The 20 Most Popular Chiropractic Equipment and Tools

Chiropractic Office Equipment and Tools

There’s no question that the most important chiropractic tools or equipment are the trained practitioner’s own hands. While performing adjustments, however, or running a chiropractic office, there are certain other chiropractic tools that can aid in running a chiropractic office efficiently.

‍1. Chiropractic Tables

‍One of the most crucial tools in any office is chiropractic tables. The types of tables found in a practice may depend on a chiropractor’s personal preference or techniques used. Different tables serve different purposes, such as the traction table for decompression or the drop table to add extra force for the adjustment by way of gravity.

‍2. Computers or iPads

‍Computers are necessary to run an efficient and productive practice, especially for electronic health records (EHR). For convenience and mobility, it’s also beneficial to add iPads in your chiropractic practice – ideally at the front desk for check-in and for the provider to have patient records and documents at hand to while walking throughout the practice from room to room.

‍3. Activator

‍There’s the activator adjustment tool, which permits the doctor to realign vertebrae by sending a low amount of force into the back.

‍4. Heat/Ice Pack

‍Heat or ice packs are essential to every office and can be used daily on almost every patient in practice. It’s great for pain control and is a natural anti-inflammatory. Hot packs increase blood flow to injured tissue in the office.

‍5. Digital X-ray Machine

‍Digital X-ray machines are commonly used to diagnose and assess spinal alignment and identify pathology. Images can be stored and viewed within systems like ChiroTouch to show patient improvement over a course of treatment.

‍6. Television or Monitor

‍Having a TV or monitor in the waiting room is another great way to communicate with your patients while in the waiting room. Types of material to show in a loop on the screen could be educational content on the benefits of chiropractic, a message from the provider and staff, or advertisement on the services provided in the practice.

Other Chiropractic Equipment and Tools

There are various types of chiropractors depending on the type of practice they have. Below is a list of the most other popular equipment chiropractic offices may use in conjunction with adjustments.

‍7. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation

‍With Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) therapy, electrodes are placed within a belt-like item worn around the back. TENS units vary in size and strength and come as battery-operated units that patients can use at home or work. These devices allow the patient to control stimulation when experiencing pain episodes.

‍8. Interferential Current

‍Interferential current (IFC) is another type of TENS therapy. This mode uses high frequency electrical impulses to reduce pain deep within a patient’s tissue. For sensitive patients, IFC is a good substitute, since the high frequency meets less skin resistance than a TENs unit. The IFC unit is used more often for patients with acute pain, while the TENS unit may prove more effective for patients dealing with chronic pain.

‍9. Cold Laser

‍Unlike standard lasers, the cold laser produces light without heat. That makes it a worthwhile piece of equipment for treating injured areas and encouraging cell function and healing. For some injuries, heat can make the situation worse. That’s not true of cold lasers. Several sessions of cold laser therapy are generally needed to achieve substantial pain reduction. It is an alternative to taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief for patients who do not want to take even over-the-counter medications.

‍10. Therapeutic Ultrasound

‍While ultrasounds are best known as diagnostic tools, they also have a therapeutic component. An ultrasound can apply deep heat therapy to an affected area via sound waves, which can quickly “massage” the soft tissues and reduce pain and stiffness. Ultrasound therapy can aid patients suffering from lower back pain. By increasing blood flow and circulation, ultrasound therapy promotes healing. Inflammation and swelling are reduced and muscle spasms can subside.

‍11. Electromyography (EMG)

‍Surface EMG devices such as MyoVision measure the electrical impulses of muscle contraction. The entire process takes 90 seconds and allows the chiropractor to determine whether the spine and nervous system are functioning as well as possible.

‍12. Diagnostic Thermal Imaging

‍Diagnostic thermal imaging, featuring products made by Insight or Tytron, scans the nervous system, allowing the doctor to determine how the nervous system functions and responds. This type of imaging aids both a chiropractor’s diagnosis of a patient’s condition and with the prognosis.

‍13. Inclinometers

‍Inclinometers measure and evaluate the range of motion in joints. They are a useful tool for tracking a patient’s progress during treatment.

‍14. SOT Blocks

‍The sacro-occipital technique, or SOT blocks, help keep the pelvis and spine aligned without the use of force. SOT blocks may be placed under the patient’s rib cage, lumbar region, knees and clavicles.

‍15. Wobble Chairs

‍Wobble chairs, with their bike-like seats and a great degree of rotation, aid in regenerating degenerated spinal discs. The use of the wobble chair can help increase a patient’s range of motion. Wobble chairs are available for purchase by the patient for home or office use.

‍16. Traction Units

‍Traction units can help patients with either back or cervical pain. The traction unit, which is available for home use, is often used for patients diagnosed with herniated discs. The traction unit pulls the head away from the rest of the body, allowing the vertebrae to separate somewhat so the affected discs are no longer compressed and may allow them to return to their correct placement. The traction device can alleviate the pain resulting from the discs touching nerves in the back while putting the spine back in its proper position.

‍17. Exercise Therapy Equipment

‍Exercise therapy equipment, such as exercise balls, vibe plates, and TheraBand, can aid in rehabilitation and strengthening.

‍18. Electrodermal Screening Devices

‍Electrodermal screening devices allow chiropractors to receive important information directly from the patient’s body. This is true biocommunication.

‍19. Radiofrequency Rhizotomy

‍Radiofrequency rhizotomy is useful for patients diagnosed with facet joint syndrome. By applying heated radiofrequency waves to the nerves of the facet joints, the pain impulses are reduced.

‍20. Electronic Muscle Stimulation

‍Known as EMS, this tool provides relief by direct muscle stimulation, reducing swelling and inflammation. EMS differs from TENs therapy in that the latter’s impulses stimulate nerve endings to boost endorphins and sway pain signals, while EMS eases muscle tension. For patients with pain involving both nerves and muscles, the use of both TENs and EMS is beneficial.