Smithtown chiropractors Dr. Jeffrey Block, Dr. Richard Block, and their professional team, including Doctors of Physical Therapy, are here to help you actively regain your health. At Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, you will discover that health comes from within, and it is the most valuable commodity we have. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

We help you recover from pain and injury and bring you to the highest levels of wellness through our natural, effective services:

Get Back in the Game

Our team specializes in caring for athletes and serves as the team chiropractors at Stony Brook University, LIU Post, Queens College, and the New York Cosmos soccer team. Whether you’re a young athlete participating in a sport at school or are a professional, we can help you return from injury or achieve your best performance yet.

Experience Better Function and Health

We’ve treated tens of thousands of patients of all ages in various stages of health. Over our many years of experience, we’ve gained a deep understanding of the impact the spine and nervous system have on the body’s function and your life’s quality and longevity. By addressing these critical systems, you’ll get back the active life you seek to enjoy. Revitalize your life by scheduling a comprehensive first visit, and let us determine how we may be able to help you. Convenient Saturday appointments are available!

Contact Our Chiropractor in Commack

The Importance of Spine Health

The health of your spine is our team’s top priority at Block Chiropractic & Sports Physical Therapy. Your spine health is essential because it harmonizes with your overall health and wellness. Every cell in your body is run by your central nervous system, and if your spine is working properly with it, then, unfortunately, a lot of issues can occur. If you experience issues with your back or spine seeing the best chiropractor on Long Island may be beneficial for you. Visit our chiropractor in Commack for relief today. The importance of spine health is significant. Here’s what you should do to help keep your spine healthy:

Receive adjustments regularly: They will help to improve spinal motion and improve your body’s physical function as a whole.
Exercise & stretch daily: Strengthening your core muscles and doing stretches to warm your body up before any exercise is key. Aerobics, extension stretches, and flexion stretches are recommended.
Maintain a healthy weight: Being overweight can put your back at risk for problems placing added stress on the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in your back.
Get a good night’s sleep with the appropriate form: Another huge issue with back pain is the way people sleep. Laying on your back while sleeping puts approximately 50 pounds of weight on your back. The American Chiropractic Association recommends sleeping on your side or using pillows to elevate your knees to avoid more pain from occurring.
Watch your posture: Your posture has a lot to do with your spine health. Look at the way you are sitting and standing. Are your knees slightly bent and are your shoulders back? Is your head leveled correctly? If your posture is good, your vertebrae will be correctly aligned.
Maintain good form when lifting: Knowing the right lifting techniques is vital to prevent damage to your spine. Use your legs and knees rather than your back. If the object is heavy, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

If you have pain in your back or neck and feel as if you aren’t doing enough to keep your spine healthy, seeing our team of experienced chiropractors may be the right choice! Contact us today at Block Chiropractic & Sports Physical Therapy to experience how we can help you with your pain and get you on the right track towards optimal health. Come see our chiropractor in Commack today and see how we can help get you moving again!

Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy chiropractor in Commack use adjustments, soft tissue work, specialized tables, postural correction and other tools to help you recover from pain and injury and bring you to the highest levels of wellness.

Active Release Technique

Every session starts with an examination and ends with an adjustment.

Active Release Technique, also known as ART, is used to help turn back on your muscles that have been shut off due to previous injury and overused muscles. ART requires specific protocols to reduce muscular pain. We provide a soft tissue therapy that will reduce joint stress and release tight muscles.

We will provide an examination to determine your problem areas. Our team will be able to feel the scar tissue and be able to start the process to recovery.

Some of the problemed areas that ART treats are:

Sciatic
Shin Splints
Lower Back Pain
Shoulder Pain
Tennis Elbow
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Headaches

ART has been proven to have a number benefits. Our team firmly believes that this technique can resolve problem areas quickly and permanently.

Cox Flexion-Distraction

Cox Flexion-Distraction also known as Cox Technic, focuses on naturally healing the spine without the aid from surgery. Cox Technic is a fairly quick relief from back and leg pain by realigning the spine. Multiple benefits stem from Cox Technic such as improving range of motion in the joints and muscles, increase flexibility, decrease headaches and migraines, improves posture, and even be useful in treating neurological diseases. Our team of doctors uses a special table that will help the traction of the spine. Our patients have been pleased with the procedure and find it extremely effective.

Graston Technique

Graston Technique is used to address problem scar tissue, fascial restrictions, and range of motion. This technique is unique as it uses a set of stainless steel hand instruments to create long-term effects is restoring your affected areas. In addition to using instruments to treat your condition, we work with you and create tailored exercises to practice to add to the recovery process.

The instruments our team uses are drawn over your skin to reduce scar tissue. Graston Technique has been a reliable technique for patients experiencing soft tissue fibrosis and chronic inflammation.

Graston Technique has multiple benefits, some including;

Decrease time of treatment
Faster rehabilitation/recovery
Reduced need for medication
Provides an efficient way to preserve range of motion
A permanent resolution of chronic conditions

Graston Technique has been extremely effective and has multiple benefits that will ensure you a high level of wellness. Our use of instruments and specific exercises designed for each individual patient has been a successful way to restore and improve muscle tone.

SFMA: Selective Functional Movement Assessment

A persistent education course that is intended for healthcare professionals that consistently treat their patients for musculoskeletal conditions throughout their life.

An organized, stable movement-based diagnosis used for patients encountering pain.

SFMA is a differential diagnosis that identifies mobility versus motor control dysfunctions which allows them to create a more effective treatment plan to reach a successful outcome.

Developed around 7 fundamental movement patterns and combines a concept known as regional interdependence which discovers how unrelated problems are causing dysfunction and triggering pain.

SFMA provides a more systematic approach to reteach the brain beneficial movements and locate the cause of pain, not just the source.

SFMA knows entirely where to target the treatments and is a structured, repeatable assessment.

The overall goal of SFM is to recognize specific movement limitations that deliver pain.

CBP: Chiropractic Biophysics

A technique initially named by Dr. Donald Harrison, Deanne Harrison, and Daniel Murphy for “physics applied to biology in chiropractic.”

The potential for CBP is one of the leading researched techniques in Chiropractic care.

The goal of CBP is to highlight optimal posture and spinal alignment as the predominant objective of chiropractic care while concurrently noting developments in pain and functional based outcomes.

CBP is a variation of straight chiropractic to completely correct one’s posture

The uniqueness of CBP treatment is structural rehabilitation of the spine and posture

Overall, the objective of CBP treatments are:

Normal Front & Side View Posture
Normal Spinal Alignment
Normal Function
Improved Health & Symptom Improvements

Additional Therapies

Cold Laser Therapy

Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy offers Cold Laser Therapy with our Vectra Genesys Transport Laser by Chattanooga. Cold Laser Therapy can be used on patients that suffer from chronic conditions and help speed up the healing process and relieve pain.

Cold Laser Therapy treats:

Arthritis
Back Pain
Joint Pain
Muscle Strain and Sprains
Knee Pain
Neck Pain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Tennis Elbow
Poor Blood Circulation

Electric Muscle Stimulation

Electric Muscle Stimulation, also known as EMS, is a way to train your muscles different from the way your workouts and exercise might. EMS is a form of electrotherapy that uses a small device to send electronic pulses to your nerve fibers. EMS stimulates specific muscles that will create involuntary muscle contractions. EMS is used to treat pain relief, reduce inflammation, avoid muscle atrophy, and lessen muscle spasm.

What does EMS feel like?

The treatment takes between 10-20 minutes. At first, you may feel a tingling sensation. This is from electrical impulses. As your body becomes more accustomed to the treatment the intensity of the treatment will increase for maximum effect.

Soft Tissue Therapy

Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy offers many techniques to treat the soft tissues of the body. Graston Techniques and Active Release Techniques are effective in treating a number of conditions that you may be suffering from.

Soft Tissue Therapy is successful in treating:

Back Pain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Groin Injuries
Headaches
Knee Problems
Muscle Injury
Muscle Spasm
Nerve Tension
Plantar Fasciitis
Sciatica
Shin Splints
Shoulder Pain
Tendon Injury
Tennis Elbow

Here at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, our team of doctors have seen successful results from these techniques. Our high level of chiropractic care has left patients leaving happy and pain free. Call us today to schedule an appointment.

What Does A Chiropractor Do?

Whether you’re suffering from back pain, neck pain, muscle or tendon issues, or a variety of other conditions, a chiropractor can help. But what is it exactly that a chiropractor does and how are they different from other doctors?

Chiropractic Care:

A chiropractor is defined as a medical professional who specializes in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders. They specifically focus on manual adjustment techniques to manipulate the spine as a form of treatment. Known as spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustment, this therapeutic procedure is designed to restore joint mobility and properly align the musculoskeletal structure, allowing the body to heal itself. As a chiropractor, it is important to stress the importance of the relationship between the spine and your nervous system. Thus spinal manipulation can not only restore the structural integrity of the spine, but also improve the function of the nervous system, and one’s overall health.

Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy,the best chiropractor on Long Island, uses a variety of chiropractic adjustment techniques to address one’s concerns. Active release therapy is a type of soft tissue therapy designed to reduce joint stress and relieve tight muscles. Cox Flexion Distraction technique is a gentle adjustment procedure aimed at aiding the natural healing of the spine. The Graston technique uses stainless steel hand instruments to reduce scar tissue and increase range of motion.

Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy also offers other forms of treatment to address a variety of medical conditions. Cold laser therapy is used to treat chronic conditions such as arthritis, tennis elbow, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Electric muscle stimulation is a form of treatment that stimulates specific muscles with electronic pulses. This provides pain relief, reduces inflammation and lessens muscle spasms. If you’re looking for the best chiropractor on Long Island to address your medical concerns, contact Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy today.

How Can Our Chiropractor in Commack Help?

A chiropractor can treat a variety of issues, especially related to the back. An example of some lower back conditions treated by a chiropractor include:

Herniated disc
Sciatica
Chronic lower back pain
Pinched nerves (radiculopathy)
Osteoarthritis
Muscle strain
Muscle spasm

A chiropractor can also treat a variety of other medical conditions not directly related to the back. For example, fibromyalgia, neck pain, headaches, migraines, weak immune systems, and carpal tunnel syndrome are all some of the many conditions a chiropractor can treat.

If you are suffering from back pain, any of the conditions listed above, or believe you can benefit from seeing a chiropractor, and you are looking for a chiropractor in commack, contact Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy today.

No-Fault Chiropractor In Farmingville

Are you suffering from back, shoulder, or pain in general? Are you looking for treatment options that accept no fault insurance? Here at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, our team is here to help. We can provide our chiropractic services to those using no fault insurance, allowing patients to receive the care they need. If you’d like more information regarding this process, please don’t hesitate to contact our team.

No Fault Care

Trying to get through life when dealing with constant pain is something no one should have to do. However, trying to find treatment for no fault injuries can, at times, be challenging. With so much bureaucratic red tape to go through, it’s easy for it to seem like there is no one in your corner. Fortunately, our no fault medical team here at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy is here to make the process a bit easier. We accept coverage for the most common no fault causes of issues that require chiropractic care, including:

Car accidents.
Work accidents.
Personal injuries.

Injuries Treated

If you’ve been involved in any of the previously mentioned instances, the array of injuries you can become subject to as a result is immense. That is just another reason to consider working with our team of experts. Chiropractic care can treat numerous injuries, making it extremely beneficial in no fault cases. Those who are dealing with the following injuries can get back to being pain-free with the use of our services:

Whiplash.
Herniated disks.
Sciatica.
Muscle pulls and strains.
Joint problems.
Back, neck, and shoulder issues.
Muscle and joint stiffness and swelling.

Benefits Of Chiropractic Care For No Fault Injuries

The obvious benefit of working with our team is that we accept no fault insurance for those in need of chiropractic care. However, there are so many other benefits that this form of treatment brings our patients. That is one of the reasons our team is committed to providing this service. Examples of the benefits of this form of care include:

It is non-invasive, leading to little risk of complications.
Reduces swelling and inflammation in an affected area.
Improves flexibility and range of motion.
Eliminates pain.
Has the potential to help avoid the need for surgery.
Manages chronic pain which can develop following a no fault issue.

Not Fault Insurances Accepted At Block

Here at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, we don’t want our patients suffering through pain longer than necessary. If you’re looking for someone to accept your no fault coverage, please don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment with us. No fault chiropractic care is one of our practice’s backbones, so we want you to feel confident when deciding to work with our team. When you’re ready to receive the care you need, don’t hesitate to contact our team today.

At Home Exercises for Sciatica – Chiropractor in Commack

At Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, our team never rests when it comes to offering relief for our patients. Those dealing with sciatica can attest to how debilitating this condition can be to manage on your own. While scheduling a session with our Chiropractor in Commack for treatment is always a great option, you don’t necessarily have to travel to reduce your symptoms. Our team would like to share some exercises you can perform from the comfort of your own home, that will work wonders for your condition.

Standing Hamstring Stretch

Place one foot on an elevated surface while flexing your feet so that your toes and legs are straight.
Keeping your leg straight, slowly bend your body towards your toe. Stop bending if you begin to feel pain.
Hold this position for 30 seconds before returning to the starting position and repeating the stretch on the other leg.

Sitting Spinal Stretch

Sit on the ground with your legs extended outward.
While bending the knee, lift one foot over your leg and place it flat on the ground next to the opposite knee.
Twist your torso in the direction of and past the bent knee.
Perform this stretch three times while alternating directions.

Knee To Opposite Shoulder

Stretch out your legs while keeping your back flat on the floor.
Bend one leg and the knee with both of your hands.
Gently pull your knee across your body in the direction of the opposite shoulder and hold for 30 seconds.
Perform three repetitions of this stretch on each side.

Sitting Pigeon Pose

Stretch out your legs while sitting on the floor.
Bend one leg and place that foot on top of the opposite ankle.
Lean your upper body forward and reach towards your thigh.
Hold this position for at least 15 seconds before repeating it on the other side.

Chiropractor in Commack

If you’ve already tried these at-home stretches and aren’t seeing any results, it may be time to schedule an appointment for Chiropractor in Commack. Our staff is well versed in treating conditions such as sciatica and can help get you back to feeling pain-free. When entrusting our team with your care, the benefits you can receive may include just a few of the following:

Increased strength.
Reduction of pain and inflammation.
Improved flexibility and range of motion.
Mitigate the risk of continuing symptoms.

Contact Us

Whether you have questions about more at-home exercises or want to schedule an appointment for a chiropractor in Commack, our team will be there for you. Contact us today and inquire about our various treatment methods.

The Benefit of Low Impact Exercises – Chiropractor in Commack

Exercise plays an important role in our health, but some exercises may harm our joints. Especially if you have pain in your joints or have sustained an injury, high impact exercises like jumping and running can hurt your joints more than they can help them. Incorporating low impact exercise into your regimen will not only help your joints or injury but will keep you in shape in the process. Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy have an excellent staff who can curate effective low impact exercise routines just for you!

What Does Low Impact Mean?

Low impact exercises focus on putting little stress on the ankle, knee, and hip joints during your workout. Low impact exercise is perfect for people who are pregnant, growing older, overweight, or have joint discomfort. These exercises make it possible to participate in cardiovascular exercises while not putting all of your weight on your joints. While the exercises are low impact, they do not have to be low intensity. Intensity focuses on how quick your heart rate becomes during your workout. You can keep your heart rate high while implementing low impact exercises. There are various low impact exercises like:

Swimming
Cycling
Yoga
Rowing
Walking
Water Aerobics

The Benefits:

Lessening the amount of weight and pressure you put on your joints helps keep them healthy while simultaneously relieving the pain. Even so, low impact exercises can help you strengthen and tone your whole body, not just your joints! Low impact exercises can also:

Create great strength and endurance
Improve flexibility and balance
Cross-train your muscle groups
Aide in fat loss

Contact Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy:

Here at Block Sports, we focus on curating a personal plan for you, based on your pain or injuries, that can benefit you in therapy and even at home. We’ll work with you to figure out which low impact exercises would be best for you while explaining how they will enhance your current state of health. If you have discomfort in your joints or have sustained an injury, make an appointment at Block Sports Chiropractic and Physical therapy today to learn how you can start your journey to better health.

What is pain? – Chiropractor in Commack

Chiropractor in Commack Pain can be acute or chronic, mild or severe. Everybody knows what pain feels like but, what causes pain? Pain can be described as a survival mechanism whose purpose is to protect the body from harm. If you are feeling pain, your brain perceives a threat, and is sending a signal that something has to be done.

One important thing to realize about pain is that pain is an output from the brain not an input from the body. When a body part is injured, nerve endings in that area send signals along the spinal cord to the brain. However, pain is not perceived until the brain interprets those signals and determines that pain signals would be helpful. This pain may prevent further damage and allow the body time to heal. Several different areas of the brain, including areas that govern memory and emotion, help filter the signals and produce a pain response. We all experience pain differently and many things factor into the severity of pain. These can include previous experiences, social/work environment, expectations of consequences, amongst many others. The professional violinist who fractures her hand will have a much different pain experience than the professional soccer player.

Pain does not necessarily equate to tissue damage

If you are in pain you may not necessarily be hurt and if you are injured you may not necessarily have pain. Several studies have shown that many people who are pain free have significant damage to their backs, knees or shoulders. One study showed that nearly 50% of people over 40 without back pain have a bulging disc in their spine! This statistic supports the idea that pain is not a direct correlation to the damage to our joints or muscles. When you’re body is working well, after the normal amount of healing time for that injury, the pain should go away. Our bodies are very resilient after all!

Practice makes perfect – If you have had pain for more than a couple months then your body will be more efficient at producing that pain. In other words, the longer a certain pain persists, the easier it is to feel that pain. This process is called long term potentiation; which means that the more often the brain uses a neural pathway, the easier it is to activate that pathway again. Imagine you were walking a straight line in a tall grass field, the more times you walked that same path the easier it would be to get through the grass. This is the same process by which we learn new skills, such as playing the guitar. Nerve cells change their properties to be more responsive. So the more times we feel a certain pain, the less stimulus is needed to cause that pain. Our brains are learning the pain just as we learn how to perform any other complex movement.

How do I know if I’m safe to move?

When our pain system becomes hypersensitive and overprotective, it stops us from doing the movements and activities that are actually necessary for our bodies to recover. Movement is typically the first step to overcoming pain and it is almost always safe to move in some capacity. It is definitely a smart idea to consult with a health professional to rule out serious pathology and to make sure it is safe to move. They can help you better understand your pain and educate you that things found on a scan (X-ray or MRI) are perfectly normal and often present in people who do not have any pain.

How does our chiropractor in Commack evaluate and treat pain? We obtain a thorough past medical history from the patient as well as their current symptoms. Then we take the person through specific movements in an attempt to reproduce their specific pain or discomfort. One thing important to note is that we are always checking up and down the kinetic chain for a source other than the painful location. The pain could be coming directly from that location, referred from another body part, or a compensation of poor mechanics elsewhere. For example, low back pain could be coming from relative weakness and poor mechanics in the foot! As far as treatment goes, we use many different techniques to address pain and improve function. We use various modalities like heat, ice, and electrical stimulation to decrease pain. Our practitioners implement soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release, and joint mobilizations to decrease pain and increase range of motion. You can refer back to our previous blog posts on these topics as well! Then we have our patients perform specific therapeutic exercise to increase their strength and optimize their movement.

Come in to our office in Commack for an evaluation for your aches and pains with our knowledgeable chiropractors and physical therapists today!

Can Swimming Aggravate Back Pain?

Swimming is often a favorite activity among many athletes and outdoor aficionados over the summer months. Since most of your body is submerged in water, this form of exercise is less taxing on your body but it is still a great way to burn calories and stay in shape. However, just like with any physical activity, injuries can still take place while you’re swimming. If you’re wondering if swimming can aggravate your back pain, the answer is yes. Fortunately, our team at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy can help treat several back-related complications. We’ll provide patients with the sessions with our Chiropractor in Commack, that they need to get back into the pool without any issue.

back pain in Smithtown

How Does Swimming Cause Pain?

As previously stated, swimming can be less harmful to your body than other exercises due to the lack of shock and impact that it causes. However, that doesn’t mean swimming comes without risk. Whether you are someone who suffers from chronic back pain or never faced it at all, swimming can negatively affect your spine’s health. Below are two examples of how this exercise may lead to the development of back pain:

Your back can become hyper-extended during front strokes.
The upper spine is constantly jerked forward when coming up for breaths during front strokes.

Preventing Back Pain

Although sometimes pain is unavoidable, you can take steps to work towards preventing back pain when going for a swim. These play an essential role in avoiding scheduling sessions with our Chiropractor in Commack. To steer clear of spending the summer rehabbing an injury, we recommended the below prevention methods:

Always use proper form when performing front strokes.
Make sure to stretch and warm-up if you plan on doing vigorous swimming.
Wear goggles to reduce improper head movements.
Use floating devices to assist with your swimming form.
Swim using side or backstrokes when possible.

Treatment with our Chiropractor in Commack

Our team at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy knows that even after being cautious while swimming, injuries can still arise. When this happens, you’ll need to schedule physical therapy sessions in Commack, NY, to help correct the issue. Through the use of therapeutic stretches and strengthening exercises, our team will work to eliminate your back pain as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Contact Us

Summer should be a time spent enjoying the outdoors, not living with back pain. If swimming is one of your favorite activities, be sure you’re doing what you can to remain safe. However, if an issue ever develops, contact our team at Block Sports Chiropractic and Physical therapy to schedule an appointment with our Chiropractor in Commack, today!