David Perna, D.C.

Fibromyalgia (FM) has a long reputation for being a controversial diagnosis. Some healthcare providers (HCPs) feel FM is a legitimate condition that warrants treatment and research while others feel it’s a "garbage can diagnosis" that HCPs throw patients into when they’re not sure what diagnostic label to use to describe a patient’s condition. Regardless of the [..]

What Is It? Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissues in the neck including ligaments, joint capsules, muscles and their tendons, and intervertebral disks. It can also involve the nervous system tissues in more severe cases,  result in radiating arm pain. How does it happen? During a car crash, most commonly a rear-end collision. [..]

Perhaps the best reference book pertaining to the jaw is the 1991 text by Andrew Kaplan, DMD and Leon Assael, DMD, titled Temporomandibular Disorders, Diagnosis and Treatment (1).This book has 31 distinguished contributing authors, 35 chapters, and 754 pages.Dr. Kaplan’s credentials include:Director, Temporomandibular Disorder/Facial Pain Clinic, The Mount Sinai HospitalAssistant Clinical Professor, The Mount Sinai HospitalCoordinator, [..]

Exercise for the neck is very important since weak muscles are related to many painful conditions of the neck and can contribute to fatigue, irritability, headache, sleep loss, and more. When done correctly (performed slowly, staying within "reasonable" pain boundaries), they can increase your range of motion, reduce stiffness/tightness, and strengthen your neck muscles.The exercises [..]

Exercise for the neck is very important since weak muscles are related to many painful conditions of the neck and can contribute to fatigue, irritability, headache, sleep loss, and more. When done correctly (performed slowly, staying within "reasonable" pain boundaries), they can increase your range of motion, reduce stiffness/tightness, and strengthen your neck muscles.The exercises [..]

Have you ever considered how important your hamstrings muscles are in relationship to your lower back? Most people do not think about those tight muscles on the back of the upper leg / thigh as having much to do with low back pain (LBP); however, it is one of the most important muscles groups to [..]

  In a series of recent human volunteer crash tests of low speed rear impact collisions, it was reported that the threshold for cervical spine soft tissue injury was 5 mph (delta V) (1 ref). Other reports have shown that crashed cars can often withstand collision speeds of 10 mph or more without sustaining damage [..]

Because carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a "cumulative trauma" condition where repetitive motion results in overuse and subsequent injury to multiple areas in the upper extremities, there are many exercise options for patients with CTS. Most exercises address the forearm, wrist, and hand as well as the neck, shoulder, and elbow, depending on the extent [..]

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a complex condition that includes widespread muscle and joint pain, where everything seems to ache and is associated with severe exhaustion and fatigue. It affects up to 4% of the population (woman > men), with no known cause and no known cure. With these facts, it’s not surprising that many sufferers have [..]

In 1935, Swedish physiologist Ulf von Euler isolated a biologically active compound from seminal fluid. He named the compound “prostaglandin” because he believed it was derived from the prostate gland. It is now known that prostaglandins are made in tissues throughout the body. [As an interesting side-note, von Euler (and colleagues) was awarded the Nobel Prize in [..]

Do you hurt all over, frequently feel exhausted, can’t seem to ever feel "rested" after a night’s sleep, don’t respond to any of the recommended medications from your family physician, and no test seems to uncover anything specific? If this sounds like you, it is possible that you are suffering from fibromyalgia (FM). FM is a chronic/long-term condition [..]

We know that many people, about 80% of the population, will hurt their back at some point in life. In a survey conducted by Consumer Reports (CR) (see the May 2009 issue), over 14,000 subscribers had low back pain (LBP) but no surgery to treat it in 2008. More than half reported severe daily activity [..]