What is Cold Laser (Low Level Laser) Therapy and Do I Need it?
July 22, 2009
People often come into my office complaining of sharp pains in their wrists from carpal tunnel syndrome. Many of them have been told that they will need a risky surgery to relieve their carpal tunnel pain. Fortunately for them, in many cases, surgery is not necessarily the best and is far from the only option.
Low level laser therapy, otherwise known as Cold Laser Therapy has been around almost since the beginning of laser technology in the late 1960’s. At our offices here in Northern New 
Jersey, we’ve been using the latest in laser technology for more than 5 years to treat those with carpal tunnel syndrome and neuropathy, as well as knee pain and shoulder pain. Basically said, these lasers are amazing at stimulating celluar function in joints, ligaments, and other soft tissue problems. What this generally does is help my patient’s bodies move to begin healing themselves. It reduces swelling, and here’s the best part, Low Level Laser therapy is totally painless and non invasive!
There is no down time (unlike surgical options), and the success rates are a shocking 75.6 percent! I also wrote another article about whether or not you should have surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, please check out that article as well as the rest of our site.
To learn more about carpal tunnel syndrome, sign up for a free report, or click here to register for a Free, In- Office Evaluation. If you are looking for faster service, feel free to give us a call at one of our two New Jersey locations. For our Bayonne, NJ location, call 201-339-8889, and for our Scotch Plains, NJ location call us at 908-490-1800. Just tell them that you read this article and you will receive our complimentary in-office evaluation (a $245 Value).
Article by Dr. Eric Chludzinski, DC. Dr. Chludzinski is the founder of Hudson Center for Spinal Care located in Bayonne and Scotch Plains, New Jersey. In preparation for his career, Dr. Chludzinski attended St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, NJ graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Science. He continued his studies at Life University School of Chiropractic in Marietta, GA graduating in the class of 2002 as a Doctor of Chiropractic.
What is the best treatment for Spinal Stenosis?
July 15, 2009
For most patients, a combination of treatments will provide the most effective results for Spinal Stenosis. While every type of treatment has its purpose, combining chiropractic, physical therapy and spinal decompression is really the key. It is very rare in our office to only use one form of treatment because each modality will feed on the next to get the patient well quicker.
To explain why, let’s talk a bit more about what creates Spinal Stenosis. Stenosis means narrowing. So when the spine starts to narrow, it starts to choke off the nerve which typically causes a lot of decreased mobility and pain and weakness down into the legs.
Most cases of spinal stenosis are acquired as a result of degenerative changes in the spine. The main cause of spinal degeneration is osteoarthritis, an arthritic condition that affects the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints. With time, the cartilage begins to deteriorate, and as it wears down, bone may rub painfully on bone. In an attempt to repair the damage, your body may produce bony growths called bone spurs. When these form on the facet joints in the spine, they narrow the spinal canal.
Another common factor that can cause a narrowing of the spinal canal is a herniated disc, which we see often in our office. A herniated disk can narrow your spinal canal and compress nerves in your lumbar spine, leading to pain that starts in your hip or buttocks and extends down the back of your leg. I often use an oreo cookie as an analogy. The cream in the middle represents the disc. If you press on one side of the cookie, the cream is going to come out the other side. It’s also going the make the area between the cookies smaller. So it actually has a flattening effect on the cream of the cookie. The cream coming out would represent a disc bulge or herniation. The flattening effect is creating closer contact to the nerve because it has narrowed the space. Anytime you have contact with the nerve, you have pain!
So it’s all about balancing on the disc. If there is abnormal pressure on one side or the other, it’s going to have its affect. With chiropractic treatment, we will work on aligning your spine to create that balance between discs. With spinal decompression, we are restoring some of the nutrient back into the disc, essentially rehydrating the disc. By building up the disc, you are making a bigger opening for the nerve to go through. We also may use traction to stretch the spine and mold it into a more curved alignment, which will create a bigger opening for the nerves. In my experience, all of these treatments, in combination with physical therapy to strengthen and help prevent reoccurrence, will provide the best long-term relief for Spinal Stenosis.
Do You Have Pain Radiating Down Your Leg?
July 8, 2009
I see many patients come through my office with pain related to “Sciatica”. Sciatica is actually a symptom consisting of leg pain which can be a shooting pain, a burning sensation, a tingling feeling, and/or general weakness in the leg. The most common condition that causes sciatica is a herniated or slipped disc that causes pressure on the nerves. The sciatic nerve is the thickest nerve in the body and it branches off to the lower spinal nerve roots and spinal nerves. It runs down the back of the leg.
Most commonly I see a disc irritating these nerves which causes the pain (or numbness and tingling or weakness) down the leg. Essentially patients have trouble standing or walking on the leg because when they stand they put more loading from the disc onto the nerve and that causes heightened irritation. If it’s a disc issue and you qualify for spinal decompression, in my opinion that is the best form of treatment.
The other key to long-term success is proper alignment through Chiropractic care. We make sure we’re addressing any type of abnormal loading on the spine, in other words any poor alignment. If there is additional pressure on the nerves from poor posture, that can contribute to recurring injuries. We make sure everything is balanced by utilizing specific postural adjustments by means of a low force spinal adjusting instrument know as the IMPULSE. For more information, visit www.neuromechanical.com. Additionally, we always follow up with physical rehab and stretching of the muscles to aid in stabilizing the spine.
But whatever you do, make sure you fully understand the risks associated with any procedure to treat your sciatica. I’m always so surprised with how few people know about spinal decompression technology and its proven success. Nearly all the patients that HAVE been through a spinal surgery wished they knew about spinal decompression first.
Take a look at this video for more information:
Should you have surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
July 1, 2009
Believe it or not, I get a lot of post carpal tunnel surgery patients coming to my office because their pain has returned, and often has increased after the surgery. There is a pretty simple explanation. The surgery involves cutting open the wrist, and anytime you have surgery, you will inevitably get some amount of scar tissue as a result. The carpal tunnel region is very limited in space and so the amount of room the nerves and tendons have to pass through is already tight. Post surgery scar tissue can actually cause the tendons in that region to become bulkier or thicker, which tends to cause further irritation, the same kind of irritation the surgery is supposed to be curing. So many patients do experience post-surgery symptoms very similar to their original carpal tunnel symptoms.
Whether you have had surgery or not, our office has a therapy program tailored to each individual, and we’ve seen amazing long-term success with patients that suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The first thing we do with any new patient is make sure your diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is correct. After that, and depending on the location of your pain (some people also get pain or irritation in their shoulder and neck as well as the wrist and hand), we develop a therapy program specifically tailored to you. We will use cold laser therapy to decrease the inflammation in the nerve and tendon so the nerve is not entrapped, and then back it up with a lot of rehab. The rehab is really what sets up apart from other Carpal Tunnel Syndrome treatments. After we reduce inflammation, we work on building strength in the muscles and tendons in the wrist and arm to make sure the injury doesn’t reoccur.
What are the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Constant pain in the wrist or hand, and/or numbing or tingling in fingers is the most common symptom. Most patients with this condition have a very difficult time performing normal activities like buttoning a shirt or grasping a cup of coffee. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is irritation of the median nerve, which runs along with tendons from the neck all the way to down to the wrist.
To learn more about carpal tunnel syndrome, sign up for a free report, or click here to register for a Free, In- Office Evaluation. If you are looking for faster service, feel free to give us a call at one of our two New Jersey locations. For our Bayonne, NJ location, call 201-339-8889, and for our Scotch Plains, NJ location call us at 908-490-1880. Just tell them that you read this article and you will receive our complimentary in-office evaluation (a $245 Value).
Article by Dr. Eric Chludzinski, DC. Dr. Chludzinski is the founder of New Jersey Pain & Numbness Relief Center located in Bayonne and Scotch Plains, New Jersey. In preparation for his career, Dr. Chludzinski attended St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, NJ graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Science. He continued his studies at Life University School of Chiropractic in Marietta, GA graduating in the class of 2002 as a Doctor of Chiropractic.
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