CornerStone PT & Wellness Center - October 2020

CornerStone PT & Wellness Center - October 2020

OCTOBER 2020

CORNERSTONE Monthly

77 Brant Avenue, Suite 101, Clark, NJ 07066

•

CornerstonePTNJ.com

•

732.499.4540

Cornerstone PT Patients

On any given day, you’ll find two dogs running around at the De La Fuente house. One is my 65-pound yellow Lab, Bristal. The other is my sister-in-law’s hyper 25-pound terrier mix, Kenly. They’re best friends, and my wife and I always get a kick out of watching them play together and follow each other from room to room. Despite their obvious differences, both of them are great dogs, and they have something big in common: They were adopted, not bought. October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, so I thought this would be the perfect time to tell you the story of how my family found Bristal, and how my sister-in-law found Kenly. We first heard about Bristal from my uncle, who is a vet up in Pennsylvania. He had a client whose dog recently had puppies, and all of them had been adopted but one, the runt of the litter. My uncle told me that, at one point, the owners had an adopter lined up for the puppy, but the arrangement ended up falling through because the adopter didn’t seem committed to the idea of having a dog. At this point, the owners called my uncle and asked for his help. They told him, “We’re looking for someone who will take care of this puppy as well as you would” — and my uncle thought of me. My wife and I had lost our last dog a few years before that, so we were in the perfect position to take on a puppy. After some discussion, we reached out to my uncle and told him we’d take her! We picked Bristal up when she was 5 months old. Nine and a half years later, she’s still one of the best decisions we ever made. Our kids adore her, and she’s really a member of the family. Bristal is definitely a couch potato, but she also loves to go on family walks and gets incredibly excited every time we go on a car ride. We treat her like one of the kids in a lot of ways. On Halloween, she always gets her own costume and goes trick-or-treating with us around the neighborhood. A few years ago, we dressed her up as a THE FURRIEST MEMBER OF THE DE LA FUENTE FAMILY

October Is National Physical Therapy Month!

VIP Referral Patient of the Month! JOSEPHINE GARGANO The best compliment we can receive is to have one of our patients refer a friend or family member to our practice. If you refer someone and we are able to take them as a patient, both you and the person who was referred will be entered to Win a $25 gift card! It’s just our way of saying

To celebrate, we’re offering an amazing

limited-time discount on laser therapy treatment. Read more on Pg. 3!

pilot with her own little aviator goggles, and last year she went as a doughnut.

On top of being a great companion, Bristal is a loyal protector. Once, we had someone over to cut the grass in our backyard, and the second Bristal saw him, she bolted to the gate to protect the family. I actually had to call her off! Incidents like that remind me that dogs have a lot to teach us humans about love and loyalty. A dog just wants to protect you and make you happy, and Bristal definitely does that for us. We’ve gone through some tough times in the 10 years since we got her, but no matter how rough things are, she can always make me smile. Bristal’s best friend, Kenly, is also a rescue dog. My sister- in-law saved her from a kill shelter in the Carolinas. Since she works long hours, we’re lucky enough to have Kenly with us five days a week. Kenly clearly had a rough past, but she’s a great dog with a sweet, funny personality, which just goes to show how amazing pups can be. If you’ve been considering getting a dog, I hope you’ll look to shelters first. Plenty of amazing dogs like Bristal and Kenly are out there who need families. All a dog needs to be happy is food, water, shelter, and love. If you provide that, it’s amazing how much they’ll give you in return!

Thank You!

1 732.499.4540

How to Stop Procrastinating at Bedtime

“I had such a wonderful experience at Cornerstone PT. The staff was so well trained and knowledgeable. I feel so much better after working with them and my shoulder feels much less stiff. I overall feel less pain and soreness. Not only did the staff make me physically better, but I was always greeted with friendly faces.” –Christina A.

And Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Though there are very real medical conditions, such as insomnia and sleep apnea, that deprive people of sleep, the reason most of us probably don’t get enough sleep is simply because we put off our bedtime. Instead of getting into bed, we opt to check off another item on our to-do list or watch another episode of our favorite show. This is sometimes called “bedtime procrastination.” We all know a good night’s sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, so how can we stop putting it off? A good place to start is by keeping track of your day. The human mind isn’t meant to internalize checklists and task reminders, so use your phone or journal as a scheduling assistant. However you decide to keep track, make sure to give yourself a set amount of time to accomplish your tasks, like letting yourself watch TV for just one hour or blocking out three hours to help your kids with their homework. It might even help to set alarms on your watch or on your phone to let you know when your time is up on any of your activities. Another big part is creating an environment that is conducive to a good night’s sleep, and that starts with turning your electronic devices off well before you get under the covers. Smartphone screens, computer screens, and even some energy-efficient lightbulbs emit blue light, which reduces the production of melatonin, the hormone that tells your body it’s time to go to bed. Instead of looking at your phone, try reading a book before going to sleep. If your screens prove to be too big of a draw for you when bedtime comes, it might be a good idea to move your devices to another room so they’re out of sight and out of mind. Finally, don’t get discouraged if you don’t start getting better sleep right away. Setting up good bedtime routines takes time. But if you stick with it — and maybe have someone else in your house hold you accountable to your commitments — you’ll start to get better sleep and have more energy to take on the day in no time.

“Before coming to Cornerstone, I was in pain every time I had to squat down for baseball or football. But after Dr. Dave has personally helped me and given me exercises to do on my own, I can play both sports and any other activity without pain in my knees.” –Payton W.

2 CornerstonePTNJ.com

HAPPY NATIONAL PHYSICAL THERAPY MONTH! Celebrate With Us and Save Money on Laser Therapy

Since 1981, physical therapists have celebrated National Physical Therapy Month every October. The goal of the month is to raise awareness about all the great things PT can do to help people, from getting them back on their feet after a car crash to making it easier for them to play with their grandkids. Here at Cornerstone PT & Wellness Center, we’re proud to be part of that legacy — and this year, we’re going all-out for National Physical Therapy Month! For October only, we’re offering a huge discount on treatments with our Class IV Laser. As you might remember from previous newsletters, the Class IV Laser is one of the most cutting-edge treatments we offer. It’s the best tool out there for deep tissue laser therapy. With a power output of more than 500 milliwatts, it targets muscles and tissues for deep repair and treats persisting injuries in record time. By activating the healing properties in your cells, the Class IV Laser can treat chronic pain in your muscles, alleviate joint pain, and reduce inflammation. Considering it does all this without the downsides of invasive treatments like medications and surgery, it really is a win-win for you. Because this is such a great treatment, we generally charge $360 for six sessions with the laser and $660 for 12 sessions. However, in the spirit of National Physical Therapy Month, we’re slashing our prices. For October only, you can get six sessions with the Class IV Laser for $300, or 12 for $500 . For a long-lasting, noninvasive treatment, it doesn’t get much better than that!

If you’ve never experienced the Class IV Laser before, it might sound a bit futuristic, but don’t worry — it’s a simple process no matter your pain level and won’t do any damage to your skin. Your physical therapist will work with you to determine the best spot to treat and the number of treatments you need to fully activate your body’s healing properties. As with any of our treatments, if you have questions about how things work or what the outcomes will be, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to help!

To take advantage of this limited- time offer, call us today at 732-499-4540 .

SPOOKY STRAWBERRY GHOSTS

These adorable chocolate- dipped strawberry ghosts will be the stars of your Halloween party!

INGREDIENTS

• 16 oz white chocolate, chopped

• 24 strawberries

• 1 package mini dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the white chocolate at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove it and stir, then repeat the process until melted. 2. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper. 3. One by one, dip the strawberries into the melted white chocolate and set them on the parchment. Allow the extra chocolate to pool to form a “tail” effect. 4. Before the chocolate coating fully cools, add three mini chocolate chips to each berry to form two eyes and a mouth. 5. Let chocolate set, then serve your spooky snacks! 6.

3 732.499.4540

77 Brant Avenue, Suite 101 Clark, NJ 07066

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

732.499.4540 CornerstonePTNJ.com

INSIDE This Issue

1 2

Meet Bristol, David’s 4-Legged Kid

Testimonials

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

3

Our 1-Month Laser Therapy Discount

Spooky Strawberry Ghosts

4

5 Steps to a Safer Hotel Room

KEEP STRANGERS AND VIRUSES OUT WITH THESE QUICK TIPS 5 Steps to a Safer Hotel Room

Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and your family from illness, but sometimes life gets in the way. Maybe you need to travel for work, to help a relative, or just to keep your kids from bouncing off the walls. If you have a hotel stay on the books, worrying about safety is understandable. But by taking these precautions, you can protect your loved ones and increase your odds of coming home healthy. 1. Bring a sanitation kit and use it! Most hotels are going above and beyond to sanitize their rooms these days, but it never hurts to take extra care. Before you check in, pick up cleaning supplies like disinfectant spray, wipes, plastic bags, and gloves. Then, use them to wipe down your room. Focus on big surfaces as well as features like faucet handles, doorknobs, lightswitches, and microwave buttons. 2. Skip the decorative linens. Many hotels don’t wash decorative bedding like comforters and fancy pillowcases. To be extra safe, strip these off the bed and wash your hands afterward. If you’re chilly, opt for the hotel’s spare blanket (it’s probably hiding in a closet) or bring one from home. 3. Quarantine your remote control. As USA Today puts it, “It’s common knowledge that one of the germiest items in a hotel room is the remote control.” To avoid the ick, pick up the remote while wearing gloves and drop it into a Ziploc. Then, remove your gloves and seal the bag. Now you can use

the remote without touching it directly!

4. Invest in a rubber door wedge. Viruses aren’t the only risk in hotel rooms — break-ins are

another concern. To keep your room secure, bring

a rubber door wedge. They cost less than $10 on Amazon and make kicking in a door much more difficult. 5. For maximum security,

bring a door alarm . Simple travel alarms hang from the

handle of a door and have two prongs that slide between the door and its frame. When the door opens and the prongs separate, that triggers the alarm. These simple devices send thieves running, and Lewis N. Clark makes a model for just $14.99.

Hopefully, these tips give you some peace of mind on your next trip. Happy trails!

4 CornerstonePTNJ.com