Today we continue the subject of acupuncture and our most frequently asked questions regarding acupuncture: What is an acupuncture needle, and do they hurt? This video is offered by the professional chiropractic and acupuncture care team here at North Bergan’s Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture. Once again, we have with us today our licensed acupuncturist, Monica Gajiwala here at Life Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center here in North Bergan.

Hello everyone. This is Monica at Life Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center here in North Bergan. Today we are going to discuss the acupuncture needle and if acupuncture hurts.

I have a chart here which compares the needle with other needles and objects. For comparison, I have a matchstick here with the comparison with an injection needle, sewing needle, and the acupuncture needle. Looking at the diameter, the acupuncture needle is hair thin. We have next to it is a human hair which is comparable with the acupuncture needle. So acupuncture does not hurt. How it feels, many say, is that the feel nothing regarding the acupuncture needle insertion. Some feel the sensation of a pinch or prick. Acupuncture should not be a painful experience.

Whether you suffer acute or systemic neck pain, regardless of the cause, Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture here in North Bergan can and will improve your quality of life. Click here to learn more about our North Bergen Chiropractic Care Clinic. Of course, call anytime!

Greetings again from the professional chiropractic team here at North Bergan’s Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture. Today we’re like to cover the subject of acupuncture, a term most of us know, but a subject most of us know little about. Today, our licensed Acupuncturist, Monica Gajiwala, helps shed light on this ancient practice that does much more than mitigate pain. 

Hello everyone. This is Monica Gajiwala, a licensed acupuncturist at Life Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center here in North Bergan. Today we are going to quickly define acupuncture and the benefits of acupuncture. Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine that originated thousands of years ago. Acupuncture uses healthy needle to various point in the different part of the body to reduce the pain, reduce inflammation, promote relaxation, and restore the body's energy.

Acupuncture helps with lower back pain, neck pain, Bell's palsy, plantar fasciitis, as well as allergy, sinusitis, insomnia, inflammation, and many more. A full list of ailments and conditions that acupuncture could help you out with are listed on our acupuncture webpage.

Whether you suffer acute or systemic neck pain, regardless of the cause, Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture here in North Bergan can and will improve your quality of life. Click here to learn more about our North Bergen Chiropractic Care Clinic. Of course, call anytime!

So, you’ve been victimized by an auto-accident. The hearts of the entire professional chiropractic team here at North Bergan’s Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture go out to you. We hope that by reading this blog post today that we might help prevent you from being victimized for a second time. We hope that you learn the value of assessing why a combination of chiropractic treatment and acupuncture treatment here in North Bergan can help you avoid painful and debilitating invasive surgery and/or dangerous prescription drugs.

In this video, we share the story of a patient who was involved in a serious auto accident that left the entire left side of her body in pain. She could not accomplish simple tasks like opening a bottle. She could not perform normal activities such as walking without pain, and a return to her favorite sport of running seemed out of the question. But then she turned to Dr. Hernandez and our staff at Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture. We delivered chiropractic treatment for her neck and back pain and empowered her to forgo invasive surgery and dangerous pain medications. She has returned to full health and pain free living. Her praise of Life Chiropractic is heartwarming to all of us.

For those of you who are not familiar with our North Bergan chiropractic clinic, here are some handy links to some of the services we provide that are proven to reduce and/or eliminate chronic and systemic pain:

Chiropractic Treatment for Neck and Back Pain
Postural Correction Services
Acupuncture Services
Sports Injury Care
Lifestyle Advice
Spinal & Postural Screening

Whether you suffer acute or systemic neck and/or back pain, regardless of the cause, Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture here in North Bergan can and will improve your quality of life. Click here to learn more about our North Bergen Chiropractic Care Clinic. Of course, call anytime!

When it comes to pain management, it is important to research all treatment options, not only the types of treatment options but who will be performing them. That is why the professional chiropractic team here at North Bergan’s Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture invites you to not only read and learn from our blog posts, but to call and get to know us. For the better part of a decade now, our New Bergan Chiropractic & Acupuncture Clinic led by Dr. Alex Hernandez has returned countless patients to the pain-free quality of live that once eluded them all. And we can and will reduce and/or eliminate you pain as well.

Today’s blog post will hit home for those of you who have placed yourself on “injured reserved” from the gym or from normal daily activities due to ligament pain. We received superb feedback regarding this video because it is very common for you weightlifters in the gym (or those of you who lift things for a living) to ultimately succumb to ligament pain. In this video, Dr. Hernandez describes the cause of various ligament pains and a common technique that he used to treat ligament damage, the “Graston Technique”. The Graston technique is a patented form of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization used to break down scar tissue. It is a non-surgical technique to benefit the connective tissues present throughout the body, including bones, organs, muscles, nerves, and surrounding blood vessels. We trust you’ll both enjoy and learn from watching this video.

For those of you who are not familiar with our North Bergan chiropractic clinic, here are some handy links to some of the services we provide that are proven to reduce and/or eliminate chronic and systemic pain:

• Chiropractic Treatment for Neck and Back Pain
• Postural Correction Services
• Acupuncture Services
• Sports Injury Care
• Lifestyle Advice
• Spinal & Postural Screening

Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture here in North Bergan can and will improve your quality of life. Click here to learn more about our North Bergen Chiropractic Care Clinic. Of course, call anytime!

Greetings again from the professional chiropractic team here at North Bergan’s Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture. Today we’d like to cover the subject of neck pain. This is a very prolific condition that almost everyone will experience at one time or another. Your pain might be a very serious health issue, or it may not. What it IS is painful and we hope you learn a few things regarding assessing your pain and when it is time to seek treatment by a professional care provider.

The neck, also known as the cervical spine, has two main purposes: protecting the spinal cord and supporting the head allowing it to move with good range of motion. It is made up of bones, nerves, muscles, ligaments, and tendons that are organized in a complex way that allows the neck to be protective while also remaining flexible. This ability to remain flexible also creates quite a bit of vulnerability to damage due to the constant pressure from the head to keep it upright. Some movements whether gradual and repetitive in nature (like poor posture) or sudden and sharp (like whiplash) can result in strain and discomfort. Cervicalgia is a fancy term for an injury of the neck (cervical spine) that causes pain due to this strain without spreading to other areas such as the arms.

Most people will experience neck pain at some point in their life and it is often easily treated. Many cases of neck pain are reoccurring and can come and go from time to time or may become persistent and turn into a more chronic condition. Some common causes of cervicalgia may include:

• Poor posture from sitting too much, many hours in the car or working at a desk and computer
• Lengthy periods with the neck at an awkward angle, such as when sleeping.
• Injuries that involve a sudden neck movement, such as whiplash from a car crash
• Long-term stress and clenching of neck and shoulder muscles, leading to a strain on the neck.
• Bone conditions, such as arthritis or osteoporosis. (more common in older populations)

The symptoms of cervicalgia are pain that is worsened by holding your head in one position, such as driving or working at a computer, muscle tightness and spasms, many patients will describe what feels like muscle knots in their shoulders, decreased range of motion and/or difficulty moving the head, and sometimes headaches can be associated with neck pain. Most neck pain is not severe and will improve gradually but, in many cases, it is important to seek treatment.

When is it time to see the chiropractor? Contact us if the pain in your neck:

• Is severe
• Persist for more than a couple days
• Is reoccurring and/or becoming chronic
• Spreads to other areas (arms, legs, upper back, shoulders, etc…)
• Is accompanied by headache, weakness, numbness, or tingling

Whether you suffer acute or systemic neck pain, regardless of the cause, Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture here in North Bergan can and will improve your quality of life. Click here to learn more about our North Bergen Chiropractic Care Clinic. Of course, call anytime!

Greetings once again from North Bergen’s Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture. Today Dr. Hernandez will discuss with you the differences between a digital x-ray and a conventional x-ray. As you might guess, there are some distinct advantages to the digital x-ray. We hope you find this video informative.

Good Morning everyone. Dr. Alex Hernandez here, from Life Chiropractic and Acupuncture. I want to show you guys the differences between the digital x-ray and the conventional x-ray. So why is the digital x-ray better than conventional x-ray? This is an old conventional x-ray. Next to it is a digital x-ray. The advantages are now going to be covered.

I can things to the digital x-ray that I can’t with the other. I can zoom in. So right here I have a thoracic spine and mid-back. I can really zoom in as far as I need. I can't do that with a conventional x-ray. One of the other things that I enjoy about this program is I can look and I can turn it the contrast and I could really see the lung spaces here. I can see the bones it gives me another view that I can't get with the conventional x-ray. I can also increase the contrast which again I can’t do with the conventional x-ray. This is not to say that conventional x-ray is bad, but today you should be getting digital x-rays in most places.

Another thing that we can do is we can turn this x-ray as many turns this x-ray. I can turn it to the left. I could turn it to the right. When people come in with images from other places, I can just basically turn them so I could see exactly what I need to see. I can write text in here. I can take measurements. We can put them on a CD for you. So those are just some of the main advantages of the digital x-ray.

Not all of you will need a digital x-ray. We use them in the spinal & postural screening process here at our North Bergen Chiropractic and Acupuncture care clinic as part of the process to unlocking your door to improved spinal health and wellbeing. Start you journey to pain free living. Contact us today!

Regular readers of Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture Clinic blog know that we invest time and energy educating both our patients and the general public through this blog. Today we’re going to educate you on a very common (and very painful) condition that we treat on a daily basis here at our North Bergan chiropractic care clinic: Plantar Fasciitis. What follows below is a narrative that address the frequently asked questions about plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis is a very common causes of heel and foot pain that is caused by inflammation of a thick band of fibrous tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot from your heel to your toes (The plantar fascia). People with plantar fasciitis will complain of stabbing pain in the heel that occurs after periods of inactivity and starts to get better after moving around for a bit. The pain of plantar fasciitis is often at its worst in the morning with your first steps and can also get worse after standing for long periods of time. Additionally, the pain is often worse after exercise but not during it.

Runners are the most common population group to get this but can happen to anyone. Others that are at a higher risk are overweight, and people who wear poor choices of footwear with inadequate support. There are many other risk factors that can increase your risk of plantar fasciitis discussed below.

Age itself is a risk factor and people between the ages of 40-60 are most commonly affected. Certain types of exercise can also cause this problem such as any activity the stresses the heel of your foot like long distance running, ballet, or aerobics. Foot mechanics are also a big culprit as flat feet, high arches, or abnormal gait can cause uneven weight distribution when standing or walking which puts additional stress on the plantar fascia. If you work in a profession that requires you to be on your feet all day such as teachers, factory workers, cashiers, etc.… and you spend most of your day standing or walking on hard surfaces you may also be at risk for damaging the plantar fascia. Lastly, obesity is an obvious risk factor since the excess pound places unneeded stress on your plantar fascia.

Ignoring plantar fasciitis may result in chronic heel pain that hinders your regular activities. Changing the way you walk as a way to relieve plantar fasciitis pain might lead to foot, knee, hip or back problems.

The good news is that we can help via a wide variety of chiropractic treatment services here at our North Bergen clinic. We consistently deliver great results and can deliver for you as well. We will not only relieve your pain but more importantly, find the problem and correct it so that your condition does not return. If this sounds like you, stop suffering and make an appointment today so we can get you out of pain and back to doing the things you love.

Dr. Alex Hernandez from Life Chiropractic and Acupuncture would like to talk a little bit about how an MRI can diagnose a herniated disc. In the video, we have some discs models, and the reason for discussing this topic is that many people injure their discs and have what we call "disc herniations". So we’re going to talk about what that is, how we can help you, and how MRI fits into all of this.

So discs are like a rubbery cartilage structure that alternate with the bones in the spine: disc, bone, disc, bone, etc. We’re going to take this model apart and look at what happens when we injure our discs. If we look at this structure, this is the disc, and this is the spinal cord, these are the nerves, and you can tell this material has squeezed out to the back, this is herniating and touching the spinal cord. This is where a lot of people get pain. We have another example of a disc, and this one is herniating to the side. This is touching the nerve root, and this also creates a lot of pain. This is what we typically see creating sciatic pain traveling down the leg.

We’re going to take a look here at an MRI, and we’re going to look at the structures. We’re going to look at the bone, we’re going to look at the alternating discs and bones and right off the bat we can tell that these discs are wider, brighter - that means that their healthy. But when we get to this last one, you can see that it’s darker, this means that this disc has gotten injured. You can also see how it’s squeezing out. This is produces big pain and the MRI is wonderful at telling us what area got herniated and how bad it’s pressing the nerves. When we look at it from the bird’s eye view, we can tell what is going on with the bird’s eye view. This tells us what happened to this disc, we’re looking to see where that nerve is being pinched, and as we scroll through the bottom we can see the space is a lot smaller, which tells me that this is where the herniation is, where it’s putting pressure on the nerve.

So at a glimpse, we can really see what’s going on with your disc through an MRI. Here at this office, we have special protocols to help you with disc herniations. Most disc herniations heal well.

For more information, contact us.

Dr. Hernandez here at North Bergen’s Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture is back again to help both his patients and the general public live happy, healthy, and pain-free lives. In this video, Dr. Hernandez address a disease on the rise here in America, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. He demonstrates for you the anatomy of the hand and exactly what is the “Carpal Tunnel”. The most important part of this video is his demonstration of the ways you can reduce your biggest for getting this disease – misuse of the computer.

Those of you who are friends and/or patients of Dr. Hernandez know that he is selfless in his sharing lifestyle advice from the perspective of a professional North Bergan chiropractor. For those of you who are not familiar with our chiropractic clinic, here are some handy links to some of the services we provide that are proven to reduce and/or eliminate chronic and systemic pain:

• Chiropractic Treatment for Neck and Back Pain
• Postural Correction Services
• Acupuncture Services
• Sports Injury Care
• Lifestyle Advice
• Spinal & Postural Screening

Dr. Hernandez and his caring staff at Life Chiropractic & Acupuncture here in North Bergan can and will improve your quality of life. Click here to learn more about our North Bergen Chiropractic Care Clinic. Call anytime!