A Short Story

Before I start the laundry list of services that are performed at this office it is necessary to give a brief history of why I currently choose to perform some services and totally eliminate others that are commonplace in rehabilitative services. In other words, my professional evolution.

My original training in chiropractic included extensive/comprehensive specific chiropractic adjustment techniques, ancillary or supportive procedures accepted by today's standards. These were incorporated into my daily practice life immediately after graduation and was state of the art and accepted throughout the continental United States.

In 1992 I had a practice epiphany which involved a patient I will refer to as Mrs. Smith (respecting HIPPA guidelines). Mrs. Smith would report to the office on and off for a period of years whenever problems would arise. She was an elderly patient that responded well to what I had to offer when uncomplicated problems would occur.

In 1992 Mrs. Smith had developed an unrelenting pain between her spine and right shoulder blade that would not go away. The severe pain plagued her throughout the course of the day and interfered with her sleep at night. She had spinal x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans but nothing was identified as the culprit. I adjusted her, applied ultrasound, muscle stimulation, rubbed and stripped trigger points, applied hot packs, cold packs etc..I threw everything at the problem but the clinic sink. I failed miserably! She had injections, went through physical therapy and nothing was successful in alleviating the discomfort.

Shortly after that point in time I was reading through one of my chiropractic journals which featured a Doctor of Chiropractic who was currently working with a Chinese acupuncturist in his clinic. I had a certification in acupuncture through my chiropractic college but I was trained in needle acupuncture which was outside the scope of practice in Nebraska at that time.

His location was a considerable distance away from Grand Island but I decided to call and make an appointment for Mrs. Smith with her blessings to try a different approach to see if they could afford her some relief. Before Mrs. Smith left my office I instructed her to return several days after her treatment was performed just to check in and inform me on how things were responding. She reported back to the office, and to my amazement, she reported that 80% of the pain was gone and was to follow-up in three or four days for reevaluation and treatment.

After the second treatment the residual pain that was left over from the initial treatment had been obliterated. IT NEVER RETURNED AFTER THE SECOND TREATMENT !!! More importantly, needles were not utilized in the procedure Mrs. Smith received. To make a long story short, I had an extremely long conversation with the doctor over the phone and thankfully I had an extensive background in acupuncture so that I could understand and assimilate the concepts that he shared with me.

From that point forward the chronic and difficult conditions that I would fear walking in the front door of my office would now be successfully treated in the majority of the cases. I now utilize these concepts in both acute and chronic situations which involve automobile, sports and other injuries dramatically decreasing recovery time and cost of care which are of great benefit to the patient's I serve.

Several months ago Mrs. Smith left this world to be with her creator. I am proud to honor Mrs. Smith's legacy which continues to live through the treatment concepts that she ultimately led me to and made available to patients present and future through our office.

Our Services

Specific chiropractic adjustments
Can be used as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other techniques depending on the complexity and the requirements of the condition. The results of a professionally trained chiropractic adjustment will assist the body in restoring normal motion to the spine, relaxe tight muscles, remove nerve interference and inhibit joint pain. These problems can result from a multitude of day-to-day activities; lifting, twisting, sneezing, trauma, physical activity, physical inactivity and bad posture are just the few of the numerous causes. Professional training as a LICENSED DOCTOR OF CHIROPRACTIC is paramount in delivering the chiropractic service safely and effectively.

X-ray services of the spine and extremities
Important in diagnosis of spinal trauma, birth defects and other conditions prior to administering specific chiropractic adjustment of the spine or evaluating extremities after injury. To see is to know and not to see is to guess. Some conditions that enter this office may in fact not be a spinal subluxation which would not require the use of a radiological evaluation. This service is utilized only when necessary. If you have recent films from another office, please bring them with you so that we do not repeat the process.

Light force adjusting techniques
For those that cannot tolerate regular chiropractic adjustment maneuvers.

Decompression Techniques
For intra vertebral disc involvement of the lumbar spine. Creates negative pressure in the intra vertebral disc to help to reduce protrusions that may be encroaching on spinal nerves and other pain in the structures of the spine. Think of it this way. Two or more vertebra become compressed or in other words too close together. This causes the discs between the vertebra to bulge. When a disc bulges it can press against nerves in the spine causing pain or dysfunction. Decompression simply relieves the pressure on the disc allowing it to return to a more normal state.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been utilized for over 5000 years to treat many conditions that effect the human being. Acupuncture is a principal and not a technique. We utilize many different types of stimulation to a specific acupuncture point or in combination to obtain a result. Approximately 90% of acupuncture procedures performed at this office are a non-needle procedures. This allows the application of acupuncture to children and others where needle insertion is not desirable. Acupuncture is postulated to influence the bio-electrical activities of the human body. It is classified as an energetic procedure. We, as living human beings have energetic potentials in our body. Energetic activity of the body can be measured in EKGs, EEGs etc. Chiropractic recognizes this potential as inate intelligence, the Chinese recognize it as Chi the Japanese as Ki. By understanding the characteristics of this energetic force puts the practitioner at a definite advantage when treating injuries and other maladies of the human body. Acupuncture is not just a pain killing mechanism. Pain killing substances such as endorphins last hours at best. Acupuncture effects far outlast those chemicals by months, years or permanently not to mention soft tissue changes that take place when treating injuries..

The best way to explain acupuncture is to consider if a city has 12 operating radio stations. It is imperative that each specific station broadcast at its individual frequency. In other words, if one specific station operates at 94.5 a radio that is tuned in at 94.5 will receive the transmission without static. If that same radio would be set at 94.4 or 94.6 the radio broadcast experiences static. There is nothing wrong with the radio only the fine tuning. A simple adjustment to the radio will bring it into full normalcy.

Many believe that acupuncture has more of a psychological effect then a physical effect. Several aspects to consider in acupuncture results. Some veterinarians utilize acupuncture when treating animals. The animal is a totally unbiased subject and shows dramatic results after an acupuncture treatment was performed. The animal has absolutely no opinion on what treatment will and will not work. Yet after an application of acupuncture the animal will walk and run better. The same concept applies to young children, they do not have an opinion as to whether the treatment will be effective yet experience startling positive effects. I have personally treated patients that have been everywhere with problems and do not believe in acupuncture. They are usually brought in by a family member who experienced past care at this office . After administering acupuncture care they respond favorably as if they believed in the procedure.

Dr. Hanssen holds two certifications in acupuncture from Northwestern Health Science University and New York College of Chiropractic. Beyond that, he has earned a Fellowship and Diplomat status from the INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE.

EMI or Electro-meridian imaging
Is a specialized procedure in acupuncture to diagnose energetic imbalances which lay the foundation for proper application of certain acupuncture procedures. Specialize training is required to perform and evaluate findings in order to identify and treat acupuncture points in the proper sequence.

Ultrasound, Electrical Muscle Stimulation, massage, myofascial active release and stripping techniques
For all practical purposes, these services have been replaced in our office. We still occasionally use ultrasound for a deep thigh bruise. We have found in our office that Euro Asian orthopedic techniques have far outperformed these modalities in our office for acute / chronic pain, injuries which involve: tendons, ligaments and muscle. Technically it would be far less complicated to perform ultrasound, muscle stim and tens but the results of applying Euro Asian orthopedic concepts and techniques make the results well worth the extra technical effort.

Rehabilitative Exercises
Frequently utilized to help with rehabilitation of extremities and to build core body strength for stability of the spine and extremities . Many of the exercises are straightforward and can be performed by the patient at home. This empowers the patient to take responsibility for their care.

Nutrition
An extremely important and overlooked aspect in rehabilitation and augmentation of healing . To treat a nutritionally deficient body would be the equivalent of giving a brick layer the bricks without the mortar and instruct him to build and maintain a wall. In today's society,eating a well-balanced diet which includes fruits and vegetables do not guarantee essential nutrients needed in order to carry the process to the finish line our bodies. Our crops are now grown in micro nutrient deficient soils, picked before ripe and gas ripened, dyed, processed and stored for long periods of time which decreased nutrient content. Nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus create a beautiful green plant that produces an empty harvest in a micro nutrient deficient soil . If it is not in the soil, it is not incorporated into the produce.

As a practitioner I do not believe in mega-dosing with vitamins etc. We as individuals must take responsibility for the pre-mature degenerative processes that are taking place in our bodies. Vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, antioxidants and other nutritional items were never made to treat a disease that has already manifested. In my opinion, they are designed to maintain and repair our bodies throughout our lifetime preventing premature degenerative changes. Our bodies are in a constant state of continual change and repair. The time to take glucosamine is when your joints are healthy so they can be maintained before arthritic changes have started to manifest. Antioxidants and other nutrients are there to protect your body from free radical damage and the aging process and are much more effective in the early stages of life.

In short, DISEASE CARE is a reaction response (reactive) to treating a disease that has manifested. WELLNESS CARE is proactive. Exercising, taking the proper nutrients and periodic spinal checkups is wellness care that is very beneficial to the patient throughout life.

Thomas Edison, a visionary once wrote; "THE DOCTOR OF THE FUTURE WILL GIVE NO MEDICINE BUT WILL INTEREST HIS PATIENTS IN THE CARE OF THE HUMAN FRAME, IN DIET AND IN THE CAUSE AND PREVENTION OF DISEASE"

To sum it all up!

We have the knowledge and means to significantly increase the success rate of problems that have been resistant to other forms of care by increasing the bodies vitalistic capabilities in the healing process. We also have the ability to be proactive to maintain a dynamic ever-changing state of health. If we feel that we cannot help you, as the patient you will be the first in know. The great BENEFIT AND VALUE to the patient is a decrease in healing time, pain and expense when compared to other avenues of care.