What Should my Expectations Be?

What Should My Expectations Be?

Today in my Germantown office a patient whom if have treated off and on probably for a decade asked me, "What should my expectations be?"  He was essentially asking why he wasn't instantly better after he last appointment.  I told him that his expectations were too high.  

This patient has come in for care on an as needed basis like I said for probably a decade or so.  The last time I saw him was a year and a half ago.  Typically he would come in, receive therapy, get adjusted, and feel almost instantly back to normal.  I would typically see him two to four times a year.  He responded great!

I love when a patient gets better fast.  I have an ego, and I like to think I'm good at what I do, so when a patient is better quickly, and tells you how much better they feel there is a certain amount of affirmation in that.

Getting Better Quickly

Now unfortunately not everyone gets better quickly.  This particular patient is not the person he was when I initially started treating him.  He is now married, with three kids, in his forties, and gained some weight, like we all seem to do in our forties.  As we get older, we don't tend to heal as quickly.  That is not to say it doesn't happen, but generally it takes more time.

As far as expectations go, I would estimate about 40% of patients will have a great response after one visit.  That doesn't necessarily mean no more pain, but feel a good level of improvement.  The other 60% takes time.  That doesn't mean that I am going to be treating you every week for the rest of your life, but you may need care a couple of times a week for 3-4 weeks.  Not forever.  

Recommended Therapy Schedule

Now with this patient, I recommended just that approach.  Let's go after the pain on a regular basis for a few weeks until he feels better, and then hopefully his body will remember how it is suppose to feel.  At that point he may begin to again respond quickly and with any future episodes, and be a treated once and feel good type of patient again.

If you have other questions regarding chiropractic treatments, contact us at 301-972-9191 or sign-up at www.CramerChiropracticrehab.com for a free consultation!

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab maintains an active presence on many popular search and social media websites. Select your favorite website below to stay connected or review us.

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab

12850 Middlebrook Rd #209

Germantown, MD 20874

301-972-9191

www.cramerchiropracticrehab.com

          

Chiropractic Care for Motor Vehicle Accidents

This morning after treating a patient that had been involved in a motor vehicle accident, she stated that she is feels better after receiving the care, but the pain keeps coming back.  Now in my mind I'm thinking "Great, I'm glad she is improving", and her mind she is thinking "Why aren't I better yet?"

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Motor vehicle accidents typically cause what is called a soft tissue injury, damage to the supporting structures of the spine: Muscles, ligaments, tendons, and even discs.  Often referred to as "Whiplash".  The body will go through multiple phases of repair and recovery which ultimately will take a year or so for your body to fully go through.  Now I'm not treating people involved in car accidents for a year, but only the initial phases which tend to last about six to eight weeks if everything goes smoothly.  These are the most important phases which will allow your body to remodel any remaining damage to it's minimal impact.  This is also the phase most associated with pain.

Treatment: Chiropractic Care

The patient I mentioned earlier has only been treating for two and a half to three weeks, so still roughly in the beginning of care.  Now I also mentioned "if everything goes smoothly".  Smoothly has to do with what else is occurring in your body, and sometimes even your mind.  This patient has just gone through a battle with breast cancer and at the time of the accident was still feeling the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  I explained to her that her body is fighting multiple battles right now, and the whiplash type of injuries she sustained are relatively minor in comparison to the major conflict her body is recovering from with the cancer and the medications and radiation required to fight it.  When our defenses are down, it can take longer for us to recover.  Sucks, but our bodies have less resources.  If you are run down, it always seems that is when you get a cold or the flu.  Soft tissue repair requires not only Chiropractic care, but energy from your body to actually assist in those repairs.  And when your body has a lot of other pre-existing issues it can take extra time to fully recover.

I advised her not to get discouraged, it is still early in her care, and even if it goes longer then those six to eight weeks,it's ok.  She will get there, just a little more slowly.  After all it was the tortoise that won the race.

If you have other questions regarding chiropractic treatments for car accident related injuries, contact us at 301-972-9191 or sign-up at www.CramerChiropracticrehab.com for a free consultation!

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab maintains an active presence on many popular search and social media websites. Select your favorite website below to stay connected or review us. 

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab

12850 Middlebrook Rd #209

Germantown, MD 20874

301-972-9191

www.cramerchiropracticrehab.com

          

The Highly Sought after UFC Competition

RecoveryDoc athlete Mike Easton and his contender Raphael Assuncao
The competition will be held, Saturday, December 8th. Dr. Rick Rosa of Accessible Beltway Clinics has worked with professional fighter Mike Easton over the years.


All of the details about the fight and the players can be viewed on the UFC's website ---> http://bit.ly/TFNym5.
Dr. Rosa, a revolutionary leader in the field of sports chiropractic therapy,  has utilized his famed 6 Pillars of Recovery Program, with professional athlete Mike Easton over the years.

Watch Video of MMA Pro Mike Easton

Mike Easton lifts weight and talks about his recovery which was shortened by 50% of the estimated time after treatment by RecoveryDoc.

httpv://youtu.be/NpGWILn-80s

Dr. Rosa, a graduate of New York Chiropractic College, has devoted countless years to the study and integration of chiropractic medicine for recovery and sports. He consistently demonstrates his passion for the advancement of chiropractic medicine through continuous efforts in the education and training of both the chiropractic and athletic community on the essentials of chiropractic therapy and recovery.Video of MMA Pro Mike Easton as he lifts weight and talks about his recovery which was shortened by 50% of the estimated time after treatment by RecoveryDoc.

Dr. Rosa, the founder of RecoveryDoc, works with professional athletes— enabling them to train harder and recovery faster. He ensures athletes not only recover, but are able to perform better and train harder in preparation for the field.

RecoveryDoc’s Six Pillars of Recovery cover all aspects of recovery for injuries and training. The Six Pillars include; awareness of state, rest, play, nutrition, physical and psychological – ensuring professional athletes, recover faster and train harder.

The role of sports chiropractic care has greatly evolved over the past 20 years and Dr. Rosa plays an active role in the continual advancement.

Watch RecoveryDoc Athlete Mike Easton, Saturday, December 8th on Fox!

This is an event you don’t want to miss!

--> http://www.ufc.com/event/FOX5#/fight/Raphael-Assuncao-Mike-Easton

Chiropractic Treatment for Pain Following a Car Accident

So this is what happened last night.. 

Last night when I was driving home from my Chiropractic of in Germantown, MD, I almost witnessed a horrible accident.  What appeared to be a man, dressed all in black, decided to cross a major street, Route 118, not at a cross walk, but in the middle of a dimly lit section of the road.  A vehicle slammed on their brakes and was able to avoid him.  The evening prior I saw a similarly dressed individual crossing at a cross walk, good job, but unfortunately he was crossing on a red light.  This caused the vehicle that was turning onto that street to have to slam on their brakes to avoid him, and almost get rear ended himself for the life saving gesture.  

It is now getting dark earlier and earlier, and I understand that black jackets are more fashionable then neon green, but it is almost impossible to see someone until you are upon them in this scenario.  Germantown does not have the great lighting on it's streets, and vehicles tend to travel at or above the 40 MPH speed limits, this will put any pedestrian into danger when they are at a location that they are completely unexpected.  Please use cross walks and then only use them when as a pedestrian you have the right away.  Saving 30 seconds is not worth getting hurt or even losing your life. Sure, if you get struck by a car, depending on your injuries, I may be able to help you, but I would much rather have you remain safe and healthy.  Flesh is much more fragile then metal.

Now if you think that this only happens to someone else, not you, why take a chance. 

Recently, a student at Seneca Valley High School was struck and killed when she crossed Rout 118 against a red light while going to school.  This is a tragedy and a heart break that as a parent I cannot even begin to imagine.  That 30-60 second wait until it is safe to cross the street may keep the unimaginable pain of losing a loved one from occurring in your family.

If you have other questions regarding chiropractic treatments for car accident related injuries, contact us at 301-972-9191 or sign-up at www.CramerChiropracticrehab.com for a free consultation!

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab maintains an active presence on many popular search and social media websites. Select your favorite website below to stay connected or review us. 

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab

12850 Middlebrook Rd #209

Germantown, MD 20874

301-972-9191

www.cramerchiropracticrehab.com

          

Alternative Care For Back Pain

The other night I arrived home and The NBC Evening News with Brian Williams was on our family television.  

They went into a segment on "Alternative care for back pain".  I thought this could be really good or really bad.  To my surprise, it wasn't really either, but just dumbfounding.

The segment began with a woman who had an electrical devise implanted into her back so she could effectively use electrical stimulation on her back to control her pain after two failed lumbar surgeries.  Now I have no issue with this scenario, but as they continued to talk about this treatment, they brushed past the TWO FAILED LUMBAR SURGERIES.  This is not a treatment that someone should just jump into because their back hurts.  This therapy is after other forms of treatment have failed.  I even heard a woman at the gym talking to her personal trainer about approaching her doctor about this procedure, and she to date had only tried some medications a couple of times and one course of physical therapy.

The second part of the segment was about core strengthening.

Perfect. The segment specifically endorsed Pilates, which is fine, but core strengthening is not limited to just that particular technique.  

The third part of the segment dealt with acupuncture, and how it can help some people.  True, it can help some people, but like everything it doesn't help everyone, and you need to make sure you are going to a licensed professional, whom hopefully you have received a personal referral too.

So at this point I though here comes the segment on Chiropractic...

Nothing.  Back to Brian Williams.  How is it possible to do a segment on "Alternative care for back pain" without Chiropractic.  Essentially  Chiropractic was the original alternative to medicine.  It was one of the largest factors in NIH establishing the Alternative Health division, and to be ignored for what it is best known for, dumbfounding.  I suppose I should try to look at it as maybe this reporter thought of Chiropractic as completely mainstream and the norm, and therefore no longer alternative, but some how I think that might be a stretch.  Chiropractic should be the first choice of anyone with back pain, whether or not it shows up on the evening news.

Dr. Michael Cramer

- Chiropractor
  Germantown, MD 20874 

If you have other questions regarding alternative care for back pains, contact us at 301-972-9191 or sign-up at www.CramerChiropracticrehab.com for a free consultation!

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab maintains an active presence on many popular search and social media websites. Select your favorite website below to stay connected or review us. 

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab

12850 Middlebrook Rd #209

Germantown, MD 20874

301-972-9191

www.cramerchiropracticrehab.com

          

Vitamins and Your Diet

Vitamins and Your Body

Recently there was a study published on the benefits of taking a multi-vitamin.  The study had middle aged doctors take a daily multi-vitamin and they found that there was an 8% decrease in the amount of cancers that the the doctors had over the course of the study.  Seems pretty simple and common sense doesn't it, but this is actually pretty important.  Most previous studies tend to marginalize, if not demonize a lot of vitamins.  A couple of years ago I had a robust conversation with a medical doctor friend of mine here in Germantown who was trying to convince me that vitamins were a waste of money and no one needed to take them if they ate properly.  "Americans have the most expensive urine on the planet" from vitamins he argued.  This from a man who was 40 lbs. over weight and probably never had anything green on his plate.

The Most Important Thing to do is to Monitor and Control Your Personal Diet

Now I will admit that if everyone ate well, there may not be as much of a need for vitamins, but who lives in that perfect world.  First of all, the food we eat is not as full of nutrients as it once was, due to the mass production of food.  Secondly, who eats as well as they should.  Do you ever do the drive-through's, for a quick little bite?  Do ever eat something processed?  Do you spend the time and money to make sure everything you eat is fresh and organic?  Very few people have that sort of luxury.

Vitamins are Good for a Supplement 

In my opinion it is important to take vitamins for good health as they are a SUPPLEMENT to what you eat, not the only thing you digest.  By taking vitamins we are trying to lessen the expression of diseases that may be lurking in our genes, our DNA. This study showed this to be true.  Vitamins are a relatively inexpensive way to try to ensure better health, and isn't that something we would all like.

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab maintains an active presence on many popular search and social media websites. Select your favorite website below to stay connected or review us.

       

                                              

Recent Article Shows Smaller Vehicles Receive the Most Damage in Car Accidents

I just read an interesting article about vehicles and being in car accidents:

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Offers Consumers Valuable Data About Current Automobiles

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety offers consumers valuable data about current automobiles. By compiling and analyzing claims information, the data helps drivers choose the safest vehicle available when considering what car to purchase.

The most recent issue of the IIHS Status Report, published Sept. 20, contains a table of personal injury protection (PIP) claims for cars manufactured between 2009 and 2011. It also ranks the 10 most dangerous cars on the road by that metric.

Data Shows Smaller Cars are Involved in Accidents with the Most Frequency

The data shows that smaller cars were involved in accidents with the most frequency. This is partially a matter of physics, since a small car is more likely than a large car to sustain damage in the event of a collision. But according to Matt Moore, vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute, a driver’s income, location, and rate of use can also come into play.

“Smaller vehicles are more likely to be in urban areas, and smaller vehicles are likely to be driven more frequently because they’re owned by a single person in a given household,” he said in an interview. “Large cars tend to be owned by drivers who have two or three cars garaged, or more cars than people per household.”

Small Cars are Most Likely to Be Driven by a Person Who is the Sole Owner, Which Increases the Risk

Since a small car is more likely to be driven by a person who is the sole owner, it tends to get driven every day, he said. This increases its odds of being involved in an accident, where a car that’s driven only once a week is exposed to less risk.

So I guess the point is if you can afford a larger vehicle do so, as you will be safer.

Cramer Chiropractic Rehab maintains an active presence on many popular search and social media websites. Select your favorite website below to stay connected or review us.