Selinger Chiropractic & Acupuncture: 2017

Friday, October 13, 2017

Understanding the Spine

Understanding the spine is the key to understanding why chiropractic doctors do what they do and why they obtain extraordinary results with a variety of different conditions.

The spine is a complex structure containing a number of associated muscles, ligaments, joints and nerves which commonly become irritated and injured. Extended sitting, repetitive motions, bad postural habits, mental stress, lack of exercise and inadequate nutritional intake are just some of the everyday stresses which accumulate to produce devastating effects on the spinal components.

Doctors of chiropractic are the health care leaders in providing safe, fast and effective relief for most spinal problems.

The spinal or vertebral column is a collection of 24 vertebrae plus the sacral bone. These bones provide support and mobility for the torso while also protecting the nervous system.

There are 4 distinct and different regions of the spinal column - the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions. Each contains a different number of vertebrae which are structurally unique. These structural variations make certain regions of the spinal column more flexible while making other regions more stable and less susceptible to injury.

When viewed from the rear the spine normally appears vertically straight . When viewed from the side, however, 4 separate spinal curvatures should be present. Both the cervical and lumbar regions naturally have a "C" shaped curvature, while the thoracic and sacral regions possess a reversed "C" shaped curvature. The angles of these curves play a crucial role in minimizing spinal biomechanical stresses which lead to spinal pain and greatly accelerated spinal degenerative processes.

The chiropractic doctor is an expert in spinal evaluation and rehabilitation. He or she is trained to identify even the slightest spinal abnormalities. Eliminating pain, inflammation and biomechanical stresses while increasing overall health and quality of life is what chiropractic care is all about.

Doctors of chiropractic are the only health care professionals whose primary training centers around the detection, treatment, and rehabilitation of spinal column disorders. If you are experiencing back pain in Lake Worth, neck pain in Lake Worth, shooting leg pain in Lake Worth or similar conditions, then pay a visit to Dr. Craig Selinger, a leading Lake Worth chiropractor and Lantana chiropractor,. Using his skills with such treatments as acupuncture in Lake Worth, deep tissue massage in Lake Worth, and more, Dr. Selinger can help you and your spine to stand tall again.

Dangerous Intersections in Lake Worth

If you live in South Florida or visit often, chance are that you’ll be at risk for being in a traffic accident. Lake Worth is no exception. While its intersections don’t rank among the most dangerous in Palm Beach County, there are still a number of trouble spots on the city’s streets. An accident in any one of them could send you looking for a car accident chiropractor.

According to a story in The Palm Beach Post, Lucerne Avenue and North Dixie Highway has long been a trouble spot for motorists — and pedestrians.

“I see and hear the accidents all the time,” said City Manager Michael Bornstein, whose City Hall office is on North Dixie Highway. That intersection has been ranked the second highest for crashes in the city, according to a Palm Beach Post investigation based on Palm Beach County traffic records.

In 2014, there were 34 crashes there, three fewer than the city’s top crash site — South Dixie Highway and 6th Avenue South.

Other sites with the most wrecks included 10th Avenue North, southbound I-95 to 10th Avenue North eastbound, southbound I-95 (32 crashes); Barnett Drive and 10th Avenue North (30) and Lake and Lucerne avenues (29).

With that said, Lake Worth doesn’t include any of the most accident-prone intersections countywide. Two of the most dangerous intersections are in West Palm Beach – including Okechobee Boulevard and North Military Trail (the most dangerous in the county) and South Military Trail and Forrest Hill Boulevard (the third most dangerous).

The worst place to love from a dangerous intersection standpoing, though, is Boca Raton, which is home to four of the ten most dangerous intersections.

The bottom line, of course, is that you should stay alert for danger anytime you drive. If you should suffer an accident that results in neck pain in Lake Worth, back pain in Lake Worth, shooting leg pain in Lake Worth or other related conditions, Dr. Craig Selinger is a leading Lake Worth chiropractor who would be glad to help you deal with your problems. Just drive carefully on your way to his office!

Chiropractic Education: A Closer Look

Before visiting Dr. Craig Selinger, a leading chiropractor in Lake Worth Florida, you might be interested in knowing more about the educational requirements of chiropractors.

Upon successful completion of undergraduate studies, those students who are accepted to a chiropractic college enter a 4-5 year academic program, which is similar in content to medical school. Course work includes an in-depth study of anatomy, physiology, pathology, neurology, radiology, biomechanics, spinal adjustive techniques, including a variety of other health-related areas.

The primary focus of the chiropractic education is to teach the student how to recognize and effectively treat a wide variety of soft tissue disorders in order to reduce pain and discomfort, allow for effective and proper healing, restore normal body biomechanics and improve overall health. In order to treat such conditions, students are taught a number of different techniques and methods including chiropractic spinal adjustive techniques. Through chiropractic spinal adjustments, the students are taught how they can positively influence the body through the nervous system using specific spinal adjustive techniques. An emphasis is also placed on other aspects of health including diet, exercise, nutrition and wellness. Moreover, students receive thorough training aimed at identifying those conditions which are beyond the chiropractor's scope of practice and which require outside medical referral.

During the academic 4-5 year program, students must successfully complete a number of national board examinations which are required for licensure. In addition, students must spend several hundred hours of internship in which they treat patients suffering from true health ailments while under professional supervision. Some schools actually begin introducing and training students to the clinical setting in just their second year of studies. This ensures that the graduating doctors of chiropractic will have all the necessary education, skills and clinical experience to provide exceptionally safe and effective chiropractic health care. Many colleges have additionally employed externship programs in which student interns assist field doctors in their private practices prior to graduation.

Whether you’re seeking acupuncture in Lake Worth, a car accident chiropractor, deep tissue massage in Lake Worth or treatment for a host of other conditions, please contact the office of Dr. Craig Selinger today.

Treating Sports Injuries with Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care has received much attention in regards to its successful management of sporting injuries. Since the majority of sports injuries are soft tissue in nature and because many of injuries arise from improper body biomechanics and improper sporting techniques, chiropractic doctors have become the doctors of choice - from the weekend warrior to the professional athlete. If you suffer from shooting leg pain in Lake Worth, neck pain in Lake Worth, back pain in Lake Worth, pinched nerve pain or more, Dr. Craig Selinger is the person to call.

According to an article in the June '98 issue of The Physician and Sports Medicine, "Interest in alternative or complementary medicine 'especially chiropractic' is booming... active patients are running to unconventional providers to treat their aches and pains... from chiropractors and acupuncture to magnets and meditation."

It's really quite simple. Chiropractic care - through the use of safe and natural spinal adjustive techniques, physiotherapy applications, soft tissue mobilization, stretching and exercise programs, diet and nutritional counseling, and extensive biomechanical training - focuses on all causes which have lead to the symptoms of pain and tissue injury and do not focus on solely eliminating pain.

Successful treatments must focus not only on pain relief, but must address the underlying causes such as muscular imbalances, biomechanical deficiencies, improper sporting techniques, and improper conditioning, to name a few.

Dr. Craig Selinger is one of the leading Lake Worth chiropractors and Lantana chiropractors, so it’s only natural for you to visit him if you’re suffering from various sports-related pains and ailments.

Exploding the Myth that Chiropractic is Forever

If you’re planning to visit Lake Worth chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger, you might wonder if you’re takiing a first step down a road that will continue for the rest of your life. A leading Palm Beach chiropractor, he’ll tell you that it’s just not trure. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Most doctors of chiropractic promote a preventative type of lifestyle which has been construed by adversaries to mean that chiropractic care requires a lifetime of commitment. Actually, recommending that patients return for periodic spinal care is no different that what dentists recommend to their patients in order to prevent cavities and gum disease.

Just as it would be ludicrous to believe that visiting a dentist once per lifetime would ensure permanently healthy teeth and gums it's equally as silly to think that visiting a chiropractor a few times will ensure a lifelong healthy spine. Our spinal tissues undergo daily bombardment of stresses originating from bad postural habits, suboptimal work environments, psychological stress, and hectic lifestyles just to name a few.

For these reasons, after the resolution of acute problems patients are given the option to receive periodic spinal checkups which acts to minimize the likelihood of future recurrences or development of new problems. The preventative approach in health care has been gaining much recognition as of late and there has been a large push in the medical community and health insurance industry to incorporate preventative programs into mainstream medicine.

It's really that simple. Periodic care to prevent future problems - safe, natural, convenient care now to avoid nasty and complex problems later. If you want to avoid future problems with shooting leg pain in Lake Worth, neck pain in Lake Worth, back pain in Lake Worth, pinched nerve pain or more, give Dr. Selinger a call. He’ll start you on the road to feeling better, but you won’t have to keep seeing him for the rest of your life – unless you want to do so.

Exploding the Myth that Chiropractors Only Treat Back Pain

Chiropractors provide effective treatment for all types of soft tissue disorders and not just back pain in Lake Worth, neck pain in Lake Worth and similar ailments. This includes conditions of the joints of the extremities like the ankle, knee and shoulder.

What you may not be aware of is chiropractic's success in treating a number of non-soft tissue conditions like dysmenorrhea (painful menses), ulcers, migraine headaches, and ear infections in children. While we cannot claim to cure these conditions, we believe that many of these problems can be mimicked, aggravated and sometimes caused by disruptions in the nervous system as a result of spinal abnormalities. By correcting these spinal abnormalities like the vertebral subluxation, chiropractic has helped thousands of individuals overcome these conditions and regain control of their lives.

A number of studies have also supported these findings. In one such study, spinal manipulative therapy was compared with standard medical treatments in the treatment of duodenal ulcers. The researchers Pikalov, MD, and Kharin, MD, found those subjects receiving spinal manipulations took an average of 16 days to heal vs. 26 days to heal in the standard medical treatment group.

If you need a car accident chiropractor, deep tissue massage in Lake Worth, or treatment for neck pain in Lake Worth, shooting leg pain in Lake Worth or back pain in Lake Worth, please contact the office of Dr. Craig Selinger for an appointment today to explore your options.

Exploding the Myth that Chiropractic Care is Expensive

If you’ve heard that Lantana chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger is expensive, you’ve heard wrong. Research clearly disproves the myth that chiropractic care is more expensive than traditional medical care. Chiropractic care has been consistently shown to be cost effective in a number of government and workers' compensation board studies.

According to The Manga Report, a 1993 Canadian government commissioned study, "There would be highly significant cost savings if more management of low-back pain was transferred from physicians to chiropractors... Users of chiropractic care have substantially lower health care costs, especially inpatient costs, than those who use medical care only."

According to an economic analysis conducted in Richmond, Virginia, "By every test of cost and effectiveness, the general weight of evidence shows chiropractic to provide important therapeutic benefits, at economical costs. Additionally, these benefits are achieved with apparently minimal, even negligible, impacts on the costs of health insurance."

When the State of Florida's Workers' Compensation Board conducted research in 1988 on treatment costs associated with injured workers who received care from either chiropractic doctors or medical doctors, they found chiropractic treatment costs were 58.8 percent of the treatments costs rendered by medical doctors ($558 vs. $1,100 per case).

If you’re looking for a chiropractor in Lake Worth Florida or the surrounding area, Dr. Selinger is an outstanding choice. He will treat your neck pain in Lake Worth, your back pain in Lake Worth, your shooting leg pain in Lake Worth, and similar conditions in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost. Call for an appointment today.

Exploding the Myth that Chiropractic Care is not Scientific

Chiropractors have always sought to provide the safest and most effective healing methods for their patients. In order to achieve this, the chiropractic profession has been dedicated to conducting scientific studies to improve their diagnostic methods and treatment techniques. In the last 20 years chiropractic health care has established an impressive array of scientific research that demonstrates the efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of chiropractic care. There are many further studies currently underway, and several have been performed by medical doctors and government researchers in both the U.S. and a number of other countries.

In fact, the chiropractic profession has accumulated a greater number of scientific trials on chiropractic than the medical profession has accumulated for many of the treatments rendered by medical doctors. According to David M. Edy, M.D., Ph.D., professor of health policy and management with Duke University, North Carolina, only 15 percent of all medical interventions are supported by solid scientific evidence. Paul G. Shekelle, M.D., M.P.H., of the RAND Corporation made the following statement on ABC's 20/20:

"There are considerably more randomized controlled trials which show benefit of this (chiropractic care) than there are for many, many other things which physicians and neurosurgeons do all the time."

Lake Worth chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger has gone through extensive training prior to opening his chiropractor in Lake Worth Florida practice in 2006. His specialties include acupuncture in Lake Worth, deep tissue massage in Lake Worth, pinched nerve pain and similar conditions.

Education for Chiropractic Doctors

If you’ve decided to visit Lake Worth chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger, who is also a chiropractor for Lantana residents, you might wonder where he got his education and how his training differs from that of a medical doctor.

The training and education endured by chiropractors is extremely thorough and demanding, similar to that of medical doctors with the exception of pharmacology and surgery.

Prior to entering chiropractic college, the aspiring chiropractor requires 2-4 years (depending on the college attended and the state one wishes to practice in) of premed undergraduate studies. Once completed, the student must next complete 4-5 academic years of studies at a chiropractic college. This includes extensive training in anatomy, physiology, pathology, neurology, radiology, differential diagnosis, chiropractic adjustive techniques, biomechanics , and other health-related studies.

In addition, prior to graduation each student must successfully complete several hundred clinical hours of "real" patient management in a clinical setting under professional supervision. Most chiropractic colleges also require students to partake in clinical externship programs which place them in actual chiropractic offices, further enhancing their clinical practice skills.

Near or soon after graduation, the new doctors of chiropractic must successfully complete rigorous National and State Board examinations prior to obtaining a license to practice chiropractic. Once licensed, most states require that chiropractors receive annual continuing education to ensure that a high level of competency is maintained.

If conditions such as neck pain in Lake Worth, low back pain in Lake Worth, pinched nerve pain or shooting leg pain in Lake Worth are bothering you, please consider scheduling an appointment with Lake Worth chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger. He received his doctor of chiropractic degree from Life Chiropractic College in 1996. He attained a Bachelor of Science degree from State University of New York at Binghamton. He has completed training in acupuncture, active release technique and neuromuscular re-education.

Exploding the Myth that Spinal Adjustments Are Dangerous

If you are considering visiting a Lake Worth chiropractor, you might be concerned that spinal adjustments are dangerous. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether you are experiencing back pain in Lake Worth, neck pain in Lake Worth or shooting leg pain in Lake Worth, you’ll definitely want to consider scheduling an appointment with Dr. Craig Selinger.

Chiropractic spinal adjustments are extremely safe when performed by chiropractors. In fact, chiropractic adjustments are among the safest treatments for most back and neck problems. According to a 1993 Ontario Ministry of Health commissioned study,

"There is no clinical or case-control study that demonstrates or even implies that chiropractic spinal manipulation is unsafe in the treatment of low-back pain. Some medical treatments are equally safe, but others are unsafe and generate iatrogenic (doctor-induced) complications for low-back pain patients. Our reading of the literature suggests that chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low-back pain."

Lead investigator of the study, Pran Manga, Ph.D., however, did warn that spinal adjustments performed by health care professionals other than qualified doctors of chiropractic were potentially harmful and less effective:

"Indeed, several existing medical therapies of low-back pain are generally contraindicated on the basis of the existing clinical trials. There is also some evidence in the literature to suggest that spinal manipulations are less safe and less effective when performed by nonchiropractic professionals."

On December 8, 1994, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) of the US Department of Health and Human Services released clinical practice guidelines for the management of acute low back pain. Their guidelines were developed after extensive study of the diagnostic and treatment methods used for acute low back pain. Their findings included:

The risk of serious complications from lumbar spinal manipulation is rare;
Conservative treatment such as spinal manipulation should be pursued in most cases before considering surgical intervention;
Prescription drugs such as oral steroids, antidepressant medications and colchicine are not recommended for acute low back problems.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

What Type of Mattress Should You Buy?

What Type of Mattress Should You Buy?

The mattress you sleep on has a lot to do with your spine health. If you are sleeping on a bed that doesn’t offer adequate support, you could wake up with pinched nerve pain, back or neck pain in Lake Worth, or even shooting leg pain in Lake Worth. Dr. Craig Selinger, a caring and motivatedchiropractor in Lake Worth, FL, talked to Rick, a manager at City Mattress, to help people learn more about the mattresses available today and which kind might be right for them. Here are some highlights from their conversation:

Dr. S: What are some of the different kinds of mattresses that are out there?

Rick: Well, you’ve got your traditional mattress, which is coil springs, and specialty, which would include air, water and foam. Foam is the area where we’re seeing the biggest increase in sales. In general, you’re going to have Tempur-Pedic type mattresses with memory foam and latex mattresses, such as the prana sleep mattresses. Not a real big fan of water or air.

Dr. S: I’ll tell you, water mattresses, they do not support your spine properly. There’s no resistance and plus, you know what, they’re just way too ‘70s. I mean the next thing you’re going to see is some guy wearing a leisure suit. So [water mattresses] are something I definitely try to avoid from a lot of perspectives – it’s bad for your back, and I think bad for your social life.

But some of the other mattresses we have. You mentioned the Prana mattress, which I thought was an excellent mattress and it’s a new technology that’s out there.

R: Prana sleep has asked Latex International to produce a proprietary foam for them, one of the highest quality foams in the industry – it has the most amount of rubber in it. That will give you the most amount of lift or buoyancy in a mattress so you get plenty of support and very little pressure. What’s different with a prana sleep than a Tempur-Pedic type mattress is that with prana sleep you don’t feel like you’re stuck in the mattress; you don’t sink in really deep into the mattress like you might with a Tempur-Pedic type mattress.

Dr. S.: You feel like you’re a turtle on your back, and you can’t tip over.

R: Both are excellent quality products. Most times it comes down to whether the customer likes, which comfort they like, one or the other. Both mattresses would be superior to an innerspring mattress because they would give less pressure. There are some excellent innerspring mattresses out there, they give you plenty of support but you get the pressure.

Dr. S.: Right

R: If you’re very sensitive, you’re better off going with a foam type mattress.

For more information, stop by a City Mattress location near you or call the offices of Lake Worth andPalm Beach chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger.,

Hangover Help

Hangover Help

Dr. Selinger makes it clear that he does not condone the use of alcohol or drugs, but he knows there are times many of us may over indulge. “Alcohol can cause a lot of health problems, it can also cause car wrecks, it can cause liver damage and unwanted hook ups,” the Lake Worth and Palm Beach chiropractor says. “But I know a lot of people are going to be out there drinking and I have some tips to alleviate some of the hangover symptoms you’re going to be feeling the next day.”

Here are his tops tips for dealing with the pain of a hangover:

Don’t drink more than one drink per hour.
Make sure you drink a lot of water. When you drink, you dehydrate your body. Water will help you hydrate.
Avoid coffee. Caffeine is a diuretic – what that will do is add to your dehydration and increase the symptoms of the hangover.
Sweat it out. You can go for a brisk walk, sweating some of the toxins out of your body is going to be helpful. Don’t overdo it though. And make sure you do this when you’ve had a lot of water.
Avoid pain killers. Painkillers such as Tylenol have acetaminophen which is bad for your liver. Your liver has been working overtime. We don’t want to put fuel on the fire. So try to avoid that.
Take vitamins – especially B6, and vitamin C. They’re going to help you as well.
Eat fruit. Fruit has fructose which is helpful in metabolizing alcohol.
Snack while you’re drinking. This is going to also help you.
Make sure you sleep in, get enough rest. Lay in a dark room because light can increase the effects of a headache.
Be safe, be healthy and make sure you don’t do any David Hasselhoff impersonations because, look, YouTube videos last forever.

Most importantly, if you are going to indulge, don’t under any circumstances drink and drive! Dr. Selinger has seen patients injured because of a drunk driver. As a car accident chiropractor, he can help some of them – but not all.

If you think you have been injured in a car accident, you can rely on Dr. Selinger, a leadingchiropractor in Lake Worth. In addition to chiropractic adjustments, Dr. Selinger also offers deep tissue massage in Lake Worth from his offices at 7749 Lake Worth Road. He also provides acupuncture for Lake Worth area patients. Dr. Selinger has helped patients suffering from pinched nerve pain, shooting leg pain in Lake Worth, back and neck pain. Lake Worth area residents don’t have to live with pain (unless, perhaps, they are severely hung over – and then it’s only temporary.)

Low Back Pain Travel Tips

Low Back Pain Travel Tips

There are a lot of ways you can injure yourself when you travel – you can take a tumble on the ski slopes, burn your hand while roasting marshmallows on a campfire or get a sunburn after a week in the islands. You can also find yourself longing for your chiropractor in Lake Worth, FL, before you even arrive.

If you’re not careful, a plane trip can lead to pinched nerve pain, neck and back pain for Lake Wortharea residents flying the not-so-friendly skies. Lake Worth chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger has some tips that will help keep you healthy when you fly.

“One – avoid the last aisle in the plane,” he says. “Those seats typically don’t recline back. It’s very uncomfortable and all that weight is on the L5/S1, the lower part of your spine. Also, they’re usually close to the bathroom, which isn’t a nice experience.”

Another great idea he says is to request a seat in the emergency exit row. “Usually you’ll get twice the amount of legroom. It’s easier to get up and it’s easier to stretch.”

If you can’t get the exit row (or, if you’re only 5’2” and you feel guilty denying someone taller all that lovely legroom), you can reserve an aisle seat. “If you sit in the aisle seat you’ll be able to get up, stretch and move around more,” says Dr. Selinger – who also offers acupuncture in Lake Worth.

The good doctor, known to some for his skill as a car accident chiropractor, also recommends that you drink lots of water. “When we fly, we dehydrate. If we drink lots of water, it will hydrate us and it will fight the effects of jetlag. Also, the cabin has almost no humidity, so drinking water will help our body adjust to that pressurized cabin,” he explains.

Dr. Selinger’s fifth tip is to use a lumbar support pillow. If you’re lucky enough to find one of the small pillows the airlines provide, that will work. To be on the safe side, you may want to bring one of your own. If you forgot to pack something and there are no available pillows on the plane, try rolling up a sweater or jacket and using that instead. Whatever you’re using, you’ll want to put it right in the small of your back, then Dr. Selinger says, “Sit back with your shoulders back and that will help preserve the natural curve in your lower back.”

Lugging Luggage Safely

Lugging Luggage Safely

It wasn’t that long ago that people actually had to carry their suitcases wherever they went. It was definitely an incentive to pack light, but there are times when each of us has a heavy load to carry. And that, of course, resulted in lots of sore backs, pinched nerve pain and neck pain in Lake Worth and other communities in Palm Beach County.

Looking back, it’s surprising nobody came up with the idea of putting wheels on our luggage sooner. But even now, when you can roll your suitcase down a long terminal with ease, luggage can still pose a threat to your spine health and the fun you’re planning to have on your trip.

“So many of my patients injure themselves while traveling, typically by lifting luggage or sitting in the plane seat,” Lake Worth and Lantana chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger says.

If you want to be in good shape to enjoy your vacation or family visit or be at your best for the business meeting you’re traveling for, Dr. Selinger has some advice on the proper way to place your carryon baggage in the overhead bin.

“The first thing we want to do is get close to our luggage and we want to bend our knees and we want to lift our luggage keeping our back straight,” the Palm Beaches chiropractor says. “And then we want to put it onto the chair of the plane. We want to make sure the overhead compartment is open. We want to take the luggage by the top handle and we want to bend our knees, get close to it, lifting it with both hands [one grabbing the top handle and one hand placed underneath the bottom of the bag] from our chest. And then placing it into the overhead compartment.”

Getting that bag down is a bit easier but you still need to be careful, Dr. Selinger says. “When we’re taking it down, we want to lift it again using two hands – one on the top handle and one at the bottom of the bag by the wheels. As you lift it, keep it close to your body. Bring it down onto the chair. Then to get it on the ground, you get close to it, lifting it by the handle, and then bend at the knees, placing it down.”

Dr. Selinger will be there for you if you come home with shooting leg pain to Lake Worth or are in need of deep tissue massage in Lake Worth following your trip. But, if you want your trip to be a good one, he says, “The key things are bending your knees, keeping your back straight, ask for assistance if you need it. If you do these things, you’re going to be less likely to injure your back on your trip”

Health Tips for Skiers

Health Tips for Skiers

Dr. Craig Selinger is not only a respected chiropractor in Lake Worth, he’s also a skier. He knows how invigorating a day on the slopes can be – especially for Floridians! That’s why he doesn’t want you to ruin your ski vacation with pinched nerve pain or to return home with back pain to Lake Worth.

“I’ve got some health tips for you while you’re skiing,” the Palm Beach chiropractor says. “One, always be careful when trails are merging. Two, wear a helmet; head injuries are for life. Three, make sure you stretch out before skiing; you could easily tear a muscle and then you’ll ruin your trip.”

And speaking of your trip, Dr. Selinger recommends that you be careful when carrying your luggage and ski equipment – that’s another way to easily injure yourself on your travels. Be especially careful when lifting your luggage to put it in the overhead bin, if you’re flying. (Stick around – Dr. S. will have more to say on that subject in a future blog post!)

Once you’re off the plane and headed for the resort, he says you should make sure you drink plenty of water. Flying is very dehydrating, so you’ll need to compensate for that. Being adequately hydrated is also a good way to avoid altitude sickness.

And here’s one last tip from Dr. Selinger for skiers: “Make sure you know where you’re going,” he says. “Make sure you have a map and a plan.”

If you do come home with back or neck pain to Lake Worth, give the Lake Worth chiropractor a call. He promised not to say, I told you so.

Spinal Decompression Therapy

Spinal Decompression Therapy

If you suffer from chronic back pain, surgery isn’t always the answer. If you haven’t had any luck with traditional treatments, you may want to consider spinal decompression therapy.

It worked for Jared! “I came to Dr. Selinger two weeks ago in excruciating pain. I’ve been doing decompression therapy and I feel amazing,” he says. “I highly recommend it and advise you to do the same thing.”

According to WebMD, “Nonsurgical spinal decompression is a type of motorized traction that may help relieve back pain. Spinal decompression works by gently stretching the spine. That changes the force and position of the spine. This change takes pressure off the spinal disks, which are gel-like cushions between the bones in your spine, by creating negative pressure in the disc. As a result, bulging or herniated disks may retract, taking pressure off nerves and other structures in your spine. This in turn, helps promote movement of water, oxygen, and nutrient-rich fluids into the disks so they can heal.”

Among the conditions that WebMD says have been treated using nonsurgical spinal decompression are: Back or neck pain, sciatica, bulging or herniated disks or degenerative disk disease, worn spinal joints (called posterior facet syndrome) and injured or diseased spinal nerve roots.

As Lake Worth chiropractor Dr. Craig Selinger, spinal decompression therapy is not for everyone. In fact, the treatment can be dangerous if you have severe osteoporosis, are pregnant, have recently had lumbar fusion surgery or have metal implants in your spine. Spinal decompression is also not recommended for patients with pelvic or abdominal cancer, disc space infections, pars defect or pathologic aortic aneurysm. Dr. Selinger, one of the leading Lake Worth chiropractors offering spinal decompression therapy, will be happy to discuss the treatment and help you decide if it is right for you.

If you suffer from shooting leg pain in Lake Worth or back or neck pain in Lake Worth and have not found relief through traditional treatments, talk to Dr. Selinger. The treatment begins with daily sessions lasting 30-45 minutes for two weeks. After that, you may only need to visit three times a week for two weeks and then two times a week for the final two weeks. Like Jared, though, most patients report significant improvement within the first two weeks.