SOHMA Integrative Medicine

We offer the best of Eastern & Western medicine without using drugs or surgery

SOHMA Interactive Medicine

What Does the Laser Do at the Chiropractor?

by

Laser Therapy and Chiropractic are complimentary treatments.

It’s well understood that chiropractic care can alleviate pain and aid in the natural healing process. Laser therapy is a new way to help relieve chronic and acute pain. What happens when these two therapies are combined?

Join me as we explore how combining these two therapies can result in a more focused recovery.

How Does Laser Therapy Aid in Healing?

Many people are skeptical when introduced to laser therapy. After all, how can shining a light on my skin help manage pain?

Cold laser therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy, effectively treats chronic and acute pains and is incredibly useful in conjunction with chiropractic care. Erchonia’s FX 635 laser has a 72% success rate in clinical trials. The device was approved by the FDA in 2018 to be used in managing pain and has proven to be a safer, more effective treatment option than surgery or pharmaceuticals.

With around 80% of adults suffering from lower back pain at some point in their life, many seek help managing their pain. Unfortunately, about 60% of them will be prescribed opioids to reduce pain symptoms. The opioids mask the pain and typically don’t lead to the body’s healing. Opioids can be dangerous and addictive if taken for extended periods.

At SOHMA Integrated Medicine in Long Beach, CA, we offer cold laser therapy, which among other benefits, can help with pain management. Laser therapy uses specific wavelengths that can stimulate the body’s natural healing process. When the skin is exposed to light particles, it triggers the cell to produce a natural chemical called adenosine triphosphate, which is needed to fuel the body’s cellular processes. The increased production of adenosine triphosphate may improve the body’s blood circulation in the affected area, promoting our natural healing abilities. The cells exposed to the lasers return to their normal processes after the therapy and remain unharmed.

Why do Laser Therapy and Chiropractic Care Work Well Together?

Chiropractic care often emphasizes the physical manipulation of the spine and joints to relieve pain. However, it’s also used to increase the range of motion, improve posture and minimize migraine and neck-related headaches. There are many other benefits of seeing a chiropractor though many patients seek chiropractic care to avoid risky pharmaceutical or expensive surgeries. 

Laser therapy’s benefits include reducing swelling, decreasing stiffness and pain, and returning to the normal function of joints. Laser therapy is also used to accelerate cellular reproduction leading to faster healing. Increase vasodilation to increase blood flow to the affected area and promote healing. Laser therapy can achieve these results safely.

When combining chiropractic and cold laser therapy, results are improved. Beneficial outcomes include pain relief and accelerated healing. Every person is different, and results vary depending on the severity of the injury or condition and the patient’s physical fitness, composition, and age. 

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Physical Therapy Benefits for Seniors

by

Being physically active is an essential part of being healthy. But as we age, this can become more difficult and frustrating, especially for older adults. As we age, we often become less active; we lose muscle density, coordination, and reaction time. We also find we need more endurance to do many physical activities.

But we need to remain active, and today we’re going to go over potential consequences of a stationary lifestyle as an older adult, and how physical therapy for seniors can be beneficial for your wellness.

Why Should Seniors Do Physical Therapy?

Seniors need to remain active at their age. Physical therapy can give them the activity their body needs to stay healthy. Many seniors suffer from chronic pain due to conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis. Many seniors over 60 may have some form of arthritis affecting their spine. This can cause pain even when doing simple tasks. Physical therapy can help maintain muscle strength and preserve joint mobility to reduce future symptoms. 

For older adults who have a more stationary life physical therapy can improve their quality of life by maintaining independence when doing common household activities. Physical therapy can help teach seniors to keep their stability and improve their balance. Injuries due to falling are the number one cause of bone fractures in seniors. Typically after they suffer an injury due to a fall, it’s not uncommon for them to fall again.

Reduce the Need for Pharmaceuticals

It’s not uncommon for seniors to be prescribed pain medication when suffering from chronic back or muscle pain. Many older adults often prescribed a number of pharmaceuticals. Many of which are necessary to maintaining proper body functions. However physical therapy for seniors can help with managing pain.

When followed thoroughly, physical therapy has been shown to generate similar results compared to surgery when treating conditions like spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis can put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves within the spine, causing neck and lower back pain.

Independence and Healthy Lifestyle

As you age, a certain amount of mobility is lost; many think this means they can’t live safely in their own home or else risk injury. This isn’t always the case; with physical therapy, seniors can keep their independence for much longer than expected. Though if a senior does sustain an injury, they may require some supervision during the recovery. Physical therapy can be used to recover sooner, allowing them to continue with an active lifestyle.

A healthy, active lifestyle is needed to avoid some of the dangers of a stationary lifestyle. Generally, not being active can lead to muscle loss, flexibility, and overall mobility. Physical therapy is a great way to get moving again.

Not only helping by preventing falls and managing pain, but physical therapy can also improve cognitive abilities to a certain degree. It’s been shown that having an active lifestyle later in life can help slow the advancement of cognitive decline. This can significantly improve their ability to live independently.

Staying Active

Physical therapy is only the first step to a healthy lifestyle for seniors. Our physical therapists will provide an individualized program for each patient. But will also provide exercises for you to practice at home. These will likely be simple exercises to help regain the strength, balance, and coordination to recover and improve the ability to walk and move on your own.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

How Long Does a Myers Cocktail IV Last?

by

Myers Cocktails are a great intravenous treatment whose effects can be surprisingly long.

Have you ever felt sluggish or tired? Many people think they’re having a particularly off day or perhaps hadn’t slept well. And although this can be the case, oftentimes it can be due to an imbalance of nutrients in your body.

This is where the Myer’s Cocktail IV therapy can help. The same kind of IV you would see in hospital settings is used to administer a fluid formula with critical nutrients the body needs to function well.

You may be wondering “where can I find a Myer’s cocktail near me?” luckily SOHMA Integrative Medicine has two locations, in Long Beach CA and you are always welcome.

Join me as we discover the long term benefits of Myers Cocktail IV therapy, and how long Myer’s Cocktail IV lasts.

What is Myer’s Cocktail?

As previously stated, Myer’s cocktail contains a blend of critical nutrients your body needs to work properly. Nutrients like vitamins C, 12 and  B-Complex vitamins help in boosting your immune system, impact your energy levels, improve brain function and metabolism.

Minerals such as magnesium, and calcium aid in bone formation, reduce fatigue, muscle spasms and migraines. Glutathione is an antioxidant that naturally occurs in the body, it also helps boost your immune system. Zinc, though not naturally created by our bodies, is a necessary mineral. Zinc deficiency can lead to hair loss, weak immune system, poor mood and cause wounds to heal slower.

Why through an IV drip? Why not a multivitamin?

Although oral supplements such as tablets can be taken by just swallowing, the body needs to first process and break down the tablet through the digestive system. Unfortunately many of the nutrients can be lost during this process. While some may think just taking more supplements can fill this gap, it can leave your stomach irritated and cause unnecessary pain.

This can leave your body with a much smaller dose than intended. Because the Myer’s Cocktail is delivered directly to the bloodstream, the body can have complete bioavailability without compromising the intended dose, giving you the greatest benefit.

Long Term Benefits of Myer’s Cocktail

Some of the short term benefits of Myer’s cocktail can be amazing. This includes help fighting pesky hangovers, hydrating after grueling workouts, and even alleviating stress. With regular use, however, Myer’s cocktail IV therapy can show long term benefits.

These benefits include reducing the severity and frequency of migraine, boost your immune system, reduce acute muscle spasms and acute asthma attacks among others.

This begs the question of how often should people do a Myer’s cocktail IV therapy. For those who are looking to keep their mind and body in a state of healthy balance, once a month is should be sufficient, however some may opt for more frequent visits if they are trying to resolve an issue or have an active lifestyle.

How Long Does Myers Cocktail Last

Like many therapies and modalities, this all depends on the individual patient. The fluids themselves should leave your body after a few hours. Though the nutrients delivered through the IV drip can be in your body for days or months. Depending on lifestyle, body composition and age the benefits of a Myer’s cocktail IV therapy can last about three days to a week. While others may notice the benefits for a month or until they’re body is out of balance again.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Physical Therapy for Back Pain

by

What is physical therapy?

In short it’s a uniquely specialized program to help the patient recover from pain and regain mobility due to injury trauma or as a post surgery aid.

About 16 million American adults suffer from chronic back pain every year. Which can result in limitations on common everyday activities. The most common sufferers of back pain report it to be caused because of simply sitting behind a desk for hours on end.

How can physical therapy help your back pain?

Join us as we explain why and how physical therapy can be used to relieve back pain and help prevent it as well.

What Causes Back Pain?

Back pain can be caused by a number of reasons ranging from a harmless sprain that can resolve itself within a couple weeks to a fractured vertebrae that may need immediate attention. You can develop back pain after suffering from damage caused to the muscles, tendons, and discs in your back. Some of these include the aforementioned sprains and fractures as well as:

Back pain can also be caused by inflammation, which can be caused by injury, trauma, or arthritis. Osteoporosis which can leave vertebrae vulnerable to fractures. And fibromyalgia which can cause muscle pain and fatigue. 

Kidney pain caused by stones or infection are often confused with lower back pain, if you feel like treatment for your back isn’t helping the pain. Speak with your primary care provider to clear up any confusions.

What Does Physical Therapy Entail?

During your initial visit, there will be a thorough evaluation of both your symptoms and medical history. We will analyze your posture and determine your range of motion. Afterwards a physical therapist will create a program to target the cause of your pain. The intention for physical therapy will be to reduce pain, while increasing strength. 

This may involve exercises to increase strength of your abdominal, quadriceps and gluteal muscles to reduce the stress on your lower back. Exercise such as stationary bike, treadmill, or medical Tai Chi can help improve endurance. Stretching may also be used to regain and improve mobility. Don’t be surprised if you are assigned “homework” as you may be required to do more stretches at your home to improve the strength of your back muscles more quickly. 

Physical therapy may not be able to help everybody, some patients may still require surgery after a physical therapy program. Though this is still valuable as the stronger you are going into surgery the stronger you will be going out of it. This can reduce the amount of recovery time post surgery and is often done after surgeries to help recover even sooner.

Preventing Back Pain in the Future

Just because you’ve relieved your back pain after physical therapy doesn’t mean it won’t come back. Many times if the patient does not change their habits, the back pain can return. For this reason our physical therapists as SOHMA Integrative Medicine will teach you proper posture when sitting, standing and exercising to reduce the chances of injury.

Physical therapy is not only used to get better, but to also educate yourself in how to take care of your body. We may provide exercises and or a stretching routine for you to follow at home after the original program has ended. By incorporating these into your own exercise routine you’ll be able to reduce the chances of stuffing with back pain.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Top 5 Benefits of Physical Therapy

by

Physical Therapy has Benefits Beyond Initial Care for an Injury

Every year nearly 166 million American adults will incur some form of musculoskeletal injury that could benefit from physical therapy for recovery. These cases can include:

  • Sports Injuries
  • Work Injuries
  • Slipping and falling
  • vehicular accidents

Many times people think physical therapy involves inflicting more pain on an injury. This is not true. Although physical therapy can cause soreness in some, the goal is to bring back mobility and strength to you slowly. 

Today we’ll explore 5 benefits of physical therapy and why they’re important.

Benefit #1 Recover from Injury

As previously stated, nearly half of all Americans will develop some injury that may benefit from physical therapy. Some of the most common injuries are related to work or sports. Though sometimes an injury may require surgery, some do not. Physical therapy can help in reducing or preventing additional damage done to the injury. Our physical therapists at SOHMA Integrated Medicine of Long Beach, CA, can design an individualized program to help you rebuild strength and regain mobility to the injured area to prevent further injury. Not only does physical therapy help you in recovering from injuries, but it’s also an incredibly useful tool when recovering from surgery. 

Benefit #2 Post Surgery Recovery

If an injury requires surgery, physical therapy can shorten post-surgery recovery. Following surgery, your primary care provider may recommend physical therapy depending on the type of surgery performed. This treatment may not be pleasant and lasts for a few weeks or months. However, it has been proven that patients improve their quality of life after surgery.

Benefit #3 Avoid Surgery

In many cases, people feel like the pain will go away on its own, or it’s not so bad that they can’t deal with it. Even minor injuries can cause chronic pain when ignored, so surgery may be required to fix the problem. Physical therapy can reduce pain caused by an injury, heal the injury and ultimately avoid surgery. There are many costs involved with getting surgery aside from the surgery itself. Often you’ll need to do post-surgery physical therapy and lose time and money while unable to work or enjoy life. 

Even if surgery is required for some injuries, pre-surgery physical therapy can strengthen the injured area. Going in stronger also reduces the time needed to recover post-surgery.

Benefit #4 Manage Pain

Many people suffer from chronic pain and are unsure how to manage or eliminate it. Typically physical therapy techniques that target the joints and soft tissue can restore muscle and joint function to reduce pain. Unlike working pain with pharmaceuticals that can have many adverse side effects or be addictive, physical therapy uses treatments that include:

  • Ultrasound
  • Electrical Stimulation
  • Weight Training
  • Stretching

These techniques restore muscle and joint functions and reduce the chance for the pain to return.

For older adults who suffer from arthritis or osteoporosis or had a joint replaced, a physical therapist can use individualized techniques to help manage pain and regain strength and mobility in their joints.

Benefit #5 Improve Balance and Mobility

As we age, it’s not uncommon to lose mobility and balance. Especially for older adults, poor balance is often more dangerous. A physical therapist can help improve your balance. They will develop a treatment plan to improve the stability, strength, and mobility of patients with balance problems.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.