Why I Chose to Be a Chiropractor in My Hometown of Brick, NJ
My story began when I was 16 and I broke my leg playing football for my high school team. And it was a nasty break, my foot was basically twisted to a 90-degree angle. Needless to say, it took a while to rehab from that. After the cast came off and I was able to start running again, I kept pulling muscles in my legs and it almost ruined my baseball season. A bunch of my friends said they were going to the chiropractor, so I figured “why not give it a try.” I’m really glad I did because I would not be here right now. After my first adjustment, I noticed that I could breathe better and it amazed me because I had really bad allergies. This was the first time I could remember that my sinuses weren’t all clogged up and I could take a deep breath. So not only did chiropractic fix the underlying imbalance in my pelvis that occurred due to walking around on crutches for 8 weeks, but it helped correct my allergies. I was blown away by that and became so interested in the science behind chiropractic, it felt only natural that I would become a chiropractor.
What Do I Love About What I Do?
The fact that I can help my patients’ bodies heal without drugs, surgery, shots….it’s pretty amazing. I love the fact that although chiropractic is non-invasive to the body, it actually affects those deep-down nerve pathways that control every function of your entire body. And to be able to have this effect on someone by releasing this energy is pretty extraordinary.
How Is Your Care Different?
It’s different because I deal with function. When I sit down for the first time with a new patient I ask them all about their symptoms and how they feel. I want to know all of that. But here’s the distinction. Although, I listen and take notes, my objective is not to treat their symptoms. And when I tell people that sometimes they look at me funny, Like “well why am I here then”, But I explain to them that if they really want to heal, meaning actually fix the underlying cause of their problem, they need to get their bodies to function better, particularly their nerve systems. No other doctor deals with this. No other healthcare provider helps their patients take the stress off their body. For instance, most headaches are due to misalignments in the upper neck vertebrae. But what do most people do for headaches, they take drugs to cover up the symptoms. Chiropractors, instead, release the mis-aligned vertebra to restore the nerve flow which most times has a profound effect on headache sufferers.
What Causes The Spine to Lose Its Alignment?
Stress. For that question, there’s just a one-word answer and it’s stress. Now stress comes in many different forms. There’s physical stress, emotional stress, posture stress and even chemical stress. Any type of stress that overwhelms your body causes your body to react. And one of these reactions is muscle defense contractions. Meaning, when the body encounters a stress, the muscles, particularly of the spine, will contract as a defense mechanism. But by contracting, they actually pull on the vertebrae and many times create these mis-alignments or restrictions that we in chiropractic call subluxation. And subluxation causes nerve disturbance or interference and causes the body not to work properly. The earliest stresses that occurred to all of our bodies happened at our childbirths. There’s a tremendous amount of stress on a baby’s neck upon delivery and this Is when most people get their first misalignments. Unfortunately, not too many parents are aware of this.
Why is Posture Important?
Posture stress is one of the most common causes on spinal problems and nerve irritation. Virtually everyone has Forward Head Posture. Meaning, the head sits out over the shoulder because of the loss of the normal neck curve. This causes the spinal cord to become stressed. And when you stress the cord, you stress your entire nervous system. Forward head posture comes from sitting in school slouched with your head in a book for years, sleeping on pillows that are too thick, staring down at your cell phone or sitting at a computer for a long time.
What Is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
This is a very misunderstood term to the general public. A lot of people out there think of chiropractors and they think of getting their neck twisted and hearing all kinds of cracks. Well, there are a variety of different ways to adjust a mis-aligned vertebra, but the key is that it is specific. In our office we do not manipulate. We don’t just twist and turn your spine to mobilize many vertebrae at once. Adjustments in our office are very specific, only directed at one spinal joint at a time to restore motion and position to that one joint. There are unfortunately a lot of untrained doctors and physical therapists that are manipulating the spine, which means they’re moving multiple areas at once and that’s when you hear multiple pops and cracks…that is not an adjustment.. An adjustment is specific.
Are There Exercises / Stretches?
Yes. Most definitely. As part of all of our patients care we teach them to do exercises for two main things. One is to restore the normal spinal curves because when you lose the curves your body just cannot function properly. The other to strengthen the core muscles that support the low back and the muscles that support the head. Both of these areas need muscles that have endurance. It’s not even so much about strength, its endurance we’re after.
What Can a Patient Expect?
At Discover Chiropractic, first and foremost they can expect to be treated with the utmost professionalism and courtesy from myself and my staff. We’ve all been to doctor’s offices where you walk in and there’s a bunch of people sitting behind a closed window and you feel like you’re bothering them and then they say fill this out and send you along. These are the types of experiences that I just do not tolerate.
Then, clinically you can expect a doctor who really listens. I think that’s a big factor. All too often doctors have this “I’m the doctor, you’re not, so listen to me and that’s it” attitude. None of that happens in our office. You’re an active participant in your care and we like to get you involved and it’s a very friendly atmosphere.
Who Would Benefit?
Well, If you’re the type of person who really cares about your health and it’s your number one priority, then we would love to help you reach your optimal health potential. Not only do we care for your spine, but we have nutrition lectures and supplement information and advice to share. If you’re one of those people who do not really take care of themselves and just looking for a quick fix, then our office might not be your first choice. We really take pride in changing lives and being a valued partner in your healthcare. You know, health is your responsibility…you need to take the necessary action steps to be and stay well. Our job is to coach you through that process and be a trusted source of everything health.
What About Once You Start?
Well it would be the same as asking the question, “Once you start exercising, do you have to exercise forever”. Or once you start eating right, do you have to eat right forever. Chiropractic is the same way. Chiropractic is meant to reduce nerve stress in your body (which most people have plenty). I tell my patients all the time that when they move to the beach in Hawaii, don’t have to work, eat the perfect food, get the perfect exercise and have no stress, at that point…they probably won’t need me that much. The stresses of life can have a tremendous impact on your body and your health. My job is to significantly lessen that impact. And how you want to engage in that, whether you want to come once in a while or make it an important part of a healthy lifestyle, it’s always up to you. Cause remember, health is always your responsibility.
