Chiropractic/Spine Specialist
It’s not easy to live with chronic joint and muscle pain. The chiropractic services at the Superior Performance Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, may help you overcome pain and manage other associated symptoms. Dr. Serge PierreCharles’s team includes a chiropractor and physical therapist that not only help you recover from your current injury but also ensure that similar injuries are avoided in the future.
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Frequently asked questions.
The Superior Performance Center team has expert chiropractors that treat painful conditions like whiplash, back problems, musculoskeletal injuries, and headaches.
Whiplash
Whiplash is a neck injury that occurs due to a rapid motion of the head back and forth. It typically occurs after a rear-end collision but can also happen in contact sports, physical assault, or a traumatic fall.
The symptoms of whiplash are quick to appear and develop within 24 hours of the trauma. The symptoms include:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Limitation of neck movements
- Headache and dizziness
- Numbness in your arms
The Superior Performance Center team can promptly diagnose whiplash by conducting a clinical evaluation and in-house X-rays. After diagnosis, they get you started on an individualized treatment plan so that you can make a successful recovery.
Back Problems
Patients frequently seek treatment from the chiropractor for back problems. The causes of back problems vary and consist of bad posture, localized pain, chronic musculoskeletal issues, or fibromyalgia.
Your chiropractor at Superior Performance Center typically begins by going over your medical history and then forming a treatment plan that suits your needs. Developing a treatment plan specific to you increases your chances of a fast recovery.
Headache
Many people frequently visit the chiropractor to get relief from headaches. Tight neck and back muscles and poor posture typically cause headaches. Skilled chiropractors can apply pressure at the right points to reduce pain from headaches.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries
Your chiropractor adjusts your overall alignment to treat numerous MSK injuries like dislocation or osteoarthritis. Sometimes the treatment is effective alone, or it can complement orthopedic treatment, surgery, or other therapies.
This is one of the most common chiropractic treatments. Spinal manipulation involves applying controlled pressure with both hands over the spine until a popping sound is heard. The treatment restores mobility, improves posture, and relieves pain.
Chiropractic therapies have little risk associated with them. Sometimes patients may experience mild soreness after chiropractic therapies, but it’s minimal and fades.
For more information, call to schedule an appointment today.
Nonsurgical Treatment
Nonsurgical treatments for the spine include a wide variety of options for patients to choose from. Superior Performance Center has chiropractors that can evaluate and perform adjustments across the body to assist in pain relief. In addition to adjustments, chiropractors often recommend more forms of treatment to prevent the body from reverting to old habits. These additional treatment options could include soft tissue releases therapy options such as Graston Technique, cupping, or dry needling. Other options include working with one of our experienced athletic trainers or physical therapists to form a rehabilitation plan. This usually includes corrective exercise therapy to prevent the pain from returning by correcting dysfunctional body movement patterns. Lastly, SPC offers many wellness options, such as massage and acupuncture, to help patients relax during periods of pain and stress. There will always be an option that will work best for our patients at Superior Performance Center.
Soft Tissue Therapies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines concussion as “a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to rush back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells.”
Common symptoms of concussion include:
- Headache, blurred vision, dizziness, sensitivity to light or noise
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, thinking
- More emotional, irritable, sad, anxious
- Sleeping more, sleeping less, trouble falling asleep
Superior Performance Center will have a certified acupuncturist. Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a key component of traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the body. It alleviates pain and treats various physical, mental, and emotional conditions.
Superior Performance Center will have a certified massage therapist. Soft tissue massage targets muscles, tendons, ligaments, or other connective tissue such as fascia. Massage is one of the best-known examples of soft tissue mobilization techniques.
Dry needling, or myofascial trigger point dry needling, is an alternative medicine technique similar to acupuncture. The technique uses a “dry” needle, one without medication or injection, inserted through the skin into muscle areas. Trigger point dry needling is an effective therapy for treating muscular tension and spasm.
PRT therapy focuses on releasing spasms and trigger points by placing the body in certain positions with applied pressure. The comfortable body and tissue positioning can manipulate the neurological system to interrupt the pain-spasm cycle. This will reset the tissues to their normal resting length. A common metaphor used to understand this is to think about unkinking a knot from a chain necklace. Instead of trying to pull or stretch the knot out, the tissues are pushed together, twisted, and compressed to take the tension off and unkink the knot.
SMR is a patient-centered therapy that empowers patients to perform release techniques on themselves that they can use at home or in the office whenever they are experiencing pain, tightness, or spasms. SMR puts the patient in control of the amount of pressure applied to their muscles and fascia and requires the patient to become more in touch with the feelings of release that can come from the body with this type of therapy.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is also known as water therapy. Superior Performance Center utilizes hydrotherapy for the treatment of pain conditions such as arthritis, as well as for rehabilitation and recovery exercises for injuries. Hydrotherapy can also help maintain strength and muscle bulk. Hydrotherapy also includes other various treatments such as soaking in a hot tub or spa, steam baths, foot baths, and hot/cold showers. Water therapy is also proven to help in a wide range of conditions such as high blood pressure, anxiety, aching joints, and sore muscles. For an alternative method of therapy that can treat a variety of conditions, visit Superior Performance Center and our clinicians can use hydrotherapy to help treat your pain or injury.
The Superior Performance Center’s HydroWorx pool has the tools required for aquatic treatment. Getting people into the water and removing them from gravity is the primary goal of aquatic treatment. Aquatic therapy can be used to recover from foot, ankle, knee, hip, back, and even shoulder injuries. The water allows athletes to move without pain. Clinicians use aquatic therapy to prevent athletes from losing muscle and maintaining strength and endurance during recovery from injury. Athletes who are using aquatic therapy for recovery can walk at .5 mph. Athletes training for a marathon can run at ten mph without the stress on their joints. Aquatic therapy has also been proven beneficial for lowering high blood pressure and anxiety.
Game Ready is another innovative recovery tool used by athletes at Superior Performance Center. Game Ready uses compression technologies combined with cooling to assist in the recovery process for athletes. This Game Ready equipment can be used during training to recover after high-intensity workouts, or it can be used as a modality in injury or post-surgical recovery. Fulfill your training and rehabilitation needs at Superior Performance Center using the Game Ready recovery technologies.
Superior Performance Center provides a spa-like experience with access to the Steamist shower. This shower is perfect for relaxation and therapeutic therapy for the skin, mind, and body. Enjoy a steam-filled shower that has four full-body features included.
Aromasense: Add aromatherapy to your shower, and experience the therapeutic powers on body, spirit, and soothing respiration to spark creativity.
Chromasense: Add one of the six lighting effects to your steam shower and bring positive physical and psychological changes.
Audiosense: Enjoy your favorite music or play a relaxing station from your favorite music streaming service. Involve your sense of hearing during this feature-filled shower experience.
Showersense: This feature gives you total touchscreen control of the amount of steam, water temperature, and water pressure to optimize total comfort.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a treatment method that focuses on the science of movement. Superior Performance Center’s clinicians utilize physiotherapy treatment methods to help restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness, or disability. Physiotherapy can maximize patients’ physical strength, function, motion, and overall well-being by addressing the underlying physical issues. Physiotherapy utilizes massage, heat treatment, and exercise rather than drugs and surgeries to help manage injury and pain. Superior Performance Center’s facilities and equipment are a great asset to our patient’s ability to regain full functional movements to prevent and heal from injuries and pain.
Physiotherapy vs. Physical Therapy
Physiotherapy and physical therapy are sometimes used synonymously. However, some believe they differ because physiotherapy involves more hands-on manual therapy, and physical therapy incorporates more exercise-based approaches. Clinicians who practice physical therapy or physiotherapy will typically use both manual therapy and exercises to develop a balanced and individualized rehabilitation program for their patients.
NormaTec is a leader in rapid recovery and is available for athletes at Superior Performance Center. NormaTec PULSE Recovery Systems are dynamic compression devices designed for recovery and rehab. There are multiple attachments for the legs, arms, and hips. NormaTec uses compressed air to massage limbs, mobilize fluid, and speed recovery. At Superior Performance Center, our athletes can recover faster between training and after performance using the NormaTec PULSE Recovery Systems.
Superior Performance Center has AlterG® Anti-Gravity Treadmills™. This is the ultimate injury recovery tool. Adjust body weight from 100% to 20% in increments as little as 1%. This allows athletes to increase their workload with a lower risk of injury. The integrated technology provides feedback to the athlete about weight-bearing symmetry, step length symmetry, and stance time symmetry. Anterior view live video monitoring system allows athletes to see their gait and make improvements in real-time. This equipment provides the sports performance specialists at Superior Performance Center with updated technology to provide the highest training capabilities.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is the use of cold for therapy and recovery. Cold therapy can be used for one localized body part, or it can be the whole body. Different types of cryotherapy include ice packs, coolant sprays, ice massages, and ice baths. Cryotherapy is prescribed for many different things. It can assist in pain therapy and numbs nerve sensitivity, and it can reduce arthritic pains and assist in regulating mood. Cryotherapy can also be used to recover after high-intensity workouts and help recover from soreness. For any cold therapy needs, visit Superior Performance Center.
Game Ready is another innovative recovery tool used by athletes at Superior Performance Center. Game Ready uses compression technologies combined with cooling to assist in the recovery process for athletes. This Game Ready equipment can be used during training to recover after high-intensity workouts, or it can be used as a modality in injury or post-surgical recovery. Fulfill your training and rehabilitation needs at Superior Performance Center using the Game Ready recovery technologies.
An ice bath is exactly what it sounds like—a bath with ice. Superior Performance Center has ice bathtubs for recovery after workouts. Ice bath provides complete submersion of muscle tissues into the cold versus ice packs that are very localized in treatment. Ice baths can also constrict blood vessels after acute injury to decrease swelling. For a positive ice bath experience, please visit Superior Performance Center.
An ice cup massage provides the tissues with the numbing properties of the ice to reduce pain and inflammation, and a gentle massage provides the mobilization of the soft tissue like a regular massage. This beneficial therapy combination assists in conditions such as plantar fasciitis and patellar tendonitis.
Interventional Treatment
Interventional treatment is another option that Superior Performance Center offers to manage chronic pain. Interventional treatment uses techniques such as injections, nerve blocks, and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to address the direct source of your pain. Interventional treatment can assist in relieving conditions such as chronic headaches, low back pain, muscle pain, bone pain, and neck pain. Dr. Pierre Charles will use fluoroscopy to assist with all injection-based treatments. Fluoroscopy is real-time X-ray imaging used to see the injections and guide them to their exact location. Visit Superior Performance Center for your pain management needs and be confident in Dr. PierreCharles’ treatments.
