What’s new in chiropractic care? There are so many new treatment options available today, it can be difficult to know what works well, what kind of works for some people and what is just the latest TikTok trend.
I’ve recently adopted two new things in my clinic that are seeing amazing results; topical pain reliever for headaches and TECAR therapy for musculoskeletal pain.
A topical for headache pain
Migraines and headaches can be difficult to treat, usually because the cause could be just about anything. Sometimes it’s an underlying nutrient deficiency. It certainly can be musculoskeletal. It can be hormone-related; it can be food sensitivity-related. It can be stress-related. Sometimes it’s even an infection causing headaches. We can have sinus infections, for example, that are fungal, bacterial or both that cause headaches.
A new therapy I’ve implemented recently is a topical combining different homeopathics with menthol. It’s been a unique treatment because we can use it on headaches even if we’re not quite sure of the underlying cause, and it relieves the pain while we’re figuring that out. (I’ve even seen it work on menstrual pain when rubbed right over the pelvic area.)
What’s in it?
The topical I recommend to my patients features a proprietary blend of ingredients, but the main active ingredients, in addition to the menthol, are belladonna, sanguinaria and Iris versicolor.
Belladonna acts on the nervous system and is great for congestion and heat, pain or fullness in the forehead or the temples. This can work well on a headache associated with nasal congestion, one that gets worse with light, movement or lying down, or if it’s relieved by pressure, standing, sitting or leaning backward.
Sanguinaria canadensis, or bloodroot, is ideal for headaches brought on by noise, odors or lights. This type of headache hurts right over the eyes; people describe it as feeling like nails are being driven into their head, and sometimes accompany nausea. You might feel like your brain is spinning around in circles, like headaches from alcohol or too much coffee. These are the kind of frontal headaches where you want to press your hands into your head.
Iris versicolor works on what people call sick headaches, frontal headaches with nausea, where you have a constricted sensation on the scalp. This is a headache that’s actually relieved by movement and fresh air. It even works on those periodic migraines associated with eating sweets.
Topical benefits
What’s wonderful about this topical is that it can be applied and then reapplied in 15 to 20 minutes if the headache isn’t any better. Small research studies reveal about 80% of patients get symptom relief just from using the topical while we’re still trying to figure out the underlying cause of the headaches.
It’s relatively inexpensive too, and easy to transport; patients can carry it with them wherever they go and when they travel. And it’s very safe. Unless somebody has a sensitivity to one of the ingredients, it’s not contraindicated in any way.
How TECAR therapy works
Another innovative treatment I’ve been using is TECAR therapy; a high-frequency current which has two modes: capacitive mode, which is superficial, and resistive mode, much deeper.
TECAR therapy elicits the following three basic effects:
- Biological, considered a cellular booster
- Analgesic or pain relief
- Endogenous diathermy, the use of electric currents to generate heat deep in tissue. This provides tissue oxygenation and tension release, helps with vascularization and drainage and stimulates collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid synthesis, so it has a pretty profound effect on a cellular level.
The TECAR unit emits different frequencies, so the higher the frequency the more concentrated the effect. If you’re working on a patient in a very localized and small area, you can get in a much higher frequency versus if it’s more diffuse, covering a larger area. It’s gentle and doesn’t cause the patient any discomfort.
How to use TECAR therapy
TECAR is versatile and can be used passively and actively. When you want to work on soft tissue, you can administer it by using your own hands with a probe, but you can also attach adhesive grounds to the patient, using it as an unattended therapy, too.
It also works great layered in combination with other therapies. I like following it with cold laser, and I know a lot of DCs who follow it with shockwave.
Who to use it on
TECAR therapy can safely be done on patients with many health conditions, but it does have a couple contraindications. We never do it over a pregnant uterus, pacemaker or active cancer site, or if there was any possibility of a blood clot or deep vein thrombosis. We also stay away from areas of cartilage growth, and we wouldn’t do it on a patient who has a fever or infection. And also, we can’t do it on patients who are unable to give feedback about heat level; while it’s not a heat-producing therapy, it generates heat in the tissues.
Lately I’ve been using it on patients with constipation, painful periods and endometriosis. It’s great for lymphatic drainage and works well for increasing flexibility or restoring movement and function post-surgery.
How to integrate it into your practice
If you want to start doing TECAR therapy, you’ll need a private room for it, because you’re often working on areas patients wouldn’t want exposed around other people. There’s a conductive lotion you use, like with ultrasound. Each session lasts anywhere from five to 20 minutes, depending on what you’re trying to achieve, so you’ll have to figure out how to charge per session. Because it’s a separate therapy I charge based on time. You can also just include it as one of your treatment options available and use it during sessions, charging as you normally would for a session.
Usually, we start a little slower and work into deeper and longer treatments based on frequency and intensity the patient can endure. There can be side effects with longer treatment times, almost like the patient is detoxifying, where they feel a little worse before they feel better. Many patients feel the positive effects, like increased range of motion, reduced inflammation and decreased pain, almost immediately. For others it takes a handful of treatments.
Purchasing options
There are TECAR therapy companies that offer one-on-one training and ongoing online and phone support. That’s something to consider when you’re choosing who to buy equipment from: Will they train you and your staff? Will they be available after training?
The bottom line is it’s phenomenal and has paid for itself two or three times over. It’s almost totally replaced my electrical stimulation and gives additional benefits when coupled with cold laser.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking to get some new therapy options going in your office, successful options are topical therapy for headaches and TECAR therapy for musculoskeletal pain.
CINDY M. HOWARD, DC, DABCI, DACBN, FIAMA, FICC, is a board-certified chiropractic internist and nutritionist in private practice and the owner of Innovative Health and Wellness Center in Orland Park, Ill., where she focuses on individualized care. She is the author of Positively Altered: Finding Happiness at the Bottom of a Chemo Bag and writes for Stopain Clinical. Learn more and contact her at DrCindySpeaks.com.
