Thursday, July 14, 2011

I had been experiencing some minor lower back pain about a year ago while playing lacrosse, I figured this was some form of growing pain and in time the issue would resolve itself. However, the pain did not subside and in fact got progressively worse. I soon realized this was out of the ordinary and needed further examination. After an MRI, I was diagnosed with a L4 Pars Spinal Stress Fracture.

This type of injury requires almost total immobilization of the afflicted area at the time of diagnosis, and then a gradual re-introduction to exercise through physical therapy later on. I had heard from my father that Dimitry was the best that PT had to offer and after my time with him, I can say that with full confidence. He is nothing short of the best at what he does

Dimitry knew exactly why my problem arose, and on the flipside of that, knew exactly how to not only solve it, but also prevent it from ever happening again. He taught me things about how to stretch and work out the right way, that I can now apply for the rest of my life. In fact, at summer lacrosse tournaments I shared my newly acquired knowledge with my teammates by showing them how to stretch properly. The players constantly thanked me and said they felt substantially better on the field.

The key to my rehabilitation was the fact that Dimitry pushed me to my limits while keeping my injury in check. The exercises given to me were extremely difficult at times, but Dr. Polyakov made sure my spine was not in pain. With his impressive qualifications, it was obvious Dimitry knew what he was doing every step of the way, and not once did I doubt him.   Exercises we did targeted the source of my problems, which were determined to be my weak hips and sub-par balance. I discovered negative habits and flaws in techniques as simple as running that I never had known existed. Without Dimitry, these imperfections would never have been exposed. Now, these faults have been reversed, and I am training the way I should have been all along.

After my physical therapy sessions, my back is no longer in pain, I feel great, and have Dimitry to thank. He is extremely qualified, knowledgeable, professional, and a pleasure to work with. I would strongly recommend him to anybody looking for the smoothest recovery possible.

Sincerely,

Jake Paytas

Although he’s only in his early 30s, Aaron Chase has already been declared a “Legend of Mountain Biking.” He’s been on the cutting edge of the sport for over a decade, innovating not only the way people ride, but the way courses and bikes are built, as well as how MTB films are scripted and shot.

Since winning the dual urban freeride grails of Red Bull Bike Battle and Red Bull District Ride, “AC” has gone on to pioneer the all-terrain slopestyle movement that reclaims the creative spirit of mountain biking. And one look at his schedule – packed with film shoots, comps and coaching gigs – proves that when it comes to the legend of Aaron Chase, there’s still a lot left to write.

A longtime collaborator on Freeride Entertainment’s “New World Disorder” series, Aaron is also a popular director, editor and rider for Don Hampton’s DH Productions, and recently starred in the company’s 25th DVD adventure, “Here We Go Again.”

One of Aaron’s favorite projects, available for viewing at VitalMTB.com, is “H.O.L.T.” – the “Hold On Loosely Tour,” in which he and his buddies power up their motorcycles and tour a region, riding their mountain bikes in prime locations along the way. Fictional storylines are woven in to create an epic road-trip fantasy-reality. New England was the destination for the 2008 H.O.L.T. ride, and next up will be the wild landscape of Utah and perhaps even wilder backdrop of Las Vegas.

“I’m taking on anything that comes – I just can’t say no,” Aaron smiles. At home in New Jersey, he also finds it hard to say no to his two-year-old daughter Kendall, who, he claims, looks just like him and – judging from her fearlessness on the tree swing – may share his passion for catching air.

“The things I’m doing now are taking the sport to the next level,” Aaron notes. “Slopestyle runs are using more big drops, hits, jumps and wall rides, which is better for spectators, video and magazines. It’s something the average rider can look at and appreciate.”

He adds, “Basically, my job is to think of something fun and make it happen – and I get to do that with the people I want to ride with. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Aaron Chase profile link: http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Profile/Aaron- Chase-021242746277230

I have many clients who come to me with one basic question.  What can you do for my pain that hasn’t been tried already?  I will always answer their question with one of mine:  do you want me to get rid of your pain, or do we want to get rid of the root cause of your pain?  The quandary with the statement is that people think it is one and the same.    The true answer lies in making the proper diagnosis for your condition.  It is quite easy to get rid of lower back pain or shoulder pain or knee pain – for the moment.  What isn’t easy is finding why the pain is there in the first place and getting rid of it once and for all.  Finding the irritants that are producing the ache and using reconstructive techniques to abolish them is the only way for complete recovery to occur.

The real questions are ones that I ask from the body:  what clues are you going to give me to find not some, but all of the reasons for the pain production that the client is feeling.  At Total Physical Therapy, I work with each client individually throughout the course of each session and use cutting edge manual as well as therapeutic exercise and lengthening techniques from both eastern and western medicinal roots to normalize and up-regulate joint and muscle pathology, disc and neurogenic dysfunction in addition to a plethora of other neuromusculoskeletal conditions.

The difference is simple – if the diagnosis is right, if the treatment is precise and accurately directed at abolishing the root cause of pain, then the condition will be permanently eliminated and will not return.  Client follow-through with a customized home exercise program via CD-ROM ensures proper compliance at home upon discharge.

This letter serves as a recommendation for Dimitry Polyakov located at Total Physical Therapy in Bernardsville. I initially was referred to Dimitry for carpal tunnel syndrome. Although I hadn’t considered going to a physical therapist for this problem, I spoke with my doctor who suggested it would be good to try the physical therapy prior to surgery. That was nearly eight months ago and it was one of the best medical decisions I have made. Dimitry not only took care of my carpal tunnel syndrome, but went on (at my request) to work on my elbow and shoulder as they had bothered me enough over the last few years that I had to give up tennis.

I can now play tennis without feeling the pain in my arm and my carpal tunnel syndrome has not returned. I can’t say enough about the treatment that I received from Dimitry. In fact, while I was finishing up my treatments with Dimitry, my daughter injured herself playing with her soccer club. She was diagnosed with a severe ankle sprain. Nearly “everyone” said that it would be difficult to get it back to a point where she would be able to play without feeling at least a little pain and there was a high probability that she would “resprain” it. She has now been playing daily at the high school level for eight weeks (including slide tackles) and has had no problems at all with her ankle. Dimitry took careful steps to heal the sprain before building up the area around the sprain so as to reduce the chance of reoccurrence.

No sooner had my daughter begun seeing Dimitry when my son came home from college ready to make an appointment for surgery for his shoulder. After consultations, a steroid shot and a definitive MRI, his next step was surgery. At my urging (and with the approval of our physician) he went in to see Dimitry before scheduling the surgery. He couldn’t believe how effective Dimitry’s therapy was. He continued with the physical therapy for a number of weeks and never had the surgery. Now, five months later he is lifting weights, participating in several sports, and is playing basketball for the first time in about a year without pain.