Neck Pain is Associated with Whiplash and Auto Accidents

July 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Neck pain is the most common symptom reported after an auto accident with around 90% of victims reporting the pain.  During the crash, your body chiropractor freehold Neck Pain is Associated with Whiplash and Auto Accidentsmoves with the seat but your head and neck lag behind.  This difference in motion results in injury.  The spine is vulnerable to sprain and strain from sheer forces from the head and body moving in different directions.  This sheering action can stretch or tear the ligaments, tendons and discs of your spine causing nerve impingement,  pain, swelling and scar tissue.  The neck pain can radiate into the shoulder, arm and hands.  Other related symptoms to whiplash are headaches, dizziness, numbness and tingling in the upper extremity, visual disturbances and concussion.  Research has found that up to 20% of patients can have pain even 10 years after an accident.

If you have been injured in a crash, chiropractic can help.    Research shows chiropractic is more effective in both the long and short term than medical treatment or home exercise. (Spinal manipulation, medication, or home exercise with advice for acute and subacute neck pain: a randomized trial.)   Chiropractic improves range of motion, reduces and prevents scar tissue and corrects the cause of the pain.  Medication at best temporarily covers up the symptoms but also has the risk of serious side effects.

Also the earlier chiropractic care starts can help prevent the development of chronic pain and scar tissue. (Early intervention in whiplash-associated disorders: a comparison of two treatment protocols.)  Unfortunately, many times people don’t experience pain or other symptoms immediately after the accident so they do not get checked.  Weeks, months and even years later, pain occurs and the patient has no idea it is from the past accident.  Make sure you get a thorough examination by a chiropractor that has experience working with auto injuries and whiplash.

Call our office today 732-780-0044 for more information or go to our website:  www.chiropractorfreehold.com.  Dr. Russell Brokstein is the chiropractor at Hometown Family Wellness Center located at 9 Broadway in Freehold, NJ.  He has over 14 years experience in the examination and treatment of patients involved in car accidents and whiplash injuries.

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Headaches, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Whiplash Leads to Referred Pain Explains Chiropractor in Freehold NJ

June 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Many people experience whiplash injuries after an auto accident or other trauma where the head and neck experiences a sudden abnormal motion or force that causes it to go beyond it’s normal range of motion.  The muscles, tendon and ligaments become damaged.  Car accidents are a common cause of whiplash but it can be a result of playing sports and accidental falls.  Other terms used to describe whiplash are acceleration flexion-extension neck injury and soft tissue cervical hyperextension injury.  Many doctors simply explain it to a patient as cervical sprain or cervical strain.

Neck pain and headaches are just 2 of the common symptoms people experience when they have a whiplash injury.  Whiplash can also result in arm pain, numbness and tingling, shoulder pain, neck chiropractor freehold Whiplash Leads to Referred Pain Explains Chiropractor in Freehold NJpain, dizziness, nauseousness and even TMJ.

One of the difficult aspects of whiplash is that the symptoms don’t present immediately after the trauma.  A lot of times it comes on days, weeks, months to even years down the road.  This is one reason why it’s very important to get evaluated after any trauma.

In 2008 a study was done that showed these symptoms are related to the injury to the neck thru referred pain.  Referred pain originates in one area but is felt in another area.  The pain signals from the injured tissues activate other nerves in the spinal cord and brain.  These nerves cause the brain to perceive pain in other areas that these nerves control.

In a Swedish study, researchers induced referred pain in whiplash patients and pain free people to see if they had a different referred pain response.  12 of the subjects were experiencing whiplash while the other 12 had no pain and were the control group.  The test subjects controlled the electrical stimulation levels that were used on the shoulder and upper arm to elicit referred pain.  There was a dramatic difference between the whiplash patients and the control group:

a)  The pain free control group needed 3 times the amount of stimulation to reach the pain levels the whiplash patients experienced.  The whiplash group was more sensitive.

b)  The whiplash patients experienced a significantly wider area of referred pain than the pain free group which reported limited amounts of referred pain.

c)  The type of referred pain was different in both groups.  The control group experienced referred pain that was always distal to the point of stimulation while the whiplash group experienced referred pain that was more proximal to the stimulation closer to the center of the body.

This study helps us further understand the whiplash injury as other studies have also shown that the central nervous system becomes sensitive and over stimulated because of the injury to the spine.  More recent research is showing patients who are experiencing central sensitivity are more likely to experience chronic long term pain and symptoms.

As a chiropractor in Freehold, NJ,  I have been treating whiplash patients for 14 years.  These studies are proof that early treatment after an auto accident or other trauma is extremely important to prevent chronic, long term problems. In our office, Hometown Family Wellness Center, we use state of the art computerized technology to help examine the spine, nerves and surrounding muscles to show how severe the underlying condition is and whether it is acute or chronic.  The earlier you are treated for the injury, we can correct the problem so you can continue to enjoy a normal, healthy active lifestyle and prevent further problems down the road.  Chiropractic finds the cause and treats it so you can be pain free once again without drugs and surgery.

For more information go to www.ChiropractorFreehold.com or call our office at 732-780-0044.
1. Kosek E, Januszewska A. Mechanisms of pain referral in patients with whiplash associated disorder.
European Journal of Pain 2008;12:650-660.
2. Walton DM, Macdermid JC, Nielson W, Teasell RW, Reese H, Levesque L. Pressure pain threshold
testing demonstrates predictive ability in people with acute whiplash. Journal of Orthopedic & Sports
Physical Therapy 2011;41(9):658-65.

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Headaches, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Freehold Chiropractor Explains Shoulder Pain can be Associated to Neck Pain or Whiplash

May 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Auto injuries are shown to cause more than just neck pain.  In a  new study researchers find that patients with whiplash or other causes of neck pain were more likely to have problems with shoulder function than healthy chiropractor freehold Freehold Chiropractor Explains Shoulder Pain can be Associated to Neck Pain or Whiplashpatients.  Misalignments of the shoulder can create or irritate neck pain.  The shoulder imbalances can also cause other problems including headaches or migraines.

Patients in the research had neck pain of different causes.  It was found they had more difficulty performing routine shoulder movements, and their head and neck postures were altered. The research also showed that depending on the cause of the neck problem influenced the type of shoulder problems the patient had: those patient that couldn’t elevate their shoulders as muchchiropractor freehold Freehold Chiropractor Explains Shoulder Pain can be Associated to Neck Pain or Whiplash as normal patients had insidious onset neck disorders while those patients that had shoulders that were rotated forward slightly had neck problems resulting from whiplash.

Like many other studies, it is found that whiplash patients have a higher risk of developing shoulder pain and experiencing a number of other conditions including pain, headaches, numbness and tingling just to name a few. This shows that neck injuries alter the function of other areas of the body and that it’s so important that a patient finds a practitioner that addresses the entire spine and other surrounding regions, not just the location of the pain itself.

Our chiropractic office, Hometown Family Wellness Center located in Freehold, NJ, addresses the cause of the problems that you are experiencing.  We have been helping patients for over 14 years in the Freehold area and surrounding towns of Marlboro, Manalapan, Howell, Colts Neck, Jackson, Morganville, and other communities of Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey.  Relying on medications might just cover up your pain at best, but increases the chances of disability because you are not addressing the cause of the pain and you become overconfident that just because the pain is decreased that you can perform normal activities without causing further harm.  Many studies show that chiropractic not only reduces your pain naturally without drugs or surgery, but improves your quality of life so you can enjoy your normal daily activities once again.  Seeking early treatment may help you avoid developing shoulder and back pain, arthritis, degeneration and other problems later on. If you are ready to correct the cause of your neck pain and whiplash, contact our office at 732-780-0044 and also check out our website at www.chiropractorfreehold.com
Helgadottir, Harpa, and Eythor Kristjansson, Sarah Mottram, Andrew Karduna, and Halldor Jonsson, Jr. Altered Alignment of the Shoulder Girdle and Cervical Spine in Patients With Insidious Onset Neck Pain and Whiplash-Associated Disorder. Journal of Applied Biomechanics. 2011; 27:181-191.

Berglund A, Nygren A, Jensen I, et al. The association between exposure to a rear-end collision and future neck or shoulder pain: a cohort study. World Congress on Whiplash-Associated Disorders. 1999;p. 99.

Kosek E, Januszewska A. Mechanisms of pain referral in patients with whiplash associated disorder. European Journal of Pain 2008;12:650-660.

Miller J, Gross A, D’Sylva J, Burnie SJ, Goldsmith CH, Graham N, Haines T, Bronfort G, Hoving JL. Manual therapy and exercise for neck pain: A systematic review. Manual Therapy 15(2010) 334-354.

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Freehold NJ Chiropractor Helps Whiplash and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

March 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Many people suffer from chronic pain after an auto accident.  Not only do you experience the injury but there is an experience of stress due to the pain and inactivity due to the pain and recovery.  Leading whiplash researchers have recently chiropractor freehold Freehold NJ Chiropractor Helps Whiplash and Post Traumatic Stress Disorderreleased new information  finding that you are at higher risk of developing long-term symptoms as a result of the stress experienced from a car accident.  The more chronic a problem is, the more it will affect the quality of your daily living.  It will affect the activities you do, ability to spend time with family and friends, and affect things as simple as work and sleep.

44 patients were evaluated in a research study.  They had whiplash injuries from an accident in the month before.  Each went thru a physical exam, an MRI to evaluate the structure of the muscles, and testing for post-traumatic stress disorder also known as PTSD.

The patients that had both high initial pain levels and signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder were most likely to develop chronic pain.  The patients with PTSD didn’t only have injury to the spine but they also had obvious changes in the structure of the supporting muscles in the neck and upper back.  The damage to the spine extended beyond just the bones, nerves and discs, but the reaction to the stress creates a pathological change in the muscles.

Early intervention is the key to prevent chronicity of the pain and scar tissue that develops with whiplash.  Many times, accident victims don’t get evaluated after the accident due to the lack of or minimal amount of pain they are experiencing.  As research proves, the earlier you get checked, you can avoid future problems that can show up weeks, months and even years down the road.  Many times people come into our office with neck pain, numbness and tinglings, headaches or other symptoms that they don’t know how they started, but upon consultation and evaluation it is almost always related to a previous car accident, sports related, or other activity where the head is whipped quickly.

Many people seek medical care that just prescribe medications that temporarily cover up the symptoms of pain.  These medications do not help heal the muscles, tendons and ligaments.  If you take medicine for pain relief, you will have a false sense of security that you are better and will do activities that will further damage the tissues.  On top of that you have to consider all of the side effects of the medications.

As a chiropractor in Freehold, NJ, we make sure your body heals optimally so we can restore your spine to it’s natural function.  We fully evaluate your condition to find the cause of the problem and using chiropractic techniques, we correct the problem without the harmful effects of medication.  Then you will be pain free and can enjoy your normal activities once again!  Chiropractic has been found to have one of the highest success rates in treating whiplash and PTSD, which can help you reduce the possibility of having chronic pain in the future.

To find out more about our office, Hometown Family Wellness Center and Dr. Russell Brokstein, go to www.ChiropractorFreehold.com.  We have been helping patients for over 13 years with injuries sustained in auto accidents.  If you live in Freehold, NJ, or the surrounding towns of Marlboro, Manalapan, Howell, Colts Neck, Jackson, Morganville and other communities in Monmouth County New Jersey share this information with others and make sure you get your spine checked immediately after any injury to prevent chronic problems.

References:

  1. Elliott, James, and Ashley Pedler, Justin Kenardy,  Graham Galloway, Gwendolen Jull, Michele Sterling. The Temporal Development of Fatty Infiltrates in the Neck Muscles Following Whiplash Injury: An Association with Pain and Posttraumatic Stress. PLoS ONE. 2011; 6 (6): e21194. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021194.
  1. Ogura, Takeshi and Manabu Tashiro, Mehedi,Shoichi Watanuki, Katsuhiko Shibuya, Keiichiro Yamaguchi, Masatoshi Itoh, Hiroshi Fukuda, Kazuhiko Yanai. Cerebral Metabolic Changes in Men After Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation for Neck Pain. Alternative Therapies. 2011, November/December; 17 (6): 12-17
Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Whiplash or Auto Injury? Freehold NJ Chiropractor Shares Multiple Studies

February 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Multiple Studies Confirm Positive Outcomes of Chiropractic Care for Whiplash Injuries!

chiropractor freehold Whiplash or Auto Injury? Freehold NJ Chiropractor Shares Multiple StudiesMy name is Dr. Russell Brokstein and as owner of Hometown Family Wellness Center in Freehold, New Jersey, I see many patients every year that have been in car accidents.  Some have pain immediately after the auto accident, others don’t experience the pains and problems months to even years down the road.

One thing many people experience is whiplash.  According to the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, “Whiplash is defined as an injury to the cervical spine caused by an abrupt jerking motion of the head, backward or forward, often occurring from rear on-set automobile accidents and amusement rides or the result of falls, accidents and sporting activities.”

It takes just a 3 to 5 miles per hour bumper hit to cause trauma to the spine and cause whiplash.  Many times, patients in these instances of low impact trauma don’t know they had damage that occurred until years down the road as the problem progressively got worse.

1 out of 15 adult Americans suffers from the annoying and sometimes debilitating long-term effects of whiplash injury, usually in the form of neck stiffness and pain.  Others can develop headaches, migraines, numbness and tingling or even shoulder pain.

Many scientific studies have confirmed the benefits of chiropractic care when treating whiplash injuries.  Arthur C. Croft, D.C. of the Spine Research Institute states, “While chiropractic care in the acute stage can often stave off this unpleasant outcome, two of the studies have shown that even in the chronic stage, chiropractic intervention can provide up to 90 percent relief for these sufferers.”

One study in the journal Injury reports:  “93 percent of the 28 patients studied retrospectively were found to have a statistically significant improvement following chiropractic care.”

A follow up study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Medicine concluded that, “Whiplash injuries are common.  Chiropractic is the only PROVEN effective treatment in chronic cases.  Our study enables patients to be classified at initial assessment in order to target those patients who will benefit from such treatment.”

Many things can be done to help prevent cases of whiplash, including driving carefully and wearing proper restraints like seatbelts and positioning your headrest at the right level.  Whiplash can also occur during sporting events and other activities and it’s extremely important to wear the correct safety equipment and head gear.

Chiropractic care is a well established and proven effective treatment in providing considerable relief with the highest outcomes in correcting whiplash.  Unlike medical treatment which just prescribes pain medications, muscle relaxers and injections that might temporarily cover up symptoms but have many side effects, chiropractic care corrects the cause of the problems.  Chiropractic allows the patients to get back to normal daily activities.

It’s important to get checked after any type of trauma to the body.  The quicker you get checked, you can prevent progression to a chronic condition.  You can have serious consequences down the road even if you do not feel pain right away!

For more information about Dr. Russell Brokstein go to his website by clicking here:  www.ChiropractorFreehold.com

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Car Accident or Whiplash? Freehold Chiropractor Warns Not to Wait to Get Evaluated!

January 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Every day people get into little fender benders and don’t realize the consequences of even just a 5 MPH bumper impact.  They feel fine immediately after the car accident but weeks, months and even years down the road you can start to experience neck pain, shoulder pain, tension, numbness and tingling and even headaches.

Watch this video to see a demonstration of what happens at 5km/h which is just 3 miles per hour!

As you can see, at just 3MPH, the neck whips backward and forward. This amount of force causes misalignments or subluxations in the neck which will put pressure on nerves. You can also get strain and sprain injuries which are further signs of whiplash injury. Many people who suffer conditions like fibromyalgia can correlate their symptoms back to the time of an auto accident.

You can experience whiplash even after a low speed accident. If you wait, you can develop spinal and disc degeneration down the road. Some research shows if a joint is misaligned for just 2 weeks, arthritis starts to develop.  Think of this like a cavity that forms and you don’t feel the pain for years when it has progressed and harder to take care of.

As a chiropractor in Freehold, NJ, I see many patients who come in with neck pain, headaches and migraines, numbness and tingling and they can’t figure out what caused the problem. After doing a thorough patient history, many times it can be matched to a past car accident. Be sure to get you spine checked after any accident, even if you don’t feel immediate pain, so you can prevent future problems and correct the underlying condition as soon as possible.  An auto injury many times goes undetected and needs somebody who does a thorough examination and has experience treating accident victims.

It is also very important to report the accident to your insurance company in case you do experience any symptoms and need treatment.  If you wait, then try and go back, they will most likely deny coverage.  By having a thorough history and examination by a chiropractor with experience with these injuries, you will have the documentation to prove correlation to the accident.

If you live in Freehold or nearby towns of Marlboro, Manalapan, Howell, Colts Neck, Jackson, Morganville or other Monmouth County communities, contact our office, Hometown Family Wellness Center or go to our website for more information: www.ChiropractorFreehold.com.  Let us know you were in an accident and looking for our special auto accident consultation and evaluation.

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chiropractor in Freehold NJ is helping fibromyalgia sufferers have less pain, more energy, and enjoy life!

July 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Suffering from Fibromyalgia is not your fault and it’s NOT in your head.  Clinical studies have shown that the majority of fibromyalgia sufferers started having symptoms after a traumatic event like a car accident, work in jury or a fall.

If you suffer with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, you know how demanding life can be.  You probably experience aches all over your body, disturbed sleep, tender points in the neck and shoulders, recurring headaches, fatigue and stiffness, and or restless leg syndrome.

A patient with fibromyalgia explained it like this…

“For people who take good health for granted, it’s hard to imagine a condition that makes simple tasks great tests of will and determination.”

Fibromyalgia is a real disease with real pain.

Many medical doctors don’t even think fibromyalgia is a real disease, but you know it is. You feel it every day — from the minute you wake up in the morning, all your  normal daily tasks like cleaning the house, doing laundry, even cooking dinner takes a lot out of you.

Mark Pelligrino, MD (author of The Fibromyalgia Survivor), found that 2/3 of 2,000 fibromyalgia patient files showed patients started experiencing their symptoms after traumatic events like a car accident, work injury, or a fall.

Another study published in the 1997 issue of Arthritis And Rheumatism, said fibromyalgia is 13 times more likely to occur following neck injury than following a leg injury.

Prescription drugs are at best  “masking tape” that covers up the daily warning signs of a painful disease.

Pain pills, even over-the-counter medications, don’t fix the cause of your problem. They may be necessary for a momentary crisis, but using them long term is no way to live. Many of these pain medications are quite addicting and have very real side effects.

One medication, Lyrica, was originally used to treat seizures.  It basically reduces the pain by “killing” the nerves.  Well, nerves are only 10% for sensation, the remaining 90% is for your body to function properly.  I’ve had patients who were put on this drug and said it helped reduce the pain, but they were so sedated, that they couldn’t perform their daily activities.

The other medication, Cymbalta, was originally approved for depression, anxiety and diabetic neuropathy.  One risk is increase of suicidal behavior and noted increase depression with Fibromyalgia sufferers who take this drug. (previous info received from the FDA website).

Have you been everywhere, tried everything, and are still suffering?

Fibromyalgia is often called the invisible disease. You look fine on the surface, but underneath you’re often exhausted and in excruciating pain.

My name is Dr. Russell Brokstein, DC, owner of Hometown Family Wellness Center located in downtown Freehold, NJ in Monmouth County. Over the past 13 years I’ve used gentle treatments to help so many fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue patients feel better and live healthier, more joyful lives. 

By taking a different approach, we naturally get to the cause of fibromyalgia.  We do not cover up the symptoms with medications, that at most mask the symptoms.  Our goal is to get you feeling better to enjoy your normal daily activities, family and social life once again.

In our Freehold, NJ office we analyze 4 areas known to be out of balance with patients suffering with fibromyalgia.  We test the nervous system with advanced computerized technology.  Then we check the adrenal glands, also called the stress glands.  These glands help regulate the major hormones of the body, but if not functioning well, you will not adapt to stress well and experience many symptoms.  Next we analyze the toxicity or pH levels of the body.  Finally, we are one of only 4 doctors in NJ that have advanced biofeedback that tests for internal and external stressors that are scientifically proven to contribute to many symptoms including Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and restless leg syndrome.

Finally, A Proven Solution

 For Fibromyalgia Pain

Numerous studies have shown the benefits of chiropractic care in fibromyalgia patients:

Dr. Frederick Wolfe, a well-known investigator of fibromyalgia and clinical professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, ran a study on fibromyalgia.

He asked patients to indicate drug or alternative treatments that best relieved their pain.

Dr. Wolfe found that changes in lifestyle worked better than drugs and stated “Chiropractic treatment also scored among the most effective measures.”

Another study examined the effectiveness of chiropractic in relieving fibromyalgia symptoms.

After just a few chiropractic treatments, fibromyalgia patients suffered from less pain and fatigue, and actually enjoyed better sleep.(JMPT 2000)

And best of all, there will be…

No Harmful Drugs, No Uncertain Procedures, And No Intimidation.

I look forward to helping you get rid of your pain so you can start living a healthier, more joyful life.  Imagine how great you could feel without your constant fatigue and nagging pains. Imagine waking up each morning, jumping out of bed, and enjoying the day…no more waking up and feeling like you got hit by a truck.

Imagine not having to take handfuls of pain pills that haven’t helped much and have dangerous side effects.

What would it feel like to finally have hope again?

If you suffer from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and or restless leg syndrome, there is hope!  Regain your life back, like the many other patients we have helped in Freehold, Marlboro, Morganville, Jackson, Howell, Colts Neck and Manalapan, NJ.

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wear and Tear Happens explains Freehold Chiropractor

June 27, 2011 by 5 Comments

Every day I hear patients explain to me that they have pain and they don’t know how it happened.  Many medical doctors explain to their patients  that they have arthritis that has formed in their spine and other joints.  The patient is concerned with how it got there, but most doctors say it’s part of aging.

As a chiropractor in Freehold, NJ, it is important for the public to be educated on how this happens.  Seeing people from all over Monmouth County, NJ in the towns of Marlboro, Howell, Colts Neck, Jackson, Morganville, Freehold and Manalapan, NJ, they always ask:  Is it from the stress of their work?  From playing golf for 20 years?  Sitting at desks in school for years on end slouching?  Or maybe the car accident many years ago?

The answer is.. it is more likely to be from the accumulative affects of all of these stresses to the body.  From the time you are born, the medical doctors pulls and twists your neck and shoulders to deliver you.  Then as an infant you start to learn how to walk… how many times do you think you fell?  Do you have brothers or sisters?  If so, did you wrestle or trip each other as a joke?  As you get older you sit in classrooms with bad postures or carry backpacks that are too heavy for the spine.  Did you play any sports and take a hard fall or tackle?  Think of the trauma of just a little fender bender.  Do you carry a pocket book or briefcase on a daily basis?  Have you ever missed that last step or curb?

I think you get the point that every little thing builds up in your body, causing the joints to misalign.  So, the real question with arthritis and spinal degeneration is not what you did, but what you haven’t done!  Joints wear down faster when they are not aligned properly… they are stuck and not moving well.  That’s why it is important to be under chiropractic care to get the joints aligned properly and keep them moving.

A great analogy to consider is your car:  As you drive your car, your wheels become misaligned especially if you hit a pothole or a curb while parking.  If you keep driving with them misaligned, the car starts to pull to one side, the tires wear out unevenly, and other parts of the car start to break down.  You don’t keep driving like that if you want your car to last long enough.  Also, every 3 months or 3500 miles or so we are informed to take the car in for maintenance, oil, lube and filter.  Neglecting your car for this maintenance, you will build up expenses to fix things and the car won’t last as long as you want, your fuel efficiency decreases, you will have to keep replacing tires, etc.

Some research shows that arthritis starts to form after a joint is misaligned for as little as 2 weeks.  Just like a cavity in the teeth, if it isn’t caught early enough it will progressively get worse.  You know that waiting to fix these things costs a lot more money than if you had just prevented it from happening.

Blaming the activities in your life for arthritis is like blaming the sidewalk for scuffing your shoes.  Everything wears down naturally as we use them, including your spine.  If you focus more on prevention with regular maintenance chiropractic care, you can help slow down arthritis and other forms of wear and tear.  Most people get this concept when it comes to their teeth:  their teeth don’t hurt, but they get their teeth examined one to 2 times a year and cleaned, brush their teeth daily and floss to prevent decay.  If you didn’t do this, teeth would decay as part of normal aging too!  But it can be prevented with proper care.

Well your spine is a dynamic system that protects the most important system of your body.. your nervous system!  Your nervous system controls all functions of your body.  Many activities, stress and nutritional choices affect your spine and nervous system!  Your teeth can always be replaced, but your spine and nervous system CANNOT!

In our office we take a different approach to your health than any other health professional in the area!  As a chiropractor, we make sure your spine is aligned and properly balanced so your nervous system functions optimally.  On top of that, Dr. Brokstein, DC also analyzes your body for stress, adrenal function and the toxicity of your body.  We are the ONLY doctor in Monmouth County, NJ to have state of the art FDA cleared biofeedback to analyze your body for over 160,000 sensitivities and stressors.  We educate our patients on healthy eating, weight loss and exercise.   Prevention NOW is more cost affective and helps avoid harmful drugs that at best just cover up symptoms and surgery.  Don’t wait and get your spine and health checked today!

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Freehold Chiropractor explains most auto injuries including whiplash are missed after a car accident

June 21, 2011 by 3 Comments

As a chiropractor in Freehold, NJ, I am constantly reading articles, papers and blogs about different topics so I can further share with my community. Today I was reading an article from a fellow chiropractor in St. George, Utah.  His series of blogs covers everything pertaining to car accidents, from whiplash injuries, strains and sprains, typical symptoms with whiplash type injuries, some home care and most importantly why chiropractic is so important with whiplash and other auto injuries.  You can read all about whiplash at his blog:  Your Whiplash Injury

So many people get into car accidents of various severity.   Some are little fender benders and others end up with total destruction of the car.  Important to note is severity of the injuries do not always match the damage to a car.  Even a small 5 MPH bumper hit can cause whiplash and other bodily injuries.  Unfortunately most people will go to a hospital or medical doctor after the accident, and you are told you are fine as the X-rays are normal.  The fact is, hospitals and medical doctors just look for broken bones on the x-rays and miss the most important of the injuries:  soft tissue injuries and spinal misalignment.

Many times, people don’t know they were injured because they have no symptoms immediately after the accident.  Then 5, 10, 20 or more years later, all of a sudden you start to experience neck pain, back pain, headaches or migraines, even numbness and tingling, not knowing what the cause was.  A chiropractor that has worked with car accident injuries can put the puzzle together and show you how it was related to your past accident and treat you properly to correct the underlying cause of the symptoms.

If you  have been in a car accident, whether you are in pain or not, you should go to a chiropractor that has experience with auto accidents and have a thorough chiropractic and neurologic evaluation to make sure no long term damage was done.  It is much easier to take care of the problem immediately post accident versus waiting until you have more symptoms and scar tissue has formed years down the road.

We have 13 years experience treating auto injuries in our Freehold, NJ chiropractic office located in Monmouth County.

If you are in Utah, make sure to look up Dr. Todd Lloyd, DC as he also had many years of experience treating these types of conditions:

Todd Lloyd, DC
Innova Pain Clinic
435 N. 1680 E., Ste. 6C
St. George, UT 84790
(435) 574-9114

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chiropractor in Freehold Discusses The Facts You Haven’t Been Told After Your Car Wreck

February 8, 2011 by 2 Comments

If you have recently been in a car accident and are suffering from any of the following:

  • Neck pain
  • Sharp, shooting pains in the arms
  • Numbness and/ or tingling in the arms or hands
  • Painful headaches or dizziness
  • Constant muscle soreness

…there may be cause for concern. This is the most important information you will ever read about your injuries.

It’s amazing how different life can be after a collision.

One minute everything is fine, the next you are hurting for days and uncertain if life will ever get back to normal.  Normal daily activities you used to perform with ease, like reading, working, concentrating, exercising or even sleeping, now take more energy and cause annoying pain that may even prevent you from doing these activities again.

If you feel like this, or have any of the symptoms listed above, you could be suffering from whiplash. Whiplash is an injury to the spine caused by a jerking motion, either backward, forward or from the side.

Whiplash can severely damage your ligaments and tendons, even if you feel just a little sore after the accident. If not healed properly, painful scar tissue will develop,  causing misery in your neck joints for decades.

One medical study concluded 43% of patients “will suffer long-term symptoms following ‘whiplash’ injury, for which no conventional treatment has proven to be effective.”

This means that almost half the people who have neck trauma from a car wreck will suffer for years. Plus the traditional methods of treatment like neck collars, ‘wait-and-see’, and pain pills are not working.

Could This Non-Invasive, Natural Treatment Be The Answer To Your Pain?

I am Dr. Russell Brokstein, DC, clinic director at Hometown Family Wellness Center in Freehold, NJ.  I’ve been helping people heal and be pain free after car wrecks for 13 years in Freehold and the surrounding towns of Marlboro, Manalapan, Howell, Colts Neck, Morganville, Jackson and Old Bridge. Chiropractic treatment has proven to be a very effective method of healing whiplash injuries. Here’s the results of one chiropractic study…

“The results of this retrospective study would suggest that benefits can occur in over 90% of patients undergoing chiropractic treatment for chronic whiplash injury.” — European Spine Journal

It’s Extremely Important To Have A Professional Evaluation

In my “Car Wreck Evaluation” we cover the following:

  • An in-depth consultation about your problem where I will listen…really listen…to the details of your case.
  • A complete neuromuscular examination.
  • A state of the art computerized exam to determine if a pinched nerve in the neck is contributing to your pain. This is an important step in collecting proof of your injury.
  • A thorough analysis of your exam and computerized findings so we can start mapping out your plan to being pain free.
  • You’ll see everything first hand and find out if this amazing treatment will be your pain solution, like it has been for so many other patients.

I’ve seen too many people come in years after their car accident, and have nasty, degenerative arthritis, most of which could have been prevented with the right care early on. I’m tired of seeing this scenario over and over, so it’s important you you receive a special evaluation to help make a difference.

Here’s How To Get Rid Of Your Pain

With my Evaluation we’ll be able find the problem and then correct it.  Think of how you’ll feel in just a few short weeks. You’ll be feeling your life change for the better. Starting your body on the way to a pain-free, normal living. Feeling tight joints rest, relax, free up. Feeling muscles tied in knots become more supple.

As you begin to see motion returning to your joints, you’re preventing and reducing chances of disability and a crippling future. You’re playing golf again, doing yard work or playing with the kids…without pain.

Here’s What To Do About Your Pain

The sooner you get started with your consultation, exam and computerized assessment, you will be on the road to feeling like you did before the accident and enjoying your normal activities once again.

What will your pain feel like months, even years, from today?

A study published in the Journal of Bone and Surgery looked at people who had been in a car accident 15 years ago. They found that 70% of the whiplash injured patients continued to complain of problems related to the original accident.

With women it was even higher — 80% still had symptoms after 15 years!

Don’t let scar tissue build up and be painful for life.  Get checked by a qualified chiropractor immediately after your accident to prevent you from suffering.

Filed Under: Chiropractic, Chiropractic News, Chiropractic Tips, Health Tips, Local News, Natural Remedies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
«Older Posts