1ST VISIT AT OUR CLINIC

 We know that going to a new doctor's office can be intimidating, overwhelming, or even unpredictable. We try to create a relaxing and soothing environment from the moment you walk in the door. The first step is read the Welcome letter from the staff, then fill out the Health History form. The Health History form includes questions about old injuries, previous accidents, or any health concerns. We ask that you arrive 10 minutes early to fill out paperwork to speed up the process. Our staff is available for a complete and thorough discussion with you. After reviewing the health history, Dr. Zen at Zen Chiropractic in Edina will meet with you to discuss the problems and determine how chiropractic care can help you. During your first visit, Dr. Zen may perform a neurological exam and radiological exam.

Computerized Muscle Test

We will perform a computerized sEMG test, which determines muscle balance, which is extremely important because the vertebrae in the spine depend on the muscles to move properly. If one or more vertebrae are out of their normal position, it disturbs nerve function. This disturbance creates muscle imbalance, caused by an abnormal amount of electrical current in the muscles on either side of the spine. As a result of this disturbance, the muscles can become weaker or stronger, tighter, or fatigued. The abnormal muscle pattern on the scan reveals an increased amount of tension/pull to one side.

Heat Index Scan

The Heat Index scan provides us with information to monitor Spinal Thermography,. If your body temperature is 98.6 degrees, then the left and right sides of your spine should also be at the same temperature. Your skin is the largest organ of the body and the blood vessels under the skin work as the body’s thermostat. They expand and release heat and contract to retain heat controlling the body’s temperature. When the communication between the Nervous System and the blood vessels is disturbed, it causes the body’s thermostat to malfunction producing an imbalanced temperature reading along the spine. These blood vessels are controlled by the same part of the central nervous system that controls your organs and glands, known as the autonomic system.

Heart Rate Variability 

HRV( Heart Rate Variability analysis) testing is a fully automated cardiac monitoring device that provides a quantitative assessment of variation in the time interval between heartbeats. It is measured by the variation in the beat-to-beat interval. HRV testing enables Chiropractors to detect specific types of autonomic dysfunction that may be linked to a multitude of clinical assessments. Additionally, HRV testing is a tool for overall, general assessment of a patient's physiology, and as such, provides a comprehensive, and in-depth client evaluation. HRV testing can be used by health-care providers to objectively confirm or exclude cases of Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy (CAN), Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy (DAN) and other diseases or malfunctions of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

HRV testing enables the autonomic response assessment during different kinds of long-term health assessments, long-term out look like the Stress test or during any kind of experiments aimed strategy optimization for longevity and wellness.

Radiological Exam (X-ray)

Our next step will be to take x-rays, which provide us with information to determine the condition of your spine and how to specifically correct it. Exceptions to x-ray include our pregnant patients and young children under 7 years of age. We only take full spine x-rays that are unique allowing us to see the entire spine on one film. Radiological Examination (X-Rays) The digital x-ray system at our office uses less radiation and increase details for chiropractors to see every detail possible. This not only allows us to see the position of each individual spinal bone but also gives us an overall view of your spine which helps us achieve optimal correction.

2ND VISIT: REPORT OF FINDINGS

The next visit is extremely important because after the doctor reviews your file, he will go over the results of the exams in detail with you. We will talk about your x-rays and you can see exactly where the problems are as we correlate the findings from the computerized neurological exams. Also during this appointment, you will get your first adjustment.

3RD VISIT: FINANCIAL REPORT

At this visit, we will find out how frequent and how long it takes to get your body to function 100%. We will see how your first adjustment healed your body.

TYPES OF CARE:

Relief Care

This is to reduce pain, inflammation and muscle spasms. Treatment during this stage can consist of ice therapy to reduce swelling and chiropractic adjustments of the spine. This stage can last a few days to few weeks. Treatment is normally at its highest level during this phase, with many conditions requiring multiple visits each week.

Corrective Care


This phase of care is to remove nerve pressure and restore normal joint mobility and function. The corrective phase begins when the pain has significantly been reduced. This stage is characterized by the patient feeling like he/she is able to resume normal activities. This is a very important time because if the patient truly resumes all activities at this time, it is not uncommon for the pains to begin to return or increase again. This occurs because the condition has not yet fully stabilized.At this stage, the chiropractic adjustments are attempting to increase spinal mobility in order that more normal function may return to the spine and nervous system. This phase can take a few weeks for minor conditions, and months in more severe conditions. The frequency of care can still be multiple visits per week, but usually not as frequent as in the acute or relief phase.

Strengthening

This phase of care is characterized by either significant reduction of pain (or no pain) in most cases and or continued stabilization of pain in the severe chronic cases. The frequency of visits continues to reduce, while rehabilitative exercises and stretching typically increase. Our goal in this stage is to strengthen the soft tissue that surrounds the affected spinal segments so that proper function becomes consistent in these regions of the spine.Consistent function not only reduces pain in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments but also allows for the proper function of the organs and tissues that are controlled by nerves.Through all stages, the patient will be educated on what they can do at home and/or at work to facilitate the healing process. The treatment process is always seen as a team effort.

Maintenance or Supportive Care

This is the stage in which the pain is either totally gone, or extremely stable in chronic situations. Treatment frequency can range from once per week to once every two months. There are great benefits at this stage. Usually, a patient has gotten into better work and exercise habits, which promotes good health, to begin with. Also, the patient's attitude at this stage is usually very positive. Another tremendous benefit of this stage of care is that, if for some reason an injury to the spine occurs again because of something unforeseen, it is very common that instead of needing a significant amount of treatment, a relatively small amount of care usually does the trick. This is how highly conditioned athletes recover quickly from injuries that would take most of us a very long time to recover. Eventually, the natural healing abilities start to function and maintain the spine to heal itself. Then the chiropractic adjustments are not needed.