- Chiropractic Care
- Dry Needling
- Corrective Exercises
- Lifestyle Advice
- Custom Orthotics
- Massage Therapy
- Acupuncture
- Bioidentical Hormone
- X-Rays
- Ultrasound
- Pediatric Chiropractic
- Pre/Postnatal Chiropractic
- Electrical Stimulation
- Cold Laser Therapy
- Cryotherapy
- Weight Loss
- Spinal Decompression
- Diversified Technique
- Functional Medicine
- IV Therapy
- PRP
Chiropractic Care
We specialize in correcting your body’s misalignments. Our goal is to ensure that your spine and the rest of your body are working harmoniously. To do so, we will help you develop a plan that will require light stretching, some exercise, chiropractic care, and a healthy diet.
Dry Needling
Dry needling aims to address neuromuscular conditions, relieve pain, and improve range of motion. During your scheduled appointment, we will insert a small needle into specified areas of your body depending on your unique and individual needs.
Dry needling follows evidence based guidelines, recommended point locations, and dosages for treatment of specific conditions. Our goal is to improve pain control and reduce muscle tension through this technique.
Corrective Exercises
Corrective exercises are the use of bodily movements and/or postures to restore desirable changes in diseased or injured tissues. The corrective exercises are movement strategies that minimize or eliminate compensation. Corrective exercises should precede more integrated exercises, because they can cue the patient’s motor system to respond in a more desirable way and assist in removing or improving biomechanical constraints.
Lifestyle Advice
Our team here at Health Advantage Physical Medicine is dedicated to helping you achieve your long-term health and wellness goals by offering you reliable lifestyle advice. If you are not sure if the lifestyle choices you are making are worsening or improving your condition, we are here to help. We address the typical chiropractic issues as well as coach our patients to live a healthier life by looking at the individual as a whole mentally, physically and emotionally.
Custom Orthotics
Custom foot orthotics are designed to align the foot and ankle into the most anatomically efficient position. They look similar to insoles, but are biomedical appliances that are custom made to correct your specific foot imbalance. The plastic body of the custom orthotic helps to re-align the foot while you walk. We understand that everyone is different, which is why custom foot orthotics are made just for you.
What Are Custom Orthotics?
Custom orthotics are medical devices used to correct health issues beyond what ordinary feet cushions can accomplish. Orthotics work by way of a biochemical interaction that can change how your feet function and not just reduce some of your pain.
What Is The Difference Between Custom Orthotics And Standard Shoe Inserts?
Unlike standard shoe inserts, the medically designed orthotic additions provide more than just minimal support against pain. Standard shoe inserts may even provide you with extra cushioning around the heels and toes and make wearing shoes more comfortable. However, you probably need some professionally customized orthotics if your feet still hurt after wearing the standard inserts. The reason why is the standard inserts are not engineered for use as a medical device as would be the orthotics.
Why Might Someone Need Custom Orthotics?
If your feet hurt all the time, you might need them. They can even correct stiff joints and help you to more easily walk, run, sit or move your legs again.
What Conditions Are Treated With Custom Orthotics?
Our Health Advantage Physical Medicine staff uses custom orthotics in Pasadena to correct sciatic nerve damage that causes pain to travel from your lower back to your feet. These medically approved inserts also can correct pain from diabetes, plantar fasciitis, bursitis, and arthritis. We might even recommend them as a flat foot surgical treatment alternative.
Does Pain Relief Come With Using Custom Orthotics?
Because of the way your orthotic devices are designed, they do provide pain relief. This comes by way of the enhanced support not offered by over-the-counter foot products. For best results, we need to make sure they fit snug on your feet.
Can You Put Orthotics In Sandals?
Yes, we help you find the right fit for your more relaxed styles of footwear including sandals. In fact, we provide a number of feet and ankle sandal removable orthotic options.
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy at Health Advantage Physical Medicine isn’t your standard massage. It targets the muscles and soft tissue to reduce pain and discomfort. At Health Advantage Physical Medicine, serving Pasadena, CA, and the nearby region, we offer this as a sole treatment, but it’s usually used as a complementary treatment to aid in healing.
About Massage Therapy
During massage therapy, our Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) will use his hands to manually manipulate your muscles and other soft tissue. The treatment will consist of rubbing and pressing on various areas of the injured or sore area. Throughout the massage, he will use different motions and pressures. Unlike a massage at a spa, this type of massage is more targeted since the therapist providing it understands physiology and anatomy.
The Benefits of Massage Therapy
One of the main benefits of massage therapy is that it reduces swelling and loosens any tight spots or “knots” within your tissue. This can help reduce inflammation, which will take the pressure off the nerves surrounding the area.
The treatment is designed to reduce swelling and pain while improving your range of motion. Massage therapy is known to encourage blood flow to certain areas of your body, which can promote healing. It is also beneficial if you have headaches, migraines, fibromyalgia, tendonitis, spinal degeneration, arthritis, sciatica, or various other health issues that cause pain.
To experience the full benefits of massage therapy, we recommend you receive more than one massage session. However, each case is different, so we will consider your needs when customizing a treatment schedule. If you have a chronic condition that is causing pain and limiting your function in a certain area, we may recommend routine massage therapy appointments. You may need to participate in other types of treatments as well while you undergo massage therapy to receive the full benefits.
You can receive massage either before or after an exercise therapy session to either enhance your performance during therapy or relax your sore muscles after the massage therapy. This will depend on your particular needs, and we will discuss which option is best for you.
Massage Therapy in Pasadena, CA
Massage therapy at Health Advantage Physical Medicine can reduce your pain and promote healing. You will notice an increase in your range of motion after receiving a few sessions. If you live in or around Pasadena and are interested in the benefits of massage therapy, call Health Advantage Physical Medicine today at (626) 798-7805 to learn more or to schedule an appointment with our Licensed Massage Therapist.
Acupuncture
A form of alternative care that originates in China, acupuncture has been recorded in Eastern medicine for over 2,000 years, and most likely existed centuries before then. It is believed to help relieve blocked meridians, or energy-pathways, in order to enhance energy flow and help the body to renew and restore itself. In modern Western medicine, however, many see acupuncture as a way to stimulate areas of the body in order to encourage pain-relieving endorphins.
At Health Advantage, our licensed acupuncturists take the time to work with you as an individual in order to properly analyze your pain, your issues, and what may be causing them so that they can provide you with a service that will give you real results.
- Headaches (both migraine and tension)
- Lower back pain
- Neck pain
- Knee pain
- Dental pain
- Nausea caused by chemotherapy
- Menstrual cramps
- And others
Because we are a patient-centered practice, we do everything we do in order to provide you with real, alternative solutions for your physical health.
In this way, we are always honest and upfront with our patients about their conditions so that they understand what we can do and make the best, most informed decisions about their body. After all, we believe that Customer Service is not a department, but a commitment—to you, to your body and to your health.
All of our doctors come highly qualified with the licensing to match, and are knowledgeable, caring and detailed. Every member of our staff will treat you like family, and we will work to make sure that you have the optimal experience with every appointment. Contact us today to learn more and see if acupuncture is right for you!
Bioidentical Hormone
If you think of your hormones as the body’s chemical messengers, it may all too apparent that your body isn’t quite getting the message. Natural aging or certain medical issues can cause the endocrine system to malfunction, allowing male or female hormone levels to drop and causing a variety of unpleasant symptoms. Here at Health Advantage Physical Medicine, we can correct that balance the safe, natural way through our bioidentical hormone treatment in Pasadena CA.
How Hormone Replacement Therapy Can Improve Quality of Life
Hormones essentially serve as control mechanisms for the body’s countless everyday functions. Your sex drive, digestion, metabolism, physical growth, and many other factors are governed by these amazing chemicals. Unfortunately, the glands that produce various kinds of hormones don’t always do their jobs adequately. Sometimes this is just a part of getting older, as estrogen and testosterone levels are both expected to drop in your later years, for instance.
Decreased hormone levels can cause symptoms resembling menopause, like hot flashes, mood swings, and other discomforts of menopause; they can also cause a “male menopause” (andropause) characterizes by weight gain, sluggishness, hair loss, muscle loss, and other issues in men. Other common symptoms of inadequate hormone levels include lack of energy, difficulty sleeping, muscle and joint pains, and decreased sexual performance. Hormone replacement therapy is a means of bringing hormone levels back up a sufficient level to reduce these uncomfortable symptoms and improve quality of life.
Hormones may be administered in the form of creams, pills, tablets, gels, or implanted pellets that sit just beneath the skin. But the synthetic hormones that have been so widely used for this treatment in the past are not a close match for the real thing, which means that their effects may be overly harsh or insufficiently effective. Bioidentical hormone pellets, which are taken from natural sources, are much closer to your body’s own hormones in composition and effect, making them the preferred form of care.
Part of Our Integrated Medicine Practice
Our clinic is happy to administer bio-identical hormone treatment as part of our dedication to providing comprehensive health services, including integrated medicine in Pasadena, CA. An initial blood test can give us an accurate picture of your hormonal balance. If an underlying medical condition is causing your hormonal issues, we will recommend for that condition as well. Once we’ve determined that hormone replacement therapy is a wise course of action, we will insert the necessary pellets under your skin, where they should emit their hormones for a few months before requiring replacement.
X-Rays
Setting the standard for innovation, customer service and efficient, effective physical medicine, Health Advantage has redefined what it means to be an alternative physical therapy and care facility by combining the enormous benefits from modern science with the profound impact that natural medicine can afford. In this way, we are able to provide an optimal experience for our patients with physical therapy professionals who are always ready to serve and technology that changes how we see your body—literally.
While these machines are widely used in dentist’s offices, they are still new to the chiropractic field, but we have seen the remarkable benefits caused by them already. We are able to help our patients more affordably, without the added cost of traditional X-ray film while being able to view their results in any area of our facility from a computer. This makes it easier for us to collaborate with our other on-staff doctors, share ideas, and find you the best options so that you can have real results.
Call now for your free consultation, and see how our facilities, our staff, and our services can provide you with a renewed health and wellness. We know you’ll be satisfied with our services—and that’s a guarantee.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound therapy is a chiropractic treatment used to help reduce muscle pain and increase range of motion. By using sound waves, we are able to stimulate deep inside the tissue. This minimizes stiffness, swelling, and pain while also promoting circulation, and pain-free movement.
Pediatric Chiropractic
Chiropractic care is not just for adults. In fact, more and more parents are seeing the many benefits of their children seeing a chiropractor every single day. Some of the benefits are improved sleep, improved behavior and attitude, and improved immune system function. Children encounter many physical stresses in their life that you may not realize. These stresses can cause your child’s spine to have issues in growth and development.
Pre/Postnatal Chiropractic
Here at Health Advantage Physical Medicine, we offer a conservative approach to treating pregnant women. Our prenatal care is gentle and safe. We aim to alleviate the stress and strains of pregnancy while improving comfort for both the mother and baby. We understand the physical changes that come with pregnancy, and we offer relief without using any drugs.
Electrical Stimulation
Electrotherapy is an alternative pain management treatment option that involves the use of mild electromagnetic pulses to provide relief for the patient. This treatment option can dull pain, repair tissue, strengthen muscles, and even improve your blood circulation.
Cold Laser Therapy
Laser therapy is a treatment that utilizes specific wavelengths of light to interact with tissue and help accelerate your healing process. Laser treatment can be used on people suffering from acute and chronic conditions in order to eliminate pain and swelling, increase functionality, and reduce spasms.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is a pain treatment that uses the method of localized freezing temperatures to kill irritated nerves. Cryotherapy is used to also treat some cancer areas as well as abnormal skin cells by dermatologists. Cryotherapy works by climbing into a specialized chamber that harnesses the power of liquid nitrogen and refrigerated cold air. It will rapidly cool off your entire body and will stimulate your sympathetic nervous system through your skin’s cold receptors.
Weight Loss
Weight loss is something with which millions of people struggle. As you know, your weight doesn’t just contribute to your physical appearance. Your weight and the amount of fat in your body can help or hurt your body by contributing to either a healthy physique or lead to medical issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. Weight loss is not just about restricting calories, which is what most people try to do. Weight loss is really about correcting your nutrition, managing your stress, and for some, working with or around chronic diseases and medical conditions.
Spinal Decompression
Spinal decompression is a non-invasive mechanical procedure performed within our office to help alleviate back pain. It involves gently stretching the spine to take pressure off the spinal discs (the cushions that separate the vertebrae in the spine). By relieving this pressure, bulging discs can retract back into place which takes pressure off the nerves in the spine. By decompressing the spine, it permits water, oxygen and other fluids to work their way back into the discs allowing them to heal naturally. Spinal decompression is an excellent option for anyone with chronic back pain who wants to get back to living a pain-free life as quickly as possible.
Diversified Technique
The goal of the Diversified Technique is to reduce nerve interference. There are no special or unique procedures needed. Patients are assessed using these various mechanisms: history and basic examination (orthopedic and neurologic), palpation, x-ray, leg checks and reflex procedures as well as others.
The procedure involves analyzing the full spine and extremities. The majority of adjustments used in Diversified are manual adjustments, HVLA (high velocity, low amplitude), or long lever manipulations aimed at cavitating the joint and creating an audible release. This sound is known by patients as the “popping” or “cracking” sound associated with adjustments. Some chiropractors utilize specialized equipment such as drop tables or pelvic blocks.
Functional Medicine
Functional medicine is a personalized and integrative approach to healthcare which involves understanding the prevention, management, and root causes of complex chronic disease. It has evolved integrative, holistic, conventional and naturopathic models to offer the most comprehensive and effective approach to healthcare in the 21st century.
IV Therapy
At Health Advantage Physical Medicine, we constantly look for new methods of treatment to optimize effectiveness and patient comfort. In the vast field of medicine, new technologies are rapidly replacing older forms of treatment and it is important for us to stay on the cutting edge in the medical industry. Our priority is to offer treatments to our patients that not only get them results but provide them with a comfortable and enjoyable experience every time.
The procedure employs class IV infrared laser light to stimulate the mitochondria in injured cells. The mitochondria absorb photons from the laser and use this energy to produce cytochrome oxidase enzyme, which ultimately leads to improved cell metabolism and tissue regeneration. This is a non-invasive strategy that does not involve the risk or extended healing periods that can accompany traditional surgery.
Class IV laser treatments are effective against a wide variety of injuries, including acute issues such as sprains and strains, trauma, chronic pain such as arthritis, or pain arising from repetitive use of the same joints and muscle groups. Consider opting for laser therapy if you suffer from joint pain including lower back pain, knee pain, neck pain, or any other joint and muscle ailment. Again, if you suffer from any of the above, make an appointment with Health Advantage Physical Medicine and see what class IV laser therapy can do for you! We can help you.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
The search for non-surgical options for arthritis treatment and other healing modalities has uncovered some interesting options. One of these is platelet-rich plasma treatment in Pasadena and other locations. Health Advantage Physical Medicine offers this PRP treatment in Pasadena, giving you a chance to check out what could be an effective treatment for several conditions that cause pain.
What Is PRP and What Happens During the Procedure
Platelet-rich plasma is blood plasma that has a higher-than-normal level of platelets in it. Your blood contains a number of components such as red blood cells and platelets. In this procedure, you have your own blood drawn and then separated — the plasma is removed from the rest of the blood. The plasma is combined with a substance that acts as an agent for increasing the platelet count in the plasma. Once the number of platelets is sufficient, the plasma is injected back into you at whatever spot is causing problems, such as a joint. The platelet-rich plasma is supposed to help heal whatever is causing you pain or creating inflammation. This treatment can potentially be used for all sorts of pain, including shoulder pain, low back pain, elbow pain, knee pain, neck pain, and hip pain.
The results of initial studies, along with patient experiences, are promising. While more research is desirable, the procedure is already available at integrated health care centers and has gotten a rather positive reception. The promise of healing muscle and joint disorders without surgery — who wants to be cut open if that’s not necessary? — is a welcome one, and PRP may be one of those procedures that revolutionize healing and medicine. Already several sports figures have tried the procedure, and its availability at health centers means you can try it yourself.