L-R: Dr. Chris Nelson, Dr. Mack Burt Dr. William Hunter
Persistent pain and/or a compromised range of motion can hinder people’s productivity and lower their quality of life. This can lead to a host of physical, psychological, and emotional challenges. The caring medical professionals at Harbin Clinic Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Rome pool their collective knowledge to help their patients maintain or regain good health. For instance, two of these professionals, Dr. Kenneth Wessel (physical therapist) and Dr. Mack Burt (chiropractor) guide their patients through a process that can quite literally give the patients their lives back.
Mastering Movement
Dr. Wessel was drawn to the field of physical therapy because of his fascination with human anatomy. When someone’s body is not moving like it should, he wants to help. “My patient is anyone with a movement dysfunction or movement-related pain,” he says. “That could be someone who’s post-surgical or someone that’s lifted something the wrong way and started hurting.”
Dr. Wessel sees patients of varying ages. “As a range, my youngest patient is about fifteen and my oldest is eighty-five,” he says. “We see younger patients who tend to be more athletically inclined and have had a sports injury, but our most common patient is middle-aged.”
When asked how people injure themselves, Dr. Wessel explains, “People tend to take certain movements for granted. I’ve seen people get hurt making their beds. Or someone hurts their shoulder moving a case of water. If you can imagine it, it’s probably happened. Usually, people don’t realize they have some kind of mobility restriction or underlying weakness that makes their injury likely to happen. So, it’s not that people shouldn’t fix their bed or move that case of water, it’s just that they need to be aware of their mechanics and doing it safely.”
New methods, surprising results
Dry needling is a technique to reduce or eliminate muscle-based pain with the insertion of thin, sharp needles into the muscles. “Sometimes people can have pain that won’t go away,” says Dr. Wessel. He goes on to explain, “For instance, a patient could be experiencing a lot of persistent pain and think they need surgery when dry needling may help reduce a large portion of their symptoms. When I locate the muscle that is knotted and causing pain, I needle that spot and the pain subsides incredibly fast.”
Dr. Wessel says, “When a monofilament needle hits a knot, it makes those knotted-up muscle fibers release and relax. Once it does that, whatever pain or tightness that knot was causing will go away.” He learned this technique during his post-graduate studies from a professor who was a pioneer in introducing dry needling in America. Dry needling is usually used as a tool in conjunction with other physical therapy techniques.
Healing what hurts
At Harbin Clinic Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Rome they do manual manipulation, massage, and physical therapy. “We have a unique blend here at our office,” says chiropractor Dr. Mack Burt. “We incorporate chiropractic and physical therapy. We’ve used this model for twenty-five years, and it can get you better quicker.” Each patient’s treatment is individualized according to need. For example, they will be evaluated, perhaps be adjusted, and then put on a personalized exercise plan. Dr. Burt explains, “Let’s say you have a disc problem; we may incorporate some traction and decompression to take some pressure off that disc and open up the space in there. Essentially, we’re looking to improve function, to take the pressure off the nerve, and improve the healing speed.”
Dr. Burt says, “The majority of herniated discs occur around age thirty-five and are usually caused by wear and tear and degenerative changes. The disc weakens over time and eventually herniates. Some of it can also be congenital.”
Starting young, staying healthy
Some patients also come in for preventative care. Dr. Burt shares that some of their recurring patients are younger with the goal to stay healthy by investing in overall wellbeing. Other repeat patients are more seasoned individuals who are looking to maintain mobility and vigor. They work with the practice to improve body function, flexibility and balance.
Harbin Clinic Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Rome is there to help, whether patients are dealing with post-surgical treatment, preventive care, or everyday aches and pains.
For more information, visit harbinclinic.com.
Segrest also describes the touching solidarity of the city. “At 7 pm everyone leans out of their windows and cheers, banging pots and pans. They are cheering for the healthcare workers. They are cheering for each other. Then an hour later the city stops. There is a silence for all those we lost.”
With so much still uncertain in both New York City and Rome Georgia one thing is for certain- Rebecca Segrest is undoubtedly a hero.
To be continued…..
