Catalina Medical Center: Blog

Your spine is necessary and crucial for everyday function. It’s made up of vertebrae, each one equally important. Between them are intervertebral discs. Severe back pain occurs when one of these discs becomes herniated or “slips out” of place. Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Paul Newhouse treat disc herniation at Catalina Medical Center. Located in Redondo Beach, CA, they provide a variety of top-tier treatment methods.   Your appointment begins with a physical evaluation. It’s necessary to determine where the slipped disc is. A spinal examination is performed. Your Redondo Beach chiropractor will also check for any loss of sensation, muscle wasting, and damaged reflexes. Be upfront with any medical information and history. This may point to any underlying causes of the herniation.   Treatment can begin after locating the herniated disc. Spinal manipulation is the best bet. Your chiropractor will either use their hands or specialized tools to move the disc back into place. Other...

If you are an athlete or have recently fallen on to a hard surface, you may have injured your tailbone. These types of injuries make it painful to stand, sit, and lie down. Drs. Richard Cohen, Donald Weinstein, and Rob Josefsson provide phenomenal chiropractic treatment. Contact Catalina Medical Center in Redondo Beach, CA, to learn more.   The tailbone, technically known as the coccyx, is at the end of your spinal column. It’s often bruised or injured due to falling. Landing directly on it leads to serious injuries. It’s common to receive a tailbone injury when falling on the stairs. Even sitting on uncomfortable furniture for extended periods can leave an impact.   The main symptoms of a tailbone injury are stiffness and pain. The muscles around the coccyx are responsible for this. They seize up, causing your discomfort. In some cases, swelling pushes the coccyx out-of-place. This compresses the nearby nerves. Inflammation is another common symptom.   It’s important to schedule an ap...

At Catalina Medical Center, your Redondo Beach, CA, staff provide chiropractic care for a variety of conditions. If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, look no further! Drs. Donald Weinstein, Richard Cohen, and Rob Josefsson are the best of the best! Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic pain disorder. It causes constant and widespread pain throughout the musculoskeletal system. This includes the muscles, tendons, joints, and soft tissues. We provide chiropractic adjustments and manipulations to greatly increase patients' quality of life. Contact our office to learn more!   FMS is both hard to diagnose and treat. There is no known medical cause for it. Medical experts theorize that it stems from genetics, infections, and/or physical/emotional stress. Traditional western medicine focuses on treating your symptoms. Pain medications are often the go-to. This isn’t the case with chiropractic care. Your Redondo Beach care team treat the root of your pain. Only through chiropractic t...

Allergies may seem like they worsen with spring flowers, but they exist year-round! If you find yourself sneezing, itchy, and overflowing with nasal congestion, look no further! Catalina Medical Center offers chiropractic treatment for allergies. Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Donald Weinstein hold a lifetime of experience between them. Don’t let allergy symptoms ruin your life. Contact our office today!   You may not realize it, but your immune system and nervous system are directly connected. Allergies kickstart your immune system into an overdrive state. Your body is mistaking allergens as harmful pathogens. This then throws off your entire nervous system. Your Redondo Beach chiropractors provide a solution: spinal adjustments. These realign your spine to increase overall bodily function.   The hub of the nervous system is found in the spine. It connects your entire body. This is where all communication originates from and flows. This is what makes subluxations or misalignme...

Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Paul Newhouse provide quality chiropractic care to our patients in the Redondo Beach, CA, area. At Catalina Medical Center, we provide treatment for a variety of conditions, including Spinal Stenosis. This spinal condition happens when the open spaces within the spine start to narrow. Contact our office to learn more about spinal stenosis and how it’s treated.   Spinal stenosis begins with the bordering structures of the spinal canal moving away from their desired positions. This limits the appropriate amount of space on the spine. There are a few contributing factors to this development. Growing older is one of them. As we age, the discs between each vertebra begin to shrink. Thickened ligaments also occur. These produce spurs that grow into the spinal canal. Other spinal conditions also put you at risk for spinal stenosis. This includes arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and spondylolisthesis.   The biggest and most common symptom ...

After a while people put unnecessary strain on their back that can increase back pain by up to 50%. At Catalina Medical Center, we encourage our patients who are dealing with back pain to seek chiropractic care for pain relief. Spinal adjustments realign your back and provide pain relief to your lower back. When possible, we encourage our patients who sit for long periods of time to get up and stretch every half hour to keep your back loose and your muscles from tightening up. We recommend that our patients sit up straight with their backs to the chair and not slouching. Your health is the most important thing to us, which is why we encourage our patients to exercise to exercise daily and work on having better posture. Avoiding unnecessary stretch on your back goes a long to keeping you feeling healthy. For more information please visit our website at www.catalinamedical.com or give us a call at 310-378-7246. Dr. Richard Cohen, we are located at 1919 S Catalina Ave, Redondo Beach, Cal...

While our doctors at Catalina Medical Center specialize in treating your entire body with various spinal adjustments to heal, one of the keys to your body healing is a healthy, nutritious diet. Your body relies on food for energy and muscle gain which all affects your body’s ability to function at a high level. A balanced amount of essential nutrients such as fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates ensure that your body is having proper digestion and regulating itself. The more fruits and vegetables your body gets, the better it will feel. A poor diet increases your chances of developing diabetes and heart disease which limit you physically. Proper nutrition aids your bodies in healing and running like a well-oiled machine. The balance of a proper diet, exercise, rest, and spinal adjustments puts you on a path to good health and feeling great. If you have any questions about nutritious diets to follow, please give us a call. For more information please visit our website a...

Degenerative Disc Disease is less of a disease and more of a byproduct of aging. As we grow older, our bodies naturally begin to wear down. The spinal discs protect the vertebrae from everyday wear and tear. Once they weaken you can experience problems like bulging and herniated discs, osteoarthritis, and spinal stenosis. Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Paul Newhouse work with you to relieve any painful symptoms. To learn more, contact our office in Redondo Beach, CA.   Any noticeable symptoms depend entirely on the patient. The biggest factor is the severity of the condition. Some patients don’t even notice that they have it. Pain is noted in the back or neck, wherever the affected disc is located. It can even spread through the arms, legs, and buttocks. Overall, pain levels range from mild to severe.   As mentioned, the biggest cause of degenerative disc disease is aging. Discs naturally lose fluid, making them stiffer and smaller. Everyday use leaves a toll. Repeated physical...

With warm weather comes fun days in the sun enjoying the great outdoors! After a cold winter, spending some time outside is a great stress reliever. Yet the blooming plant life brings a dangerous threat: allergy season. Your allergies can make you downright miserable in the warmer seasons. Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Paul Newhouse offer chiropractic treatment for allergies. Contact Catalina Medical Center in Redondo Beach, CA, to learn more.   You may not think so, but your immune system and nervous system are closely connected. Allergy season knocks them both down a notch and off their game. Spinal adjustments are the solution. Your Redondo Beach chiropractor realigns your spine to increase your overall body function.   The nervous system is housed in the spine. Its function is to keep constant communication between your body and brain. Any blockages in the spine or neck halt this communication. Spinal adjustments correct misalignments and subluxation. It relieves bulging o...

This June is Scoliosis Awareness Month. At Catalina Medical Center in Redondo Beach, CA, we provide spinal adjustments and manipulations to improve our patients quality of life. Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Paul Newhouse also offer scoliosis screenings and evaluation. Early detection and prevention is the key to a healthy life. Diagnosing scoliosis during childhood produces the best results. Treatment before the bones have fully formed can correct potential problems.   To better understand how we treat scoliosis, you’ll need to understand what it is exactly. Scoliosis is caused by an abnormal spinal shape. Left untreated, adolescent scoliosis will follow a patient into adulthood. Other causes are injury, abnormal nerve or muscle formations, and/or bone abnormalities. The condition creates problems with your balance and height. It can also lead to degenerative disc disease and spinal osteoarthritis. There are four types of adult scoliosis: degenerative, idiopathic, neuromuscul...

When a patient has Sciatica, what their really experiencing is a pain in their sciatic nerve. This is the largest nerve in the body. It runs all through your torso and into your legs. Because of this, it is really more of a symptom than an actual medical condition. The pain is caused by the nerve being pinched or agitated in some way. Our staff at Catalina Medical Center, located in Redondo Beach, CA, can provide treatment. Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Paul Newhouse are available by appointment.   Common symptoms of sciatic pain are burning sensations running through the buttock or leg, lower back pain, difficulty controlling the lower extremities, and tingling or loss of sensation in the legs and feet. The main causes behind sciatica are bulging or herniated discs, spinal misalignment, or spinal stenosis.   The biggest problem that patients have with sciatic pain is that it comes and goes erratically. This can make it hard to diagnose and treat. Until you locate the cause of...

If you work in an office, you might have heard your coworkers talking about Office Ergonomics. But what exactly is it? And how can it help you? Ergonomics focuses on adapting your surroundings to accommodate the human body. Drs. Richard Cohen, Rob Josefsson, and Paul Newhouse of Catalina Medical Center recommend it to all patients. It improves your productivity, efficiency, and minimizes your physical discomfort. To learn more, contact our office in Redondo Beach, CA.   Your desk is the first thing you’ll adjust when adhering to office ergonomics. Making sure its best suited for your physical needs is vital. After all, you spend the majority of your work day there. Try to adjust your desk to best match your height. Place everything on your desk within proper reach. When it comes to sitting, have your feet on the ground at all times. You want your legs to be at a 90-110 degree angle. This allows for proper blood flow. Sit completely upright with your back straight against the chair.   F...

At Catalina Medical Center, we advise our patients who have been involved in an auto accident to see us for an evaluation.  Whiplash occurs when your neck and head are forced forward and backward rapidly. The day after a car accident is when you are most likely to experience pain in your head, neck, shoulder, and back. Those are common symptoms of whiplash which is the force that moves your neck backward and forward during accidents. Chiropractors use spinal manipulation treatment to relieve pain and increase mobility in your joints. We encourage our patients to look for these symptoms of whiplash after an auto accident. These symptoms include neck pain/stiffness, lower back pain, and blurred vision, ringing in the ears, headache, shoulder pain, and nausea. Our doctors are trained in Human Biomechanics to help diagnose and treat whiplash. The benefit of chiropractic care is a pain-free approach that doesn’t involve painkillers and other medications. Our number one concern is your healt...

With so many people staring down at their phones, it’s no wonder that neck pain is so common. We offer a variety of services at the Catalina Medical Center that are designed to restore a patient’s comfort and range of motion without unnecessary drugs or surgeries. But full recovery will likely involve some therapeutic exercises. We emphasize that professional testing is necessary to determine the cause of neck pain and whether exercises are appropriate. However, we find that people are likelier to come into a clinic when they have an idea of what to expect. We’ll recommend stretches to gradually increase the neck’s strength and flexibility. Some of these will probably include rotating the head, bending the neck a certain number of times, and holding poses. Patients will able to do more stretches and hold poses for longer as they heal. Stronger neck muscles will help bear the weight of the head, taking pressure off the ligaments and joints. Our chiropractors will also perform adjustment...

As holistic health practitioners, we at the Catalina Medical Center want our patients to understand the importance of vitamin D. This vitamin plays a crucial part in processing of calcium and the development of bones, which are continually resorbing and regrowing throughout life. Deficiencies in vitamin D not only lead to osteoporosis and all its associated harm to the spinal column, but also to muscle and immune system dysfunction. You’re probably familiar with dairy as a source of vitamin D, but a well-balanced diet contains plenty of excellent sources. Among them are fish, cereals, eggs, beef liver, mushrooms, and fortified orange juice (which also contains added calcium). People who wish to avoid meat or other animal products should consult with our nutritionists about supplements. Staying hydrated is also necessary for joint and disc health, and green leafy vegetables such as spinach are a commonly overlooked source of calcium, which vitamin D allows you to absorb. The other major...

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that causes pain and dysfunction in millions of people. It is what people commonly refer to when they complain about their joints getting stiffer as they age, although it is often confused with other conditions that are termed “arthritis.” Since May is Arthritis Awareness Month, we at the Catalina Medical Center in Redondo Beach thought this would be a good time to review what makes osteoarthritis distinct and what we can do about it. Our joints contain cartilage, which is a smooth and slippery substance that prevents bones from grinding into each other. The term osteoarthritis describes break-down in cartilage. As it becomes flaked and cracked, pieces of grinding bones may chip off and the ends of the bones may develop deformed growths. When people develop osteoarthritis early in life, it may be because of a genetic disorder that prevents them from developing healthy cartilage. More commonly, osteoarthritis is found in older people who may ha...

Back pain has many causes, and sometimes, dysfunction in the back can impact the limbs, as well. At the Catalina Medical Center in Redondo Beach, our doctors carry out thorough examinations to discover the source of a patient’s pain or numbness. One of the most common problems we find is a spinal misalignment called degenerative spondylolisthesis. Spondylolisthesis describes what happens when a vertebra has slipped forward. This can be caused by injury, tumorous growths, or deformity, but in most cases it is degenerative. What this means is that the spinal discs in between each bone have gotten drier, or the facet joints in back of the spine have lost strength, causing the vertebra to slowly slip forward. Degenerative spondylolisthesis is most often found in the lumbar region, which is the lower back, although it can occur in the neck. Women over age sixty-five are the population most at risk. A person may be unaware that they have spondylolisthesis. However, slipped vertebrae in the l...

At Catalina Medical center we use ice pack cryotherapy to help treat injuries. Ice pack therapy uses cold compresses on your skin that helps to reduce the temperature of your skin and constrict blood vessels in the area. When you use cold compresses right after an injury it helps to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation. Outside of relieving pain right after an injury, ice pack cryotherapy is useful in dealing with muscle spasms. The cold on your spasms helps to numb the painful area’s and loosen up the joints and soft tissues. Patients that have arthritis may benefit from ice pack cryotherapy to reduce their pain and mobility. We encourage our patients who are suffering from pain to see if ice pack cryotherapy is right for you. Cold compresses are no longer for fresh injuries as they are useful long after the initial injury and can help to reduce pain and increase mobility in your joints. For more information please visit our website at www.catalinamedical.com or give us a call at ...

Migraines are headaches that cause severe, throbbing pain in your head and can last between 4 and 72 hours.  If you are suffering from migraines, our doctors at Catalina Medical Center encourages patients to seek chiropractic treatment. If you are experiencing tightness in your neck or shoulders it can cause misalignment to your vertebrae. To relieve tightness in your neck and shoulders, our doctors use chiropractic adjustments to realign the vertebrae in your neck. An estimated 80% of migraines actually originate in your neck. When possible, we encourage our patients that work at a desk to make sure they're sitting properly. Having poor posture can lead to spinal misalignment and cause migraines to occur. While you are working, make sure your feet are on the ground and your back is pressed firmly against the back of your chair. Migraines are extremely painful and can make it nearly impossible to perform everyday activities. We want you to consider chiropractic treatment if you exp...

At Catalina Medical Center, we offer Swedish massages that provide a great balance between relaxation and recovery.  Swedish massages use gentle pressure that is more soothing Patients who get Swedish massages get the best of both worlds with our Swedish massages. During your massage, our doctors apply different oils and lubricants to your skin to massage your muscles. Our doctors use different techniques during the massage including strokes that vary from kneading, stretching, and tapping your joints and muscles to relax and relieve your body. Before each massage, we ask our patients what type of pressure they want to be applied during the massage and specific area our doctors should focus on. The pressure level varies from light to firm and it is important that you are comfortable with the pressure that is being applied. We recommend Swedish massages for patients that are new to massages. For more information please visit our website at www.catalinamedical.com or give us a call at 3...