Your spine is always under pressure 

Our spines are constantly under pressure: from the force of gravity to the added compression we do to ourselves with things like poor posture, there is rarely a second when your spine gets a break. Unless you plan to live in space (which comes with its own set of problems), or become fully aquatic, there is little we can do to escape the pressures of gravity. 

Instead of fleeing the problem, let’s face it head-on! 

Symptoms of compression injuries range from mild to severe. The most common compression related conditions that we treat include:

• Back pain
• Nerve pressure
• Herniated disc
• Degenerative disc disease
• Rehabilitation of fractured vertebrae
• Sciatica
• Government Pressure (jk)

The fact that pressure is constantly accumulating indicates why decompression therapy is so effective; and why it feels so good. At our office, we have a range of modalities for treating compression injuries.

• Spinal adjustment relieves pain by restoring mobility to spinal motion segments and relieving pressure from the nearby nerves. 
• Mechanical traction utilizes a specialized table to stretch the spine while we provide gentle, targeted adjustment to the spinal joints. This has the effect of opening up the space between the vertebrae, allowing for rehydration of the intravertebral discs and creating a negative pressure space in which bulging disc material can retract. 
• Manual traction applies a distraction force to the spine in order to alleviate pain and compression

Relieving pressure has never felt so good 

The goal of decompression therapy is to help you experience less pain, allowing you to move more and thus strengthen the muscles that matter for supporting the spine. If you are interested in using decompression therapy for your back pain, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Healthy fascia, healthy human

Get to know your fascia, the layer of tissue that covers our muscles and extends from head to toe. But what is the purpose of this mysterious thin layer that literally covers the entirety of your body without interruption? Primarily made of collagen, the fascia’s main purpose is to attach and stabilize the muscles of your body while encasing and separating vital organs. Because it is thin and tensile, it is quite vulnerable to injury which causes it to tighten and contract and this can be truly painful.

Myofascial pain is not your friend

When the fascia is injured, a primary layer of defense is temporarily stymied: this can pressurize nerves, muscles and organs. And because of its interconnectivity, the pain doesn’t necessarily stop at the point of injury. The acute point where injury occurs may be where most pain is experienced, but myofascial pain is referred pain: it can pop up seemingly wherever. 

Treating myofascial pain

Myofascial pain is undetectable using medical scanning techniques such as x-ray and MRI. Instead, it is most often determined by detecting trigger points in the muscle. We use manual modalities including: 

• Myofascial release
• Active release
• Trigger point therapy
• Electrical stimulation 
• Ultrasound 
• Heat and ice 

These treatments relax your muscles and improve circulation that improves the quantities of oxygen and nutrients that reach the injury. If you are suffering from fascial pain, or suspect that you might be, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Your spine is always under pressure

Whether you like it or not, the most common positions we adopt during a given day are putting a disproportionate amount of pressure on our spines, and our lumbar vertebrae is where this pressure accumulates! Here are some statistics as measured by the pressure sustained by a lumbar intervertebral disc: 

• Low pressure: lying on your back: ~25kg of pressure 
• Medium pressure: standing upright: ~100kg of pressure
• High pressure: sitting: ~125kg of pressure

Sitting and standing are made worse by leaning forward and bearing weight, while forward head posture magnifies the pressure of the head on the spinal column by up to 10X for every inch it is held forward. So if there is one thing we can start doing for our spines right away, it is being aware! 

Relieving lumbar pressure with decompression therapy

There are many ways we can work to prevent the damage that will result from pressure accumulation. Strengthening the core stabilizing muscles and improving our posture are tied for the most important thing we can do to help our lumbar vertebrae- stronger muscles support the burden while better posture reduces the pressure. If your spine is suffering from the effects of too much pressure, i.e. herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, sciatica, nonspecific back pain and nerve compression, decompression therapy can help. 

Decompression therapy uses manual and instrument-assisted modalities to stretch the spine and provide healing therapy by doing the following things:

• Opening space between the vertebrae
• Providing for rehydration of intervertebral discs
• Allowing for retraction of bulging disc material 
• Elongate the spine and provide for spinal realignment 

Decompression therapy feels great and provides pain relief and lasting correction of spinal misalignment. If you are interested in using decompression therapy to reverse the accumulative effects of pressure on your spine, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

LBP is among the most prolific and life-changing conditions of our time

It can be broken down into two basic constituent categories:

• Mechanical pain refers to pain related to the dysfunction of the moving parts of the spine, i.e. facet joints, intervertebral discs, ligaments, and muscles.
• Compressive pain refers to pain that is caused when nerves exiting the spinal cord are put under pressure.

Chiropractic is a conservative method of treatment that shows great efficacy in improving the symptoms of both conditions.

Mechanical and Compressive  

• For mechanical pain, chiropractic adjustment seeks to address symptoms through mobilization of the spinal joints. Through low-intensity, high-frequency adjustments to the affected region, we restore proper alignment and effect great improvement on the symptoms of mechanical LBP. 
• For compressive LBP, we use decompression modalities to provide spinal elongation. Stretching the spine and providing manual adjustments to the affected region.

Chiropractic is a conservative form of treatment that seeks to correct the root of the problem with natural methods. We recommend that most cases of non-specific back pain be treated by conservative methods before considering other more invasive methods such as spinal surgery. 

Relief

If you are looking to address spinal pain, whether it be mechanical or compressive in nature or any other type of pain, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. We are pain specialists who will determine the cause of your spinal dysfunction before setting a course for treatment.

Dr. Karen Thomas and her multilingual staff are always friendly and welcome new patients of all ages.

For directions to our office click here.

At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture located in Park Slope, Brooklyn 11215, we apply both Eastern and Western medical theory to establish a diagnosis and treatment plan designed specifically for each patient. Our goal is to help our patients enjoy an optimal quality of life with improved physical health, mental well-being and a sense of spiritual tranquility.

As week three of self-quarantine and shelter in place regulations commence, it’s important to take a closer look at what’s going on so we can better understand what we’re all in for.

If you’re feeling healthy and well right now, you have an advantage over tens of thousands of Americans who have been diagnoses with Coronavirus, so that’s an important thing to be thankful for right off the bat. If your job is easily translated to remote/at-home work, that’s another blessing that millions of Americans do not have at this point.

As all businesses not labeled as “Essential” begin to buckle in for closures lasting at least through the end of April, many folks are filing for unemployment across the country.

COVID-19 is no laughing matter and it’s up to everyone to prevent the spread of this thing, or our lives could be disrupted for far longer than anyone realizes.

Social distancing is essential during this time, which is why we’d like to advise everyone to stay indoors and don’t go out unless it’s absolutely necessary. Limit your grocery store runs to once a week and take your walks during low-traffic times to avoid coming into contact with others. Under absolutely no circumstances should you be having get-togethers or parties.

Contact Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope today to learn more about how we’re providing our essential treatments for patients in need while keeping rigorously high standards of safety and cleanliness. We’re here if you have any questions or concerns during this time.

As Americans experience times of self-quarantine, our at-home rituals are going to either keep us sane, or misuse of our free time might start to drive us less than sane. It’s times like these especially when the world seems like it’s in such turmoil, to double-down on your own efforts to maintain control over the one thing on this planet you actually do have control over… you.

Your at-home yoga practice might be the cornerstone of your wellness routine and it’s also a great way to stay in shape during this time of self-quarantine.

You can customize your yoga routine at home to achieve whatever you’d like to achieve health-wise, whether it’s building strength, improving your flexibility, or decompressing your body from a rigorous workout routine.

First, try doing your yoga practice for 10 minutes at the beginning and end of your day. Your first yoga session should be more rigorous to wake you up for your day. At night, do a more relaxing yoga routine that will get your body and brain ready for restful sleep.

As you go along, try to build up your yoga routine to 45 minutes to 1 hour — that way you can experience the full range of benefits that a strong yoga practice is sure to bring to your life.

Chiropractic treatment goes along great with yoga for keeping the body maintained, in shape, and feeling 100% healthy and functional. Contact Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope to learn more about how our treatments can help you reach a new level of wellness today.

As millions of Americans in affected cities begin to shelter in place, it’s important for those of us who are social distancing to remember to practice self-care, especially during these times of tension and stress.

Turns out we’re a lot better to each other when we’re being good to ourselves. Below, Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope goes over a few tips for practicing self-care at home to boost your health, vitality, and wellness.

Stretch it Out

As we get cramped into our homes in order to assist the more vulnerable members of our community, it’s important to remain vigilant about our at-home stretching routines. Practice yoga (there are plenty of helpful YouTube videos out there), if you have a partner, convince them to give you a soothing massage, and make sure you’re doing what you can to decompress your body from the day’s events.

Eat Well

Have a good balance of healthy food and comfort food, that way your time at home doesn’t feel like such drudgery. Eat plenty of clean, whole foods. If you’re going for chocolate, opt for dark chocolate, which has actual nutritional value as opposed to milk chocolate. Stay satiated and hydrated to fuel your day.

Practice Mindfulness

Now is the time to have an attitude of gratitude. Try to help others less fortunate than you at this time. Meditate and make sure to think plenty of others rather than just go into self-survival mode.

Chiropractic treatment is one of the best ways out there to decompress and recalibrate your body and mind. Contact Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope to learn more about how our treatments go hand-in-hand with the self-care lifestyle.

As more and more cities experience lockdowns of varying degrees, many folks are putting themselves under self-quarantine as a way to reduce exposure for those of us who are more susceptible to contracting Coronavirus.

Social Distancing is one buzz term that we’ve been hearing a lot in the news and we thought it’d be a good idea to let our patients and readership know what Social Distancing is and how to be conscientious to those in the world who stand to pay the ultimate price for this global outbreak.

Social Distancing is exactly what it sounds like — keeping your social interactions to a minimum. For some of us, this means working remotely from home and only going out into the world for necessities, like to go to the post office or the grocery store, or some of us for things like the DMV or the doctor’s office.

Any meetings you have for the rest of the month and set for early April can be easily changed to FaceTime or Skype meetings. There’s a lot of resources online for video chatting that will help you feel less like you’re quarantined.

Now is a great time to catch up on your favorite TV shows and maybe even read that book you’ve been meaning to read.

As long as we’re allowed to keep our doors open, Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope will be providing chiropractic treatments that help boost the immune system and will keep your body running at 100%, even during uncertain times. Contact us today to learn more about who we are and what we do. And please stay safe out there, everyone.

In addition to our amazing treatments, Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope also provides education to our patients and readership that will help them stay healthy, especially during sick season, and, now, during times of the Coronavirus. Below, we go over a few foods you can add to your diet that will boost your immune system, which will help you stay healthy.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits are an obvious source of vitamin C, which you’re sure to find in any immune-system boosting concoction. Eat an orange or a grapefruit, or even a lime or clementine for a vitamin C boost.

Red Bell Pepper

Red bell peppers have twice as much vitamin C as citrus fruits, believe it or not. Add one to your salad for an immune system turbocharge.

The Two Gs

Ginger and garlic are both powerful for fighting infection and warding off inflammation. Add both to a veggie smoothie for ultimate immunity.

Chiropractic treatments have also been shown to be a powerful immune system turbocharge. Contact us today to learn more.

When it comes down to it, our staying healthy depends upon the daily choices we make, whether it’s keeping a good diet (which means eating plenty of fruits and veggies packed with minerals that keep you healthy and well), staying hydrated, avoiding self-destructive behaviors like smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, and doing things for our bodies that set us up for success.

We don’t have to lock ourselves away in our homes in order to avoid getting sick. We can avoid places where we’ll be exposed to a lot of germs, like the subway, or large gatherings (like concerts), but, even then, there are plenty of measures we can take to avoid getting sick. Taking vitamin C, using disinfectant wipes, washing our hands, avoiding handrails, and taking other measures can drastically reduce our chances of getting sick.

Wanna know what else drastically reduces your chances of getting sick? Chiropractic treatment! Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope provides adjustments that have been shown to boost the immune system, promote a healthy gut, improve your sleep on a nightly basis, and more! Contact us today to schedule your consultation.