Author Archive for Steven Hines, DC

Foot Levelers© Orthotics 101

by Steven Hines, DC
May 8th, 2011

The Foot Levelers© company started in Dubuque, Iowa in the early 1960s and have been supporting chiropractic patients and their posture ever since. If ever there were a clear example of, “necessity is the mother of the invention”, it would be this company’s story. The company was started by a chiropractor expressly to help other chiropractors and their patients hold the correction to the spine long enough for “mother nature” to take over. It was observed in the early history of chiropractic that the adjustment was easily administered; however, the challenging part was maintaining these spinal corrections.

Rogers AR Chiropractor Foot Levelers Digital Footprint
Nearly 60 years ago, Dr. Monte Greenawalt invented a technology to balance the body by balancing the feet, thereby enhancing his patients’ structural integrity. The custom-made orthotics, Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers®, provided structural support, yet allowed the foot to retain a full range of motion. Through independent research and testimonials, Stabilizers have proven the test of time and patients appreciate the added support.

Foot Levelers is now the leading provider of custom-made orthotics for the chiropractic profession. Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers were the original concept and today the company has expanded their product to be selective for dress shoes, athletic shoes, safety boots, western boots, and many other individual styles and demands. Foot levelers have also diversified into custom-made pillows, rehabilitation equipment, and a veritable plethora of literature used to educate the patients.

In the beginning the patient’s bare foot was placed in a casting box in a weight-bearing position one foot at a time. Then the patient’s postural analysis, orthopedic profile, and special instructions were placed in the casting box and shipped in the mail. The whole process of casting, mailing, and receiving the orthotic took about two weeks if the doctor or staff got to the post office in judicious time. Today, the whole process is all computerized. The orthotic is still customized using a laser scanner that scans the plantar surface of the patient’s foot and transfers that information via the internet. Now, the whole process takes days rather than weeks.

After the digital scan is sent to the foot levelers laboratory, skilled technicians build your custom-made stabilizers using 16 precise measurements based on the analysis of your feet. Your lifestyle, age, weight and activity level are all considered with your custom-made stabilizers created. These flexible orthotics are made from leather, synthetics, sorbothane for shock absorption, sorbocel for toe-off and lift.

Today, in Roanoke, VA, the company continues to have a positive influence on nearly every aspect of chiropractic including patient wellness and instruction, public awareness of the benefits of chiropractic care, philanthropic donations to numerous chiropractic colleges and research foundations, and substantial financial support to local, state, and national chiropractic associations. In its sixth decade of commitment to the chiropractic profession, Foot Levelers is a testament to the visionary and founder, Monte H. Greenawalt, DC, DABCO.

Call us today at (479) 636-3021 to schedule your visit and experience the relief you deserve.

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Cold Laser for Dummies

by Steven Hines, DC
May 1st, 2011

LASER is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Cold laser or low-level laser therapy (LLLT) was first approved by the FDA for use in the United States in 2002. The theory was first introduced by Albert Einstein in 1917, and the Hughes Research Laboratories announced the first working laser in 1960. For medical purposes, laser was first used in 1963 to coagulate retinal lesions and was first used in wound healing studies on mice in 1967.

We grew up with laser beams in Star Trek and other science fiction movies which destroys matter. The reality today is that the military has developed a laser that will knock a man down from hundreds of yards without killing him, shoot drones out of the sky, and shoot down rockets in flight. There are lasers that can penetrate and cut steel in the automotive industry and there are medical lasers used in eye surgery. These types of lasers are considered hot lasers which can cut, burn, and destroy human tissue. We are talking today about cold lasers which act as a catalyst to speed up the healing processes in the human body. The absorption by the skin of these cold laser wavelengths is referred to as photobiomodulation and/or photobiostimulation.

Chiropractor Rogers AR Cold Laser Machine image
Photobiostimulation or photobiomodualtion is the process where a chain of chemical reactions is triggered by exposure to light. This stimulation of light changes the oxidation status (speed) of the mitochondria which leads to enhance ATP synthesis (Krebs cycle). This stimulation of light also increases the cell membrane’s permeability by enhancing the sodium/potassium pump, and therefore, providing the cell with more energy and creating a conducive environment for the natural healing process to take place.

This natural healing process takes place in a variety of increased cellular effects including: cell growth stimulation, increased cell metabolism, improved cell regeneration, initiation of the anti-inflammatory response, reduction of swelling, reduction of scar tissue, nerve function stimulation, reduction of the production of substance P, decreased production of histamine, and the increased production of endorphins (the body’s own natural opiates). All of these processes aid in decreasing pain and inflammation and promoting cell regeneration by the body’s own natural healing response.

Cold laser or low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is administered by using an applicator or wand placed onto the surface of the skin at the point of pain (POP) or the injured/damaged tissue. Treatment times are variable from approximately 2min-10min. There is usually no patient awareness or pain from cold laser treatment. In over 3000 published papers on the treatment and utilization of cold laser therapy, there are no documented side effects. In fact, cold laser therapy has an accumulative and persistent effect on the treated tissues for days following treatment.

Since 2002, chiropractors, osteopaths, allopaths, podiatrists, veterinarians, and other health care professionals have used cold laser for the treatment of the following conditions, but not limited to: Soft tissue injuries such as carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, sprain/strain injuries. Degenerative joint conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Neurogenic pain such as shingles, fibromyalgia, and diabetic neuropathy

The first lasers suitable for treating pain became available in the late 1970’s and ever since then, laser therapy has been widely used in Western Europe. Today, after 2002 approval by the FDA, cold laser therapy has gained traction in the US.

Call us today at (479) 636-3021 to schedule your visit and experience the relief you deserve.

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Why I Use a Cold Laser in My Practice

by Steven Hines, DC
April 28th, 2011

In 2002, the FDA approved the use of cold laser for treatment of acute and chronic applications for physiological (neuromusculoskeletal) disease processes. I have witnessed the progress of these clinical trials of treatment protocols and clinical outcomes since 2002 and beyond. It, therefore, became necessary for me to include this modality in my practice.

Since utilizing this modality in my practice we have seen the benefits for relieve of osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel disorder, frozen shoulder, and sprain/strain injuries.

Chiropractor Rogers AR Cold Laser Treatment image
Unlike high-power medical lasers, which are widely used to cut and burn tissue, Low Level Lasers (LLLs) or cold lasers penetrates the surface of the skin with little or no heating effect and no potential tissue damage. The energy is directed deep into treatment area stimulating the body's cells which convert the light energy into chemical energy to promote natural healing.

The chemical energy is called the photon. "Treatment with laser therapy is not based on heat development but on photochemical and photobiological effects in cells and tissues. [Lasers] cannot penetrate the tissue more than a fraction of a millimeter, so there is no other primary responding tissue other than the outer part of the dermis."

Still, such irradiation has "secondary systemic effects." Therefore, the light "leads in turn to a number of secondary effects (secondary responses), which have been studied and measured in various contexts: increased cell metabolism and collagen synthesis in fibroblasts, increased action potential of nerve cells, stimulation of the formation of DNA and RNA in the cell nucleus, local effects on the immune system, increased formation of capillaries by the release of growth factors, increased activity of leukocytes, transformation of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts, and a great number of other measured effects."

Therefore, "deep light penetration is not a necessity per se in biostimulation. The possible reason for this is that cells in the tissues subjected to the light produce substances that then spread and circulate in blood vessels and lymphatic systems."

Cold laser therapy or Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been proposed for a wide variety of uses including pain relief, wound healing, tuberculosis, and musculoskeletal conditions, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other neurological dysfunctions. There is sufficient anecdotal evidence in the peer-reviewed literature to conclude that LLLT is effective for these conditions, however, large, well-designed clinical trials are required to demonstrate the effectiveness of LLLT for the proposed conditions.

At this time, the use of LLLT for all conditions remains experimental, investigational, and unproven. Nevertheless, there are over 3000 peer-reviewed studies to suggest the benefits of cold laser therapy without adverse side-effects.

Call us today at (479) 636-3021 to schedule your visit and experience the relief you deserve.

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