Phase 1: Get you out of pain as quickly as possible. Whether that means chiropractic care, scraping, cupping, dry needling, or manual therapy—if it works, we’re all in. We’ll also incorporate at-home exercises to speed up your recovery. Occasionally, with severe injuries or significant pain, we need to take a more traditional approach with anti-inflammatories to calm things down first. If this is where we need to start, we'll get you to an MD for further evaluation, and to get you something that will bring your pain level down much more quickly. In some cases, the pain might be too intense to even start treatment, so we focus on bringing it to a manageable level first. If traditional medicine isn’t your preference, that’s completely fine! We can still achieve the same results; it just might require a bit more commitment to adherence to at home treatment on your part and a touch more patience.
Phase 2: Get the mobility back. This phase often overlaps with Phase 1, and for good reason—improving mobility can significantly speed up the process of pain reduction. When we can get the injured tissues moving through their full range of motion, it helps to naturally desensitize them and reduce inflammation by encouraging muscle contraction and joint movement. Sometimes, I’ll start Phase 2 alongside Phase 1, especially if we see mobility improving before the pain intensity drops. As long as you can tolerate the movement without aggravating your symptoms, that’s where we’ll begin.
Phase 3: Strengthen the injured tissues. In my opinion, this is the most crucial phase, yet it’s often the one patients don’t stick around to see. Once the pain subsides, it’s easy to forget it was ever a problem. But this phase is where we build strength in the tissues, making them more resilient and reducing the risk of future injuries. While I used to handle this phase myself, I now collaborate with Dr. Romin Ghassemi, a physical therapist with Movement X. Dr. Ghassemi is exceptional at identifying and targeting weak muscle groups or those that are compensating for others. I have complete confidence in his expertise—once we’ve got your pain to a manageable level and addressed any joint restrictions with chiropractic adjustments, he takes it from there.
You can learn more about Dr. Romin Ghassemi, DPT, here.
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