East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C.

Dr. Martin Marmorale

Can the Graston Technique® Be Used on Tight Hamstrings?

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When most people think of chiropractors, they think of spinal adjustments to treat back pain. While spinal manipulation is a cornerstone of chiropractic care, chiropractors also offer a range of techniques that address various musculoskeletal issues, including tight or injured hamstrings.

Your spine is a critical part of the central nervous system, and spinal misalignments or pinched nerves caused by issues like slipped discs can lead to discomfort throughout the body. However, chiropractic care extends far beyond spinal health. In this blog post, we’ll explore how chiropractors can support recovery from hamstring injuries using tools like the Graston Technique®.

Can a Chiropractor Fix Hamstrings?

Yes, chiropractors can effectively treat hamstring injuries. Common hamstring issues include strains or tears, which involve soft tissue damage, leading to symptoms such as:

  • Sudden pain or a pulling sensation in the back of the thigh.
  • Swelling or tenderness near the thigh or knee.
  • Bruising or discoloration within hours or days after injury.
  • Difficulty walking or bending the knee due to stiffness or weakness.
  • Pain that worsens with movement, such as running or jumping.

Chiropractors treat hamstring injuries with several methods, including massage therapy and the Graston Technique®. 

Is It Okay to Massage a Pulled Hamstring?

Absolutely. Massage therapy is designed specifically to target our soft tissue, making it a great choice for treating injuries such as a pulled hamstring. Massage therapy can reduce pain, inflammation, and swelling. This helps increase mobility more quickly and get you back to your day-to-day life sooner.

What Are the Effects of Graston on Hamstring Injury?

The Graston Technique® is an evidence-based method that uses specially designed stainless-steel instruments to detect and treat scar tissue and soft tissue restrictions. When used on a hamstring injury, this technique helps:

  • Breakdown scar tissue resulting from a tear
  • Improve blood flow and circulation in the affected area
  • Reduce pain and restore range of motion

The Graston Technique® can help break up scar tissue caused by car accidents, slips and falls, sports injuries, post-surgical soft tissue healing, and more. While it may result in temporary bruising or mild discomfort, these side effects are part of the natural healing process.

Recover Faster from Hamstring Injuries at East Bay Chiropractic

At East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C., we specialize in helping patients recover from hamstring strains and other soft tissue injuries. With more than 35 years of experience and certified expertise in the Graston Technique®, we are proud to be among the few clinics on Long Island offering this advanced treatment.

In addition to utilizing the Graston Technique®, we can also utilize massage, stretching exercises, spinal adjustments, and more in our approach to pain management. Schedule your appointment today and take the first step towards a more comfortable life.

Does Graston help Patellar Tendonitis?

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Being physically active throughout our lives is important, especially as we get older. Exercising, such as jogging and playing sports, well into our later years can help keep us healthy and strong, which is essential for maintaining independence in our golden years.

Unfortunately, aging can also make us more susceptible to injuries from exercising. Even when we’re younger and trying our best to avoid it, injuries can still affect us at the most inopportune times.

One such common injury related to exercise and sports is patellar tendonitis. So, what exactly causes this injury?

What Causes Patellar Tendonitis?

The primary cause of patellar tendonitis is overuse of the tendon that connects our kneecap to our shin bone. This happens from repeated stress on the tendon, causing a series of microtears. This can result from playing sports that involve frequent jumping, such as basketball and volleyball, but it can happen in other instances as well.

Does Patellar Tendonitis Go Away?

For mild cases, it can eventually go away with proper care, but it’s important not to work through the pain. Paying attention to when you have pain developing between your kneecap and shin bone can help keep you from overexerting yourself and making things worse. It’s common for the pain to initially only appear while you’re being active, but eventually it can start to occur more and more frequently even when not being active, which can start to impact your quality of life. Seeking help from a professional at that point will help expedite the healing process.

Is Scraping Good for Patellar Tendonitis?

The Graston Technique® is designed to treat injuries just like patellar tendonitis. That’s because this technique, which only certified professionals can administer, is ideal for breaking up scar tissue that forms on soft tissue, including your tendons, that develops from these injuries. When your body is trying to heal from microtears in soft tissue, the hard, coarse tissue that develops over it creates pain and limits mobility. The Graston Technique® breaks that up to restore your mobility and expedite your healing process.

East Bay Chiropractic Wellness Can Help You Recover

Sports injuries might seem like minor inconveniences to some, but conditions like patellar tendonitis can become chronic and significantly affect your quality of life. Ongoing pain and mobility issues can introduce unexpected limitations into your daily routine, making even simple activities more difficult.

At East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C., we’ve been helping patients manage pain and restore mobility for over 35 years. Our team offers a comprehensive range of chiropractic services tailored to your needs, including massage therapy, stretching exercises, spinal adjustments, and the Graston Technique®. This specialized approach has been shown to support faster, more effective rehabilitation.

Schedule your appointment today to get evaluated and explore the best treatment options for getting back to the life you enjoy.

What Is Text Neck and How to Treat It

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The modern age brings us many things, both positive and negative. Among them are a plethora of screens—laptops, desktops, and especially smartphones. Have you ever had a pain in your neck from looking down at a phone screen to text or surf the internet? You may have a very modern ailment called “text neck“.

What Is Text Neck?

A comparatively new term, like the technology that spawned it, text neck refers to pain or physical damage caused by tilting one’s head to look down at the screen of an electronic device for long periods of time.

The repetitive stress to the upper spine and neck is what causes the pain. The average human head weighs between ten and twelve pounds, but when the neck is tilted down, the effective weight increases to approximately thirty pounds, causing stress and strain to the spine and surrounding musculature. This stress is not limited to your neck. It also transmits through your cervical spine, shoulder muscles, and associated supporting ligaments.

What Are the Symptoms of Text Neck?

Pain and stiffness are the primary symptoms, but not the only ones. These are some of the symptoms to look out for if you suspect that text neck is your issue: 

  • Eye pain.
  • Fatigue.
  • Consistent or constant headaches.
  • Deterioration of posture.
  • Nausea.
  • Muscle soreness.
  • Reduced range of motion.
  • Sharp pain in that area of your neck.
  • Stiffness or tightness in your neck and shoulders.
  • Upper back pain.

As the use of mobile devices has exploded, so have incidents of text neck. Teenagers watching TikTok videos on their phones, office workers bent over desktop computer screens, and people of all ages playing video games all contribute to text neck becoming more common.

Can a Chiropractor Fix Text Neck?

The National Library of Medicine notes chiropractic care as non-invasive treatment modalities used to treat persistent neck pain issues such as text neck. Unfortunately, there has been limited research on neck pain, especially when compared to studies on lower back pain.

Can Graston® Treatments Alleviate Text Neck?

Graston Technique® is an instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization therapy used to alleviate chronic pain and improve mobility. This type of manipulation, which is gaining more research support, aligns well with the National Library of Medicine study linked above.

East Bay Chiropractic Wellness – A Holistic Approach

Since 1986, Dr Marmorale has stayed at the cutting edge of chiropractic care, being certified in the Graston Technique® since 2008. Dr Marmorale and our expert team at East Bay Chiropractic create a treatment plan for each patient, custom-tailored to their particular needs and circumstances. Contact us at East Bay Chiropractic today. You deserve a life free from pain!

Is It Okay to Stretch After the Chiropractor?

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When you have a chiropractic adjustment, the last thing you want to do is undo its benefits by moving or exercising the wrong way after treatment. Patients are often inclined to avoid activities like stretching, walking, exercising, and doing yoga after an adjustment, but in most cases, we encourage these when done in moderation.

Is It Okay to Stretch After a Chiropractic Adjustment?

Stretching after an adjustment isn’t just okay, we typically recommend it. Gentle stretching after a visit to the chiropractor can reduce post-adjustment soreness and speed the healing process by improving blood circulation to the affected tissues.

Can I Exercise After Seeing the Chiropractor?

While exercise is crucial to good health and well-being, we recommend avoiding strenuous or high-impact workouts after a chiropractic adjustment. Your body is adapting to being realigned, so ease back into activities slowly over the course of several days. Try not to bend or twist your spine for the first 24-48 hours, and don’t push yourself too hard. As an alternative to more vigorous workouts, try walking or swimming instead.

Is It Good to Go for a Walk After a Chiropractic Adjustment?

While it’s not a good idea to engage in strenuous or high-impact workouts after a chiropractic appointment, walking is an excellent way to exercise while allowing your body to stabilize after an adjustment.

Can I Do Yoga After Seeing the Chiropractor?

Yoga is a wonderful complement to chiropractic treatment, improving flexibility and fostering a healthy mind-body connection. After an adjustment, focus on gentle poses for a day or two, and gradually ease back into more difficult ones. Stop and call your chiropractor if you feel any pain or significant discomfort.

Should I Take a Nap After a Chiropractic Adjustment?

Feeling tired after a chiropractic adjustment is common. You’re adapting to the realignment and experiencing improved blood flow, so becoming sleepy is perfectly normal. If you feel like taking a nap, by all means, do so, but avoid nodding off in a contorted or uncomfortable position.

Can Stretching Help Break Up Scar Tissue?

Stretching lengthens and softens scar tissue, allowing it to become more mobile and increasingly flexible. If you have adhesions or scar tissue that are limiting your mobility, we recommend specialized treatment with the Graston Technique®. This process uses specialized stainless steel tools to locate and break up scar tissue and fascial adhesions, and to release knotted muscles. The Graston Technique® increases blood flow, reduces inflammation, and promotes faster healing, making it an excellent complement to traditional chiropractic adjustments.

Should I Stretch After a Graston® Treatment?

We recommend stretching after a Graston® Technique Treatment just like we do after a chiropractic adjustment. Post-Graston® stretching helps realign and maintain the released scar tissue and improve your flexibility and range of motion.

Serving Long Island for More Than 35 Years

At East Bay Chiropractic Wellness, we’re always happy to answer your questions about our treatments and what you should and shouldn’t do afterward. For more than 35 years, we’ve offered a broad range of chiropractic services to Long Island residents. These include traditional adjustments, massage therapy, physical therapy, acupuncture, nutritional counseling, supplements, and our specialty, the Graston Technique®. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Marmorale today!

Does Graston Work on Plantar Fasciitis?

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Many of us will experience some form of chronic pain or discomfort as we age. This can vary in intensity, with some cases being an inconvenience we can work through by adjusting our day-to-day life, including regular exercise, proper diet, and a better sleeping schedule. That said, there are forms of chronic pain that are more difficult to tackle. One such common ailment is plantar fasciitis.

This common cause of heel pain is related to inflammation in our plantar fascia, the soft tissue running across the bottom of our feet that connects our heels to our toes. This connective tissue is very important in allowing us to walk properly. Unfortunately, repeated stress on the plantar fascia, whether from long-distance running, standing for hours at work, obesity, or aging, can lead to tears, inflammation, and sharp heel pain.

Traditionally, conventional physical therapy has been used to treat the symptoms related to plantar fasciitis, but could the Graston Technique® be more effective?

Should Plantar Fasciitis Be Massaged?

Some people still associate chiropractic care primarily with spinal manipulation and assume that it’s primarily used to treat issues directly related to the spine and look to conventional physical therapy to handle other issues. While it’s true that spinal manipulation helps many, a chiropractor has many tools at their disposal, including massage therapy. Similar to spinal manipulation, massage therapy is the manipulation of our soft tissue, including the fascia. This form of therapy increases blood flow to the affected region and relaxes the targeted tissue to help reduce inflammation.

Is Muscle Scraping Good for Plantar Fasciitis?

Massage therapy isn’t the only tool chiropractors have for treating plantar fasciitis. Chiropractors who are properly trained and certified in the Graston Technique® can further treat this form of inflammation. Studies have shown that the Graston Technique® provided significant improvement compared to treating plantar fasciitis through physical therapy alone. The specialized tools used for Graston®  allow the practitioner to target the microtears and other similar injuries to the fascia that result in stiffness and hardening around the damage to be broken up and massaged to allow proper healing.

East Bay Chiropractic Wellness Can Help Treat Your Plantar Fasciitis

Chiropractic care augmented with the Graston Technique® has helped many people overcome inflammation-related pain caused by conditions like plantar fasciitis. At East Bay Chiropractic, we specialize in the Graston Technique®. This pain management approach targets the knots and adhesions in your soft tissue to help combat inflammation to reduce and manage your chronic pain. And with more than 30 years of experience, you know you’ll be in good hands. Contact East Bay Chiropractic today and learn more about how we can help alleviate your chronic pain so you can find comfort and peace of mind.

Can Subluxations Clear Up on Their Own?

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The term “subluxation” has several meanings across different disciplines, but in the study of chiropractic care, a vertebral subluxation is a misalignment of the vertebrae in the spine. When a vertebra is misaligned, it can put pressure on a spinal nerve, potentially disrupting nerve communication, causing injuries, or even contributing to disease development. A vertebral subluxation may or may not be visible on an x-ray.

Will a Subluxation Go Away on Its Own?

It is possible for some subluxations to resolve spontaneously. In those cases where the misalignment is minor and not causing excessive discomfort, the body may correct the issue over time. This depends on several factors, including individual health and lifestyle. It may not be sufficient to rely on the body’s ability to heal, especially if the pain persists or worsens.

How Long Does a Subluxation Take to Heal?

Minor subluxations may heal within a few days or weeks with proper rest, gentle stretching, and maintaining good posture. The healing process varies significantly based on the severity of the subluxation and an individual’s overall health. More severe misalignments may require chiropractic adjustments or specialized treatments such as the Graston Technique® to promote effective healing. Promptly establishing a care plan can help prevent long-term injuries, chronic pain, and restricted mobility.

The Graston Technique® uses specialized instruments to assist in soft-tissue manipulation. The technique is used to induce inflammation to boost blood flow and promote healing in affected soft tissues. Patients experiencing back pain may also receive treatment targeting hip flexors, shoulders, and other areas connected through the fascial network. However, the Graston Technique® should not be used in cases such as spinal compression fractures or any condition contraindicated for soft-tissue mobilization.

Can a Misaligned Back Heal on Its Own?

The body has mechanisms to correct minor injuries and misalignments, but a consistently misaligned back may not heal completely without targeted intervention. Chronic subluxations can contribute to continuing discomfort, muscle tension, and nerve irritation. Chiropractic care, physical therapy, and exercises designed to strengthen the supportive muscles can help realign the spine and prevent recurring issues.

What Happens If You Don’t Treat a Subluxation?

If left untreated, a subluxation can cause persistent discomfort or stiffness that may worsen over time. Untreated subluxations can contribute to degenerative spinal changes, increasing the risk of osteoarthritis or herniated discs. They can also affect the nerves and cause radiating pain, tingling, or numbness in the extremities. Declining spinal health can negatively affect daily activities, posture, and overall quality of life.

Early intervention leads to a faster recovery and reduces the risk of long-term complications associated with untreated spinal misalignments. It’s important to seek a professional evaluation and treatment for persistent or recurrent issues.

Explore The Benefits of Chiropractic Care at East Bay Chiropractic Wellness

In addition to conventional chiropractic care, East Bay Chiropractic specializes in the use of the Graston Technique®. In fact, we are the first on Long Island to be certified in the use of the technique. Book an appointment with East Bay Chiropractic today!