Dr Bradley Ivanchuk BSc, DC (Chiropractor) has been in private family practice in Burlington, Ontario since 1986. As a practicing chiropractor, he has attended to the needs of many trauma victims, especially those who have suffered work-related injuries and motor-vehicle-accident injuries. Often these types of injuries will affect the joints of the spine and the skeletal system causing subluxations. A subluxation is a partial or incomplete dislocation of a spinal or skeletal joint. These will often lead to pinched nerves, pain, and postural distortions. In some cases joint deformities and often post-traumatic osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis). The latter is the biggest concern when someone has suffered any type of physical trauma to their body, as there is the risk of future impairment and varying degrees of disability which would significantly impact one’s quality of life at home and in the workplace. A few important things that trauma victims must understand is that chiropractors do not prescribe medications, attend to fractures or do surgery of any kind. These would be handled by the appropriate medical doctors, surgeons and specialists.

These do not preclude the need for chiropractic care. Most every trauma victim will have some degree of spinal or skeletal joint damage and this is where chiropractic care can be of a huge benefit to the patient. After the more critical and life-threatening issues have been addressed, the chiropractor would assess the other or remaining injuries and provide the appropriate treatment. The assessment includes a detailed consultation to review the exact mechanism of the injury and the associated symptoms. Physical examination would include orthopaedic, neurological and spinal assessments to confirm location of the injury(s), impairments, functional abilities, and joint and/or spinal distortions. Usually, a set of plain spinal x-rays or x-rays of the injured area (eg. shoulder, knee, hip etc.) is required before commencing treatment. If the patient already has x-ray films of the trauma site, these can most often be used.

Another thing that trauma victims must understand is the difference between physiotherapy and chiropractic. They are not the same. Ultrasound, hot-packs, cryotherapy, traction, active release techniques and TENS are physiotherapy treatments that deal with acute injuries, inflammation, bruising, simple joint restrictions and scar tissue formation. They do not act to improve or correct alignment of skeletal or spinal joints. This is the exclusive specialty of the chiropractor. Even though some chiropractors may include physio treatments along with their chiropractic treatments, it is important that the trauma victim understands the difference as the goals are different for each. The two, however, work very well together for the mutual benefit of the patient. For those of you who have had no experience with chiropractic, the treatments are referred to as ‘alignments’ or ‘adjustments’. These are either performed by hand or hand-held instruments (Activator) and the goal is to improve the alignment of a skeletal joint(s) and/or a spinal joint(s). A skeletal joint is an elbow, knee or hip for example whereas a spinal joint is the joint between two vertebrae. Vertebrae are the little bones (24) which make up your spine. How many chiropractic treatments are required to help a trauma victim will depend upon several factors such as their age, the nature and degree of trauma, how long ago they suffered the trauma, how many previous traumas if any, other health conditions, and their compliance and willingness to get well.

The chiropractic approach to traumatic injury is two-fold; pain-relief for patient comfort initially followed by correction of misaligned (subluxated) skeletal and/or spinal joints. The latter is the more critical of the two as this will directly impact the future health and well-being of the patient. In many cases just because the symptoms may be partially or totally gone, this does not mean the injury has been completely resolved. This is why there is considerable emphasis placed upon patient education at the clinic so that they understand the full extent of their injuries and the recommended treatment plan. Far too often patients will discontinue treatment on their own accord or upon the advice of other care givers which will not do them any favours in the long run. The presence or absence of symptoms has no bearing on one’s degree of recovery or their overall level of health, so the treatments are geared towards treating the injury, not the effects of the injury. Any rehabilitative exercises required by the patient will be prescribed by the doctor, or if extensive rehab is necessary, the patient will be referred to a specific rehab facility for concurrent treatment. The doctor also works closely with a clinical psychologist as often times there are post-traumatic psychological issues that need to be addressed to help facilitate the recovery process. Legal counsel is just a phone call away for any patients who require representation.

Dr Ivanchuk practices at the Life Chiropractic Centre located in Burlington, Ontario. The clinic is conveniently located in North Burlington and is central to the Oakville/Hamilton corridor; a 15-minute drive from either direction. The support staff at Life Chiropractic are very pleasant and efficient in dealing with patients and are extremely competent at processing any claims regarding work-related injuries (WSIB) and motor-vehicle/personal injuries. For more information, please feel free to visit their website at www.lifechiropracticcentre.ca or call them directly at 905-335-LIFE (5433).