"Physical medicine" is a medical specialty focused on diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal and neurological conditions that cause pain, impairments, or disabilities. Doctors trained in physical medicine modalities aim to restore function and improve quality of life for patients through non-surgical treatments. ICM providers are well-trained in a variety of physical medicine interventions. Read on to learn more!
- Physical Medicine modalities
- Soft tissue manipulation: hands-on techniques to manipulate tendons, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissue. Encompasses massage, myofascial release, and trigger point therapy. Helps with: range of motion, pain, reduce muscle tension, improve performance.
- Neural therapy: use of targeted injections to relieve the flow of nerve conduction and relieve the autonomic nervous system. Helps with: chronic pain, scar tissue, autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
- Prolotherapy: customized injections for damaged ligaments, tendons, or joints to stimulate the body's natural healing mechanisms. Helps with: chronic pain, osteoarthritis, joint instability, tendonitis, sports injuries.
- High-velocity low-amplitude manipulation: quick, controlled, precise force applied to restricted joint that improves joint function, reduces pain, and improves mobility. Often accompanied by a pop or cracking noise called a cavitation. Helps with: pain, headaches, stiffness, reduced range of motion.
- Compression boots: aka pneumatic compression or sequential compression devices. Worn over the legs and feet. Helps with: circulation, edema, lymphedema, preventing deep vein thrombosis (blood clots), and exercise recovery.
- Thermal Therapy
- Ultrasound: high-frequency sound waves delivered to tissue to generate heat to promote healing and reduce pain and inflammation. Helps with: muscle strains/sprains, tendonitis, bursitis, joint inflammation, scar tissue.
- Shockwave: high-energy acoustic sound waves stimulate healing of injured tissue. Helps with: plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, Tennis/Golfer's elbow, Jumper's knee, frozen shoulder.
- Vitamin & Nutrient Therapy
- Vitamin injections: quick, efficiently absorbed injections that provide instant hits of energy, metabolic support, and bypass oral absorption.
- Lipotropic injections: comprised of four powerful ingredients that support metabolism and shift utilization of fat as fuel.
- IV therapy: maximize your metabolism, optimize recovery, address nutrient deficiencies, detox, and replete amino acids with customized IV infusions.
- Acupuncture
- Traditional acupuncture: a system of healing perfected over thousands of years that seeks to balance qi along t2 meridians to address pathologies.
- Trigger point needling: utilizing acupuncture needles to address tight bands of tissue that cause pain, tenderness, and restricted movement.
- Motor point needling: points where nerves innervate muscle tissue. Needling these points help with: muscle strains/sprains/tension/spasms, sports injuries, muscle imbalances, and more.
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS): low-voltage electrical currents placed near origin of pain to disrupt the signal to the brain. Helps with: muscle/joint pain, arthritis.
- Providers at ICM: Dr. Julie Booker, Dr. Janci Karp, Dr. Amber Sullivan.
Contact your provider if you're interested in physical medicine treatments!