SEC is a clinic designed to treat many musculoskeletal and spine conditions with both traditional spinal manipulation (often known as “adjustments”) and state-of-the-art modalities including Class IV medical laser and Shockwave Therapy options.

The owner, founder, and medical director of SEC is Dr. Albert J. Barrett, DO, MBA. Dr. Barrett is an osteopathic physician and has a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare. Dr. Barrett saw an opportunity about two years ago for a different type of practice. He approached his lifelong friend, Dr. Aaron Peters, a chiropractor from Dubois one evening with a new concept. The idea of a clinic where the three different manipulative medicine providers, namely osteopathic physicians (DO), Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPT), and chiropractors (DC), could work side by side delivering care to patients without the animosity often seen between physicians and physical therapists with the chiropractors.

Dr. Barrett explained “What I have designed here is a medical practice model that combines and refines the most effective and proven manipulation techniques from osteopathic medicine and chiropractic with two of the latest treatment modalities in physical medicine, the Class IV medical laser and “Shockwave” (pulsed piezoelectric myofascial acoustic) therapy. This facility is able to offer patients solutions to countless musculoskeletal disorders by using these tools to combat pain, inflammation, and restricted mobility. We anticipate offering dry needling soon as well.”

Dr. Barrett said there is one very important initial difference between this practice and other clinics that offer manipulation. “I am a physician, and this is a medical practice, first and foremost. The treatments provided here are designed and implemented based on research and effectiveness. I eliminated or excluded components of chiropractic or traditional osteopathy that have been disproven or never proven in the first place and have added in state-of-the-art physical medicine modalities and treatment approaches.”

While the center has the capacity to successfully treat many conditions with only manipulation, the medical laser, and Shockwave, there is another important distinction that this practice offers compared to many chiropractic practices. “We are not practicing fringe or cult healthcare. The staff at SEC believe that patients deserve the best treatments and the best outcomes, whether or not it is from a service we provide. We work with the patient and other treatments they have received or will receive, whether it be steroid injections, medications, traditional physical therapy, or surgery. Often with this open-minded, solution-based approach we can design our care to work with other treatments the patient chooses to receive to achieve the best result. My medical training and experience have given me the knowledge of how these conditions are treated from a truly multidisciplinary approach.”

Osteopathic medicine and chiropractic have common origins in the philosophy that the body heals itself. Dr. Barrett adds that these principles are acknowledged and expanded upon with this practice as the goal of the therapies offered is to enhance the body’s own healing response. “The medical laser and Shockwave work by decreasing pain and inflammation through the body’s own natural neural and cellular mechanisms. These two modalities also stimulate healing, increase oxygenation, improve vascular function, and soft tissue regeneration in damaged tissue.”

Dr. Barrett explained more about how spinal manipulation restores proper motion but has other more recently understood mechanisms by which local and regional pain is modulated by high-velocity, low amplitude (HVLA) manipulation through manipulation-induced analgesia (MIA). “Modulation of very complex neural mechanisms and reflex arcs are being credited with the well-known positive experiences patients have with spinal manipulation. It does not, however, have anything to do with dislocated or ‘subluxated’ vertebral bodies pinching on nerves. It is another goal of this practice to dispel some myths and fear marketing tactics used by some practitioners of manual therapy. Those unethical claims have created an environment that has caused many patients to associate spinal manipulation with fraud. That is unfortunate as it then causes many of these patients to avoid manipulation, as manipulation became guilty by association.”

Common conditions treated include headaches, neck and back pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, shoulder pain and impingement, bursitis, and fibromyalgia. Dr. Barrett adds “We also have a very comprehensive spinal decompression program that is unlike any other program anywhere in the country. A truly customized treatment protocol based on a thorough review of the patient’s imaging and exam findings by both a physician and a chiropractor.”
They also offer routine spinal manipulation visits for maintenance care.

“We are a self-pay practice. Our prices for manipulation are set to be similar to the out-of-pocket costs patients would incur with copays, coinsurances, and deductibles.” A new patient visit is $75 and includes a general and focused medical history and physical examination, a spinal manipulation treatment (adjustment) if not contraindicated, and a complimentary medical laser treatment to one of your three spinal regions depending on your desired care and condition. Follow up manipulation visits are $35 for a focused osteopathic HVLA spinal manipulation and $50 for a chiropractic visit.