Health Blog

The quality of our lives is just as important as the number of years we live

All responsible people should take time to educate themselves and their children about the benefits of healthy eating and staying active. Learning to live healthily is one of the best guarantees for a long and fulfilling life. The quality of our lives is just as important as the number of years we live, therefore we should strive to do everything we can to keep our bodies in the best shape.

Thanks to the advances in modern medicine, the average person’s life span now exceeds seventy years, yet it seems that as we advance in one area, we regress in others. Perhaps we are living longer, but are we living better? Are we truly healthier than our recent ancestors?

Today, issues of obesity, lack of mobility, are more abound in this country. Perhaps our lack of education about the weight gaining process, and a lack of concern about our children’s health education has a lot to do with our current problems. What’s the solution, then?

We need to learn how to eat and exercise correctly. We must determine how much food our bodies actually need, how much physical exercise is ideal, and how best to accomplish both. Caloric, nutritional, and physical needs (and education about those needs) are things we should all understand. If you visit your local doctor, library, or fi tness center, there are massive amounts of information available to help educate yourself and your family in making good health choices.

Are you living life to the fullest? Wouldn’t it be nice to respond with a resounding YES!! The life you live is the life you choose. No matter what your fi eld of interest may be, your level of education, or your level of income, your life is tremendously affected by your health. Maintaining your health is one of the most important things you can do as an individual to enjoy what time you have on this earth. It is also one of the most important things you can do for your
family. As we become an older population, and our life expectancy increases, do we want to become burdens to our children? Or do we want our time with our children in our retirement years to be something we, and they, enjoy?

There are so many things to do in life that allow us to enjoy the fruits of our labor. All of these options can be cut short if we haven’t taken the time to take care of ourselves. Quality is as important as quantity. Education, healthy food choices, keeping your body in top shape all lead to living life to the fullest.

Our multidisciplinary approach to patient care addresses the aforementioned factors for living healthier. We are experts in the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of physical issues that prevent one from living a fulfilling life.

by Donny King
Exercise Physiologist, Core Physical Medicine

Dr. Michael Shnappauf and Dr. Stephen Ward opened the doors of their practice, Sandy Lake Chiropractic and Physical Therapy, back in November of 1996. “When we originally start our office, we were small operation,” says Dr. Shnappauf. “As we’ve expanded, we’ve improved, and even changed our name to Core Physical Medicine to accommodate out multiple locations.” These days, all of their offices are filled with state-of-the-art equipment, both diagnostic and rehabilitative.

Our CORE belief system is optimizing your health through mainstream quality care

Advanced Treatment Techniques

Core Physical Medicine, as Dr. Schnappauf puts it, “has really evolved with the ever changing needs of our communities in terms of new innovations in treatment like spinal decompression therapy, the cold laser, and the implementation of the latest in performance enhancement protocols. Further, we have opened three other fully functional locations in Las Colinas, Flwoer Mound, and most recently Keller,” Dr. Ward, Shnappauf, Griffeth, Brown, Frye, and Deevers treat people of all ages, fro one year old to seniors. “We specialize in the treatment of all joint dysfunction including: neck, shoulder, lower back, hip and knee pain, whiplash, capral tunnel syndrome, and headaches.” Our mission is to provide Coppell, Valley Ranch, Las Colinas, Flower Mound, Keller and all neighboring areas with quality mainstream that is maintaining the mobility and stability of the joint through soft tissue integrity.”

What makes Core Physical Medicine different? All of the doctors are Core complete more than 1oo hours of post graduate continuing education each per year. It keeps the doctors current on what’s out there; the latest techniques and treatments.” Core Physical Medicine also offers patients opulently designed offices with state-of-art equipment, including unique neurodiagnostic testing which Dr. Ward says, “no one else offers.”

“We’re involved from the initial, acute care of all the way through to the end stage rehabilitation. We’re also proud of the fact that our work is all hands on,” says Dr. Ward. Each patient is given an individualized treatment plan, not a generic protocol. The doctors see to it that the “work gets done, and done right!’ As is were, all of the patient rehabilitation is performed right in their facility.

State-of-the-art Facilities

Another advantage of Core Physical Medicine is that each office is co-located with a family practice group. “This is no coincidence,” says Dr. Ward. “Our current set up maximizes patient convenience as all services medical, chiropractic, and rehabilitative are offered under one roof.” This also encourages communication between all the doctors and staff so that everyone is working towards a common goal: focused patient care. Dr. Shnappauf relates, ” This multidisciplinary approach has been very well received at all of our locations and our treatment results speak for themselves.” Core Physical Medicines accepts all private insurance plans, self pay, workers’ compensation, and even personal injury. “We strive to make every aspect of your experience at our offices enjoyable, even the stuff nobody likes to deal with – like insurance,” indicates Vivian Knox, Director of Operations. The professional staff at Core is able and ready to exceed your expectations. “We’re here for you!” add Vivian.

Core Physical Medicine offers quality care by a divers group of professionals and staff with one goal: assisting patients in achieving a healthier life.

Compassion

Lastly, all the doctors are involved in sports themselves. They enjoy weightlifting, competitive wrestling/jiu jitsu, volleyball, ice hockey, tennis, triathlons, golf and boxing. “Our participation in athletics allows us a complete appreciation of sport related injuries. Most of us have experienced first-had many of the injuries that we treat daily. Also, we at Core Physical Medicine treat the gamut of our local Moms as well as a stable of over sixty-two professional athletes, and local middle and high school athletes. With both licensed Chiropractor and physical therapists on staff, Core Physical Medicine provides outstanding care for the full spectrum of athletically induced injuries. Dr. Ward adds, “Let our team treat your team.”

Tips for Avoiding Sports Injuries This Summer

There’s nothing worse than feeling physical pain from a summer day of sports. Nothing ruins a great round of golf like golfer’s elbow, or spoils a jog like runner’s knee.

While it’s not possible to completely avoid all types of injuries, by taking some precautions, it is possible to greatly reduce your risk of injury. However, simply reducing the risk of injury is not a task that is always easy to handle. By carefully following some precautions there are ways that you can avoid injuring yourself during this summer season.

Start slowly. Your best bet is to prevent injuries before they happen. Don’t expect to be in the same playing condition that you ended up in last fall, even if you have been maintaining your fitness level. New activities require muscles and joints to respond in a different way. This may result in minor soreness while your body adjusts. If you push yourself too hard, too soon, that minor soreness could turn into something more serious.

Don’t forget to warm up. Although you may feel warm in good weather, you still have to give your muscles a chance to go through the motions and get blood pumping to all the necessary areas. Gentle stretching before finishing your activity will help those hardworking muscles retain and improve flexibility.

Treat injuries. For tennis elbow, runner’s knee and similar injuries, try R.I.C.E – rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Rest means that the injured area is not put through any undue strain. When icing a body part, apply the ice in a covering such as a cotton handkerchief so that it is not in direct contact with the skin. Ice the affected area several times a day, for about 20 minutes at a time. Compression is the application of pressure to the injured area to stop bleeding (if any occurs) or to reduce swelling. Elevation helps in these respects as well. Compression and Elevation are to be used in the case of acute injuries, such as a twisted ankle.

Take frequent breaks. Even tennis pros rest between sets. Taking a rest doesn’t mean that you have to completely stop all activity (although it may be advisable sometimes). Just rest the body parts that are working hard and are susceptible to injury.

Pay attention to your body. Don’t ignore the little aches and pains in the joints and muscles. They are early signals that could help to prevent more serious injuries.

Avoiding injuries is a very important consideration for both the weekend warrior and avid sports enthusiast. By following the tips and suggestions mentioned above it should help to greatly improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury all at the same time.

by Donny King
Exercise Physiologist, Core Physical Medicine