Chiropractic Care

For the right patient, chiropractic care, when approached as evidence-based manipulative medicine, has been proven to help people with headaches, neck, low back, and mid back pain. These are our primary areas of focus at Tampa Bay Spine & Sport. 

Our specialists work as a team to diagnose and treat pain points thoroughly, utilizing chiropractic care, physical therapy, sports medicine, interventional pain management, neurosurgery, and PTSD counseling to address every aspect of a patient’s health and well-being.  

Dr. Scott Elliott is a chiropractor and registered nurse, who has long worked with integrated physical medicine teams that have a multi-disciplinary approach to pain management and corrective musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Doctor of Chiropractic Mark Elliott is the primary treating physician and back pain doctor at the practice’s Brandon location. Dr. Coulter is certified in Graston Technique, FAKTR (Functional and Kinetic Treatment with Rehab), FTMI (Functional Taping for Musculoskeletal Injuries) and FST (Functional Soft Tissue). He is also able to perform Dry Needling, and Acupuncture for patients. Our chiropractic team focuses on a functional approach to pain management and postural rehabilitation.

Because every patient is different, the Tampa Bay Spine & Sport team develops a customized treatment plan for each person after a thorough evaluation. Patients with conditions that respond well to chiropractic treatment generally have speedy recoveries. For that reason, we don’t offer standardized long-term plans. 

To schedule a consultation, please fill out our Appointment Request Form or call one of our Florida locations: 

Brandon: (813) 381-3852
St. Petersburg: (727) 898-3852

Why Choose Chiropractic Adjustments?

Chiropractic care can be a drug-free, surgery-free way to relieve and heal many aches, pains, and chronic conditions: 

• Injuries
• Poor posture
• Osteoarthritis  
• Damage of an intervertebral disc joint along the spine that is causing swelling
• Disc bulges or herniations that are irritating nerve roots 
• Facet syndrome that is causing back and neck pain along the joints connecting the vertebrae
• Sacroiliac joint pain in the buttocks and lower back 
• Trigger points or constricted back muscles that pull the vertebrae out of line

Complete Chiropractic Treatment

Treating mechanical low back pain, neck pain and headaches involves a combination of rehabilitative therapies that work with joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons to get people moving again: 

• Chiropractic Adjustment (or manipulation) – A trained chiropractor uses their hands or a small instrument to apply a sudden, controlled force to a spinal joint, which improves spinal motion and can restore overall body function. 
• Stretching and Strengthening – Stretching and strengthening exercises, done with athletic trainers before or after an adjustment, help improve range of motion, release pent-up muscle tension, and limber up tissues to ease muscle spasms and reduce the risk of injury. 
• Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) – EMS uses electrodes to deliver mild electrical pulses to a targeted muscle group. This stimulates muscle contraction to treat pain, prevent atrophy and build strength after an injury, surgery, or spasm. 

New Chiropractic Technologies at Tampa Bay Spine & Sport

In addition to the chiropractic therapies above, we have also added new treatment options for our patients, including:

Active Release Technique (ART)

ART is different from other chiropractic treatments because it treats the root cause of pain and not just the location of pain. It works by releasing muscles and fascia that do not function correctly due to injury. Our providers are highly trained in soft tissue techniques and can identify and diagnose injuries or conditions through touch. Following diagnosis, he uses manual therapy to apply pressure to repair the damaged tissue.

ART effectively treats muscle and nerve dysfunction and is used to for many soft tissue conditions such as: 

• back pain
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• joint pain
• numbing sprains 
• strains
• repetitive stress injury
• overuse injuries
• plantar fasciitis
• migraines
• shoulder pain
• cervicogenic headaches
• sciatica 
• lockjaw

ART is a drug-free, surgical-free treatment that is not painful and often requires fewer visits than a typical Chiropractor or Physical Therapist. Patients will typically need 5 ART treatments but it depends on the patient’s response/progress. ART results in better and quicker outcomes to restore motion and relieve your pain.  

Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave therapy is non-invasive, quick and provides lasting pain relief for our patients. Shockwave therapy may be used when other treatments have not been effective, but the patient does not want invasive treatments like surgery. 

Shockwave therapy involves the delivery of shockwaves to injured soft tissue to reduce pain and promote healing. It’s a safe and effective treatment that stimulates your body’s healing process to improve pain and help you stay active.

We use a handheld applicator over the area while it releases pressure waves, slowly increasing the pulses until we reach your therapeutic level.  

• It works by enhancing blood circulation to accelerate the healing of conditions in bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles.
• The process takes about 15 minutes. 
• Most patients describe the treatment as uncomfortable, but not painful.
• Patients typically require treatment 2 times/week for 4-6 weeks depending on the injury. 

Shockwave therapy is used to treat conditions such as rotator cuff injuries, tennis elbow, golfer;s elbow, plantar fasciitis, achilles tendinopathy, patellar tendinopathy (Jumper’s knee), hamstring pain, shin splints, retrocalcaneal bursitis, calcific tendonitis (supraspinatus tendon), chronic stress fractures, as well as tendonitis in the hip, shoulder, ankle and foot.

Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment

• Sciatica – Chiropractic adjustments have a high success rate for alleviating pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve, and runs down one or both legs from the lower back.  
• Low Back Pain and Neck Pain – Studies show chiropractic adjustments result in faster recovery from low back and neck pain than physiotherapy and general practitioner care at about one-third of the cost.   
• Headaches –Tension headaches caused by stiff joints in the upper back and neck can be treated effectively with chiropractic spinal manipulation and/or mobilization.
• Surgery Prevention – The Journal of the American Medical Association recommends that people suffering from back pain should try chiropractic care before having surgery.
• Scoliosis – Chiropractic adjustments help patients with chronic pain caused by severe curvature of the spine manage the compensations that result from increased stress on one side.

Chiropractic Treatment in the Continuum of Care  

Our providers and staff meet weekly to discuss the best possible scenarios and treatment options for each patient. Our close collaboration allows us to progress through the entire spectrum of conservative clinical pathways (including injections, chiropractic care and physical therapy) quickly and efficiently.

The continuum of care we provide is designed to start with the least invasive options before progressing to injections or surgery: 

• First, we work with medical doctors to determine if a patient will respond well to chiropractic care.
• If the pain from an injury or accident is too acute, we will work with our pain management specialist to calm the system down before introducing chiropractic manipulation and other rehabilitative therapies
• If a patient who has been responding well to chiropractic care has reached a plateau in progress, we may progress to injection therapy before considering surgery. 

Physical medicine and rehabilitation, chiropractic, and physical therapy treatments vary greatly depending on your health history and the cause, location, and longevity of your pain. Your doctors should discuss all options with you to determine the best course of action.