Pain has gained a triple threat with the addition of Dr. Tanya Pederson to Basics First Chiropractic in Leesburg. The women-owned chiropractic clinic has long benefitted from the expert pain management of Drs. Misty Paul and Catherine Toplansky. Dr. Paul's uncanny ability to diagnose and treat neck and back pain is augmented by an encyclopedic knowledge of essential oils and natural ways to dispel whatever ails you. Dr. Toplansky's forte is alleviating work-related injury and ergonomics. Besides two decades of experience, Dr. Pederson brings an emphasis on exercise, stretching and self-care that can address problem areas and promote overall wellness.
This three-dimensional view of patient care is vital to understanding what’s going on with every patient and how to treat them. “We want to look at the whole patient, not just approach the pain that's bringing them in here. Perhaps it’s stress, or not getting enough sleep each night, or some other area of dysfunction.” Beyond immediate relief, Dr. Paul helps patients find ways of decreasing stress and sleeping better with the help of essential oils and nutrition.
For your first visit, a top-down (posture photo) and bottom-up (foot scan) are followed by an orthopedic assessment and treatment. An early adopter of technology, Basics First has now added the newest cold laser to its e-stim/ultrasound, therapies. The laser sends different wavelengths of light deep into muscle tissues thereby increasing the production of endorphins and enkephalins in cells to help decrease inflammation, decrease pain, decrease muscle spasms, and increase tissue regeneration and healing. In the case of sprained ankles or even ribs for example, bathing the area with light from the cold laser speeds up the healing process.
Add Hypervolt massage guns, vibration therapy, a “wave traction table,” and targeted, 30-minute massage treatments and pain literally has no place to hide. Also popular are specially designed “welcome home pain relief kits” customized to include topicals like Deep Blue rub, a muscle stick to address IT band syndrome, or tools for self-massage. “It's all about meeting a patient where they're at," says Dr. Paul, "It’s important to teach people what to do in between treatments at home.”
In that vein, Dr. Toplansky is a big believer in being proactive rather than reactive in taking care of our spines. In her view, the five most dangerous words with respect to pain are, “Maybe it will go away.” She adds, “Let's not wait till your spine wears out; let's try to get ourselves on the right path and be preventative rather than having to do major rehab.” Getting the right chair and desk for working at home and including frequent breaks in the day, even if it’s just going to the mailbox can help.
Dr. Toplansky adds, 95% of all headaches are due to muscle tension in the neck – a near chronic pandemic condition caused from working at home in the wrong posture, and doing without rest. “Resting can’t be over-emphasized. We may say we're resting, but we're not really resting, we're just sitting on our phone or we're multi-tasking or watching TV.” We’re most rested when we’re being unstimulated and decompressing – “We all think we're resting, but we're not,” and stress, leading to muscle tension and headaches, are the natural result.
See https://basicsfirstchiropractic.com/ to make an appointment and take advantage of a complimentary posture and foot scan with consultation. And, if you're still working from home, don't miss Dr. Paul's informative Zoom on how to "Sit Smart for a Healthy Spine Workshop" Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 12:30 to 1:30 pm: http://bit.ly/SittingSmart.
