Back pain. It affects over 12 million people a year, most between the ages of 20 and 60, during their most productive years, reports the North American Spine Society. It is the leading cause of worker's compensation expense, the second leading cause of physician office visits, and the third leading reason for surgical procedures. Economically, low-back pain and/or sciatica is the single largest cause of lost work days in the United States.
How it's treated can make all the difference in the world. For some, bed rest is all that's needed. For others, the pain is indicative of a more serious condition that requires medical intervention. We have developed many state-of-the-art surgical techniques that are fast, minimally invasive, and highly effective.
But for the majority of patients I see each day, their injuries could have been prevented or minimized had they been following a spine-specific exercise regimen. When the muscles, ligaments and other supporting structures of the neck and spine are allowed to weaken, failure can occur in the way the vertebrae are aligned.
Knowing what an important role exercise plays in injury prevention led me to create our 8,000-square-foot Palm Beach Gardens office and state-of-the-art Oxygen Rehab at The Spine Center featuring spine-specific equipment designed exclusively to safety and effectively support and strengthen the spine during recovery from injury or surgery. We worked with top trainers to develop a program and create a facility that will also help people avoid surgery by strengthening core muscles that are often the culprit behind their ailments, as well as helping post-surgical patients in their recovery. At the helm of our facility is Physical Therapist Jeffrey Yaskin who has a wealth of expertise and professionalism in the fields of rehabilitative and sports medicine. A long-time fitness enthusiast and health advocate, Yaskin holds a Master's degree in physical therapy and has more than a decade of experience.
We have also partnered with Oxygen Health & Wellness to serve as an off-site step-down facility for all of our post rehab patients, many of whom have already had tremendous success by adding Oxygen's popular Pilates and yoga sessions to their exercise regimens. And what better reward is there than being a partner in your own health?
As with any other part of the human anatomy, the spine must be cared for in order to preserve and ensure its proper function. The spine is comprised of various links, or vertebrae, that must each function at optimal levels. When one vertebrae is weak, the whole spine is weakened. This is why the spine is only as strong as its weakest link. If the spine is not maintained regularly through exercise, then injury is inevitable. But as with most parts of the human anatomy, full function and mobility can be restored through rehabilitative therapy that is specifically designed to strengthen and stabilize the affected areas.
In our rehabilitation we use a three tiered approach. First, we evaluate a patient's overall condition and identify any other factors or deficiencies that may have caused a break down in the first place. Our bodies love to compensate for injuries and weaknesses, so it is imperative to identify the source of injury and not just its effects. For example, if your lower back hurts because you have been walking around with a rock in your shoe, no matter how much treatment you receive, your back will worsen until we remove the rock from your shoe.
Once we've found the root of the problem and have decreased some of the pain, we then evaluate the spine's overall function by having the patient perform six different basic movement patterns that will reveal the patient's overall condition: squats, lunges, pushing, pulling, rotating and diagonals. Any deficiencies in these areas can then be corrected as part of an overall treatment plan to exercise and strengthen those areas. Without this kind of full spectrum approach to wellness, the patient cannot recover.
Once the spine becomes more stable, we then begin spine-specific exercises that best mimic a person's typical activity: bending, rotating, extending and side flexing. These are the movements that are needed to do everything from lifting groceries out of the car trunk to lifting a child from a playpen. Without strengthening the patient 's body to perform these basic activities, the chance for re-injury is likely.
In short, whether you are recovering from surgery or trying to avoid it, having and maintaining a healthy spine takes practiced effort and skilled guidance. You only have one spine. Let us help make it last forever.
Yours in good health,
Jeffrey Yaskin, MPT
Our state-of-the-art, 1,400-square-foot rehab and physical therapy staff embody the latest training in rehab therapies and equipment to safely and effectively guide our patients through their recovery from surgery, as well as those who are being treated to prevent surgery.
Typically, patients undergo hour-long treatment sessions three days a week to target, strengthen and overcome key weaknesses. Once strength and mobility has been full restored, patients are strongly encouraged to continue their fitness regimen to include such complimentary exercises as Pilates and yoga-two excellent non-weight bearing system of physical conditioning that combines muscle isolation and body alignment techniques.
In addition to a full range of core stabilizations balls and bands our cutting edge equipment includes:
- MedX Lumbar machine-Spine-specific strength and conditioning
- Precor Elliptical Trainer-Builds lower body and improves cardiovascular capacity
- Upper Body Ergometer-Builds and strengthens upper body
- Free Motion Cable Cross-Targets and strengthens spine stabilization muscles
- Star Trac Recumbent Bicycles-Develops lower body strength and improves cardiovascular capacity