Q: How long have you been in practice?
A: Probably almost as long as you have been on this planet! ? Most of my patients are in their late 20s to early 60s so in many cases, that first statement is true. Jokes aside though, I have been in practice for over 2 decades.
Q: Do you accept insurance?
A: We are out of network with all PPO plans and HMO’s because you deserve to know how to ‘swim’ and there is a conflict between teaching you how to ‘swim’ vs making sure you don’t ‘drawn’. You deserve to learn how to take the best care of yourself in function and health.
Q: Why should I get treatment at your clinic if you don’t accept my insurance?
A: The choice is always yours. The reason I am out of network with most insurance plans is because I KNOW what will work for the conditions I treat at my clinic and your insurance company is accustomed to dictate to the health care providers what they should and should not do. They want to cover the bare minimum if they can get away with it.
The longer you wait wasting time trying all different kinds of treatments only to end up back to where you started, the harder it is to fix the problem and the more money you end up spending. By then, in many cases, some of the damage is irreversible.
Every patient’s case is a challenge that I want to win. That attitude and determination is always to the patients’ advantage and the reason why I have the reputation I have for being the go-to doctor for the hard to manage cases. I don’t want my patients to come to me for the rest of their lives; I want them to understand how THEIR (not mine) body works, its likes and dislikes so they can have a peaceful relationship with themselves. If you can’t invest in learning how YOU are, then how can you expect to have a nice relationship with health that this body is supposed to provide you?
Q: I am told that you are a no-nonsense kind of doctor and are direct in telling me how it is, is that true?
A: That is very true. Life is too short, time is limited and there are too many people who need help bad. I have been in practice for a long time and can tell you that the problems I used to see in older patients are now seen in much much younger patients. While we are becoming more aware of what is going on, as a society, we are getting sicker than ever before. Only those who are eager to get to the root cause of their problem and truly want to get to the bottom of it should start treatment at my clinic.
Q: Are all of your services qualified for FSA and HSA?
A: With the exception of Emsella chair for pelvic floor dysfunction, every rehab service performed at the clinic is FSA and HSA qualified.
Q: Your exam is very different from other Chiropractic and Rehab. offices, why?
A: I look to see how you are on the spectrum of health. Through many years of training, practice, and thorough evidence-based measures, I know what health in movement and posture is. The question is where you measure on that spectrum.
My comprehensive exam not only includes the spine but the neurology behind your posture and balance (Postural Neurology) and the functional fitness in your movement (Functional Movement). The answer to almost all musculo-skeletal issues is there. Movement is like a concert, with the brain being the conductor, the musical note in front of the conductor is the Homunculus (the map of movement and sensation that you are born with) and your body parts are the musicians. If you are at my office being assessed for musculoskeletal and posture-related issues, your problem lies somewhere along the path I just outlined. If I become an astute expert in each of those variables, then my patients can be helped effectively.
Q: Why do you have so many degrees and certifications?
A: It is simple! I want to be the best in what I do and I learned early on that there is not one single right answer to the multi-faceted problems that we human beings have. Health relies on 3 pillars of structure, nutrition and emotion and as a doctor, striving to be the best in my profession, I had to be able to recognize if the problem I was challenged to solve had other contributing factors. On the quest to learn about problems, I ended up getting trained in many other aspects of health that I did not start with.
Additionally, throughout time, I have learned that many times, people are misrepresented with information at their times of desperation! I had to know enough in order to recognize the fallacy in information they were provided!
Q: What is different about your office compared to other Chiropractic, Rehab. or Physical Therapy offices?
A: I want to make something very clear. I love my chiropractic and physical therapy brothers and sisters. I have nothing against them for sure.
The basis of chiropractic is the spine and nervous system. Adjustments work great because they stimulate the nervous system; the very system that is in charge of all functions in your body! This is like a teacher coming in and saying she has a very important story to tell. What comes after the adjustment is very important and in many chiropractic offices, there is nothing done after an adjustment or the ‘generic’ exercises are done which only produce generic results.
In physical therapy offices, they go in and isolate the area of pain or in best cases, maybe another neighboring area as well and work them out. Great thing to do BUT the issue is not just right where the pain or limitation is. Why isolate an area and work it when that same area has to work with the rest of the body in movement and there are problems along those paths too.
I don’t want my patients to come to my clinic for the rest of their lives; I want them to be my apprentice with their issues as the project. I want them to see what I see, understand what I understand, learn how to tackle their muscul-skeletal, postural balance and stability and movement with educated guesses. I am always here for them but they are the owner of their own body and making the right choices is something that is within their own control.
I suggest you read my blurb on functional movement and postural neurology to see how different my approach is.
Q: Why is your examination longer than other offices?
A: Unfortunately, the time spent listening and examining patients in our society keeps getting shorter and shorter. In order for me to succeed in getting my patients what they are in for, I need to have a great set of ears, eyes, and attention to detail. At the end of the exam, in almost all cases, I will know if I can help the patient or not. My examination includes spinal exam, postural neurology and functional movement assessment and I allow a reasonable amount of time for my patients to explain to me what is going on and for me to examine all that contributes to the cause of their problem. Great things are never created in a hurry!
Q: What is the difference between rehab. therapy done at your office vs other chiropractic offices?
A: I follow the principles of Developmental Kinesiology, the movement development in babies to 3-4 years of age on one very important premise. No matter what part of the world we are from, all babies follow the same patterns of development; that is because we are wired that way. It is like your cellphone. No matter how many apps you add, when you reset to zero, there are certain apps you can’t delete. How we move is the app we are born with, that over time, we have managed to mess up.
My treatment follows those principles of movement that I have (humbly stated) mastered to implement in treatment. The rest is easy because I am not teaching anything new but reminding my patients of something very old. If we did it once (and yes we all did it when we first learned to roll over, crawl and walk) we can do it again.
Q: Why have you chosen developmental exercises over the exercises I have gotten from other Chiropractors and PTs?
A: The exercises I do are based on biological breathing, and the developmental patterns of movement that all babies (you and I included) have gone through regardless of where we are from and all the many differences we all have.
They are not man made, they are not modified. No babies lift dumbbells, use machines, or pull bands and yet they all move through each and every stage of movement functionally and perfectly. We are born with that intelligence but because of our lifestyles, injuries, and habits, those biological patterns of movement have become pathological.
It is the pathology that lands you in doctors offices and the type of assessment and treatment I do, utilizes those concepts as the discovery tool and resolution method.
Q: How long will my treatment take?
A: Everyone is different and every condition is different. If you get a cut in your finger, it may take a day to heal, or a week; if you are hemophilic, the last thing you think about is how long the cut is going to take to heal!!
After the first examination, I will explain everything on my findings and explain exactly what the highlights of the treatment is going to be. I can’t predict the future but your ‘cortical connection’, your ability to functionally perform the moves and poses and the amount of ‘structural damage’, if any, all play a role in how fast you will get to the health destination of your choice.
No one should ever start any treatment without understanding what it takes to win the ‘game’ and I will make sure everything and every aspect of treatment, from outlining the actual treatment, to charges, to frequency of care, to length of time for each visit, all and all will be discussed. The first step is the discovery time and without it, any claim is simply invalid.
Q: What is Postural Neurology? Are you a Neurologist?
A: Postural neurology is the neurology behind posture and posture only. If the brain tells your body how to hold the posture and how to move, the body does. If your ‘mom’ or some ‘zapping’ device tells you to sit up straight, you will do it until you get distracted. Postural neurology determines what portion of your body, with regards to movement and sensation is lagging behind and is weak. Through strategic activation of those parts (referred to as positive neuroplasticity) we get to regain the proper function and strength in those areas.
So no, I am not a neurologist. According to health.com:A neurologist is a medical doctor who specializes in treating diseases of the nervous system.
Q: Do you see patients with Chronic pain?
A: As the name implies, chronic pain is a condition(s) that has been ‘around’ for a while and causing pain. What makes a condition chronic, when it comes to most musculoskeletal conditions, is partial attentiveness to remedy the cause or addressing the cause of the problem without paying attention to the ‘feeders’ of the cause!
Our unique treatment approach has made us the go-to clinic. The combination of postural neurology and functional movement, covering core to floor, including pelvic floor strengthening allows us to be the all-in-one encompassing treatment under one roof getting down to root of your chronic issue.
Q: Do you see patients with EDS, Hypermobility, HSD and MCAS?
A: Absolutely and our success rate is high in stabilizing and most importantly guide our hypermobile bodies how to maintain their postural and movement stability. We understand the challenges involved in the spectrum of hypermobility that the population have and know the tips and tricks to activate the muscles that are otherwise not engaging. We understand the proprioceptive challenges that exist in the group and are well equipped to address them. We are all about empowering our patients to learn the skills to implement them themselves going forward. We use low to no impact developmental exercises to bring the functionality in the movement and posture.
Q: Do you see a lot of runners?
A: Yes. Almost all runners have issues with pelvic floor, pelvic girdle and over all movement coordination. We are all capable of running but not every run is an effective or efficient run. Many of my runner patients are here to improve their time and speed and their assessment and treatment is no different than those who see me for pain.
The only difference is that in the more competitive and professional runner, there are fewer corrections that need to be made in the way they move. As an ex-runner who has chosen to not run based on some serious injuries I have had, my heart is with my runner patients and I fully relate to what their wishes are in most cases.
Q: Do you see a lot of dancers?
A: Unfortunately, many dancers have hypermobility and its spectrum of presentations and while successful in their art of dancing, they suffer from connective tissue disorder of mast cell activation. This causes laxity in their joints and has a myriad of presentations. It is the postural and movement instability that makes my clinic a sought-after center to learn how to stabilize their joints and how to treat their unique condition.
Q: Do you see a lot of cyclists?
A: Yes. Most cyclists at my office suffer from pelvic floor and girdle dysfunction as well as knee and neck issues. Once again, their assessment involves functional movement and postural neurology and their treatment is based on the same principles. As a person who did many years of cycling I know the frustration that many cyclists have which helps me ‘speak’ their language.
Q: Do you treat Equestrians?
A: Yes all the way! As an Equestrian, I KNOW what it takes to ride and what challenges equestrians have regardless of the discipline involved.
Q: Do you see patients with pelvic floor issues?
A: Unfortunately, this is a huge problem that almost every one has. Most people think their pelvic floor is not involved because they don’t have any issues with incontinence or pelvic pain but all lower back, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, hip, knee and mid back issues directly influence or are directly influenced by the pelvic floor.
Pelvic floor is not just the muscles between the anus and the genitals. It includes the inner lining of the pelvis where the bladder, intestines, and the reproductive organs are situated.
In the past, it was mostly seen as incontinence in women due to pregnancy and childbirth and later on aging. Now more than ever, in the life of my practice, I see men with issues related to incontinence. That is due to our sedentary lifestyle.
The pelvic floor muscles are not being exercised. They are weak even in the weekend warriors or those who are considered active because at the end of the day, we sit most of our week days!
Q: Why did you choose Emsella machine for pelvic floor issues?
A: Some women are into diamonds, I am into technology!!? Plus have you watched the movie Blood Diamond?!?
Emsella is a chair that uses focused electromagnetic energy on the pelvic floor, causing 6.7 kegals per second!!!! Try doing 2 per second on your own and we can talk!! The pelvic floor, the musculature between the anus and external genitalia is the only part of the body that I could not directly influence and this machine does just that.
The alternative to Emsella is a physical therapist, with training that requires another 1-1.5 years, who goes in through the vagina and/or anus to work on the inner lining of the pelvis. In some offices, they do some work with the hips as well given that the hips are in part involved in the health of the pelvic floor.
Many people do not find that as a desirable option and no matter what, no one can do 6.7 kegals a second even with the best therapist with the most sincere intentions to help. Although, I don’t recommend Emsella by itself, because once again, in order to address the pelvic floor issues, focussing on just this area is not going to solve the problem long term.
Imagine a paper bag in the trunk of your car with some groceries inside. The bottom is the pelvic floor, and the sides of the bag are the ‘barrel’ that I refer to in my treatment. The barrel consists of the abdominal muscles in the front, lower back, the lower part of the mid back, and the transverse muscles on the side. The internal organs are the contents of the bag. If the bottom of the bag is weak, it is only a matter of time before the organs above continue pushing against it to make it weaker.
The bottom will get disconnected from the sides attached to it and/or it will fall apart by itself. Working on the floor only will not be a permanent solution if it involves internal rehab or the 6.7 kegals per second of the Emsella chair. Some people are happy with just that approach; the choice in your health is always yours.
The right approach is to not only the Kegals at 6.7 per second to strengthen the floor but to work on the biological breathing to strengthen the pelvic diaphragm and the sides of the ‘bag’ as well as make sure that the movement of the whole body follows the functional patterns so this ‘paper bag’ is not being banged around (in the trunk of the car) with the dysfunctional movements.