20+ Years of
Chiropractic Care In
Bend Oregon
-Superior Injury Care
- Pain Relief
- Auto Accident Specialist
- Rehabilitation
THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR HEALTH
Our chiropractic physicians put your specific health care needs first. We are proud to provide a high-quality level of customer service, chiropractic experience, and commitment to health and wellness to all of our patients. Our goal at Bend Spinal Care is to improve your lifestyle by caring for your health.
EXPERIENCED KNOWLEDGE
With 20 years of experience, Dr. Welker is capable of analyzing your body and creating a custom pain relief and rehabilitation plan to benefit your health. We understand the importance of educating you on chiropractic care so that you can heal quickly.
OUR TEAM CARES!
Each part of our team at Bend Spinal Care works to care for you and your health care needs. Not only will our team treat your existing conditions, but we also strive to prevent pain and illness from reoccurring. We strive to help you improve your quality of life, achieve your wellness goals, and heal your body to live your best life possible.
Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Specialist
DR. WELKER AND DR. POPE
ARE CURRENTLY WORKING
TOWARDS THEIR FELLOWSHIP
Board-certified Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Specialists are doctors of chiropractic that have completed extensive post-doctoral education in non-surgical Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and have passed rigorous specialty Board examinations leading to Diplomate status as a Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine specialist. Less than 2% of chiropractic physicians attain this status.
To become Board certified, the Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine specialist is required to demonstrate advanced proficiency in the evaluation and non-operative management of a broad range of injuries, conditions, and disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system; with particular emphasis on the spine and extremities.
FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF NEUROMUSCULOSKELETAL MEDICINE
The designation of Fellow of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (IANM) recognizes Board-certified Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine specialists who are active members of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine. Fellows of the Academy have distinguished themselves among their colleagues through advanced training and high levels of clinical excellence. They are committed to the specialty of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and their communities through their dedication to ongoing research, continuing education, and improved clinical outcomes.
The title of Fellow was established in 1980 by the Academy of Chiropractic Orthopedists, the precursor to the IANM, as a means for recognition of those members who have demonstrated a dedication to the established goals and ideals of the Academy. Fellows are committed to the advancement of Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine as a non-operative alternative to surgical orthopedic healthcare relative to the treatment of disorders of the human spine and extremities.
Upon meeting the requirements of advanced post-graduate training and successful completion of Chiropractic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine specialty board examinations, Fellows of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine are entitled to all privileges and honor bestowed by the Fellow designation (FIANM).
PURPOSE OF CERTIFICATION
An ongoing lifelong commitment of a practitioner to integrate evidence-based, current clinical applications and apply the knowledge, skills, and judgment with the attitudes, values, and beliefs required to practice safely, effectively, and ethically in a designated role and setting. The IANM recognizes the importance of soft skills such as communication and ethical judgments to be part of the clinician's knowledge and skills. Continuing professional development helps to ensure that skills and knowledge are up to date in order to demonstrate their current competence in the field of neuromusculoskeletal medicine.
Specialty certification is a MANDATORY process for Academy membership. While chiropractic licensure sets the minimum competency requirements to diagnose and treat patients, it is not specialty-specific. Board certification demonstrates a doctor of chiropractic/chiropractic physician's exceptional efforts to improve skills in a specialty area of chiropractic practice. A valid chiropractic license is required for Board certification.
The intent of the chiropractic orthopedic neuromusculoskeletal specialty certification process is to provide assurance to the public that a board-certified chiropractic orthopedic specialist has successfully completed an accredited training program and an evaluation, including an examination process, both oral and written, designed to assess the knowledge, experience, and skills required to provide quality patient care in the chiropractic orthopedic neuromusculoskeletal specialty.
Standards of specialty-board certification are distinct from those of state licensure.
WHAT IS THE ACADEMY?
The Mission of the Academy is to provide, through a membership organization for Board-certified chiropractic neuromusculoskeletal medicine specialists, a venue for the exchange of clinical information, promote continuing education in neuromusculoskeletal medicine and publish a peer-reviewed and indexed journal "The Journal of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine " (JIANM). The Academy provides a specialty board certification process(es) and maintains specialty credentials through the maintenance of credentials and a competency program in chiropractic neuromusculoskeletal medicine.
Members of the Academy are designated as Fellows of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (FIANM). Academy membership is comprised of specialty board-certified neuromusculoskeletal medicine (Diplomates). These are doctors of chiropractic who have completed an extensive post-doctoral or graduate-level education in non-surgical orthopedics, biomechanical, and neuromusculoskeletal medicine and have passed a Board certification examination to become Board certified chiropractic orthopedists (DACO or DABCO). The Academy is independent of all chiropractic political and trade organizations. No other chiropractic organization membership is necessary for membership in the Academy (IANM).
Injury Rehabilitation System With Proven Results
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Our bodies have inherent mechanisms to allow us to know where we are in space. This includes vision, tactile sensation, and hearing (balance), what we refer to as proprioceptive sensation. Laser-guided visual feedback rehabilitation covers all grounds to create a learning experience that is all-encompassing of these mechanisms. Research has shown that our brain's representation of our body undergoes changes when we are injured. This has been labeled "cortical smudging" or "altered-body mapping" by educators on the topic. We can influence these changes through skilled movement and awareness, just as they are influenced negatively by maladaptive non-use in the injured state.
JOINT POSITIONAL AWARENESS
Joint Positional Awareness (JPE) is our ability to understand where our body is in space. Trevelean et al. have conducted numerous studies concluding that after whiplash, subjects have difficulty discerning their head position when tested with visual feedback from a laser pointer. Balke et al. has done the same for the shoulder.
STATIC BALANCE APPLICATION
The Motion Guidance concept is, by nature, a creative concept that can be applied to any body part to yield instant positional awareness. Functions may include "static functions," where the laser is kept centered while the body moves (such as keeping the laser centered while performing a task or exercise), or dynamic (such as attempting to track the laser in the desired range or direction).
STATIC CERVICAL (NECK) APPLICATION
There are numerous ways to influence proprioception, but it is pertinent to consider the most reasonable interventions (as well as how the client is interpreting the intervention). These may include manual therapy (tactile afferent input), taping, exercise, etc. The research seems to conclude that, despite what we think or intend to do to tissues, beneficial results exist due to a change in how patients (their brains) "view" the body part under the influence of novel stimuli.
DYNAMIC CERVICAL (NECK) APPLICATION
External Focus of attention and body awareness that requires skill and coordination in real-time. After an injury, our discrimination of the injured body part may be diminished or altered. (This phenomenon has also been noted in lower back pain patients, knee pain, whiplash as well as shoulder pain patients.) This includes 2-point discrimination (being able to accurately feel and discern pin-prick sensation), as well as "joint positional awareness."
DYNAMIC SHOULDER APPLICATION
We can influence maladaptive movements or low-performance levels (thus initiating cortical reorganization) by applying specific exercises that emphasize joint positional awareness and specific neuromuscular control, such as attempting to move a body part guided by visual feedback with a laser pointer, with the goal of precision and accuracy. It is as simple as practicing these tasks. The external visual cues just change the level of interaction, engagement, and type of information yielded during the task.