Selinger Chiropractic & Acupuncture: October 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.