East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C.

Dr. Martin Marmorale

Common Workplace Injuries That Can Be Treated Using the Graston Technique®

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Now that we’re weeks into the new year, we’re getting fully immersed back into our work with few holidays in sight. While many of us are getting back into the swing of things and keeping our noses to the grindstone, it’s important to also be watching out for our own health and safety.

For many, the holidays can result in a break from regular exercise and other precautions we take to avoid injury, and those habits can be difficult to reintegrate into our schedules if we aren’t proactive about it. In fact, studies have shown that workplace-related injuries jump 23% from December to January, with the highest rates of workplace-related injury occurring in the summer months.

So, with that in mind, what workplace injuries are the most common, and how can they be treated?

What Are the Most Common Workplace Injuries?

There are several common workplace injuries, but they really depend on the job. For example, any job that requires lifting heavy items regularly can lead to a workplace injury if the proper care isn’t taking place throughout the lifting process, and sometimes even if you are. These injuries include:

  • Strains
  • Sprains
  • Pulled muscles
  • And slipped discs

When it comes to office work utilizing computers and similar products, one of the most common injuries is repetitive strain injury, or RSI. Repetitive motions cause this injury due to typing, gripping tools needed constantly for a particular job, and using a mouse. These can also result from the repetitive motion of scanning items as a cashier or repetitive motions as part of being on an assembly line. These injuries can manifest as carpal tunnel syndrome, rotor cuff tendonitis, bursitis, and more.

Which Of the Most Common Workplace Injuries Can Be Treated with Chiropractic Care?

Repetitive strain injuries such as those listed above are readily treated by chiropractic care and the Graston Technique®. By using specifically designed tools, this technique helps to break up adhesions and the damaged tissue around your muscles, tendons, and nerves to restore your range of motion, alleviate your pain, and give your body the ability to heal properly. Other forms of chiropractic care, as well as deep tissue massage, can also be beneficial.

East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P. C. Can Help You Recover from Injuries Faster

Workplace injuries are more than an inconvenience; they can greatly reduce your quality of life if not properly treated. For more than 35 years, East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C. has provided a wide range of chiropractic services to fit your needs. We can work with you on pain management and restoring the range of motion in your neck and back through massage, stretching exercises, spinal adjustments, and the Graston Technique®, which has been shown to facilitate faster and more successful rehabilitation. Schedule your appointment today to be evaluated and determine your best options to restore your quality of life.

What to Expect After Your First Chiropractic Adjustment

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If you’ve never had a chiropractic adjustment, you might wonder how you will feel afterward and if there’s anything you need to do or avoid. While so much depends upon the individual patient, you should know some essential things before your first adjustment.

What Happens After Your First Adjustment?

After your first adjustment, you may experience immediate relief and even a feeling of mild euphoria. This may lead to minor aches, soreness, and tiredness for 24-48 hours. Some individuals also feel a little weird or “off” for a day or two due to the release of toxins from the joints. Remember that your body has been out of alignment. It may take a few days to feel better and more than a single session to fix the issue. For many patients, subsequent adjustments cause fewer aftereffects.

Why Do You Need to Rest After Chiropractic Adjustment?

After a chiropractic treatment, your body is in a state of healing and adjustment. To support this process:

  • Rest briefly before leaving the chiropractor’s office.
  • Stay active, but avoid heavy lifting and jerky, strenuous movements.
  • Get adequate sleep and stay hydrated.
  • Avoid stressful activities that could cause muscle tension and misalign your spine.

How Long After Chiropractic Adjustment Do You Feel Better?

How long it takes to feel better depends on the patient. Some individuals feel immediate improvement, while others may require ongoing treatment. Chiropractic care is holistic, and it works on multiple levels with a variety of treatments.

The initial goal of a chiropractic adjustment is to relieve pain without the use of drugs. This helps the patient function better in their daily life with less discomfort. Continued treatment will involve getting to the root of the problem and correcting it. In addition to adjustments, this phase of treatment could include complementary therapies like massage or acupuncture, as well as lifestyle and exercise coaching.

How Do I Know if My Chiropractic Treatment is Working?

The primary signs that your chiropractic treatment is working are reduced pain levels, improved range of motion, and greater ease in completing your daily tasks. Over time, and with proper chiropractic care, you should feel better overall, with an increased sense of well-being. Your sleep may become more productive, your energy levels higher, and your immune system more robust.

Is One Chiropractic Adjustment Enough?

While a single adjustment may bring immediate relief, it typically takes time to realign, retrain, and strengthen your body. Chiropractic treatment is an ongoing, holistic process, and its effects are cumulative. We look forward to working with you to create a treatment plan to help you achieve your health and wellness goals.

Schedule an Appointment at East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C.

Our team at East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C. is here to answer any questions you have about chiropractic treatments. With more than 35 years of experience in a full spectrum of chiropractic treatments, we guarantee you’re in capable hands. Contact us online or call us at (516) 679-2225 for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Teachers

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As a teacher, your day is busy enough that you might not notice your physical exertion until long after the school day is done. Reaching for an ice pack or an over-the-counter pain medication may seem like it’s the thing to do. However, there are many benefits to chiropractic care that can help alleviate the pain stemming from the deceptively physically demanding teaching career.

Roughly 35% of the 22 million Americans visiting chiropractors each year are seeking relief from back pain, neck pain, pain in the limbs, and headaches. Those looking for alternatives to surgery or medication for back pain relief often turn to chiropractic treatments.

Why Does My Back Hurt After School?

If you experience soreness or back pain at the end of a day molding young minds, you might not even realize the strain you place your body under. Activities common to teachers that lead to back pain include standing for long hours, a head-down posture (as if looking down at a desk, grading papers, or leaning over to help a student), or even the repeated lifting of school supplies.

How Can Chiropractic Care Help Teachers?

Spinal manipulation has been associated with moderate improvements in back pain. There’s even some evidence that chiropractic manipulation may help slow the progression of arthritis by improving cartilage, bone, and the joint capsule.

Grading papers and all the other work that can lead to one hunching over a desk can result in a poor hyperkyphosis, or hunchback, posture. Chiropractic treatments can be a boon to improving posture and providing pain relief in the head and neck.

Realigning your spine can ease the tension in your neck muscles to reduce pain and improve posture. The Graston® technique is another treatment that helps with chronic pain, improves posture and function.

People who experience chronic pain are often given prescription pain relievers to help manage their pain and discomfort. Receiving chiropractic treatment may eliminate or lower the reliance on pain medication.

Why Do Teachers Have Back Pain?

The average person doesn’t realize how easily teaching can contribute to or even cause back pain. Teachers of lower grades might sit on the floor or on child-sized chairs to be closer to their students. Teachers also spend long hours standing without a break. Bending over to help students and even sitting with their necks and possibly shoulders slumped forward while grading papers will also cause or contribute to back pain.

To make things worse, Teachers may avoid drinking water to minimize bathroom breaks or consume diuretics like coffee or tea. Since well-hydrated muscles are more pliable, dehydration can worsen back pain.

Lower back pain is the second most common reason for doctor visits in the U.S. For teachers, it can mean a diminished quality of life, functional impairment, frequent sick leaves, and even early retirement. Addressing lower back pain promptly may prevent the need for more invasive treatments such as surgery or injections.

There is evidence that early intervention with physical therapy or chiropractic care can lessen treatment costs and reliance on more expensive health services. The official Oregon State website references the “economic burden of low back and neck pain” and cites a peer-reviewed study demonstrating the effectiveness of chiropractic care for these conditions.

Both chiropractic care and physical therapy are often more effective than non-pharmacological treatments for lower back pain, with chiropractic services generally costing less than physical therapy.

Talk to East Bay Chiropractic Wellness About How Chiropractic Care Can Improve Your Life

For more than 35 years, East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C. has been providing a wide range of chiropractic services to Long Island residents, treating a wide range of conditions that impact day-to-day life. We can work with you on pain management and restoring a normal range of motion through spinal adjustments, massage, stretching exercises, the Graston Technique®, and much more. Schedule your appointment today.

How Long Does the Graston Technique® Take to Work?

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Similar to the goals of any physical therapy, the overall goal of the Graston Technique® is to reduce a patient’s pain and increase function and mobility. When tissue is damaged, it often heals in a haphazard way that may look dense under a diagnostic ultrasound. Compared to non-damaged tissue, it may appear too thick or irregular, resulting in a restricted range of motion or pain.

By utilizing a specialized form of cross-friction massage in concert with the Graston® tools, adhesions are addressed to initiate and promote positive healing of the affected soft tissue areas. Treatment is done along a kinetic chain, so a patient being treated for back pain may also receive treatment to their hip flexors, abdomen, hamstrings, shoulders, and other regions of the body. These areas may seem unrelated but are actually connected through the body’s fascial network.

How Long Should a Graston® Session Last?

After scanning for areas needing treatment, your Graston® practitioner will apply chiropractic scraping to each area for 30-60 seconds. A full session can take anywhere from about 20 minutes to just under an hour, depending on your body’s needs.

It is perfectly common for patients to experience mild discomfort while experiencing Graston® massage. The overall process, however, leads to greater freedom of movement, better range of motion and less pain.

How Often Should You Get Graston® Done?

Depending on your condition and particular injury, you should wait at least 48 hours between sessions to allow your tissues to heal properly. When getting Graston® treatment sessions, most people schedule two visits per week for about five to six weeks.

Does Graston® Break Up Scar Tissue?

The Graston® tools are typically six pieces that come in a narrow band of shapes designed to work on areas of injured fibrotic tissue. They’re used to break down adhesions and fascia restrictions found in the soft tissue areas affected by trauma. The goal is to stretch and rearrange tissue to reduce restrictions on the treated areas.

What Is the Success Rate of the Graston Technique®?

The Graston Technique® website claims the method has “positive outcomes in 75-90 percent of all conditions treated.” It also purports to be equally effective among pre- and post-surgical patients, maintaining optimal range of motion, and restoring function to acute and chronic injuries. There have also been some studies that claim spinal manipulation can be of help with migraines as well as other pain.

How Many Graston® Sessions Do I Need?

As patients need to give their bodies time to heal correctly from their previous sessions, it can generally take up to five or six weeks with two sessions per week. Many people experience positive results starting around their third week of treatment.

It’s important you discuss any treatment options with a healthcare provider who can work with you and understand, based on your individual circumstances, what plan works best for you and your body.

East Bay Chiropractic Wellness Specializes in The Graston Technique®

At East Bay Chiropractic Wellness, P.C., we have over 30 years of experience in treating patients not just chiropractic care but also the Graston Technique®. Find out how we can treat your condition, alleviate pain, increase your range of motion, and more. Give us a call at (631) 679-2225 or fill out our online form to book an appointment.

How Can the Graston Technique® Treat Chronic Pain?

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The Graston Technique® is a soft-tissue instrument-assisted mobilization, a manual therapy technique used in chiropractic treatments. Instead of using just one’s hands, practitioners of this technique use six instruments combined with a specialized form of massage to achieve a therapeutic effect by releasing adhesions that restrict mobility, causing pain.

Chronic pain is any pain that lasts multiple months (typically 3-6). It’s a common enough problem that roughly 20 percent of all U.S. adults deal with it.

Does Insurance Cover the Graston Technique®?

Chiropractic care isn’t specified in federal essential health benefits requirements. So, whether or not your insurance provider will cover the Graston Technique® will depend on the state you live in and your own personal insurance plan.

Does Graston Help with Whiplash?

If you’ve suffered a car accident injury and you’ve been suffering whiplash for months, then you should see a trained chiropractor or other qualified health professional. They can help you establish a program to help improve your neck’s strength and flexibility.

How Do You Break Up Scar Tissue from Whiplash?

Each of the six core tools used in the Graston Technique® is made of stainless steel and comes in an array of convex and concave shapes. They’re used to scan over the body to detect areas of injured fibrotic tissue.

The Graston Technique® works to break down adhesions and fascial restrictions found in the soft tissue areas affected by trauma. It attempts to stretch and rearrange tissue to reduce restrictions on the treated areas.

Why Is It Important to See a Chiropractor After a Car Accident?

A chiropractor can help reduce pain and discomfort throughout the neck and back. It can also help reduce inflammation and swelling.

Some states require a person involved in a car accident to seek medical treatment within an allotted amount of time close to the time of the incident to qualify for certain times of insurance.

Does Graston Work for Back Pain?

A back injury is one of the most common results of harm from an auto collision. Evidence suggests that massage and other manual therapies can help reduce pain and improve mobility function with chronic nonspecific neck to lower back pain.

Can Graston Help with Back Injuries?

Scar tissue can limit a muscle’s ability to move normally and cause back muscles to tighten, which can work the spine out of alignment. This can lead to a herniated disc, also called a slipped disc.

Can a Slipped Disc Be Fixed by a Chiropractor?

Chiropractic care can prevent a herniated disc from worsening and ease pain symptoms and inflammation. Certain cases of fragmented herniated discs may be beyond being treated by chiropractic care and may require surgery.

Your treatment plan with your chiropractor will vary in specifics depending on your physical activity level, pain level, overall health, and other factors.

East Bay Chiropractic Can Help to Alleviate Pain

For many people, chronic pain is a daily challenge. East Bay Chiropractic specializes in the use of the Graston Technique® in pain management and relief caused by soft tissue fibrosis and chronic inflammation that could lead to constant discomfort or pain. Contact East Bay Chiropractic today and learn more about how we can help you manage your chronic pain with the Graston Technique®.

7 Reasons for Massage Therapy During the Holiday Season

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The holiday season is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, filled with family, fun, and memorable moments. However, it also can be an incredibly stressful time for our bodies. Holiday celebrations often involve travel and increased physical activity – shopping, decorating, marathon cooking, and more, all while enduring cold, damp weather. This can overtax our bodies, causing discomfort that detracts from enjoying these special days.

If the holidays are giving you physical aches or stress overload, a chiropractic massage therapy session might be the perfect solution. There’s no better gift you can give yourself than the gift of wellness.

What Are the Benefits of Chiropractic Massage?

Chiropractic massage offers numerous physical and mental benefits that allow you to fully enjoy the holidays and be more present in the moment. Here are seven reasons you should treat yourself to massage therapy during the holiday season:

  1. Pain Relief: Massage relaxes your muscles, reducing nerve pressure and inflammation. This helps decrease pain levels naturally and without drugs.
  2. Stress Reduction: Reducing pain and stiffness in your body lowers your physical stress levels. Massage also boosts your serotonin and dopamine levels, helping you relax and release mental stress.
  3. Increased Mobility: A chiropractic massage enhances the elasticity of your muscles, increasing your range of motion.
  4. Stronger Muscles: Chiropractic massage allows your muscles to function more effectively, making them more resilient and resistant to injury.
  5. Better Sleep: Massage lowers cortisol and stimulates serotonin, which aids in melatonin production. Melatonin regulates your sleep patterns. Melatonin allows you to rest, recover, and wake up feeling refreshed.
  6. Overall Wellness: Massage provides numerous wellness benefits. It lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety and depression, flushes toxins, improves circulation, and strengthens the immune system.
  7. Self-Care: During the holidays, you spend so much time doing for others that it’s wise to invest in yourself and your well-being.

What Happens During Chiropractic Massage?

A chiropractic massage session proceeds similarly to a basic spa massage but with some crucial differences. At your initial chiropractic massage appointment, you will be asked questions about your overall health and wellness goals, including information about your pain levels, medical history, medications, exposure to stress, and lifestyle. Your chiropractor may do a more thorough examination, possibly ordering X-rays or other scans if necessary.

After taking this history, your licensed therapist will leave the room while you undress to your level of comfort and lie on the padded massage table beneath a sheet or towel. The table features various attachments and cushions that can be adjusted for your comfort.

When your massage therapist returns to the room, they will begin the massage, asking about pressure and comfort levels as they proceed. They may remind you to breathe normally during the session, which may last between 30 to 90 minutes. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, please let your therapist know so they can adjust pressure or environmental factors to ensure your comfort.

Once the session ends, the therapist will leave the room, granting you privacy to dress. Post-massage, they might share recommendations for future treatments and put together a comprehensive wellness program tailored for you.

Treat Yourself to a Massage This Holiday Season

Our team at East Bay Chiropractic Wellness can develop a holistic treatment plan to ensure optimal wellness during the holiday season. With more than 35 years of experience in various chiropractic treatments, including massage, we guarantee you’re in capable hands. Contact us online or call us at (516) 679-2225 for more information or to schedule an appointment.