Mark: Good afternoon, we’re here with Dr Harold Meinzer of Evolution Wellness in Vancouver and Langley. And we’re going to talk about instrument spinal adjustments as a new alternative way of doing manipulation of the spine. How’re you doing today Dr. Harold?
Dr Harold: I’m doing fantastic and I’m excited to talk about, sort of some different ways that we can still adjust people without having that sort of cracking, popping sound that some people are very fearful of. So we can maybe put to rest a few of those scared patients and get them in the office.
Mark: So how did this evolve? Why would this have been required?
Dr Harold: Well I think everybody’s nervous system is a little bit different and some people are very sensitive to change. And so these sort of higher velocity adjustments that I’m using my hands with, most people can tolerate it and do really really well with those treatments but other people that’s just too much change for their body. And that can aggravate or even stir up some of those symptoms. And there’s I guess a percentage of the population that’s going to have maybe some other types of underlying problems. Such as osteoporosis, where we can’t do those types of adjustments with. Some people might have fibromyalgia or other very very pain sensitive or chronic pain syndromes, that you can’t change that much and that information in to the nervous system is too much and would just flare things up. So I think out of that population came, we need a different way to treat. And so, soft tissue work is great but how else could we treat the spine and still adjust the spine, in a very quick and efficient way that’s not going to sort of stir up underlying conditions.
Mark: Alright and there’s a lot of research I’m sure that’s gone into this as to the effectiveness and how it works and how to use it to get great results with people.
Dr Harold: Yeah. There’s the instrument that I’m using, the Impulse, that’s out of Neuro Mechanical, it’s out of Arizona. They’ve done you know, a decade plus work, worth of work doing research within university settings here in North America and in Europe. And so they’ve done a lot of clinical research on sort of how the settings works and how it affects the spine, how it affects the nerve and what center is going up into the brain, is being affected by it. So that’s one of the reasons I like using that specific model. There’s a number of different ones out there. Today we’re just going to talk about my favourite one.
Mark: So how does it work? What does this thing look like?
Dr Harold: Uh yeah, it’s a great question. So it looks like something out of Star Trek. It’s little handheld instrument and has different styluses that we can utilize depending on where on the spine we’re treating. And so it’s a very very slick instrument. It has three different force settings. So that we can kind of like a very low impulse, medium and a high depending again on where on the spine or where on the body we’re using it. And we’re not just going to use it on the spine. We can use it on wrists, and elbows, and shoulders, and knees. All different extremities as well as the spine.
And so this specific one, you might be able to see on the screen, it just fires a repetitive force and you can hear all these clicking. So the thing about this specific instrument, it is set at six impulses per second. So it’s really really fast and it’s faster than our body can sort muscle guard or tighten up. And so that’s one of the reasons I like to use it so much. And all these sort of instruments are working on speed rather than force. So when I use my hands, I cannot use my hand or move my hand so fast, where this is going to be a hundred times faster than what my hand can move. So it’s pretty slick looking instrument and it is pain free. You’re not going to feel any pain while you’re getting adjusted. some of the spots if they’re you know tender, then you feel some tenderness but generally it’s a very pain free way to treat or adjust the patient.
And then with these different styluses, we can kind of get onto the spine in different ways. So the way our spine, we have these wonderful facet joints that function in the back. And so what we use the instrument with is to come up and through the spine and along the facet joint to shift and move that joint. And really we just want to create mobility and that’s what we do with manual adjustments is that we take a fixated joint, something that’s stuck and not working and we shift it over and create mobility in it. And so rather than once big force, we’re going to use small repetitive forces to shift and open up that joint space. So sometimes, I say to patients, it’s like you have a destination and you can take one road to get there, you take another road to get there but you’re going to get there in the same way.
Mark: Yeah, the end result is the same but perhaps even faster. Is that kind of another benefit of using this?
Dr. Harold: I think for some patients it will be faster just because the manual manipulation is just too forceful for them. So they’re not going to get the benefit as quickly. With this instrument, it can mildly move and shift that joint and then very progressive way you don’t stir anything up. Patients will get better. And so with these instruments, because that’s run on a computer chip, the one of the great things is that now we get consistency of treatment. So each force is going to be exactly the same when I use it today, on Monday or Friday or next week or in a month. So each time is very reproducible. With other instruments that are out there, they’re spring loaded and so those springs and things will degrade over time. That’s one of the reasons I like this. It’s run by computer chip so it’s going to be exact every single time that I treat you. Or if I’m not in the office, my older brother’s here, then he’s using it on you the same way and you’re getting the same treatment.
Mark: And I’m sure that is a difference compared to manual manipulation where it’s pretty much impossible to have it exactly the same every time.
Dr. Harold: Yeah it’s true and you try as a practitioner to try to have the same amount of velocity and thrust for each patient. But every day is different really. Within the patient’s body and within the practitioner as well. So I think that’s one of the great things about these type of instruments is just the consistency of treatment. And also with it we can be very specific right, so depending on what joint, where it is, what angle, how the body’s situated, the curves of the spine. Like all these things to take into consideration. And we can be very specific at the angle at which we adjust and move things. So I also like that for some patients and in extremities as well. It works very very well for our extremities.
And I kind of touched on sort of the safety of it you know, with LightForce and that’s sort of one of the biggest things in the office is we always get patients saying you know, I don’t want you to crack my back. I don’t want you to crack my body. And so this is a very very effective way that we can still treat the entire spine, body, neck and be compliant with the patient’s wishes as well.
Mark: So extremely safe. So it’s good for people who have osteoarthritis you mentioned or elderly patients.
Dr. Harold: Yeah, those are some of the ones I for sure use that. Osteoporosis is anther one where you can’t really load a joint or put a lot of pressure into it for risk of fracture. So elderly and then I have some patients in wheelchairs that really can’t get onto a table. And so I still need to treat them. So I can use that in different positions. So I have patients come in the office with disc problems that can’t get on the table. So at least I can treat them. I can treat them standing, sitting, in a side position and I can change things around. Just because the instrument gives me that flexibility. so it’s really effective that way.
Mark: So basically to sum it up a little bit, then, it’s really consistent force. It give you an easy way to move past the body, the patient’s body kind of natural resistance to being adjusted and as well it gives you that, kind of narrows in a little bit more specifically to the right angle and direction to apply an adjustment. So that you get better results sometimes. It’s very safe. It’s versatile. Gee how come everybody isn’t using it?
Dr Harold: That’s a good question. I really enjoy using it and I see a lot of patient referrals that come to see me just because I’m using that instrument. You don’t want to be manipulated. And for some patients, I’ll use that in the neck because truthfully that’s the most fearful thing with patients is they’re scared about neck adjustments. So we’ll use that with the neck and I can do other types of manipulation on the rest of your body they’re fine with. So it could be a combination, it could be a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It just gives me more versatility in treating people and different problems as well. So I find it like another tool in my tool belt to help patients. To get them out of pain and get them back functioning again.
Mark: So there you go. If you’re looking for really safe adjustments, they guys to see is Dr. Harold Meinzer. You can reach him at Evolution Wellness in Vancouver and in Langley. You can reach them at 604-881-2404 to book your appointment. And you have to book ahead, he’s always busy, he’s a popular guy. And he’s an exceptionally good chiropractor, my chiropractor. And thanks so much Harold.
Dr Harold: Yep, thanks so much for having me. It’s great to talk with you again.