that they use a non-medical approach but they are not necessarily holistic. Holistic implies that the practioner is looking at the whole person and choosing the most effective treatment for a particular symptom. Most alternative medical professionals do not do this. They generally provide the treatment that they are most familiar with. The chiropractor adjusts every patient the acupuncturist performs acupuncture on every patient regardless of what the cause of the patients’ problem is.

For example, if a person with typical low back pain sees a medical doctor, their treatment will most likely be anti-inflammatory medication. If this same person goes to a chiropractor, the treatment will likely be spinal adjustment. If a physical therapist is seen, treatment will usually be stretching and exercise. A naturopath will probably recommend anti-inflammatory herbs and supplements. All of these treatment approaches may be appropriate for some types of low back pain, but ineffective or even harmful in other circumstances. There are at least six different common causes for low back pain, and each cause requires a specific approach. When a doctor applies one or two favorite treatments to all types of back pain, the results will often be disappointing since the cause will not be addressed in every circumstance.

The most effective treatment is to give patients the type of care that best fits their needs rather than simply treating with whatever procedures a doctor happens to know best. Going back to our example, if the low back pain discussed above is due to injury of the ligaments that hold the hip and the sacrum together (commonly called a sacro-iliac sprain), none of the approaches discussed above
will be helpful in the long run unless they are specially modified for this type problem. Most stretches and exercises, and some adjustments can even make the problem worse. However, sacro-iliac ligament sprains can be effectively treated, usually within one to four weeks, if the appropriate treatment is given. Without proper treatment, the pain from a sacro-iliac sprain can last a lifetime.

At Lifeline Chiropractic and Applied Kinesiology, our goal and our expertise is in seeking out and finding the underlying causes of many different health problems, applying the most effective treatments or if need be, referring to the appropriate practitioner.