How we work
The techniques we actually use, and what each one is for.
Chiropractic is not one method. These are the approaches and in-office tools used at Cutting Edge Chiropractic in Tolland, and the plain version of what each is for.
⏱ Same-week new-patient visits
👐 Force matched to your body
📍 Serving Tolland
Different bodies and different problems call for different approaches, which is why the examination comes before the technique rather than after it. You will not get every one of these, and nothing here is applied because it is on a list. If a name below matters to you, ask about it at your first visit.
Adjusting approaches
Diversified
The most widely taught hands-on adjusting method, and the one most people picture: a specific, quick, low-amplitude movement applied by hand to restore motion to a joint, often with an audible release. It is the default starting point for most mechanical back and neck problems.
Activator
A small hand-held instrument delivers a precise, very light impulse to a single joint. There is no twisting and no audible release, which makes it a good fit for people who are apprehensive about being adjusted by hand, for the very young or elderly, and for bony areas where a lighter touch is sensible.
Sacro-Occipital Technique (S.O.T.)
A low-force approach that works with the relationship between the pelvis and the base of the skull, often using padded wedges positioned under the body so that gravity and your own breathing do much of the work. Gentle, slow, and useful when a direct adjustment is not the right first move.
Extremity adjusting
The same principle applied away from the spine: shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles and feet. Joints out of the spine stiffen and compensate too, and an arm or leg problem is often where a mechanical chain actually shows up.
Flexion-distraction
Performed on a table that moves, gently lengthening and flexing the low back in a slow, rhythmic motion while the segment is held. It is a low-force option often reached for with disc-related low back pain and with legs that ache from an irritated nerve.
ArthroStim
An instrument that delivers a rapid series of very light impulses rather than one thrust. The repetition lets a joint be moved with much less force than a manual adjustment, which suits sensitive areas and people who would rather not be adjusted by hand.
In-office therapies and support
Myofascial release
Sustained, direct pressure worked slowly through tight bands of muscle and the fascia around them. Slower and more specific than massage, aimed at a particular restriction rather than at general relaxation.
Trigger point therapy
Focused pressure held on the specific tender knot inside a muscle that reproduces your pain, including pain it refers elsewhere. Often the reason a shoulder ache turns out to be coming from somewhere you would not have pointed to.
Active release
Pressure applied to a muscle or tendon while you actively move the limb through its range, so the tissue is worked as it lengthens. Common with repetitive-strain and sports problems where an area has become stuck to the tissue around it.
Therapeutic ultrasound
Sound waves delivered through a handpiece and gel to warm soft tissue below the surface. You feel mild warmth and nothing sharp. Used to settle a locally irritated area, usually alongside the hands-on work rather than on its own.
Electrical muscle stimulation
Low-level electrical pulses through pads on the skin, felt as a tingling or a light tapping. Used to help a guarded, over-tight muscle let go and to calm an irritated area, often for a few minutes before or after an adjustment.
Vibration therapy
Whole-body or targeted vibration used to warm and loosen tight musculature before hands-on work, and to make an adjustment more comfortable when an area is guarding hard.
Lifestyle and ergonomics
Practical changes to how you sit, lift, stand and sleep. Unglamorous, and frequently the difference between a problem that settles and the same strain returning every few months.
Not sure which of these you need?
That is our job, not yours. Same-week visits for new patients.
