Back-to-School & Sports Physicals Available at July 17 Event
-Woodbridge Mayor’s Wellness Campaign, Human Motion Institute at Raritan Bay Medical Center and Medical Pavilion at Woodbridge Co-Sponsor Event-

WOODBRIDGE, NJ, June 15, 2011… Free health screenings for kids and adults; ‘If the Shoe Fits,’ balance and posture testing, sports injury prevention and safety tips and back-to-school and sports physicals, for a fee,  will be available Sunday, July 17, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the YMCA at the Woodbridge Community Center, 600 Main St. For more information call 1-800-DOCTORS.

Free screenings and information, provided by the Human Motion Institute at Raritan Bay Medical Center and the Medical Pavilion at Woodbridge, include ‘If the Shoe Fits,’ (shoe fittings) balance and posture testing, sports injury prevention, becoming sports-ready at any age, as well as safety tips such as hydration on the athletic field, stretching, nutrition and more. Back to school and sport physicals for students will be available. The fee for school and sport physicals is $75 per student, and health insurance co-pays will be accepted.

“This is a great chance for our local families to meet with the skilled physicians and staff from Raritan Bay Medical Center and get direction on how to make the coming school year the healthiest and fittest year yet,” says Woodbridge Township Mayor John E. McCormac, whose Woodbridge Mayor’s Wellness Campaign is co-sponsoring the event.

-RBMC-

About the Woodbridge Mayor’s Wellness Campaign
The campaign champions community health by increasing opportunities for Woodbridge Township residents to participate in daily health and wellness initiatives and programs. By encouraging local business and community leaders to play a lead role in supporting local opportunities for active, healthy lifestyles, the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign is at work making Woodbridge a statewide leader in community-based health interventions.

About the Human Motion Institute at Raritan Bay Medical Center
The Human Motion Institute at Raritan Bay Medical Center is a unique program offering a comprehensive continuum of musculoskeletal care within a highly integrated orthopedic healthcare delivery network. This includes not only assessment, treatment, education and therapy services but prevention as well. Raritan Bay’s goal is to help each patient achieve maximum function and mobility as quickly and safely as possible, employing the latest medical techniques available to enhance the clinical team’s effectiveness. By combining the extensive clinical expertise of the medical center’s physicians with RBMC’s Magnet nurses and their compassionate Patient Family Centered Care Model treatment philosophy, RBMC has created a program known for its high-quality care and successful patient outcomes. Human Motion Institute services include:

• Spine Care
• Joint Care (Hip, Knee, Shoulder)
• Hand and Upper Extremity
• Sports Medicine
• Foot and Ankle
• Physical Therapy
• Conservative Spine / Pain Management

About the Medical Pavilion at Woodbridge
Raritan Bay Medical Center’s Medical Pavilion at Woodbridge provides high-quality, urgent non-emergency care, obstetrical/gynecological and physical therapy services. Urgent care, provided by a physician or nurse practitioner, is available with or without an appointment 365 days a year. The pavilion is the only urgent care provider in the Woodbridge area.

The pavilion’s clinicians are able to refer patients for on-site diagnostic imaging and preventive health screenings such as physicals, blood pressure, cholesterol, allergy and diabetes testing and vaccinations. As an added benefit they may refer patients who need specialty care, advanced diagnostic testing, or surgery to RBMC physicians, providing continuity of care. The 10,000-square-foot facility is also home to the physician practice Bay Obstetrics and Gynecology (another office is located in Sayreville) and a satellite office of the hospital’s physical therapy department; providing obstetrical/gynecological services for all stages of life and comprehensive physical therapy services respectively.

By: Kashif Siddiqi, MD

In the last decade the abuse of pain medications like OxyContin has remained at epidemic levels. This continued societal concern has prompted the Obama administration to seek legislation requiring doctors to undergo training before being permitted to prescribe powerful painkiller medications to patients. In many cases of chronic pain, however, interventional pain management techniques can successfully relieve pain without the use of powerful opioids such as oxycodone.

The most common sources of pain, aside from headache, are related to the musculoskeletal system: back pain anywhere from the neck to mid or low back, and joint pain such as in knees, shoulders, and hips. Even in some cases of headache, the inciting cause may be in the neck. In cases like these I believe interventional pain management treatment should be explored before considering narcotic prescription medications, which come with inherent risks, side effects, physical dependency and the potential for abuse. 

Interventional pain management specialists use a variety of advanced treatment options to successfully reduce chronic pain. In some cases of acute pain proper therapy, initiated early, may result in complete resolution of pain. The type of treatment used is dependent upon history and physical exam and diagnostic tests, which are used to accurately pinpoint the underlying source of pain. Diagnostic tests may include X-ray, EMG or nerve conduction tests, or MRI.  Available options range from local anesthesia nerve blocks, epidural steroid injections, joint or trigger point injections to advanced techniques like spinal cord stimulation. The latter may be an option for those patients who have had back surgery but still have pain.

These therapeutic approaches, in many cases, alleviate the pain rather than masking it with prescriptions. For a very small percentage of patients prescription painkillers may be the best solution, but the majority of pain sufferers will benefit from a multidisciplinary approach to pain control. Through a combination of physical therapy, interventional pain management and judicious use of medications patients can resume their everyday activities instead of being limited by pain.

Dr. Siddiqi is board certified in interventional pain management and anesthesiology. His practice, Bay Pain Management, is located in the Medical Pavilion at Woodbridge, 740 Route 1 North, Iselin, NJ, 08830, and is affiliated with the Human Motion Institute at Raritan Bay Medical Center. To make an appointment, call 732.734.1310.

-RBMC-

By: Jennifer Syrek, MD

Those twisted, bulging veins visible just beneath the surface of your skin are called varicose veins. They are a result of a disease called venous insufficiency or reflux. Varicose veins appear in the legs and occur when the valves that control blood flow do not work properly. Blood flows backward and pools in the veins, causing symptoms.

Symptoms of venous insufficiency include the development of varicose veins, leg heaviness, throbbing, swelling, discolored skin, blood clots in the surface veins and open wounds. Women are more likely than men to develop varicose veins. Other factors include a family history of varicose veins, history of blood clots, pregnancy and obesity. The symptoms of venous insufficiency worsen with sitting or standing in one position for extended periods of time. Leg elevation, exercise, weight control and compression stockings improve the symptoms.

People whose symptoms are not relieved by these lifestyle changes may benefit from surgical intervention. Currently there are minimally invasive techniques to treat venous insufficiency and varicose veins. I recommend VNUS® ablation of the problem veins. This outpatient procedure uses radiofrequency energy under ultrasound guidance to close the veins rather than remove them.

My patients are very satisfied with this minimally invasive procedure.  They are home the same day, have no incisions, have very little post-procedure pain and can return to normal activities within a few days.

Dr. Syrek is board certified in vascular surgery. She recently opened an office in the Medical Pavilion at Perth Amboy, at 516 Lawrie Street.  She has another office at 53 Main Street in Sayreville, NJ.  To make an appointment, call 732.738.7871.

-RBMC-