If you’ve been struggling with persistent aches and pains or simply want to get your body back into balance, you may be considering chiropractic care. This noninvasive, hands-on approach to patient care emphasizes holistic diagnosis and treatment, meaning your chiropractor will use a whole-body approach to well-being even if you’re only looking to address a singular concern. Ideally, the result is greater mobility, faster healing, and an overall increase in functionality for the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

Are you reading this on a smartphone or tablet? After you read this sentence, lift your head and look up for at least 10 seconds.

Seriously. Go do it.

A whopping 95 percent of U.S. adults own a cell phone, and 79 percent of adults age 18 to 44 carry their phones around nearly all day. People text during school, work, errands and appointments. It’s not uncommon for shoppers to bump into each other or block aisles because they’re busy on their phones.

“But my back doesn’t hurt!”

“You’ll make my pain worse.”

“I’ll get addicted to treatment and need it forever.”

“Nobody can help me. My condition is too severe.”

Are you like many people, with an aching back at the end of the day or worried about lifting an object due to your back going out? You are not alone, over 80% of the population will suffer back pain at one time or another in their life, according to CDC data.

Read this month’s issue of Health & Fitness – the newsletter about your health and caring for your body – for tips on how you can relieve your back pain by fixing your hips.

I developed a severely herniated disc which made daily activities unbearable. I underwent epidural injections without relief. I did not want to undergo back surgery so I consulted with NorthEast.

The treatment program instituted by NorthEast provided much needed relief and, most importantly, without the need for surgery. I will be forever grateful to Drs. Kirk, Shu and Hubert and their staff for their care which has allowed me to resume my daily routine pain-free.

The doctors and staff at NorthEast are competent, courteous and caring. Their level of concern for my well-being was obvious from the first visit and continued throughout my course of treatment . I was fortunate to have found NorthEast and give this group my highest recommendation.

– Vincent D.
Herniated disc sufferer, Lumbar Decompression treatment patient

James Kirk is a chiropractic physician and director of the NorthEast Spine & Sports Medicine office in Barnegat, New Jersey. He earned his doctor of chiropractic (D.C.) degree in December of 2000 from New York Chiropractic College and has been with NorthEast Spine & Sports Medicine since 2005.

Dr. Kirk has gone on to achieve post graduate certifications in electrodiagnostic testing and is board certified to perform Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS). He also holds postgraduate certifications in Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA), Clinical Biomechanics of Posture (CBP) and Musculoskeletal (MSK) diagnostic ultrasound. He is a member of the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors (ANJC) and was named a Top Doctor by NJ Top Docs in 2017.

Dr. Kirk specializes in spinal rehabilitation that includes restoring posture, biomechanics and disc decompression therapy. He has found that when the multi-specialty NorthEast Spine & Sports Medicine approach to care is integrated, most patient’s experience better, faster and longer lasting results. Dr. Kirk’s ultimate goal is to restore patients to their lifestyle prior to injury, allowing them to live happier and healthier lives.

Chronic back pain can be a result of a number of different issues. Sports injuries can lead to spinal damage, overstraining during physical activity can tear or overstretch muscles, and general wear-and-tear can happen to anyone regardless of age.

At NorthEast Spine & Sports Medicine, we’re proud to serve the residents of New Jersey with effective treatments aimed at helping them live a life free from chronic pain. One such treatment is the spinal epidural injection, a common procedure that thousands of patients undergo daily to relieve pain and restore range of motion. We’ve provided spinal and joint injections to residents of Freehold, NJ, and back pain sufferers across the state. For us these procedures are routine, but for our patients they make a world of difference. 

It starts out with a slight ache in your hand and the feeling of being stiff in the morning. You think nothing of it and carry on with your everyday routine. Over the next few weeks, the slight ache has turned into widespread tenderness and joint pain throughout your body.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes pain, stiffness, loss of function, and swelling in the joints. This systematic disease can also affect your organs and cause bone thinning.

A cough. A sneeze. A deep breath. These actions are immensely painful to those who suffer from costovertebral joint pain. For these people, the common cold is an agonizing affair as every quick expansion of the lungs sends a shot of pain from the spine to the ribs. Even when not suffering from a cold, an inflamed costovertebral joint makes bending, twisting, or other movements of the spine feel like a red-hot poker sticking in the shoulder blade or the chest.