The Down to Earth Alternative

Office Hours Calendar Table of Contents

Office Hours

Calendar

Note: We are making every effort to provide you with an accurate calendar; however, each newsletter covers a period of four months. Unforeseen circumstances during this time period may require minor changes in the calendar

TABLE OF CONTENTS  Go to Top

Why is Posture Really Important?
Knee Clasp Exercise
Progress Calls
     Speaking of Calls
Reminder: Don't Use "6442"
Thanks for Referring
Cervical Pillows: What and Why
Chiropractic Independence Days
Insurance Plans
     On-Plan...Off-Plan
     No Plan
Tsunami Relief
Science Fiction By Request

Why is Posture Really Important?
 Table of Contents | Top of page

While we are all told that good posture will make us taller and more confident (Anyone remember walking around balancing a book on your head?), posture is most important to us for its contribution to the maintenance of spinal health.

Good posture helps maintain our four natural spinal-pelvic curves. It provides our spines with a greater degree of shock absorption to protect us from the jars and sudden movements of life and takes pressure off the areas in our spines through which our nerves exit. This helps decrease the occurrence of chronic problems caused by the “frustrated” transmission of otherwise normal nerve impulses. Correct posture can help you hold your adjustments better.

How should you stand or sit to have good posture? Try to have your ear, shoulder and hip line up when sitting; add the ankle to that list when standing. Since we are all individuals, you personally may not be comfortable in this posture. In the last analysis, you need to sit or stand in the position that comes as close as possible to the above description while being able to take a deep breath. Easy-breathing posture is correct posture.

You just might look more confident!

Knee Clasp Exercise Table of Contents | Top of page

Sitting a lot in the car and then again at work? Not getting a chance to exercise even though you want to? Although the knee clasp exercise won’t do anything for you aerobically, it will help you with flexibility. It will gently put each sacroiliac joint (located in the pelvis) into motion, then open up your lumbar spine (low back) and take off some of the pressure. You can do the knee clasp in the morning, evening, and with a slight adaptation or two, at the office.

 No, we’re not going to give you instructions in this newsletter. We want to make sure you’re doing the exercise correctly, so if you’re interested, remind our staff when you make your next appointment, and they’ll make sure to schedule enough time for us to show you the knee clasp and watch you do it. That way, you’ll know you’re doing it right.

 Many people are not aware of the importance of the nerves exiting the lumbar spine and pelvis. For more background, visit www.neurologicalfitness.com, click on to “Newsletters”, and then click on to “January - April, 2002”. This issue of our newsletter includes an article titled, “18 Years PPOD”.

Progress Calls  Table of Contents | Top of page

If we ask you to check in with us by phone, please do so. We’re trying to monitor your progress, and if you call us, instead of the other way around, we won’t wake you or interrupt your dinner.

If we’re closed when you call, leave a message and indicate whether or not you’d like a callback. Let us know how late we can call and with whom we can leave a message if you’re not available.

Speaking of Calls Table of Contents | Top of page

Help us make sure we get the correct phone number when you call and want us to call back. Please speak slowly and leave the number at the beginning and end of your message. If we are out and you get the answering machine, it may distort some sounds, but by leaving your message as described above, we will be able to get back to you.

Reminder: Don't Use "6442"  Table of Contents | Top of page

Regarding the above, and harking back to the last newsletter, don’t call us on 703-938-6442. Call 703-938-6441, which is our primary number. This is the number connected to our answering machine.

If you call after hours when someone else is already leaving a message, your call will roll over to 703-938-6442, and our machine will not answer you. Please call back later, so your message can be picked up. Thanks!

Thanks for Referring  Table of Contents | Top of page

We’d like to just take a moment to thank those of you who have been referring family, friends and co-workers. We appreciate your thinking of us when you know someone who you feel could benefit from chiropractic care.

Cervical Pillows: What and Why  Table of Contents | Top of page

Our necks (cervical spines) are designed to have a slight forward arch to them. This curve helps maintain normal posture and movement and provides a degree of shock absorption capacity for us. Unfortunately, as we experience physical wear and tear in our lives, our necks may straighten and lose that curve, sometimes to the extent of reversing it. Auto collisions and falls are often a factor, as is working at a computer desk for long periods.

A cervical pillow is designed to help balance out some of that neck stress.  It is designed to support your neck while you sleep, coaxing it back, at least for a few hours, into its natural shape, as much as possible, while relaxing your neck muscles, since they won’t be forced to work without proper support through the night.

We do stock cervical pillows here. Please ask if you are interested in seeing one.

To learn a simple self-help approach to further protect your cervical spine, log on to www.neurologicafitness.com, click on “Newsletters”, and then click on “September – December, 2002”. In this issue of our newsletter, you will find an article titled, “Mirror Trick”.

Chiropractic Independence Days  Table of Contents | Top of page

In an effort to make chiropractic care affordable to everyone, regardless of income or insurance coverage, we set aside selected Mondays as CHIROPRACTIC INDEPENDENCE DAYS.  These are also good days to introduce friends or loved ones to our services. On Independence Day, your decision to get chiropractic care is independent of any financial or insurance considerations. We place a box on the front counter, into which you will place whatever amount you decide the care is worth, taking into consideration your ability to pay.

If you are unfamiliar with this unique alternative to “business as usual”, ask at the front desk for more information. Not surprisingly, Independence Day appointments fill in fast, so try to make yours well in advance.  If you need to change your appointment for any reason, just give us a reasonable amount of lead-time, so someone else can get care. Thank you!

Insurance Plans Table of Contents | Top of page

As of May 2005, we participate in the following insurance preferred provider organizations (PPOs): Affordable, Choicecare, First Health, Health First, NCPPO, PHCS, and Great West. Through PHCS, we have recently become providers for Kaiser Permanente’s Kaiser Flexible Choice product.

On-Plan...Off-Plan   Table of Contents | Top of page

Some insurance plans offer you the opportunity to visit the provider of your choice and still get some reimbursement, even if that provider is not part of the company’s network. This is called off-plan coverage. If you would like to use your insurance here, and aren’t sure if that’s possible, call our staff. They’ll ask you for the information they’ll need to research this for you and make the necessary calls. If it turns out that you do have off-plan chiropractic coverage, they’ll fill you in on the specifics as they relate to this office.

No Plan Table of Contents | Top of page

If you don’t have insurance coverage for chiropractic, have a high deductible, or would like to reduce the cost of health care here, you may want to use our Chiropractic Independence Days, described above.

Another big help might be our multi-packs. These are plans for people who want to be checked periodically and would like to save money doing so. There are two plans for individuals and one that can be used by the whole family. Our staff would be happy to tell you about them.

Tsunami Relief Table of Contents | Top of page

Once again, we’d like to thank those of you who participated in the Tsunami Relief program at this office. While we are no longer collecting for this cause here, the people who were directly affected by the tsunami will need a lot of help for a long time. There are many fine organizations involved in this effort. We sent your donations to:

                                                 Oxfam America

                                                 Asian Earthquake Fund

                                                 PO Box 1211

                                                 Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211

Science Fiction By Request Table of Contents | Top of page

Our own Dr. Masarsky is an internationally obscure science fiction writer who has recently been published in the Northern Virginia Review. However, his most frequent publishing venue is right here at our practice. He has written the following stories in collaboration with his literary muse, Oxana – a very long-lived talking cat trained in the old art of bone setting. We will gladly e-mail you any of these stories if you contact us at neurofitness@aol.com. Not only does this save wear and tear on our photocopier, but it also allows you to easily share these stories with others. If you prefer, (and with a bit of advance notice) we can photocopy stories for you instead. For clubs, religious congregations, or business groups, contact Dr. Masarsky for a dramatic reading – a service we call “Vertebral Theater”.  Oxana’s current selections are as follows:

“Mrs. Shelley’s Wrist”: At a time when sailing ships were still state-of-the-art transport systems, Mary Shelley wrote her classic science fiction novel Frankenstein. But first, she had to overcome a severe wrist problem affecting her writing hand.

“Pavlov’s Cat”: Dr. Ivan Pavlov is about to make a grave error in his choice of research topic. Can Oxana nudge his thinking in an alternative direction?

“Change at Jamaica”: What happens when an earth cat meets a disoriented space alien on the Long Island Railroad?

“The Biographical Bulge”: Will Timmy get his football scholarship to Isis University and help solve the energy crisis? Only if something can be done to help his kicking leg. Oxana goes back to basics for a down-to-earth solution!

“The Aroma of Income”: City Councilwoman Marcella Ruiz is convinced that her oversight of the new waste disposal plant is adequate. She might change her mind if she could really smell the plant!

This Newsletter is Copyright © 2005, Drs. Marion Todres and Charles Masarsky, Chiropractors. All Rights Reserved.