Washington Park Chiropractic

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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Sleep has always given me trouble. I was diagnosed with insomnia in my early teens and the more medication the doctors put me on, the harder it became to crash during the night. My obsession with clocks and making sure I was getting an ample amount of sleep for the following day made me anxious. Too anxious to sleep. I would find myself awake standing over the clock, with only moments since I had last checked the time. When I left for college my sleep problems doubled. Sharing a room with a stranger does not lead to a restful night of sleeping. Today I use melatonin every night, and the best part? It’s all natural! After so many years of dead ends I decided to dive into why melatonin is so affective.

The article stresses the importance of good ’sleep hygiene’. Sleep hygiene refers to following good practices around sleep to help to eliminate problems. For example, not having caffeine after mid-day, getting exercise, not watching TV in bed, doing low stimulus activities prior to sleep (i.e. reading) etc. Sleep hygiene can make a difference, but often it’s not enough to help everyone.

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By Jocelyn Leidenfrost

It is incredibly important to take care of your back.  This may be an obvious statement to anyone reading this blog on the Washington Park Chiropractic website, however, many people take their healthy spines for granted and as a result may suffer injuries later in life.  As for me, I have been taking extremely good care of my back since I was diagnosed with scoliosis in the 6^th grade.  For about four years I wore a back brace almost all day and night to prevent further curvature.  I would take my brace off for several hours a day while I was at my dance studio, in gym class, or running around at soccer games or practices.  After I would outgrow a back-brace I would get ‘molded’ for a new one; I was told this was similar to getting a cast even though I have never broken a bone on my body other than a finger (knock on wood)!   I would also do exercises every night or day to strengthen my back and take hot baths before bed to relax my muscles.  My mother was always by my side and I still fondly remember our visits to my orthopedic doctor who always told me that I could still do anything in the world that I wanted to, as long as it was legal.

Screenings at Washington Park Chiropractic

For anyone reading this with children, I think it is absolutely crucial to have your kids get yearly scoliosis screenings. In my case, my middle school offered free screenings but it wasn’t until my pediatrician did a scoliosis check that I found out.   Dr. Goodman has found scoliosis in several children over the last few years (when their pediatrician missed it!)  Regular check-ups with our doctors will ensure that your child’s spine is cared for early on.  About 7 million people in the United States are affected by scoliosis and surgery can possibly be avoided if caught soon enough. 

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By Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC

Over and over again when I am around a child who is lets say “cranky” I casually ask their parents when they go to sleep.  The answer is generally after 8pm and then the crankiness makes sense.  The time a child goes to sleep is just the beginning of healthy sleep habits.  Also important are the duration of sleep and the sleep quality.

Sleeping Toddler

As the mother of a 2 1/2 year old and another one on the way, sleep has become a hot topic at home and in my practice.  There are many ways to teach good sleep habits and I will suggest a few here, but the most important things to accomplish are:

1. Sleep at an early time – even 6:30!

2. Plenty of sleep – 12+ hours and never waking before 7am!

3. Restful sleep

Healthy sleep habits will lead to a child with better concentration, better mood and better temperament.  Infants and children need between 12-16  hours of sleep per day!  There are so many opinions about sleep and how to encourage it, but the method I used was absolutely, hands-down so easy and effective.  I strongly recommend that parents of infants and toddlers who need help with sleep refer to the full resource: http://www.sleepsense.net/ but I have included a few nuggets below.  Keep Reading: Read the rest of this entry →

With time, research is revealing that nuts and seeds do not deserve their bad reputation. Absolutely, they are high in fat. But it’s the good fat, not the bad, and when eaten in moderation, their health benefits far outweigh the dangers of their fat content. The fact is, the more we learn about nuts and seeds, the more we realize that they’re one of our best snack food options.

Isn’t Fat Bad?

We know that nuts and seeds are high in fat. An ounce of almonds and sunflower seeds both have 14 grams, cashews have 13 and pecans have a total fat count of 20 grams. It’s when we consider what kind of fat they contain that we see the difference between these and other foods with a high total fat count.

Saturated fats are those that raise our bad cholesterol levels and increase our risk of heart disease and strokes. These are the fats that are high in most snack items and put our health at risk. An ounce of almonds contain 1 gram of saturated fats, and cashews and pecans have 3 and 2 grams respectively.

Where nuts and seeds are high in fat is in the mono and polyunsaturated fats, but these are good for us, raising our “good cholesterol” levels and typically containing essential vitamins like A, D, E and K.

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By: Dr. Lisa Goodman, DC

Yesterday my husband and I spent about 6 hours cleaning out the garage!  Oh what fun.  Yes, we went from barely being able to fit the stroller in, to being able to fit a car in there!  What a great feeling.  But I was SORE when we were finished.  Yes, I followed the ergonomic advice I give out daily:

1. Lift with your legs

2. Sit or squat when sifting through boxes rather than bending over

3. Take regular breaks and walk around

4. Stay Hydrated

5. Make the husband do most of the heavy lfiting (I especially like that one!)

But alas, sometimes lower back pain is just going to happen.  In fact, that is a question I get often, “why did this happen?”  The best answer I have is that when we stress the body in a way it isn’t used to for a longer period of time, you will feel it.  The body also really doesn’t like awkard motion, this most often occurs with reaching, twisting or lifting in ways you aren’t used to.

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