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NOT
ALL FEET ARE CREATED EQUAL!
ARE
YOU A CANDIDATE FOR ORTHOTICS????
The
structure of your foot supports your entire weight.
Your feet are a complex system of 52 bones, 66 joints, 214
ligaments and 38 tendons and muscles, containing 25% of all the
bones in your body. In
your lifetime, your feet will take over 100 million steps, with
every step making an impact on your body. The slightest
misalignment of muscles and bones can cause many different
problems.
The
symptoms of faulty foot mechanics may begin with any of the
following:
What
can you do?
Your
Chiropractor can prescribe foot orthotics to help correct your
body/foot imbalance.
What
are prescription orthotics?
Prescription
orthotics are medical appliances that are custom made to correct
your specific foot imbalance.
Orthotics work on feet in the same way braces work on teeth
– by exerting a gentle consistent pressure to bring foot muscles
and bones into proper alignment.
They fit comfortably in shoes and are usually made of
flexible moulded thermoplastic.
The devices are always made from custom precise impressions
taken of your feet.
How
do they help?
Your
feet are the foundation of your entire body.
They do an incredible amount of work each day.
The smallest imbalance can cause a great deal of
discomfort, but properly fitted prescription orthotics help
restore the normal balance and alignment of your body and bring
relief from fatigue and pain.
Orthotics are so comfortable and help your feet work so
naturally that you will want to wear them as much as possible.
The
wearing of Orthotics?
In
your shoes your feet rest comfortably on the orthotics.
Your feet are gently and consistently forced into the
correct functioning position for walking, running and standing.
Pressure points, improper rotation of the foot, painful
muscle strain, and abnormal forces on the legs, hips and spine are
eliminated because orthotics enable your feet to function
properly.
So,
Does everyone need them?
The
answer is NO!!! You
must be properly assessed by a professional, like a chiropractor
with special training in orthotic assessment to see if you require
the device. As with
any medical device, proper assessment for need and the correct
prescription for the right correction is required. After all, would you wear glasses if you didn’t need them??
and at the same time, even if you needed glasses, you would want
the right prescription for them.
Call
us at 416-743-2584 if you have any questions or to book your free
consultation to see if you are a candidate for orthotics.
More of your
Questions????
Some Chiropractors won’t
really do an exam before treating me?
Is this safe?
No. All good
chiropractors should perform an in-depth exam including a past
medical history, a detailed look at your chief complaint, and an
Orthopaedic/Neurological exam before offering you a diagnosis.
By looking at you past medical history and performing these and
other tests is the only way a Chiropractor can advise you if you
are a candidate for Chiropractic care. Otherwise it’s
like treating something blindly. If your chiropractor does not
do an exam on you and explain to you if you are/are not a candidate
for chiropractic care, walk out of that office and find another
chiropractor.
What is this Informed Consent
form that I have to sign?
Informed consent form
is something a good Chiropractor uses as a consent to treat form.
This form is used after the appropriateness of chiropractic care for
the individual patient is ascertained and stated to the patient, and
the alternative modes of care are also offered to the patients.
This allows the patient to be informed of the problem being
addressed, and how it is being addressed. All good
chiropractors are informing their patients about the course of
treatment and what to expect from chiropractic care. Is yours?
If not, ask for an informed consent form from your doctor of
chiropractic. It is your right!
Is Chiropractic a new type of
Health Care?
Not at all.
Chiropractic care has been around for thousands of years. Over
the past 100 years or so, defining terms like “Chiropractic”,
“Medicine”, “Dentistry” have brought together certain types of care
under respective umbrella names. As a matter of fact,
manipulation as used by chiropractors has been documented as being
performed in ancient Greek and Egyptian times.
Some of my friends have
expressed some concerns about chiropractic safety and effectiveness.
Any health care
procedure has the potential for things to go wrong. This can
range from very minor, such as soft tissue irritation, to something
more serious. You should remember, however, that when compared
to other therapies/procedures, chiropractic is safer and more
effective. In fact, people usually undergo chiropractic care
before moving onto something that might carry a greater risk.
I’d feel better if I knew that
many people visited a chiropractor, are there any numbers?
Recent stats have
shown that over 3 million Canadians see a chiropractor every year.
That is approximately 12% of the population. The good news is
that, the number are on the rise as more and more Canadians discover
chiropractic and find out how good they feel when they include
chiropractic in their health care needs.
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A LITTLE INSIGHT TO YOUR QUESTIONS
TAKE CARE OF
YOUR BODY AND YOUR BODY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is
the science, art and philosophy that concerns itself with the
restoration of good health by restoring and maintaining a
properly functioning nervous system without the use of drugs and
surgery. “Chiro”(hands)-“practic”(practice) is the use of hands
to manipulate the spine and the soft tissues to restore proper
function and balance between the neuromusculoskelatal system (“neuro”-
nerves, “musculo” – muscles, “skeletal” – bones).
Can Chiropractic help me?
Chiropractic has
shown very good success rates for many different types of
conditions from back pain, foot pain, neck pain and even
headaches. It is important for you to realize that not all
conditions have the same cause. Back pain may be due to
many different reasons ranging from strain/sprain, arthritis, to
kidney problems like stones that are out of the scope of
chiropractic. It is important for a Chiropractor to
examine you to find out if Chiropractic is for you and if not,
then refer you to the appropriate specialist.
Is Chiropractic safe?
Chiropractic is
one of the safest among the healing arts professions.
There have been thousands of reports and research done proving
Chiropractic safety and effectiveness. Due to the
conservative approach to Chiropractic medicine, Chiropractic
adjustments are safer than surgery, medications, and even
aspirin.
Can Chiropractic prevent back surgery?
In many cases,
YES. The spinal cord is a very intricate part of your body
that is very complex in its functions and its position. A
lot of orthopaedic surgeons are very hesitant performing
surgeries as the risks outweigh the benefits of “poking” around
in an area and performing a procedure in a highly neurologically
complex region that may end up doing more harm than good.
There are many surgeons opting for conservative care such as
Chiropractic and leaving surgery as a last resort.
Chiropractic education?
Lot of people are
not sure as to what type of education is required to be a
Chiropractor. Chiropractic is a regulated health care
profession in Canada and Chiropractors have the same level of
education as your medical doctor or your dentist. Chiropractors
go through an intensive science program involving extensive
training in anatomy, physiology, diagnostic imaging, and general
diagnosis. Where the education differs is in the area of
specialties. In the 3rd and 4th
years of a traditional medical program, students go into
rotations for pharmacology and surgery and other rotations.
Chiropractors in that time frame go into specialized rotations
in Diagnostics (Imaging and Diagnosis) and techniques
specializing in neuromusculoskeletal care.
Do I have to go to a Chiropractor
forever?
Some people go to
their Chiropractor or their Medical doctor when they are sick or
when they are in pain. What lot of people don’t realize is
that pain and feeling sick are just the symptoms of an
underlying process and not the problem itself.
Unfortunately, a lot of people have a mindset that they will do
whatever it takes to get rid of the pain and once its gone, they
forget about it. Having the cause addressed and treated is
still a little strange to some but the mindsets are changing.
People are starting to realize that, if they have to go to their
dentist every six months for a cleaning or to maintain their
teeth so their teeth wont bother them as they get older,
shouldn’t they have their spine and their joints maintained as
well. Same concept.
TAKE CARE
OF YOUR BODY AND YOUR BODY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.
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ARE YOU HEALTHY?
Canadians are constantly bombarded from the time they are born
with false images of what it means to be healthy. To many,
the state of optimum health is merely an absence of the signs of
symptoms that constitutes a disease. Advertising giants
and pharmaceutical companies have strived and to a great degree
succeeded in convincing the large array of the population that
“popping a pill” or “drinking some formula” will “cure” the
disease. That is why most of us don’t think twice about
taking medication, or popping a pill, or even consider the side
effects of any medications.
Do pills work? Absolutely. Medicine has come a long
way in managing situations that require attention after we have
misused and abused our bodies. Many times environmental
and genetic factors place a large role in our state of physical
and mental health, but the key to anything in life is balance.
We all require a “ balance of care” to be optimally healthy in
life. If you think you may know what to do during those
times when you get “sick”, don’t you think you should consider
having a plan to make sure that you don’t!!
Pain pills and “formulas” may mask the symptoms of a problem; in
no way do they cure anything. Pain is a body’s response to
indicate a lack of balance and highlight a problem. If you numb
the pain receptors in the body, then does the underlying problem
go away? To illustrate this point, lets ask ourselves a
question: Are headaches caused by an Aspirin deficiency?
Of course not! But this is what the pharmaceutical
companies would like us to believe. Not only are headaches
not caused by a lack of aspirin, but also continuous aspirin use
can have serious side effects, including ulceration and bleeding
of the lining of the stomach not to mention increased rebound
headaches. One needs to understand that headaches are a
symptom of a disease process and not the disease itself.
We, as Canadians, are hiding our poor health with drugs.
I
am a Chiropractor who is very passionate about what I do.
I am not going to tell anyone not to do something that doesn’t
feel right to them. My message through my articles and my
practice will always be to help people attain a balance in life.
If you can take a minute in your everyday life to think about
the type of gas you put in your car, don’t you think that you
can take the time to ask your doctor and yourself about what
exactly is this pill for? Do I really need it? Side
effects? Am I really sick?
My focus through my science, art and the philosophy of my
profession is to try to make you think. Chiropractic is
not about your back. Chiropractic is not about your pain.
Chiropractic is about your life!!
“The doctor of the
future will give no medicine, but will instead interest his
patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the
cause and prevention of disease.”
____
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Dr. Kapil Deswal
earned his Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the
University of Toronto, and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from
New York Chiropractic College. He is certified by the Canadian
Board of Chiropractic Examiners, College of Chiropractors of
Ontario, and the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners
(United States).
He is in private practice in Etobicoke, Ontario. He has
successfully treated low back pain, neck pain, nerve pain,
headaches, whiplash injuries, and work and sports related
injuries. He believes in a holistic approach to patient
care, and is committed to his patients in healing and recovery.
For an appointment or to find out more about Dr. Deswal,
Please call: 416-7-HEALTH.
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