dr rizzo , doctorrizzo.com , dr barry rizzo , dr. barry rizzo , dr. rizzo , toms river chiropractor, northfield chiropractor integrated health and wellness , dr hudak , john hudak , barry rizzo Chiropractic works because your body is designed to be self regulating and self-correcting. The scientific community has proven that the nervous system controls and coordinates every organ, cell and tissue in your body. Millions of instructions flow down from your brain through your spinal cord and end up connecting every organ and tissue to the brain. Signals are sent back through the spinal cord to the brain to let it know that everything is working properly. When there are improper motion or position of the spine, called segmental dysfunction (subluxation), it can interfere with the vital exchange of information by the irritated nerve that compromises the function of the affected organs and tissue. Specific spinal adjustments can help improve the connection between the brain and the body’s communication. Health often returns with improved nervous system function. Hello. My name is Dr. Barry Rizzo. I am a chiropractic physician. We have state of the art offices located in Toms River and Northfield, New Jersey. In my offices, we incorporate the newest technology coupled with sound proven techniques that provide the greatest relief in the least amount of time. Once we accept you as a patient in our practice, your condition will be treated on a case-by-case basis. If your condition falls within the scope of my practice, we will develop a custom tailored treatment plan to serve your needs. Whether you are just looking to get out of pain or are trying to correct the problem and enjoy improved health and wellness, we will work together to achieve your goal. We serve hundreds of patients weekly with varying needs and goals. With great clinical outcomes and even better levels of patient satisfaction, we look forward to serving your needs. Please continue on this virtual tour of my office and learn more about the condition or conditions that are affecting you. Thank you. In our offices we see many patients who suffer from headaches. Many times, people have been told that they are experiencing a migraine headache or a tension headache. In actuality, more than half of the headaches that we see in our practice are not migraine headaches at all. These headaches are cervicogenic headaches. “Cervicogenic headaches” means that theses are headaches that come from the neck. The neck, or in medical terms the cervical spine, consists of seven bones called vertebrae that are spaced between discs that act as a shock absorber as well as having the functions of protecting the spinal cord and being able to allow nerves to pass out between the segments and being able to move. Actually, the engineering is quite fantastic to be able to serve these three responsibilities. Periodically, when nerves become irritated, symptoms including neck pain and associated headaches can result. The impingement of small nerves at the base of your skull can result in headaches that begin in the back and radiate to the front. These headaches are often improved when the irritation is removed from the nerve and the joints are able to move properly. Additional cervicogenic headaches result when small joints in the back of each vertebra called facets are irritated which then cause muscles to tighten up and nerves to become irritated as well. These will also produce classic headaches that are confused by many to be migraine headaches. Furthermore, other conditions to include trigger points within an irritated muscle can produce a pain pattern by a referral mechanism that produces headaches as well. To a lesser frequency, the migraine headaches, cluster headaches, tension headaches etc. are also helped by improving the biomechanics of the cervical and thoracic spine (neck and upper back), which thereby reduces the dysfunction between the cervical spine and the vascular generator of the headache. After all, we know that the nervous system controls and coordinates every organ, cell and tissue in the body. Doesn’t it make sense to eliminate anything interfering with the connection between the mind and the body? We see many patients every single day with mild to severe neck pain. Some people report stiffness other people come in unable to turn their head in any direction. Whether this came from a car accident, slip/fall or just waking up with it, we determine the cause of your problem and if your condition falls within the scope of our practice and we accept your case, we will begin to restore the proper biomechanics and eliminate the irritation to the nerves. Should there be advanced findings or true nerve impingement that radiates into your arms, additional testing may be needed to determine the exact nature of the problem. Imaging studies such as MRIs or CT scans could prove effective. Electrodiagnostic tests such as EMG/NCV studies can be ordered. Depending upon the severity of your condition and the clinical findings will determine how we proceed. Chiropractic care and the corresponding rehabilitation has been proven to be safe and effective for treating a number of cervical spine conditions. More than half of the patient's we see on a weekly basis present with low back pain. There are many causes of low back pain. For as many causes, there are also misconceptions. These misconceptions lead to unnecessary suffering and thousands of dollars directed in the wrong place. In our office, we identify the cause of the low back pain and if your condition falls within the scope of my practice, and we accept you as a patient in our practice, we provide specific treatment to the affected area. Some of the possible causes of low back pain can include the vertebrae not moving properly, the facet joints being impinged, the shock absorbers between the bones, called intervertebral discs, being bulged or herniated as well as a variety of other muscle and joint problems. In some instances there can be additional findings including problems in your pelvis that refer pain into your back and the sacroiliac joints and in other instances problems within your organs that refer pain to your back that also need to be differentially diagnosed. In all of these instances, it is imperative that the accuracy of the diagnosis is achieved and the appropriateness of treatment is conducted. Sciatica can be a distracting pain that starts in the lower back and extends down into one or both legs. Many people acquire sciatica by traumatic events such as car accidents or more commonly, the result of cumulative damage which includes years of bad posture, poor muscle tone, excessive weight or countless other causes. At that point, something simple like bending over to tie your shoes or pick up a toothpaste cap can trigger an episode. The end final result is an inflammatory process that occurs by the nerves that exit through the vertebrae in your low back that send pain down the distribution of the sciatic nerve which is located behind your thigh traveling to your leg and your foot. Improving the joint motion with a series of chiropractic adjustments has produced results for hundreds of our patients. Many patients report that they can resume their lives and that their symptoms disappear without additional interventions. By utilizing this natural approach to relief and better health, there is hope. By restoring the way your spine works, reducing nerve irritation and revitalizing your own healing ability we can produce results which your are looking for. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a sneaky, potentially disabling epidemic that is affecting thousands of working Americans all across the country. As we all know wrist pain can have many different causes. The resulting pain, weakness and numbness unfortunately is a tricky condition to address. Because there are so many causes and sometimes these causes are not even in your wrist at all, many people confuse this condition as being exclusively in your wrist and focus in on that. Often times, the problem is not in the wrist at all and can be coming from the exiting nerve roots from your neck or the peripheral nerves in your shoulder or arm. When the nerve finally passes through a series of bones and ligaments, the end-resting place may be through the carpal tunnel. Pain is your body's way of telling you are hurting. And because you feel pain, you stop doing things that can worsen your injury or condition. This is why it's important to properly identify where the problem is, and determine if surgery is in your future or if there are any nonsurgical ways of eliminating this problem… by treating the cause of the problem not just the symptoms. Many of our patients that are currently pregnant experience a variety of symptoms. Whether it's managing the aches and pains associated with the laxity of the ligaments in the knees, hips, shoulders and back that produce constant pain and soreness with routine activities, or a myriad of symptoms that stem from pressure in the low back that irritates the sacroiliac joint or produces pain that radiates into the leg, chiropractic is a safe natural alternative to dealing with these problems. During pregnancy, there are tremendous limitations in that traditional electrotherapies, x-rays, injections and certain medications should be avoided. Exercise, applications of heat and ice and chiropractic care prove effective methods to manage a pregnant patient’s pain. Many accidents may be unavoidable but fortunately, much of the physical damage and suffering resulting from them can be avoided or reduced with chiropractic care. Accidents cause joint dysfunction in the vertebrae and extremities. These injuries cause serious conditions that distort your structure, irritate nerves, bones, ligaments muscles and discs. No matter how mild the accident may be, damaging segmental dysfunction can wreak havoc. For that reason no matter how minor it may seem, chiropractic spinal checkups are very important after an accident or fall to insure that your spine is free from these health destroying abnormalities. Traditional emergency room visits help determine if there are life-threatening injuries or broken bones to contend with. An examination after an auto accident or a fall can find subtle problems that result from whiplash or sprain strain injuries that have detrimental effects many years down the road. Long-term damage to the spine and head is especially common in car accidents. Many individuals deal with residual problems that may linger for months or years if not properly identified. These problems could be neuromusculoskeletal disorders commonly referred to as pinched nerves or disc herniations. Unfortunately, after severe accidents, these conditions do not get better immediately but in actuality get worse before they get better. As muscles tense and tighten up, they continue to pull bones into the wrong position that result in severe nerve impingement syndromes. In addition, other types of related injuries can also occur which include postconcussion syndrome, cervical acceleration/ deceleration syndrome, mild traumatic brain injuries, closed head injury, insomnia, temporal mandibular joint dysfunction, tinnitus, anxiety, depression and hypertension. Even still, old injuries or arthritis can also be exacerbated which will produce long-standing ongoing problems if not properly addressed. Chiropractic care is a safe effective method for dealing with many of these conditions because it utilizes a simplistic approach to determining what the cause of the problem is and finding the appropriate solution. Many patients often ask me can chiropractic care help my stress. Although there are no true adjustments or specific techniques that will solve the problems of deadlines, rush-hour traffic, over commitments, family obligations or work pressure, the most common cause of perceived stress can be the physical manifestations of joint dysfunction within the cervical or thoracic spine. The end result of the increased muscle tone, headaches or neck pain is noticed at a time when emotional demands are at their greatest. Chiropractic care becomes an effective alternative for mind-altering drugs or invasive approaches by helping restore proper functionality within the joints, muscles, ligaments and nerves within our spine, which thereby reduces the stress of your busy life and thus can help improve your ability to handle and tolerate it. Some people require several office visits and others require extensive course of chiropractic care. Every case is different and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Scoliosis is a tragic condition whereby sideways bending of the spine is appreciated. This bending ultimately creates a noticeable deformity and if allowed to advance severely, it can interfere with the lungs, heart and many other vital organs. Scoliosis affects boys but more frequently girls between the ages of eight and 18. The causes may vary but some are as a result of congenital variations while others get this dreadful condition from bad posture or habitual aberrant stresses. In some instances, many of the reasons for scoliosis is still unknown. When many young ladies begin certain bodily changes, they become self-conscious. They elect to wear loose fitting clothing so as not demonstrate the changes within their chest or within the rest of their body. Neglecting these conditions or referring to back and leg pain as being “growing pain" is a dreadful thing. Early detection is critical and a thorough examination can help detect scoliosis in its early stage. The primary course of action can be specific chiropractic adjustments that help improve the function and structure of the spine. Proper education in exercises as well as postural modification can improve these conditions. If left untreated, scoliosis can progress in an uncontrollable fashion that would require surgical rods and screws to restore some functional alignment to prevent visceral compromise. Therefore, within my practice and the pediatric orthopedic community, early detection is imperative. Should ones child have evidence of this, further diagnostic evaluation is necessary and periodic chiropractic checkups throughout their developing years are required. There are many growing trends within the healthcare community to suggest that chiropractic care and pediatrics should work hand-in-hand. Even in today's natural childbirth methods, excessive stress can be placed upon an infant spine. Preliminary studies have suggested that colic, unusual crying, poor appetite, chronic ear infections and or erratic sleeping habits can be signs of spinal distress. Although the anatomy follows many of the basic spinal patterns as seen in adults, the twenty-four moving bones in the spine respond differently in different people of all ages. I have found, in my experience, that many children can benefit from chiropractic care by utilizing gentle specific techniques to restore proper spinal biomechanics. In these instances, collaborative efforts with the parent’s pediatrician in conjunction with specific treatment goals and parameters are utilized to provide very beneficial outcomes. I believe that a spinal check-up is analogous to seeing the dentist to help prevent tooth decay. In instances of pediatric trauma and the promotion of general health and wellness, I apply the simple principle that if it works for adults, with specific modifications, it can also work for children in some instances. When you arrive at my office, either in our Toms River facility or our Northfield location, you will be greeted by one of our many friendly staff members. They will escort you to our waiting area and provide you with the necessary intake forms or receive the forms that you have printed from our web site and completed at your leisure. This is a very important component of our process of processing our new practice members because this ensures you will have had the opportunity to review your rights to privacy and will help explain your obligations should we accept your case for purposes of chiropractic care and rehabilitation. Once my staff has been able to complete the necessary paperwork, they will provide me with a comprehensive chart based upon the information that you have completed and they have prepared. I will thoroughly review this material prior to your initial consultation. Once my staff has escorted you from our waiting room into our consultation room I will join you momentarily and we will discuss your health care needs. Initially, we may show you educational information or provide you additional reading materials to prepare you for your initial visit. Upon our introductions, I will begin to discuss many aspects of what is wrong by asking numerous questions that will address your chief complaint, any additional complaints, mechanism of injury, time and severity along with any actions that help or hurt your condition. We will review your past medical health, any additional forms of medical testing or treatment and once this has been achieved, we will proceed to our examination room whereby I will investigate your condition further. In our examination room, we strive to be as thorough and comprehensive in all aspects of our evaluation process. I will be performing numerous orthopedic, neurologic and chiropractic examinations to determine the exact cause of your condition and to isolate the problem locations. Furthermore, I will be performing many routine examination procedures to assess your overall health and determine what tolerances you have. Although our examination is not intended to provoke pain, I do need to determine, in the most comprehensive fashion, where it hurts. I will touch the area of complaint to determine more about its condition. At all times, your dignity will be paramount and should you wish to have someone else present through the examination, additional staff members are available. At the conclusion of this process, any additional information will be obtained and specific recommendations for future testing will be provided. This may include x-rays, blood work or specific referrals to other practitioners if I immediately feel that your condition does not fall within the scope of my practice. At this point, we will conclude our visit and schedule a repeat visit at a time when I can explain four things to you. These are: 1) What is wrong, 2) How long will it take to get better, 3) What limitations will be placed upon you, 4) What costs are involved. During the report of findings, I will advise you whether or not you are a candidate to be accepted as a practice member and what specific expectations we can realistically have for your response to care. We will discuss, in great lengths, how to obtain the most efficacious outcome and we will further elaborate on what your role and responsibility will be in your future treatment. In our practice, I am very fortunate that we have seen tremendous results and touched many people's lives. As a result of these great outcomes, many of our patients are quite outspoken in their experiences and the profound effect that our care as had upon their lives. Please take a moment and listen to what some of these people have to say. I am very proud of each and every one of these individuals not only because they are feeling better and achieved many of the goals which we set for them but they have resumed an aspect of their life which may never have been achieved if it was not for the collective efforts of their health care team which was primarily founded on chiropractic-care. Now that you’ve had a chance to review our interested new patient web site, I would like to offer one of two things for you. Because you have invested your valuable time, effort and energy in reviewing the material which I have provided in this tutorial, I would like to invite you to undergo a complimentary consultation whereby we can discuss your concerns and proceed on the best course of action. In order to do this, I will request that you provide us with some basic information on either our landing page listed below or by calling our office at the number listed below. Should you not wish to accept my offer at this point in time, but still require more information about the benefits of the services which I provide, please complete the landing page listed below and specify which of the free reports interest you. My staff will mail you the confidential free report that you request within two business days. Should you prefer this to be sent by regular mail, please specify. For a limited time, while quantities last, those that act immediately on a complimentary consultation will receive a trial size of topical pain relieving Biofreeze. This is a $15 value. I hope that you have benefitted from reviewing our web site and learning about many of the conditions that we treat within my two offices. I hope that you have taken the opportunity to either request more information or scheduled a complementary consultation in addition to receiving the free gift. As you will soon learn about me, I am here to help you. We look forward to serving you in our office and I congratulate you on taking your first step closer to pain free living, better health and wellness. Recent studies have proven that Class Four Cold Laser Therapy is an effective method for pain relief and rehabilitation. Physiologically, the focused beam of light vibrates at the same frequency that cells divide. This process is called biogenesis. When the beam of light enters into the body, DNA is reproduced at the cellular level, oxygenation and phagocytosis activity is optimized, regeneration of damaged tissue occurs and stimulation of ATP (energy) is achieved. Laser technology is not new. L.A.S.E.R. (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) has been used for years in home theatre applications, audio applications, laser printers, devices used to measure distance and temperature as well as many different forms in the medical field. Cold Lasers have become very popular because of their pain-free operation, rapid treatment times and multiple applications to include tendonitis, abrasions, lacerations, muscle tears, postural strains, joint fixation, generalized trauma and everything else that pertains to the neuromuscular system. The possibilities become endless and the success rates are near miraculous. Clinical studies also show the effectiveness of Cold Laser Therapy. Some of these conditions include advanced disorders such as Raynaud’s Phenomena as well as those that experienced post-operative procedures. Doctors Hirschl and Kreisler, respectively showed that these two conditions can both decrease pain and improve the quality of life. In another study performed by Dr. Bingol, Cold Laser Therapy made a positive impact on patients with shoulder pain by improving specific forms of range of motion as well as diminishing sensitivity to palpation. This in turn results in improved ability to exercise and reduced healing time. Cold Laser Therapy has many other applications as well. For more information regarding this, speak to me about whether or not you are a candidate for this new protocol. Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA), also known as Medically Assisted Manipulation is the joining of medicine and chiropractic in one specific procedure. Manipulation under anesthesia is not new or experimental. It has been regularly practiced since the late 1930s and used by osteopathic physicians and orthopedic surgeons for many years as a proven form of treatment. During the past eight to ten years, interest in MUA as greatly increased thanks to tremendous advances in anesthesiology. After medical clearance is obtained, patients are lightly anesthetized to achieve total relaxation and then adjustments and stretching movements, which would normally be too painful to even consider, are easily, painlessly and quickly accomplished. Today, MUA is a multidisciplinary outpatient procedure that takes place in a controlled setting such as in our affiliated ambulatory surgical centers. Utilizing special chiropractic techniques, supported by the expertise of medical doctors, nurses and the anesthesia team, manipulation under anesthesia achieves maximum results for qualified patients. These individuals include people who have not found relief utilizing conventional treatment and or other invasive procedures such as surgery, interventional pain management or prolonged drug therapy. Our patients include people who suffer with chronic neck pain, back pain and joint problems. They can be caused by long-term disabilities, traumatic accidents or injuries that have not improved. For some, return to work is much faster, allowing our MUA patients to get back to work and enjoy the pleasures of living in a pain reduced setting. Most patients commonly report that they can move better and feel normal again. Many patients often asked why does MUA work. Manipulation Under Anesthesia achieves results where other treatments fail because it allows the doctor to manipulate the bones and muscles without their usual resistance. The twilight sedation allows for the patients to be responsive but not apprehensive. The manipulations are completely gentle and without the patient’s usual pain-trained psychological resistance. Fibrotic adhesions, which often limit ranges of motion and contribute to pain, are altered. Muscles that were once abnormally tight are stretched to their appropriate length and allowed to begin the healing process. Collagen fibers are thereby remodeled to eliminate or reduce the restrictions that they have created. Thus, pain and discomfort are decreased while our patient’s functionality to do the things, which they strive to do, is increased. The adjustments received using Manipulation Under Anesthesia are the same as those that most of my patients experience during regular chiropractic visits. What is different is that they require much less force simply because our twilight sedation patients are in a much more relaxed state. Conditions including chronic disc problems, disc herniations, severe myofasciitis, torticollis, failed back surgery and fibroadhesion buildup are common general indications that MUA could be effective. As a practitioner, I begin selecting patients based upon guidelines and standards of care as described by the National Academy of MUA Physicians. We screen our patients from a chiropractic perspective and then refer our patients for a comprehensive medical screening process to clear the patient for anesthesia related problems. We may also order additional tests such as a MRIs, CT scans or other diagnostic studies. When we have determined that our patients are a good candidate for the procedure and we have medical clearance, patients are scheduled at the surgery center for a serial of three visits within a week’s time. Ideally, these procedures occur first thing in the morning and require that the patient is accompanied by a friend or family member to drive them home after the procedure. Our patients receive traditional anesthesia to include Diprivan and/or Versed and sometimes Fentanyl to achieve a comfortable twilight sleep. When the full spinal manipulation under anesthesia procedure is performed, I will methodically start in the cervical spine with gentle traction followed by forward flexion and lateral flexion movements. This is concluded by a gentle spinal adjustment. Moving on, the thoracic spine is then addressed utilizing stretching techniques and our adjustment. The lumbar spine and pelvis becomes the next section to address by using flexion and traction techniques plus stretching, targeted massage, knee to chest rolls as well as a lumbar adjustment. We will often address the extremity complaints to include frozen shoulders, hip conditions as well as a variety of other soft tissue complaints at that time. After the procedure, the patient is brought to the recovery area where he or she is carefully monitored by the OR nurse. Generally, in fifteen to twenty minutes, our patients receive fluids and a light snack. They will be brought back to our treatment area either on-site or back at our office to begin therapy immediately. Following the last MUA procedure, the patient will be given an intensive therapy program for two to eight weeks, which will help augment the success achieved through the Manipulation Under Anesthesia. Additional procedures including Manipulation Under Joint Anesthesia are also available. This incorporates the combined efforts of interventional pain management utilizing x-ray guided injections of medication into a specific joint with the benefits of manipulation under anesthesia at one time in a collaborative effort. This is usually a one-time procedure followed by a short course of rehabilitation. Many patients report that they often feel immediate improvement and a major difference. I always enjoy the patient's disbelief and the hope for a better life after the completion of this procedure. As one patient once told me, the best thing about MUA is that it gave me my life back.