Joey Wahler (Host): This is Health Matters Insights from WCH Medical Experts. Thanks for joining us. I'm Joey Wahler. Our guests are Cody Estrel, he's a chiropractor with Wood County Hospital, as well as Zac Frame, a certified chiropractic sports physician with Falcon Health Primary Care Center. Gentlemen, welcome.

Cody Estrel, DC: Thank you.

Zac Frame, DC: Thanks for having us.

Host: Absolutely. Great to have you aboard. Let's start with you, Cody. What exactly do we mean, for those uninitiated, by chiropractic care? What does that cover? And in a nutshell, how would you say it benefits really the overall health and well-being of people at pretty much any age, right?

Cody Estrel, DC: Sure. Absolutely. So to me, chiropractic is a non-invasive treatment method that focuses on diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal disorders. So in terms of chiropractic treatment, we like to utilize obviously a nice thorough exam. If special imaging is warranted, we try to use x-ray or MRI or CT. And then, we go about treating using spinal manipulation. We'll do physiotherapy modalities, whether it's like electrical muscle stimulation or ultrasound. And then, we can address like physical therapy-type exercises, musculoskeletal imbalances, and then ergonomic training as well.

Host: Sounds like it covers a lot of ground and you have to know about a lot of stuff, yeah?

Cody Estrel, DC: Absolutely. I really think chiropractic is important look at the whole person. So, not just necessarily just chasing pain, but that pain could be coming from somewhere else in the body. And that's where really trying to address the full body as one person to me is important for chiropractic treatment.

Host: Yeah, it's a great point. For instance, I know from personal experience, back pain, as an example, can come from an issue in another part of the body, because a lot of it's all connected, right?

Cody Estrel, DC: Absolutely.

Host: So for you, Zac, many people, of course, suffer from chronic pain conditions, herniated discs, sciatica, fibromyalgia, just to name a few, so how would you say chiropractic care addresses issues like that, and what are some of the outcomes patients can typically expect after seeing someone like yourself?

Zac Frame, DC: Yeah. Especially hitting on the herniated disc where the disc is kind of pushing out in the vertebra and more so kind of pushing out a nerve, what we really use for that is more so adjusting the pelvis to correct the pelvis alignment. Obviously, if you have a disc pushing out on one side, your muscles are going to tend to elevate on that side of it and tighten up just to guard it and protect it. So, what we like to do is adjust the pelvis slightly. Don't put a lot of pressure on the disc. And then, some things we like to incorporate is lumbar mechanical traction where we can almost pump the spine. And basically, we just kind of strap you in at the pelvis kind of at the waist. And we just kind of pump back and forth. And the idea of that is to kind of help suck that disc back in and take the pressure off that nerve.

The same thing goes for sciatica. Usually, two common causes for a sciatic pain is whether the piriformis muscle, which is kind of a muscle in the buttocks region is over tight, where we have to go in there and kind of stretch it out and adjust the pelvis, realign that, or it's stemming from a disc pushing on the nerve causing that pain going down the back of the thigh there.

Host: You alluded to it there, pain in the glute area, if you will. Again, I'll speak from personal experience. People might chuckle, but that can cause a lot of pain, right?

Zac Frame, DC: Oh, yeah. Big time. A lot of times people say it is a burning sensation. Sometimes it's worsens with prolonged sitting or driving, or being on your feet for prolonged periods. Sometimes, it can last fairly long. And sometimes it's on one side. And then, once that starts to alleviate, it switches to the other side. So, the importance is to really align the pelvis correctly and work on that muscle to kind of calm down.

Host: Let me just ask you also, you mentioned the term adjustment. It's a common term in what you guys do. For those that have never had it done, what exactly do you mean by that? How do you actually adjust a certain spot or part of the body? 

Zac Frame, DC: Basically, we call it a high velocity, low amplitude force. We're realigning the joint, we're pushing it back the way we want it to go. If that joint is fixated or it's not moving, we're trying to correct it with a certain line of drive and get that movement back going.

Host: Gotcha. So Cody, back to you. And I'm wondering, how do you and yours tailor these treatments to meet the needs of so many diverse groups, right? You're treating pregnant women, you're treating children. You're treating, as you both alluded to, those with chronic pain. So, how do you kind of serve as the master to all of those, if you will?

Cody Estrel, DC: To me, I think it comes from the examination and listening first. We have to rule out certain red flags and contraindications to treatment, that would alter our treatment. So, a fairly healthy teenager might be adjusted different than maybe a fibromyalgia patient or an osteoporotic patient.

So, the way we kind of tailor those are based off our treatment styles. So, there's so many different techniques that are out there. You know, we can go anywhere from using our hands with more manual manipulation, to activator-based or instrument-based, which is taking a little bit less force off of the actual adjustment.

So, for example, like with pregnant patients in the later stages, you know, that might not be something that we want to put them on their side and do like a high rotational type move, but maybe using more like a table drop or something a little bit more light force for the pelvis. Same thing with infants, you know, you can kind of put it as like a pressure point more or less versus like an actual manipulation that we're going for like a cavitation. So, it's really coming back through doing a proper examination, determining their issues. Are there any kind of relative or absolute contraindications and then deciding what treatment style is best for them?

Host: And Zac, delving into that just a little bit more, what would you say are some of the unique challenges that pregnant women face in your world? And how can that chiropractic care help to alleviate discomfort and really prepare them to give birth, right?

Zac Frame, DC: Yeah. So, chiropractic has been wonderful. And I have several pregnant patients I treat and they get really good results. Because obviously, you're getting a lot of mass in the front. So, we're changing that postural change in the pelvis. So, a lot of times, you're taking that curve to the lumbar spine, which is going to cause a little bit of elevation and pain.

And then, you also have the hormone relaxin going through your body, which is going to relax the ligaments a little bit more, and I'll let them misalign quite a bit more with that, because you're trying to open up the pelvis a little bit, right? A lot of times, pregnant patients can get sciatic-like symptoms where it's going down the back of the thigh and elevation in lower back pain, or pain right on those two dimples in the back too. That's typically what we see a lot of.

Host: And following up on that, Zac, I guess it's safe to say that when a woman is pregnant, and rightfully so, there's so much focus on what's going on in and around the front, the belly, right? But maybe some of that other stuff that's affecting the rest of the body, the back and such, kind of gets overlooked until it strikes, right?

Zac Frame, DC: Oh, yes. Big time. And sometimes in the front of the belly, we do have the round ligament that attaches to the uterus. And with that belly size and when the pelvis kind of rotates, that ligament can also get tight. So, we can always do a little bit of stretch for that, realign the pelvis how we want it. Of course, with pregnancy, usually you have a little bit of elevation stress, because you're doing a lot. So, sometimes it doesn't hurt to move the mid-back a little bit, open that up and also doing any back adjustments that they want.

Host: Absolutely. Cody, what would you say are some of the common conditions in children that chiropractic care can help with? And how do you ensure that treatments are both safe and effective for the younger patients?

Cody Estrel, DC: We'll often see obviously like colic, so a little bit of discomfort within the spine. So, treating the soft tissues surrounding. Light, gentle manipulations, like I said, whether it's like activator, low force technique, or just like gentle pressure points.

So like I said, ear infections is a big one, addressing the upper cervical spine, colic and then, common sport conditions, you know, a lot of athletes, younger athletes that are coming in from you name it, dance injuries to sports or running to just your typical, "I fell over the weekend off of a swing." so, I think just addressing those issues before they turn into a serious injury later on, it's really important. And then, going back to like the pregnant patient too, tailoring the technique, we have different types of tables too that we can use. So whether it be like a pregnancy pillow or a Swing Away, or same thing, like there's pediatric tables, so we can really tailor it based off the patient and their demographic.

Host: You mentioned ear infection there.

Cody Estrel, DC: Absolutely.

Host: So, familiarize me more with that, because I've not heard that before. Why would a kid need to see a chiropractor for an ear infection?

Cody Estrel, DC: So, we have the eustachian tube that can be aggravated or inflamed and then addressing the upper cervical spine is very important for that too, because you can often get like a lot of blockages or like suboccipital tightness and all of our muscles. So when we kind of release that, it kind of helps us drain and then promote proper blood flow.

Host: Well, Zac, chiropractic care, of course, is often associated with pain relief, which we've discussed, but it also plays a role in preventative health, which is so key nowadays in just about every area of medicine, right? So, what about the importance of maintaining that spinal health and overall wellness and trying to head off some of these issues of the past?

Zac Frame, DC: I always believe it's important to do kind of routine care or just kind of check up on things, just make sure everything's moving and grooving well. Obviously, if you have any muscle tightness somewhere else that's overactivating, or if you're feeling misaligned or you've got a high right shoulder or things like that, you're not going to be performing at your best. And over time, sometimes symptoms get a little bit worse. We're just trying to create that movement, keeping moving good.

Host: So in summary here for each of you, if someone joining us right now has never tried a chiropractor, what would you say to help them decide and understand the benefits in a nutshell and figure out whether it's the right option for them? Let's start with you, Cody.

Cody Estrel, DC: For some, it's uncharted territory. And nowadays with social media, some is good, some is bad. And there develops a lot of questions. So, my biggest thing is ask questions. Schedule a consultation. Tell us about your condition. We can talk about it. You know, if you're interested, we can go through a thorough exam. Before I treat anybody, I always make sure I do a nice exam, get a proper history. I give the report of findings. So, I tell them, what is my treatment plan, what do I expect, how do I think they're going to respond. And I really try to tailor it off of that.

But it comes down to open communication. So, making sure you're asking all the questions. If you are nervous, please let me know, and I can be more informative, give you more research or whatever you may like to feel more comfortable with chiropractic care.

Host: And Zac, how about you? For instance, is there maybe a misconception or two that you guys find from your experience people have that you can clear up about what you do?

Zac Frame, DC: Yeah, I mean, a lot of people come in, there's, "Okay, you're just cracking me. Just give me a good crack," you know, that's what they look for, or "Put a towel on my head," you know, "Pull my head off." But that's not really our goal. We're trying to restore motion in the joints. We're trying to find what's really causing the pain. I'm not trying to just go in there and just give you a crack, that's not really the goal. I'm trying to find the root cause of the problem, whether I can help you, or if I have to refer you out, or if I have to do more diagnostic studies to see what's going on.

That's always a big thing. And I think people are really scared sometimes to come in the chiropractor because that's what they think, "Oh, they're just going to take my neck and just twist it really aggressively." But I think it's important for people to understand that, for chiropractors, that when they come in, you try to go least aggressive, kind of work from there and see how patients respond.

Whenever somebody's new to chiropractic, I always go very low force, very low aggression with it, and we kind of see how they respond throughout treatment and we can kind of progress from there.

Host: Well, folks, we trust you're now more familiar with chiropractic care. As Zac said, It's about much more than just a good crack, right? You want to keep people moving and grooving, you said.

Zac Frame, DC: That's right. Moving and grooving.

Host: Sounds like a good bumper sticker. Cody, Zac, great information. Keep up your great work, and thanks so much again.

Zac Frame, DC: Thank you.

Cody Estrel, DC: Thank you, Joey.

Host: And to make an appointment, please call 419-728-0601. And if you found this podcast helpful, please do share it on your social media. Thanks again for being part of Health Matters: Insights from WCH Medical Experts.