What is chiropractic
Putting motion back into a joint that lost it
Chiropractic care is all about putting motion into your joints when they are not moving as well as they should. That is the practice's own answer to the question new patients ask most, and it is worth slowing down on before your first visit at 101 Decker Dr.
Fast, but delicate
These adjustments are super fast but also very delicate, and can even be performed on a newborn baby.
What a joint that lost its motion actually feels like
Most patients do not walk in describing a joint. They describe a Tuesday: the low back that only complains after a shift on your feet, the neck that will not turn all the way to check a blind spot, the shoulder that used to reach the top shelf without a second thought. That is usually a joint that has lost some of the motion it is supposed to have, and it does not always come with sharp pain. Sometimes it is just stiffness that never fully clears, or a spot that clicks every time you stand up. The joint is still there and still working, it has just stopped moving through its full range, and the muscles around it start compensating in ways that create new soreness somewhere else.
What an adjustment is actually doing
An adjustment is the practice putting motion back into that joint. It is not a guess and it is not forceful the way it sounds from the outside. A manual adjustment delivers a small, precise force directed at the exact angle of the joint, aimed at the specific restriction rather than the whole area around it. The doctors at Mahle Chiropractic use named techniques for this rather than one generic motion: Gonstead, Diversified, Thompson Drop, Flexion Distraction, Palmer Technique, Sacro Occipital Technique, and Pelvic Blocking, chosen for the joint in front of them that day. Read more about how each one is picked on the adjusting technique page.
Fast and delicate are not opposites
This is the part that surprises most first-time patients. The adjustment itself takes a second, sometimes less. What takes longer is everything around it: the doctor finding exactly which joint has lost motion and exactly which direction it needs to move in. Once that is clear, the correction is quick because it has to be delicate, not the other way around. The same care that makes it fast enough for an adult who has been carrying tension in their low back for months is what makes it gentle enough to be used on a newborn baby, through the practice's Cranial Technique for infants and children. Dr. Argiro's own scope of care spans pediatrics, pregnancy, athletes, and geriatric patients, which is another way of saying the same principle, motion restored carefully, holds true whether the patient is a week old or has been coming to Decker Dr for twenty years.
From a newborn
Cranial Technique is used for infants and children, delivered with the same precision, at a fraction of the force.
To geriatric care
Dr. Argiro's practice includes geriatric patients alongside pediatrics, pregnancy and athletes, all under the same office.
Same day appointments
If today is when it started bothering you, call (724) 656-9050 and ask for today.
Two routes, one goal
By hand, or by instrument
Once the doctors know which joint needs motion restored, there are two honest ways to get there, and which one you get depends on the joint, your comfort and your age, not on which is cheaper to run.
Manual
A small force, by hand
Gonstead, Diversified, Thompson Drop, Flexion Distraction, Palmer, Sacro Occipital, Pelvic Blocking, and Cranial Technique for infants and children. Read the full list on the manual adjusting page.
Instrument
Speed instead of force
Sigma Instruments reads the resistance in the joint, then delivers a gentle, precise tap instead of a manual push. More on computerized adjusting.
Ready to find out which one your joint needs
Call the office and tell us what has stopped moving. Same day appointments are available, and Spanish speaking representatives are on hand at the desk.