What is a Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner?

The Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner (C.C.E.P.) is an expert in extremity adjusting. The CCEP Doctor has successfully completed the most comprehensive extremity adjusting postgraduate curriculum in existence. They have been trained to treat multifaceted extremity ailments both on and off the athletic field. Some CCEPs have been appointed as team doctors on professional football teams, Olympic teams, and NCAA Division I National Championship college teams.

CCEPs are equipped with effective, foundational, and authentic biomechanical applications. These useful skills can be applied to nearly every member of society plagued with pain and discomfort in their extremities.

What is Extremity Adjusting?

The Council on Extremity Adjusting recognizes that treatment of the whole body requires synchrony between the nervous system and the mechanical control system of the kinetic chain. Subluxations of any joint have both neurological and mechanical components.

Many patients suffer repetitive subluxations and nerve entrapments because the mechanical component is ignored, leaving root causes undiscovered and untreated. The goal of the Council is to provide doctors with the tools necessary to easily diagnose and treat these injuries, incorporating both neurological and mechanical treatments.

Mechanoreceptors are embedded in the tissues surrounding joints. When these tissues get stretched by a misalignment of the joint, this activates an inhibition or weakening of the adjacent muscle. Discovery of these weak muscles and correction of the misaligned joint to restore normal strength is specialty of the CCEP doctor.

Athletics and Extremity Adjusting

In the athletic environment the body is often exerted beyond the normal scope of sound biomechanical function. Great athletes push through pain to win or to better their time. It is in these intense moments when the body is very susceptible to injury. Joints in the body can be stressed or harmed, and then ignored due to the nature of the competition. This lack of acknowledgement impairs the proper function of the joint and thus degrades the athletic performance.

Extremity adjusting restores the proper position of strained joints and enhances the total athletic capabilities.

What Problems does a CCEP treat?

Rotator Cuff Tears, Sciatica, Pulled Muscles, Ankle Sprains, TMJ, Tennis Elbow, Plantar Fascitis, Carpal Tunnel, Knee Injuries, Hip Pain, Abnormal Gait, Rib Pain, Bicipital tendonitis, foot pronation, toeing out, and others.

An evaluation to check for lower extremity imbalance should be performed on every patient who presents with chronic musculoskeletal conditions of the spine or lower extremities. This can be done with a quick and easy screening procedure, such as a weight bearing examination. The following is a recommended series of observations to make while the patient is barefooted and standing:

• Foot flare – Toeing out while walking indicates hyperpronation. Weight falls on the medial longitudinal arch, leading to plastic deformation that weakens the foot’s supportive qualities.
• Knee rotation – Hyperpronation forces the patella to rotate medially, indicating excessive leg movement. The tibia and femur rotate medially, increasing the risk of abnormal hip rotation.
• Bowed Achilles tendon(s) – The Achilles tendon bows in on the side of hyperpronation. The calcaneus tilts inward, bringing the talus with it. The stress can extend to the tibia and along the entire kinetic chain.
• Low medial longitudinal arches – With the patient in a normal, relaxed stance, insert two fingers beneath each medial longitudinal arch. Tight plantar fasciae, with possible pain or pressure, indicate foot imbalance. As the patient shifts weight outward, note tissue relaxation and absence of pain.
• Shoe wear – With hyperpronation, excessive heel wear on the outer edges occurs. Check also for lateral distortion in the counter and/or shoe vamp.

Don’t let pain or an injury impede your athletic performance. Call us today to schedule an evaluation. (208) 324-3730