Physical Medicine

"I was having some knee pain while training for a 10K. Dr. Leopold has a great understanding of kinetic chains, functional movement, and how pain in one part of the body might be coming from somewhere else. After watching me walk, he spent most of the session working on my foot and ankle, which had had a bad sprain a few years ago. My knee felt better than ever the next day! I highly recommend Dr. Leopold to help you not just address the site of pain, but really get to the root of the problem."

- J.H. - Dancer, Pilates Instructor

 

Performance, Rehab and Injury Prevention.

While getting the patient out of pain as quickly as possible is a top priority, finding the root cause of pain is the ultimate goal. Dr. Leopold combines the best in holistic movement analysis, manual and physiotherapy modalities and corrective exercise. This approach empowers the patient by giving the tools and confidence to take control of their own recovery and beyond, to create lasting change; not just provide temporary relief.

 
Active Release Technique for muscle pain and injury in oakland

ART: The Gold standard in soft tissue treatment

Active Release Technique

The gold standard of soft tissue management. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.

The goal of ART is to identify and break up adhesions, the microscopic scar tissue that builds up with injury, inflammation and over use. Adhesions can shorten muscles causing pain and weakness, limit extensibility and cause compensations. Adhesions glue togther tissue layers, strangle nerves and arteries, cause fascial restrictions and mechanical dysfunction.

 

Comprehensive Chiropractic

The chiropractor is trained to assess and correct joint malposition and dysfunction within the muskuloskeletal system. Chiropractic adjustments are used to restore proper function and range of motion, decrease pain and most importantly, increase the brain's subconscious awareness and control over the body. Dr. Leopold is trained in a variety of adjusting techniques: from the traditional "high-velocity, low-amplitude" , to subtle and gentle mobilizations, from full spine adjusting to extremities and cranial-sacral work.

The Doctor of Chiropractic curriculum is a rigorous 4400 hour program which covers much of the same material as medical school. Rather than using drugs or surgery to treat disease, however, the chiropractor works to restore proper alignment within the structure of the patient thereby facilitating optimal function of the physiology.

 

Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization

Also known as “Graston technique” or Gua Sha, IASTM is a manual therapy approach to musculoskeletal injuries using specifically designed tools to create a controlled inflammatory process, which will allow the tissue to begin the healing process, breaking down scar tissue and adhesions in the troubled area to accelerate the recovery process.

 

Functional Movement Assessment

Assessing and correcting global movement patterns is the fastest way to create lasting change. Degeneration and pain which “creep up, out of nowhere” can be years in the making. Everyone is strong in certain patterns which they favor. If these movement patterns are dysfunctional, it will overload certain tissues leading to inflammation, pain and wear and tear. Analysis of gait and full body movement patterns shows where the patient is immobile, weak and injury prone and quickly identifies which movement patterns need work.

 

Corrective Exercise

Move better to feel better. Dr. Leopold’s intention is to get the patient out of pain and give them the tools to stay out of pain on their own. This requires proper mobility, stability, flexibility, strength, posture and gait. These corrections are made in a way that is safe, systematic and progressive and meets the patient right where they are.

 

Nasal Ballooning

Cranial Facial Release or Nasal Specific Technique is performed by inserting tiny balloons through the nose into the naso pharynx, then quickly inflating them to mobilize the cranial bones. This technique may improve breathing mechanics, respiration of the cranial sacral fluid, fixation of skull sutures and more. It can improve chronic sleep apnea, seasonal allergies and issues associated with the temporal mandibular joint (TMJ).