Seeing Is Believing — MyoVision sEMG
Before your first adjustment, I use MyoVision surface EMG technology to objectively map muscle tension along your spine. You'll see exactly where the stress is — and watch it change as your care progresses. It's not just a feeling; it's measurable, visible evidence of how your body is responding to care.
- Diversified Method
- Toggle Recoil Atlas Adjustment
- Thompson Drop Technique
- Activator Instrument Adjusting
- Extremity Adjusting
- Manual Therapy
- Trigger Point Therapy
- Arthrostim Instrument Therapy
- Vibration Cupping
- Cranial Sacral Integration
- Brain-Body Rehabilitation
- Flexion Distraction Disc Decompression
- Therapeutic Exercise
- Kinesiology & Movement Assessment
- Stick Mobility
- Whole Body Vibration
- HeartMath Biofeedback
- Class IV Laser Therapy
- Cold Laser — ML 830 (LLLT)
- Shockwave / Radial Pressure Wave Therapy
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation (E-Stim)
- MyoVision Static sEMG — Objective Spinal Muscle Assessment
Most patients won't read this section, and that's fine. But for those who like to verify the science behind their care, here are the studies grounding the techniques I rely on most. My Imaging & Adjustment Policy covers when I require X-rays before manual adjusting.
Modern systematic reviews and meta-analyses place spinal manipulative therapy on roughly equal footing with first-line conservative treatments for both acute and chronic low back pain, with a favorable safety profile.
- • Paige NM, Miake-Lye IM, Booth MS, et al. Association of spinal manipulative therapy with clinical benefit and harm for acute low back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2017;317(14):1451–1460.
- • Rubinstein SM, de Zoete A, van Middelkoop M, et al. Benefits and harms of spinal manipulative therapy for the treatment of chronic low back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2019;364:l689.
- • Coulter ID, Crawford C, Hurwitz EL, et al. Manipulation and mobilization for treating chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Spine Journal. 2018;18(5):866–879.
Flexion-distraction has decades of biomechanical and clinical research behind it, including measured reductions in intradiscal pressure during the procedure. I use the Hill Laboratories Auto-Flexion table — and notably, I don't sell pre-paid 20-session "decompression packages." It's one tool used when the case calls for it, not a protocol.
- • Gudavalli MR, Cambron JA, McGregor M, et al. A randomized clinical trial and subgroup analysis to compare flexion-distraction with active exercise for chronic low back pain. European Spine Journal. 2006;15(7):1070–1082.
- • Cambron JA, Gudavalli MR, McGregor M, et al. Amount of health care and self-care following a randomized clinical trial comparing flexion-distraction with exercise. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2006;14:19.
- • Cox JM. Low Back Pain: Mechanism, Diagnosis, Treatment. 7th ed. Wolters Kluwer / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011. (Reference textbook.)
Class IV laser, IFC e-stim, and radial pressure wave therapy each have established evidence for specific indications (tendinopathies, plantar fasciitis, soft-tissue pain). Vibration cupping is newer — recent ultrasound imaging research, including work led by Dr. Steven Capobianco at RockTape, has demonstrated objective tissue changes during cupping procedures, moving the technique from purely traditional into a more measurable, evidence-supported space.
- • Hung IY-J, Jan Y-K. Using texture analysis of ultrasound images to assess the effect of cupping therapy on muscle quality. PLOS ONE. 2024;19(3):e0301221.
- • Capobianco S. Functional Movement Taping & RockPods Myofascial Cupping clinical curriculum (RockTape FMT certification).
- • For broader background on the role of motion in spinal disc nutrition: Adams MA, Roughley PJ. What is intervertebral disc degeneration, and what causes it? Spine. 2006;31(18):2151–2161.
Hands-On Manual & Cranial Integration
A particular area of skill I've developed is integrative manual work at the cranial base, atlas, axis, and sacroiliac region — the structures that influence not only spinal mechanics, but also autonomic nervous system tone, breathing pattern, and how the body holds tension overall.
For patients with chronic neck tension, persistent headaches, jaw or TMJ symptoms, post-concussive complaints, or stress-pattern issues (poor sleep, digestive sensitivity, a sense of being "wired and tired"), this hands-on integration often reaches what purely structural treatment can't on its own.
My approach draws on principles from Sacro-Occipital Technique and the published case-study work of Dr. Charles Blum — applied conservatively as part of a broader plan rather than as a strict protocol. When manual hands-on work is the right tool I use it; when an instrument-assisted approach (Arthrostim) or a more direct adjustment is what the case calls for, I use that instead.
One Area of Particular Importance — The Atlas
The atlas is the first cervical vertebra, through which every nerve from the brain controlling the body passes first. I use an integrative approach to reduce and correct alignment issues at the atlas and cranium — carefully considering the base of the spine, pelvis, and sacral alignment as part of the whole picture.
This integrated approach relaxes the individual, helps balance the autonomic nervous system, and can improve restorative function through enhanced parasympathetic (rest and digest) functioning.
Ready to Find Out What's Going On?
New patients start with a thorough evaluation — no rushed visits, no cookie-cutter protocols.