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OUR TECHNIQUES |
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| Dr. Josh Renkens has trained with Dr. Jeff Spencer, famed chiropractor for Lance Armstrong during the Tour de France as well as several other professional athletes.
Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of The Tour de France, on teamwork, chiropractic, cold LASER, and Kinesio Tape – excerpt from Every Second Counts
The team wasn’t just the riders. It was the mechanics, masseurs, chefs, soigneurs, and doctors. But the most important man on the team may have been our chiropractor.
The Tour hurt in a dozen different ways. We were all sore. Sore necks, sore knees, sore hamstrings. Guys got tendonitis all the time. They crashed, or they rode in a fixed position for hours on end, and they got it. They woke up one morning and it was in an elbow or a knee.
They got road rash.....If you crashed and got a bad case of road rash, it could mess you up for the rest of the Tour.
The guy who put us all back together was our chiropractor, Jeff Spencer. Jeff had been with us since my first Tour Victory in ’99. His contract was just for ten days, but three days into the race, I called a Postal executive over and said, “Let me tell you something. See that guy over there? That guy’s not going anywhere. We need him.”
Jeff is part doctor, part guru, part medicine man. He had all kinds of strange gizmos and rituals and cures, a remedy for every condition. He did things we had no explanation for but they seemed to work. His methods ranged from basic stretching and massage to high-tech lasers, strange wraps, tinctures, and bandages. If you got road rash, he put a silvery wrap on the injury and shot you with the laser. George swore Jeff’s lasers made road rash heal twice as fast.
Sometimes he did things to parts of your body that didn’t hurt. Let’s say your foot hurt. He’d shoot the laser at your neck, and talk to you about “nerve connections,” while you half-listened. But the next day, your foot would be better.
But Jeff had something that was better than any laser, wrap, or electric massager. He had The Tape. It was a special hot-pink athletic tape that came from Japan and seemed to have special powers.
George got a problem with his lower back. Jeff turned him around and started putting hot-pink tape on it. George thought, “How can that help?” But the next day, the pain had disappeared - it was gone.
...If you judged the most important man on the Postal team by the foot traffic in and out of his door, then it was Jeff. Without him, we knew we’d never make it to Paris.
Dr. Josh Renkens uses the above mentioned techniques which you will experience as a patient at The Renkens Center.
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The Renkens Center: Services
Creating energy efficient, strain-free movement
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Modern occupations and lifestyles involve prolonged activities in monotonous static postures and many one-sided repetitive movements. The result is posture overstrain, muscle imbalance, and joint dysfunction. There is a normal balance of muscle groups which move our joints. If this balance is disturbed the joint’s function will compensate, and faulty movement patterns with compensation will ensue. The result is strain going into the body. When there is unnecessary strain going into the body, the body will begin to breakdown prematurely and symptoms of pain are felt.
One of our biggest goals at The Renkens Center is to create energy-efficient, strain-free movement. Inefficient and faulty movement patterns translate to stress to your body. When the body is overstressed, it is only a matter of time before breakdown begins to occur. We may not always know when it will occur, or where it will occur, but one thing is for certain – it will occur. It is evident that our bodies have a remarkable ability to adapt. However, sometimes adaptation means compensation. Compensation = Compromise. It is important to understand that compensation is just that – compensation. It is a compromise. It is well documented in the literature that whenever there is compensation, if uncorrected, across time that compensation will become what is termed “decompensation”. This not only means sub-optimal performance in activities of daily living and in sports, but also translates to an increased risk of injury.
There is an ever-changing paradigm when it comes to movement and function. Most experts now agree that everyday function is integrated and multidimensional – not isolated. The Renkens Center takes a global view of human structure and functional movement. Following injury, the human body innately begins to repair and heal itself. It is our belief that there are no local injuries in the body and our philosophy that the faster you heal, the less chance of healing incorrectly.
When restrictions are freed and patterns are corrected, one can quickly experience better movement and function. In addition to being pain-free, movements are less restricting and more efficient. At The Renkens Center we are dedicated to providing an extraordinary healthcare experience that enables our patients to maximize performance in all endeavors and maintain a high quality of life. By assessing basic movement patterns along the entire kinetic chain, we identify the source, not the symptoms, of dysfunction and resultant pain. We then devise a strategy and implement appropriate techniques that will immediately lessen pain, and more importantly, improve functional movements central to both sport and activities of daily living.
Chiropractic
We know that the body heals itself. Our role at The Renkens Center is to remove obstacles to the processes which allow this to occur. Our approach is always to recognize the least invasive therapeutic interventions that can be a catalyst for self-healing and repair and implement them. Chiropractic is a non-invasive, drugless, first-line defense for a multitude of conditions. With chiropractic, true correction and wellness can be achieved and maintained without compromise.
ART®
What is Active Release Technique (ART)?
ART is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue system that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles.
The goal of ART is to restore optimal texture, motion, and function of the soft tissue and to release any entrapped nerves or blood vessels. This is accomplished through the removal of adhesions or fibrosis in the soft tissue via the application of specific protocols. Adhesions can occur as a result of acute injury, repetitive motion, and constant pressure or tension. ART eliminates the pain and dysfunction associated with these adhesions.
How do overuse conditions occur?
Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:
- acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc),
- accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
- not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia).
Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.
What is an ART treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.
These treatment protocols - over 500 specific moves - are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.
What is the history of Active Release Techniques?
The ART soft tissue management system was developed by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. Dr. Leahy is a chiropractor in Colorado Springs, CO. He utilized his background in aeronautical engineering and anatomy to effectively treat soft tissue problems which were not responding to other traditional treatments. By observing how muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves responded to different types of work, Dr. Leahy was able to consistently resolve over 90% of his patients’ problems.
For more information on Active Release Techniques, go to www.activereleasetechniques.com
Erchonia Low-level Laser Therapy
Erchonia Medical Lasers made history on January 17, 2002, by being the first low level laser manufacturer to be given marketing clearance as “adjunctive use in pain management therapy for the treatment of chronic neck and shoulder pain”. The Renkens Center is proud to offer its patients the versatility and profound benefits of cold laser therapy. The Erchonia laser is cutting edge technology that can be used to create predictable outcomes. One of the ways we use the laser technology is to “upregulate” the system. The coherent light of the laser with programmable frequencies has the ability to enhance the cellular processes of the body essentially uniting the various systems so they function in a more coordinated manner. The result is more balance throughout the body. When movement is energy-efficient and strain-free, meaning the central nervous, joint, and muscle systems all work together synergistically, more of an individual’s energetic expenditure can be towards mobilizing and locomoting the body rather than wasting energy through compensation. This will result in greater force production and better performance.
The following are the most commonly asked questions related to the use of the laser technology:
Q: Does the laser treatment hurt?
A: No. There is virtually no heat or sensation with the use of Erchonia 3LT Laser.
Q: How long are the treatments?
A: Treatment times can vary depending upon the protocols and pain severity, but in general actual laser exposure times are minimal – a few minutes per treatment with regularly scheduled treatments based upon the nature of the ailment.
Q: What kind of results should I expect?
A: Patients and doctors alike report accelerated healing and pain reduction.
Q: What is the laser doing to me?
A: The exact mechanism of the low level laser therapy is not yet clearly understood, however the overwhelming results speak for themselves. Scientists and doctors around the world are investigating the underlying mechanisms at work when low level lasers are utilized.
Q: What conditions can be treated?
A: 3LT has been successfully used to treat many conditions such as acute and chronic pain, repetitive use disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome, soft tissue sprains and strains, and acute wounds. The laser aids in the restoration of these and other disorders by reducing inflammation, enhancing tissue healing, and promoting cellular regeneration.
Q: Is it possible to “overdose” with a low level laser?
A: No. While it is always advisable to follow established and proven protocols, low level laser light is among the safest of all treatments available today.
For more information on Erchonia and low level laser therapy, go to www.erchonia.com
Kinesio Taping
There is a new treatment available for the aches and pains of daily living. Lance Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France, has called it his “miracle tape”! Developed by Dr. Kenzo Kase nearly 25 years ago in Japan, Kinesio Taping has become the gold standard for therapeutic rehabilitative taping. The Kinesio Taping Method involves taping over and around muscles in order to assist and give support or to prevent over-contraction. KT is suitable for patients of every age or condition. It is extremely versatile in its ability to re-educate the neuromuscular system, promote lymphatic flow, reduce pain, enhance performance, prevent injury, and promote injury resolution. Correctional techniques include mechanical, lymphatic, ligament / tendon, fascia, space, and functional. The method and tape allow the individual to receive the therapeutic benefits 24 hours per day because it can be worn for several days per application.
For more information on Kinesio Taping and its concepts, go to www.kinesiotaping.com
Functional Exercise Instruction
In order to best facilitate the healing process, The Renkens Center believes in providing treatment that fosters patient participation and self-treatment. Our patients participate in and enhance the healing process through positive expectations and constructive actions. For example, in most cases, if not all, the learning of a new posture is essential to the success of a treatment program. Continued use of poor postural habits will only delay recovery or produce treatment failure.
Movement organizes the body. During your course of treatment, appropriate exercises will be prescribed in coordination with your therapy. These exercises will provide constant and continuous challenges to your body. Specific exercises are demonstrated to promote productive adaptation and better function.
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