We live in a world where technology reigns and provides us with so many opportunities. And until we started to collectively face difficult times around the globe, we didn’t think to use said technology in the creative ways we are now.

From reconnecting with friends and family near and far that you wouldn’t have thought to before. Meetings with your staff to touch base more regularly and see how they are doing when you likely wouldn’t have had time to ask otherwise. And, scheduling time to see your doctor from the comfort of your own home.

So, how do you get the most out of your Chiropractic visit when you aren’t able to get any soft tissue work done or get adjusted?

Here at Urban Wellness Clinic, we are revered as movement experts with a background in Chiropractic care. Our expertise spans that of most Chiropractors in the area in that we have spent years learning new tools that allow us to educate you on how to care for yourself during times of pain. And you’ll find that there is no limit to what we can do to help you!

A detailed history

Regardless of whether you are meeting your doctor in-office or remotely, you want to make sure that you are working with someone who is taking a thorough history. Put another way, you should be slightly annoyed at how detailed the questions are and how far they date back. Why? Because a great Chiropractor knows how movement patterns work.

And let me tell you a secret: they do not have to be rooted around your current pain.

Now, when you schedule an appointment remotely you have another added advantage. You can start to put together a list of injuries, surgeries, medications and current problems of pain. If you send this to us via a secured (HIPPA compliant) service prior to your appointment, then we also have the ability to study your case before we meet. This gives you, the patient, ample time to write everything down that may not have come to you while in the office being asked on the spot. It also gives us extra time to dissect and map out where the root of the problem is.

Movement assessments

How you sit, stand still and move tells us so much about the patterns that have taken over your body to avoid pain. That is why we have further training in various movement systems to get our sharp eye on the root cause of your pain. What are they?

Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)

SFMA is our way to test your ranges of motion while you remain still elsewhere in your body. What do I mean? We have you stand with your feet touching and your arms down to your side. We then ask you to run through a series of movements that isolate parts of your body. The system is broken down into the 3 major groups of your spine: cervical, thoracic and lumbar. The movements are then layered and help us see what ranges of motion are within your upper and lower extremities as well. What’s more, your verbal feedback is what we note even while you’re in the office. Where does it hurt? How would you describe the pain?

Anatomy in Motion (AiM)

This is a movement system that we absolutely love at UWC. It started when creator, Gary Ward, began sifting through the hundreds of ways that the body alters itself over time. Ahem, remember that detailed history? All in all, Gary’s ‘AIM’ was to create a body that is aligned so that proper healing can begin. And when I say aligned, I do not mean getting adjusted!

In regards to AiM, we take a look at how you’re walking and then assess the patterns from the ground up. Makes sense, right? If you aren’t grounded into your feet, then how can you expect to have stability in your upper body?

During your remote session, we can virtually follow you into a hallway and watch you walk, thus assessing how your body moves dynamically. The patterns we see here is where the bulk of our plan for your treatment comes together. This is the most exciting part of the consultation, in my opinion! And, you are able to feel the changes before and after your visit.

Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS)

Deep breath in, deep breath out. This is the essence of DNS, your breathing; however, we need to make sure you’re breathing into the right place. See, pain can develop into the body in areas that are stagnant and/or not being provided with the right amount of mobility or the right kind of mobility.

Without needing to put you into a specific movement, we can guide you through corrective exercises that help promote diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing helps you use your diaphragm and the corresponding core musculature to gain the most oxygen with each breath you take and, at the same time, help you let go of the upper back and neck muscles that tend to get overworked with stressful breathing patterns.

DNS is also fundamentally rooted in putting your body into positions that you were in as a child because that is when you were using your muscles the way they were intended to be used. By placing your adult body in those same movement patterns today, you send positive feedback to your brain and remind it how to get your body to move properly. Your core gets stronger, your stressed and overworked muscles learn to let go and you feel a sense of grounding in your body overall.

Home exercises and rehab

This aspect of your remote session is one we are far too familiar with because even if you were to join us in-office, you would be going home with homework to be completed 2x/day until your next follow up.

Once you have had an in-depth movement assessment done and we have provided you with a diagnosis and treatment plan, we will then provide you with a set of exercises to be done daily. These are movements that you can complete on your own and that are intended to, first and foremost, get you out of your current pain.

Another reason home exercise and rehab is important to be done daily is so that your follow-ups become progressions. I think we can all agree that going into the office and doing the same thing over and over again is frustrating, so why would that be any less frustrating during a remote session?

Remember, teamwork is vital whether you are workly remotely with us or not. The more you are able to chip away at your pain on a daily basis, the more tools we can teach you and the sooner you will be pain-free.

Personalized ergonomic assessment

Sometimes, world events take place and we need to stay inside and work from home; however, I know a lot of people in the corporate space who do that anyway.

I am a firm believer that even if you are working from home, that does not mean that you can’t have an incredible work station. In fact, you should consider this a form of self-care! How you sit throughout the day can affect how you move throughout your life. A lot of the neck and low back pain you are experiencing is likely coming from the act of sitting all day long.

We are here to help you change that. From tips to how to set yourself up in your chair so that you aren’t compressing nerves or unknowingly tightening large muscle groups to where your desk items should be placed around you. We also look at what areas of your setup could be causing more strain on your eyes and what you could remove or add to make the space more comfortable.

Typically, during an in-person appointment, we take a look at the pictures you provide us of your desk. With a remote session, you actually get a much more personalized assessment since we can get a real-time look at what you are working with and what items you have around your home to supplement a great desk setup.

A UWC patient case

A lot of people are working from home as world events force us to stay inside and learn to manage a new normal. If we look at this from a positive mindset, it is actually allowing us to learn to get creative and learn to heal on our own while also staying connected to our team of support, whether it be friends, family or our healthcare providers. It is such a blessing.

I recently had a patient who scheduled a remote visit. This was her initial consult so we had never met in person before and I did not have any prior information about her case. The evening before her scheduled time, she emailed me a breakdown of her symptoms and previous injuries.

When we met through the video conference call, I was able to reiterate her medical history and dive into the detailed questions much quicker. We discussed her current movement routine, what her ultimate health goals were as well as talk more in-depth about her prior injuries.

I was able to complete her SFMA screen and she was kind enough to create a space in her home that allowed for me to watch her gait (how she walks). I ran through the corrective exercises with her from my own home and was able to give her verbal cues to let her shoulders relax, soften her chin and neck, and have her bring awareness to various parts of her body, such as: “when you stand and think about the bottoms of your feet, where do you feel the pressure go?”.

Once the corrective exercises were run through and explained, I had her walk again so that I could see the changes in her gait. She reported feeling less pain, more stability and able to feel the ground more with her whole foot (an idea that seemed foreign at the beginning of the session due to previous ankle sprains).

Our correspondence continues and she was also given access to our Online Exercise Library so that she can go back and reference the exercises again as needed.

Ultimately, this is your time, just as it would be if you came into the clinic. Whether you are an established patient or looking to start your journey to better healing with a Chiropractic Physician, don’t let a prior experience limit you! The movement world is expansive and full of knowledge and we will always find a way to help you.

Have more questions about scheduling an online consultation? Reach out to us via email at hello@urbanwellnessclinic.com or call us as 212-355-0445. Start healing from the comfort of your own home today!

Yours In Health,

Dr. Monisha Mallik, D.C.