Our Services

Medication Management

Medication management refers to the monitoring of medications a patient takes to confirm that the patient is complying with a medication regimen, while also ensuring the patient is avoiding potentially dangerous drug interactions and other complications. This is especially important for patients taking large numbers of medications to address chronic illnesses and multiple diseases. Taking numerous medications is known as “polypharmacy” and it is particularly common among older adults, as they are more likely to need medications to manage an array of conditions.

There are a number of aspects to medication management, all of which are focused on making sure that medications are used appropriately. Keeping track of all of the medications a patient is currently taking is an important part of medication management. This can include creating printed lists describing medications, their dosages, and how they are being used. These lists can be kept in patient charts and provided to patients to help them track the drugs they use and understand why various medications are being prescribed.

Monitoring medication administration is also key. Medications usually need to be taken in specific doses at set intervals. Missing doses or timing doses incorrectly can cause complications. Medication management can include everything from using devices that issue reminders to patients to take their medications to filling pill cases for patients and marking the lid of each compartment to indicate when the contents need to be taken.

Another part of medication management involves checking for harmful drug interactions and confirming that patients follow directions for taking drugs. This includes ensuring that patients on medications with known harmful interactions are not provided with prescriptions for conflicting medications. It also includes reminding patients about whether or not drugs need to be taken with food, and warning patients about potential side effects of medications such as fatigue, hunger, or altered level of consciousness that might disrupt their activities.

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TRIGGER POINT INJECTIONS

Trigger point injections. Sometimes, putting pressure on a certain spot in the back (called a trigger point) can cause pain at that spot or extending to another area of the body, such as the hip or leg. To try to relieve pain, a local anesthetic, either alone or combined with a corticosteroid, is injected into the area of the back that triggers pain (trigger point injection).

Trigger point injection (TPI) is used to treat extremely painful areas of muscle. Normal muscle contracts and relaxes when it is active. A trigger point is a knotted or tight, ropy band of muscle that forms when muscles fail to relax. The knot often can be felt under the skin and may twitch involuntarily when touched (called a jump sign). The trigger point can trap or irritate surrounding nerves and cause referred pain — pain felt in another part of the body. Local anesthesia is believed to break the cycle of pain that can cause you to become less physically active. Muscles that are not being exercised are more easily injured, so the irritated and injured muscles can cause more pain and spasm and can disrupt sleep. This pain, spasm, and fatigue, in turn, can lead to less and less activity. Scar tissue, loss of range of motion, and weakness of muscles may develop over time.

Trigger-point injections have been shown to be one of the most effective treatment modalities to inactivate trigger points and provide prompt relief of symptoms. TPI is used to alleviate myofascial pain syndrome (chronic pain involving tissue that surrounds muscle) that does not respond to other treatment. Many muscle groups, especially those in the arms, legs, lower back, and neck, are treated by this method. TPI also can be used to treat Fibromyalgia and tension headaches.

Injections may be tried if you have symptoms of nerve root compression or facet inflammation and you do not respond to nonsurgical therapy after 6 weeks.

All patients must inform our physician if they are pregnant or taking blood thinning medication.

MASSAGE THERAPY

Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being.

Massage involves acting on and manipulating the body with pressure – structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving – tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids. Target tissues may include muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, joints, or other connective tissue, as well as lymphatic vessels, or organs of the gastrointestinal system. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, and feet. There are over eighty different recognized massage modalities.[7] The most cited reasons for introducing massage as therapy have been client demand and perceived clinical effectiveness.

Neuromuscular therapy (NMT) is a form of massage that Atlanta Health and Wellness offers and strongly promotes.

It is distinguished from other types of massage in that a quasi-static pressure is applied to the skin with the aim of stimulating specific areas of skeletal muscle. Often these areas of muscle are myofascial trigger points.

In the hands of a qualified therapist, NMT may eliminate the cause of acute or chronic myofascial, muscular or osseous (bone) pain and discomfort. Through the application of neuromuscular techniques, which include soft tissue manipulations, intra-oral tissue release, myofascial release, positional release, muscle energy techniques, cranial manipulation and trigger point therapy, homoeostasis is restored between the nervous system, osseous system and soft tissue systems. NTC also embraces modalities utilizing dry needling and frequency specific micro current approaches but this is not part of NMT American Version.

Neuromuscular therapy enhances the function of joints, muscles, and the general arthrokinematics of the body. NMT can improve healing by facilitating the return of appropriate core (lumbo-pelvic-hip) muscle function throughout the entire kinetic chain. A special focus is given to the treatment of trigger points, local ischemia, neural interferences, postural and biomechanical dysfunctions, nutritional factors and emotional wellbeing.

A primary focus of NMT is to understand the formation, etiology and treatment of myofascial trigger points (TrPs). In NMT a special effort is made to locate the source of referred pain including any perpetuating influences and eliminating them while paying attention to correct negative postural patterns.

We will be offering chiropractic and physical therapy as well to aid in our patient’s complete pain-care plan