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Chiropractic Manipulation While Under Anesthesia
Many people find relief from pain through chiropractic, for those that cannot under normal circumstances find this relief that others are fortunate to experience they may consider manipulation under anesthesia. Manipulation under anesthesia is utilized when patients do not respond to normal treatment, or cannot tolerate that may be pain associated with the treatment due to their condition.
The procedure that is specific for breaking up scar tissue along with adhesions in the neck, back, shoulder, a combination of short lever manipulations, along with some passive range of motion are utilized in the manipulation under anesthesia treatment.
Differing levels of anesthesia
Three different anesthesia methods are used for the procedure, the 1st, is the least risky and invasive and involves injecting anesthesia into the area around the tissue that is going to be manipulated. During this type of procedure the patient remains alert and awake, but the area being manipulated is not in severe pain because of the numbing medicine. This is referred to as local anesthesia because the medicine stays in the region just around the manipulation.
The 2nd type of anesthesia utilized during an MUA procedure is mild sedation. The patient remains awake but heavily sedated, that way the patient can feel relaxed and not feel significant pain during the manipulation. This method of anesthesia may be used along with local anesthesia. It is slightly more invasive than simply using local and with this patients are not allowed to drive themselves home afterwards and would need someone to come with them.
The next method of treatment involves general anesthesia where the patient is put completely “under” or unconscious. This method is used for the more advanced levels of treatment where the patient would not be able to tolerate the pain associated with the treatment due to their advanced condition. Only licensed specialists perform this treatment in a hospital or surgery center. This type of treatment requires special practice, training, and certification.
Choreographed Teamwork
Rather than just the one person performing the treatment as you may be accustomed to with normal chiropractic adjustment, manipulation under anesthesia requires a team of three. There is an anesthesiologist, a main or “prime” physician/surgeon/chiropractor specially trained in this procedure and finally, an assistant physician/chiropractor that is also trained in this specialty procedure. This method of treatment has been practiced for about sixty years and is a recognized treatment by the American Medical Association.
Candidates for this type of treatment would be those that do not respond to traditional chiropractic treatment due to scarring in the tissue and/or adhesions surrounding the spine due to injury.
This therapy can be utilized in conjunction with surgery or physical therapy. Typically this would be tried prior to surgery and candidates for the manipulation would typically undergo 6 to 8 weeks of conservative treatment. As with other therapies, success will vary from person to person but many have found relief through manipulation under anesthesia.
Want to find out more about Chandler chiropractors, then visit Preferred Pain Center’s site on how to choose the best chiropractors chandler for your needs.
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Filed under back pain by on Dec 27th, 2011. 
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