Catalina Medical Center: Blog

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...

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...

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...

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...

With our staff of chiropractors, medical doctors, and manual therapists, we at the Catalina Medical Center are prepared to help patients at any stage of a back injury. Back pain is unfortunately common, leading many people to think there’s some threshold of pain that has to be met in order to justify seeking treatment. This is not true, but there are some situations in which it is especially urgent for people to seek help. Whenever a person suffers whiplash, they should get assessed for neck damage. Often, tears in neck ligaments may not be immediately felt, but can worsen with time. People should also seek help when back pain lasts for longer than a week, and we strongly recommend that anybody who has been in pain for more than six weeks make an appointment. As a holistic medical center, our efforts are focused on putting the body in the best position for its natural healing processes to be effective. We especially want our patients to be conscious of the symptoms of a pinched nerve. ...

If you live in the Redondo Beach area and have a deciduous tree, you know that you’ll soon have raking to do. Like any vigorous physical activity, there are ways to do it that minimize your chance of injury. At the Catalina Medical Center, we thought it would be a good idea to pass some tips along to our patients and anyone else who might soon have to do some yard work. The first thing you’ll need to do is choose clothes that are form-fitting but allow air to permeate. Your shoes will need to be close-toed and well-supported. Get a rake that has a long enough handle for you to use without bending over, but that is lightweight. Before raking, do a five-minute warm-up to get blood moving through your limbs and be sure to tie back your hair and remove anything that could get caught. When raking, stand with your knees unlocked and with one foot in front of the other in a scissor position. You’ll have to switch which hand is higher on the rake about every five minutes, which might also requ...

At Catalina Medical Center we treat patients and relieve pain, but patient self-care is just as important for their continued health. Simple changes to everyday habits can help you to live a pain-free life.  Many people spend a lot of a typical day sitting, between working at computer desks and commuting to work. All of this sitting can cause back pain, making it the most common reason patients visit the chiropractor.  Making a few adjustments to how you sit can ease this stress, help alleviate back pain, and minimize future visits. You will actually put less stress on your back when you sit up straight.  Long periods of sitting are what really increase the risk of muscle pulls, strains, and cramps. So if you don’t have time to walk around and stretch at the office try switching between sitting and standing. If you suffer from back pain, please give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn more about all the treatments we provide, visit  CatalinaMedical.com  for more info...

Problems affecting the back have consequences for the entire body. At the Catalina Medical Center in Redondo Beach, our goal is to help patients restore their bodies to the optimal condition for self-healing. In order for that to happen, patients should have a solid understanding of how their spinal columns work and what issues they may face. The spinal column is comprised of bones called vertebrae, most of which are connected by joints and spongy discs. At the top are the atlas and axis vertebrae, which do not have a disc between them, and five other vertebrae which form the cervical or neck bones. Below them are twelve thoracic vertebrae, which make up the back of the rib cage. The seven lumbar vertebrae are below them in the column and are the ones most often affected by lower back pain. The vertebrae below the lumbar region are fused together into two structures: the sacrum and the coccyx. The coccyx is also called the tailbone. The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves which runs from...

At the Catalina Medical Center in Redondo Beach, we’re committed to helping our patients battle the pain and debilitation of arthritis. In order to navigate the many treatment options, patients need to understand how osteoarthritis differs from rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage in between the joints in the spine gets worn away, allowing them to rub together. This may cause the bones to become misshapen or for pieces of them to break off and float nearby, resulting in inflammation and painful muscle spasms. Degenerative disc disease is linked to osteoarthritis and may be caused by the same environmental or hereditary factors. The difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is that rheumatoid arthritis is an immune disorder caused by the body turning on itself. Osteoarthritis is more likely to occur during low atmospheric pressure or after the body has been inactive for a long time. We’ll need to put new patients through some tests in order to ...

Posture refers to the body’s alignment and positioning with the force of gravity. If we are sleeping, standing, running, or walking, maintaining good posture means that force will be distributed evenly throughout our neck, shoulders, back, and legs.  Good posture is important for your health because it helps you walk tall while improving circulation and digestion while keeping the structures in the spine healthy. If you are looking for some tips to improve your posture, utilize these and give our doctors at Catalina Medical Center a call. Imagine that a string is attached to the top of your head and pulling you upwards. The idea is to keep your body in perfect alignment, maintaining the spine’s natural curvature, neck straight and shoulders parallel with the hips. To stand correctly, you should always keep your shoulders back and relaxed while pulling in your abdomen and keeping your feet about hip distance apart. Balance your weight evenly on both feet an...

Lower back pain isn’t limited to adults. In children, improper use of backpacks is a common source of several ailments of the back, shoulders, and arms, and although we use chiropractic and holistic treatments at The Catalina Medical Center to get them healthy again, a preventive approach is always best. Backpacks are a better way of carrying items than shoulder bags or large purses, which unevenly distribute weight, making muscle strain and misalignment likelier. However, the backpack should only contain an amount equal to 15% of the wearer’s bodyweight, at most. It is a good idea to not use a backpack which is large enough to hold more than this, as well as to avoid using one with wheels and a pull-out handle if it is not usually being worn in a context where these can be used. Children should regularly switch out items throughout the day and avoid packing anything they are unlikely to need. The backpack’s shoulder straps should be padded, and wearers should always use both. They sho...