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.
Why doesn’t insurance pay for spinal decompression when the results are so good?
June 17, 2009
For the majority of us, the economy has made things difficult, including our own healthcare. So when someone who comes in and has qualified as a candidate for spinal decompression asks me why it’s not covered by insurance, this is what I tell them.
Unfortunately, Spinal Decompression is a relatively new procedure. Health insurance companies calculate how they pay by looking at statistics that have been tabulated over a long period of time. Since the data and research have only been going on for a decade or so on spinal decompression, they have decided not to cover it at the moment. Thus, much like cosmetic surgery, spinal decompression is termed an elective procedure.
This is even more frustrating knowing that the insurance companies will cover back surgery, which as you may or may not know, has an extremely low rate of success. I wrote another article called Is back surgery really needed anymore? In this article I explored why back surgery can be avoided. Hopefully in the near future insurance companies will embrace what so many of my patients are talking about when they say the results have been phenomenal for them. Check out what they’ve been saying here.
Who is a candidate for Spinal Decompression?
June 10, 2009
Often times there is a lot of confusion around patients who come into my office and think that their back pain warrants a treatment like spinal decompression. Many times, spinal decompression is not needed, and a comprehensive adjustment will relieve the pain. However, in cases that are more chronic, spinal decompression may be needed. I have a report that I wrote that clarifies in more depth some of the requirements for candidacy, you can find it at http://www.NewChronicBackPainRelief.com
Most of the patients that we have in our office for spinal decompression have severe lower back pain, pain that radiates from their lower back to their leg (also known as sciatica), extreme numbness or tingling in their legs as well as herniated discs, bulging discs, and believe it or not, a lot of our patients have had back surgery already. Since the failure rate of back surgery is so high, they are amazed at the results that come from the use of the DRX 9000 decompression machine.
You don’t have to take it from me, see what some of my patients say:
“…TREATMENTS HAVE HELPED ME GET BACK TO A PAIN FREE LIFE…”
For the last 4 years I have suffered from a degenerative disc in my lower back. I have been through a gamut of therapy or therapeutic treatment, even 4 rounds of epidural injections. Just before setting up the appointment for round #5 my wife found and add for a new treatment for lower back problems; the DRX 9000. We sent our information for more on this treatment and met Dr. Chludzinski whose treatments have helped me get back to a pain free life, which started after the second week. Before treatment I would work my 8 hr. shift, go home and recoup the entire night just to be able to return to work the next day. Now I have been able to continue my normal activities both at work and with my family. I would recommend this treatment to anyone who suffers from back pain instead of drugs or surgery.
Richard Yuditsky ~ Jersey City Radio Repair Supervisor
Does Spinal Decompression really work?
May 27, 2009
In my last post, about whether or not back surgery still needed, I discussed the issue of whether or not back surgery was really the most effective solution for chronic back pain issues. Today I want to discuss the effectiveness of spinal decompression as a non surgical alternative for chronic back pain conditions like herniated or bulging discs, spinal stenosis, or even degenerative disc disease.
A lot of times, people come in complaining about back pain, and more often than not, its neither surgery nor spinal decompression that they need to help their back pain. Typically, a lot of the less severe issues can be helped with focused chiropractic adjustments. However, for those who come with those severe conditions that I mentioned above, then spinal decompression is the best options that they can take to help relieve their pain and avoid surgery. For the patients who truly are candidates for spinal decompression, there has been a much greater success rate in relieving their pain than that of spinal surgery without the long recovery period. In some instances, the patient is beyond what we can do to help them and need surgery. But with about 90% of the patients I see, that is not the case and spinal decompression can help them relieve their pain.
The bottom line here is that it really does work in the majority of cases that we accept for the treatment. Don’t just take my word on this, hear what some of our patients have to say about this:
“MY WHOLE LIFE CHANGED, NOT BEING ABLE TO ESCAPE THE DISABLING PAIN.”
I have been in pain for about 6 years and I have been going to different doctors and therapy. After having an MRI on my back, I was diagnosed with having three herniated discs. The pain was like a knife jabbing me in my buttocks down to my leg. My whole life changed, not being able to escape the disabling pain. Then I found a doctor with the Spinal Decompression. After going through treatments, painless treatments for about a year the pain had gone away 90%. Thank you to Hudson Center for Spinal Care!
Cecilia Pangilinan ~ Hoboken Accountant
“…THERE WAS NO GUARANTEE FOR RELIEF WITH EACH SURGERY OR INJECTIONS…”
Over three years ago, I fell and fractured my pelvis in two places, also herniated a disc, needless to say, the fracture healed but the herniated disc gave me constant pain. The orthopedic surgeon told me that there was no guarantee for relief with each surgery or injections. When I heard about the DRX9000 Machine, I came to see Dr. Chuldzinski who examined me and told me that I would get 70-75% relief. I had my 20 treatments and 1 year of maintenance and I must say that I feel 80% better.
Mary Papadeas ~ Springfield Housewife
Is back surgery really needed anymore?
May 20, 2009
More often than not, patients with chronic back pain issues come into my office concerned about a recommendation that they’ve been given by their doctor to have spinal surgery. To be honest with you, I can really understand where these patient’s concern lies. Back surgery is an extremely intensive procedure, that more often than not does not work in the long run. Patients who receive this treatment go through extreme pain as well as an extremely long recovery period.
There are plenty of conservative options available today for prospective patients before they take the leap into spinal surgery, and I think the biggest problem is a lack of awareness. One of the things we are finding is that we are able to restore normal spinal function and decrease pain by using non-surgical spinal decompression.
People are familiar with surgery as a cure, and less familiar with spinal decompression. Spinal decompression is different than spinal surgery because there are no cuts or incisions. Here is basically how it works: a patient is placed on a spinal decompression machine, in our office for example, we use the DRX 9000, for maximum spinal elongation. We are able to configure the machine for each case in order to lowers pressure in the specific disc that is causing the pain. In many cases, this creates a retraction of the disc. The best part for those suffering with herniated/bulging discs is that spinal decompression focuses on the damaged area, and not the whole spine. There is no pain and it is non-invasive.
In my opinion, this has been the #1 choice in relieving back pain and avoiding back surgery. We couple spinal decompression with rehabilitation to help aid the decompression machine to get the maximum benefits.
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