We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Pauline Haugen of Higher Health Chiropractic. In this podcast we discuss many topics including the evaluation process, treatments, what a manipulation or adjustment is, shoulder you manipulate your own back or spine, and we also talk business. We also address the future of chiropractic and where the industry is going.
Introducing Dr. Haugen
Dr. Pauline Haugen opened Higher Health Spine and Sport in Bellevue, WA, in 2009, after seven years of practice in Colorado. Dr. Haugen was a competitive figure skater until the age of 18 and then discovered she had a talent for running.
She was first exposed to the benefits of chiropractic care as a young athlete. She ran for the Canadian National Team and then earned a full scholarship to The University of Michigan where she became an NCAA Division 1 athlete in track and cross-country. As a nationally competitive runner, Dr. Pauline Haugen suffered a number of sports injuries. After years of frustration, it was chiropractic care that got her running again and stopped the repetitive injury cycle.
The concept of diagnosing the underlying cause of the injury versus simply treating the symptoms inspired Dr. Haugen to become a chiropractor in Bellevue. Dr. Pauline Haugen is also a BASI certified Pilates instructor. She specializes in injury and sports rehabilitation Pilates. She also specializes in Functional Nutrition, weight loss as well as properly fueling your body for an active lifestyle or athletic performance.
The Evaluation Process for CHiropractic
Dr. Haugen starts her evaluations by really drilling down to figure out if she can help you. She believes that many people will benefit from chiropractic. She likes to get x-rays of the spine prior to treatment to make sure that she understands the underlying problem and can address it effectively.
In general, if you don't know what a chiropractic exam entails, the chiropractic evaluation is a comprehensive assessment performed by a chiropractor to determine the causes of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. This can include physical examinations such as range-of-motion testing, neurological assessments, and postural analysis. After the chiropractor has performed their assessments and evaluations, they will discuss their findings with you and recommend a treatment plan that may include chiropractic manipulations (adjustments), therapeutic exercises, massage therapy, nutrition counseling or other therapies. It is important to remember that chiropractors look at the body as an interconnected whole that requires coordination of multiple systems for optimal health. Therefore, chiropractic evaluations can be highly beneficial in helping to identify any underlying issues or imbalances before they become more serious health issues.
What is a chiropractic manipulation
A chiropractic adjustment, also known as chiropractic manipulation, is one of the core techniques used in chiropractic to treat and prevent spinal misalignment and other joint dysfunctions. During a chiropractor's adjustment, they will use their hands (and sometimes even specialized instruments) to apply controlled pressure directly to specific areas in order to restore proper positioning and alignment of the joints, reduce stiffness and pain, restore range of motion, improve organ functioning, and increase general wellbeing. Adjustments are safe, effective and can make a huge difference in one's quality of life.
Why You SHouldn't Manipulate your own spine
Despite the evident risks of manipulating your own spine, there are several reasons why you shouldn't self manipulate or "pop" your own neck or back. One reason is that when you self manipulate, you tend to move the same segment, which can cause hyper-mobility of the spine at that area and hypomobility above and below. The trauma t
o these areas is also thought to lead to early onset of osteoarthritis of the facet joints.
The Future of Chiropractic
Dr. Haugen sees chiropractic as a primary source of healthcare that will be integrated into the primary path of injury treatment. She sees a bright future for chiropractic and the partnership with physical therapy to help treat people early on in the process of injury for musculoskeletal conditions.
If you would like to work with Dr. Pauline Haugen click here!