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Since Align Healing Center opened its doors in 1999 we have been treating arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, well let’s just say all of the “itis’s”. In other words PAIN, whether it’s back pain, neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain or any other pain, we have been here to awaken the healing potential in the body and relieve the pain. That being said, I am always in search of miraculous new ways to relieve pain without drugs, without invasive procedures and without more pain. In 2005, Class III Laser therapy was added to my practice and the results have been amazing! Then in October of 2009 I was enlightened to a new treatment modality that is revealing itself to be truly miraculous- Class IV Laser Therapy. I am so passionate and excited about how Laser therapy is helping people heal and reclaim their life that I feel every person whether in pain or not should know about it!

I am here to tell you that you no longer need to “live with pain” from an injury or surgery no matter how long you may have had it. Pain ruins your quality of life. It can go on for months-even years, while you try to ignore it, take pain medications and try treatments that don’t work. In the mean time, you’re losing sleep and missing out on your favorite activities. There is no longer a reason to settle for a life of pain, and we all know medications only mask pain and inflammation and are not a long term solution.  But in order to get rid of the pain, you need to resolve the injury itself. I am often asked “why doesn’t my pain resolve on its own?” My answer is “often our cells don’t have enough energy to complete the healing process and they get stuck in an inflammatory cycle creating more pain”. Class IV Laser therapy gets to the root of the injury and treats it at the cellular level providing energy to the cells so they can heal.

Laser treatments at Align Healing Center are done with the K-laser 1200 Class IV Laser. This laser is gently absorbed by the tissue it does not cut or burn. During each painless treatment laser energy increases circulation, drawing water, oxygen and nutrients to the damaged area. This creates an optimal healing environment that reduces inflammation, swelling, muscle spasms, stiffness and pain. As the injured area returns to normal, pain is relieved and function is restored.

Decades of research and studies have proven how highly effective laser therapy is in its ability to repair damage to soft tissue. We are having great success treating neck and shoulder injuries, sciatica, arthritis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel, migraines, plantar fasciitis, post surgical pain, sports injuries and more even if it’s long-term residual pain. I have seen patients with 10 years of post surgical pain get their life back in a short period of time. Even ar­thritis and degenerative disc disease sufferers can see long term benefits from this treatment without any of the negative side effects experienced with the long term use of medications.

This new Class IV laser has been used in Europe for decades, but in 2004, it was brought to the USA and FDA cleared for the use in musculoskeletal and joint prob­lems. The results that we are experiencing with our patients are nothing short of remarkable. The K-Laser 1200 has exceeded our expectations of the healing potential that it ignites in the body and it is our mission to share it with anyone who is seeking freedom from their pain.

Dr. Niele Maimone, DC of Align Healing Center in Danville, CA has been active in natural health & wellness for 10 years. For more information or to set up a consult call 925.362.8283 or visit www.alignhealingcenter.com.

First of a four part series about retirement.

Rob, our recently-retired fictional hero, is discovering the downsides of not devoting a full day, every day, to his boss and his long-time employer.

Retirement was great at first. He slept in a bit each morning and read the paper before getting dressed. The long “honey-do list” was attacked and admittedly the easier jobs went first. He laid out detailed plans on how to handle the minor remodeling he and his wife had discussed so many times. He found Lowe’s and Home Depot less crowded than he was used to on the weekends. He had always loved golf and long walks and now began to investigate how to enjoy them at his leisure. There was even a list of local attractions he’d always meant to visit, and they now appeared within the realm of possibility. He even enjoyed having lunch with his wife whenever she wasn’t off to one of her activities. The thought of volunteering flicked in and out as well. Unconsciously he even expected a call or two from his employer or old business associates to ask him to do a little part-time fill-in work to help plug that gigantic hole he must have left at work.

But oh – the six month anniversary was coming up, and things were not as rosy as he had hoped.

First and foremost, he was bored. The camaraderie and intellectual stimulation he had had at work was somehow missing. The major in-depth conversations about sports and politics he had enjoyed with fellow workers was now limited to his wife. He knew how she felt about most topics as she did about his opinions. You can go over this just so many times. They had had a great time on that trip to Europe but after three weeks together he was secretly glad to be home.

The call from his employer and other business associates never came, or if they did he got the feeling that they really didn’t care about his opinion any more.

Golf presented its own problem. All the guys he used to play with on the weekends were unavailable during the week, and when he checked about joining them on the weekends he found the foursomes filled. When he wandered down to a local course he found he either played alone, there was no opening as a retired group filled the course, or he was matched with three others who dialogued among themselves and left him to wander along – sort of left out.

Our hero Rob was bored. Sure he loved his wife, but with the exception of their kids and their house, they had begun to lead somewhat separate lives. There had to be some answer to this, and it came in a most unexpected way.

One early Tuesday morning he tossed his golf clubs in the car and headed for the local course. He had breakfasted by himself because his wife and three of her friends were off on an “adventure” in San Francisco, and he was left alone. The yard projects looked too painful to work on for the third day in a row; and besides, he was bored – so off to the course he went.

His heart sank a bit when he saw the parking lot loaded with cars – and well it should have. The pro behind the desk listed the first opening a full two hours away from his arrival time. With nothing else to do he left his name on the list and headed for the putting green to while away the time. Frankly, it was pretty full as well.

Rob’s curiosity peaked, and he asked the pro what was going on.

“Every Tuesday morning the SIR group takes up ten starting times from us.”

Rob wandered back out to the putting green and, screwing up his courage, asked one of the other “puttees” what the deal was.

“SIR stands for Sons in Retirement. There are over one hundred and fifty branches with over twenty thousand members in Northern California. There are no dues, it is non-political, there is no religious orientation – the sole purpose is to help retirees, or semi-retirees enjoy themselves. They play golf, go on local trips, play bridge, go fishing, play tennis, go bowling, travel overseas, have classes on computers, etc.”

Rob’s new-found friend handed him a SIR business card and invited him to this fellow’s SIR branch for lunch the following week. Rob was intrigued, but a little bit hesitant. He never thought of himself as a “joiner” other than maybe a service club or two. Well, maybe he’d go home later and think about it all. There had to be a catch somewhere, and he was sure he’d find it.

(Next – Part Two: Rob learns about the SIR organization.)
 
For more information about SIRs check out the website at www.sirinc.org or contact Harry Hubinger at 925-837-4381.