Washington Park Chiropractic

By: Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC

As parents we face specific challenges when it comes to lifting, carrying, bending and twisting.  It is important to know that small, simple, repetitive movements can lead to serious and painful injuries.  As a parent, most of us can’t afford to have a back or shoulder injury.  Having two small children I know that it is important to protect my body and prevent injuries.  As a chiropractor, I know how valuable it is to teach other parents easy ways to protect themselves and prevent injuries.  We teach a class at Washington Park Chiropractic called “Parenting Ergonomics” in which parents and caregivers will learn detailed information about how best to incorporate proper ergonomics into their lives.  Here are three of my favorite tips:

1. Carrying: When carrying a child or an infant carrier be sure to switch sides.  Do not get in the habit of always holding a child on your left hip because you are right handed.  This will create a lot of rotation and torsion in your pelvis which can lead to catastrophic lower back pain over time.  This is particularly important if you have more than one child.  *Additionally, in our class we Read the rest of this entry →

A study by Lee and colleagues extrapolated that some 30 million visits were made by pediatric patients to chiropractors in 1997. A 2005 study by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners revealed that the percentage of chiropractic patients under 17 years of age has increased 8.5% since 1991 from 9.7% to 18.2%.  The chiropractic care of children is therefore a substantial aspect of chiropractic and the care of children in general.  Safety and effectiveness are issues germane to all healthcare providers. To contribute to evidence-based practice, this study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness associated with the chiropractic care of children. Read the rest of this entry →

By Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC

Thanksgiving marks the end of a very eventful month in the Goodman household.  We celebrate the birthday of both of our sons, Tommy 4 & Nate 1.  We also celebrate my birthday.  This is a great time of year to reflect on how much has changed in a year and what we have to look forward to.  As I look back on the year I can’t help but be grateful and thankful for the many people in my life who make our practice my second home.  I started the practice over five years ago and we have been through many positive and wonderful transitions as we have grown.  Today, I feel thankful for the creativity, humor and knowledge of our staff and providers.  We are so lucky to have a positive impact on our patient’s lives every day – but even more lucky to have fun doing it.  I really depend on Jenny & Sylvia to keep the practice running smoothly and am thankful for everything they do every day.  I am fortunate to collaborate with Dr. Kati, Ashley and Amanda to find solutions for our patients.  As we say goodbye to Dr. Jake we wish him well and are grateful that we were able to work with him.

Today I am thankful for the people who have ever been or currently are patients in our practice.  Our patients challenge and inspire me to think differently about chiropractic care.  They make me want to continue learning and never settle for what I already know.

On a personal note, today I am thankful for a wonderful, supportive husband and two gorgeous, healthy boys.  I am thankful that Tommy tried and liked turkey tonight and that Nate crawled up the stairs for the first time today.

As for what is next, I am thankful for optimism and perspective.

By Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC

As a prenatal chiropractor,  I have been working with pregnant women through all stages of pregnancy throughout my own pregnancy.  Day after day, I get updates from my new mommy’s about their labor, delivery and their new baby.  At this point, more and more of my patients are less pregnant than me – which means it’s almost my turn!   So, with about 5 weeks to go in my second pregnancy I am feeling great and I can honestly say that I am looking forward to a calm, natural birth.

Preparing for Labor & Delivery

Childbirth is an event that really must be planned for. . .especially if you are planning a natural, un-medicated delivery.  If you were going to run a marathon you would be wise to hire a coach, train with a team and gradually build up your mileage.  Childbirth really is no different.  It is physically challenging and can really test your mental capabilities.  From the beginning of my pregnancy I have understood that my body is built to deliver a baby without any assistance from modern medicine.  Having had a natural childbirth with my first child I was really looking forward to doing it again.

I am fortunate to have connected with a doula, Jacie Gonzales who teaches a class called Hypnobirthing of which I am in week 4 of 5.  Hypnobirthing is a technique that involves positive affirmations, deep relaxation and a strong belief and conviction that you are capable of having a calm, natural birth.

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….Dr. G’s Pregnancy Update

By Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC

As most of my patients know, I am pregnant with number 2!  In fact, I have just 10 weeks to go until my due date of November 3.  I’ve been asked a lot of questions “how am I feeling?”, “how much longer will you work?”, “is there anything you can’t do at work?”, “where and how will you have your baby?”  I thought I’d take this opportunity to answer those questions and present a few of Dr. G’s tips for a comfortable and healthy pregnancy.

How Much Longer Will You Work?

During my last pregnancy I worked until I was 39 weeks (which was just one week prior to my due date).  I intend to do the same this time.  Looks like my last day to treat patients will likely be Monday, October 25.  That should give me ample time to nest.  This brings me to my first healthy pregnancy tip: Never think your baby will come early!  No matter what expert tells you that you might deliver early – It is probably healthiest to expect baby to come no sooner than your due date  Remember, babies don’t all develop at the same rate and your due date is really just the middle of a 4 week time frame in which a healthy baby is born.  Focusing on or after my due date helps keep me focused on my patients and staying healthy and active. 

Oh – and I plan to be back part time the first week of December (with baby in tow) and full time Mid-January!

Is There Anything You Can’t Do?

As you know, chiropractic is a very physical profession.  I have always made it a point to use good ergonomics and body position when working on patients.  Therefore, even while I am pregnant this doesn’t change much.  I work hard to protect my body and still have very effective treatments on my patients.  However, rest assured that if I ever feel that there is a treatment I cannot safely perform, I will happily refer specific patients to my partner, Dr. Jake Simpson.  Dr. Simpson will be your main treating doctor while I am on maternity leave so don’t be shy!

How Are You Feeling?

I feel terrific!  I really feel absolutely wonderful.  I attribute that to a few key things: Read the rest of this entry →

By Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC, CCSP

This is a tough question to answer.  If you ask 10 different chiropractors you will likely get 10 different answers.  There is a lot of research regarding chiropractic treatment plans and how they relate to car accidents, but there is not a lot out there on how often, how much and for how long a typical patient should be seen.  But that’s ok.  Each patient comes to a chiropractic office as a unique case and therefore deserves a unique treatment plan.  There really should not be a one-size-fits-all approach to chiropractic.  Here is my take on how to decide what you need and what is right for you:

1. How Often Should I be Treated?

This question should be answered based on a thorough history and physical exam.  Your treatment frequency will also depend on how long your have been injured and what caused your injury.  Many chiropractors have received a bad rap for prescribing too much treatment.  So what is too much?  Here is a great rule of thumb – When a patient begins receiving treatment I generally treat them every 2-4 days until their symptoms begin to improve.  This may last for 1-4 weeks.  At the first sign of significant improvement most treatments are reduced to 1x per week.  Again, once each patient can go a full week without symptoms recurring their treatment frequency is reduced again to 1x every 10-14 days.  This continues until the patient is pain-free for at least a month!  At that point we consider them to be a wellness or preventative care patient and recommend that they continue care every 4-6 weeks.  Of course every course of treatment is discussed with each patient and we always take into account scheduling, financial need and any other care the patient is receiving. 

In a nutshell, most physical medicine prescriptions – such a physical therapy or chiropractic – tend to be somewhere around 12-20 treatments for an acute injury.  But most patients will see significant relive in just 1-4 treatments and most injuries are not serious enough to require 20 treatments.

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By: Dr. Jake Simpson

‘Tis the season to be golfing.  The weather is warm, the golf courses are green, and the golfers (much like myself and Dr. Goodman) are striving to shoot a personal best.  You can find golfers out on the tee box from sun up to sun down…. This all sounds great, just thinking about being on the course gives me goose bumps, but there is always a catch.  None of us can golf, or golf at our optimal abilities if we are injured from the very game we love.  According to some estimates, there are approximately 27 million golf injuries every year!!!  Golf is generally not thought to be highly physical or a sport that will cause injuries because of the lack of violent impact.  So what causes so many golf injuries?  I wish I could tell you there is one reason you get injured but I can’t.  All injuries are multi-factorial, meaning there are generally several underlying causes for your injury.  Some of these include

• no warm-up, no cool down
• poor flexibility
• postural dysfunction or instability
• improper swing mechanics

  Let’s help you prevent future injuries and keep you playing golf pain and injury free:

Warm-Up and Cool Down:

Along with proper posture and swing mechanics, simple warm-up and cool down exercises can go a long way in the prevention of golf injuries.  Warming up must be an essential part of your golf routine.  Warming up brings blood flow to your muscles, and lengthens the muscles to help prevent them from strain.  Much like cooking pasta, you begin with stiff and breakable noodles out of the box and boil them in water ending with a soft and flexible noodle. 

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This article was written back when Emmit Smith was still dancin, but I thought it was fun

There is no denying it, America loves ABC television’s “Dancing With The Stars.”

The ABC smash dance show continues to deliver the goods. Anyone who has watched the show can see that these dancers are under a great amount of physical as well as emotional stress.

Show coordinators for “Dancing With The Stars” were in urgent need of a chiropractor. They did what other local network studios are doing more frequently, they researched and called a good chiropractor. The doctor they found left his West Los Angeles office in midafternoon and headed over to Beverly Hills where the show was about to be broadcast live. The chiropractor arrived just in time to assist the dancers in need, and shared in everyone’s positive attitude that the show must go on.

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