Back in June, Cherry Hill native and chiropractor, Dr. Puja Patel, joined the township office of Dr. Marc Legere on Route 70, near the triangular intersection with Springdale and Greentree roads.
Patch Chiropractic, with Patel in the fold, has dedicated its healing efforts to a new form of pain relief called myofascial release. There is also a trademarked form known as the Patch Technique.
The muscle relaxation method has been used to treat everyday people and athletes, and has even eased the performance-based maladies suffered by musicians.
“Everything is connected, from the fingers on up to the wrists and elbow, forearm, shoulder. The more you play, and the harder you play, the more likely it is you’ll have problems,” Patel said about the treatment, which has been used on members of the Zac Brown Band after their intense summer tours.
“You see the weirdest things sometimes,” she added. “It works, and there’s a technique to release every muscle and muscle group.”
After growing up in the township, Patel chose Drexel University for her undergraduate studies before furthering her education at chiropractic school, going so far as to visit the South Pacific island nation of Fiji for a mission trip.
While she didn’t cite any specific feeling or incident that sparked her interest, “I’ve always wanted to be involved in health care. It’s been something that’s always interested me since I was very young.”
During her time at Drexel, Patel interned at a local rehabilitation facility and found that she became enamored with the therapy aspect of medicine.
“For me, that was the door to (my desire to pursue) chiro,” she noted. “I didn’t want to go into traditional medicine, but I was looking for an alternative. I like the philosophy behind it, treating and healing people without resorting to drugs and surgery to correct a problem.”
Patel sought ways to continue pursuing chiropractic options, and last summer happened upon a listing for Legere’s office. After meeting with the doctor, she came away impressed.
“We talked, and I came to like and respect his philosophy on treatment,” Patel recalled.
As she explained, the treatment’s aim is releasing tension in the muscles in order to minimize pain. Doctors at Patch work closely with physical therapists to change healing and exercise regimens so patients won’t have recent issues or injuries that become chronic.
“It speeds up healing time as well,” Patel added.
The therapy aspect Patel works on is about stretching the ailing muscles more than the traditional practice of cracking and aligning bones. Patch technique is useful anywhere in the body: shoulders, hips, knees, feet, all the extremities, neck and back.
“A lot of what we see are repetitive-use injuries, sports and office-related maladies,” the doctor said. “Frozen shoulders, bursitis, things like that. Strains, sprains. We see everything.”
Patel’s new model has both specialties under one roof to provide a new treatment method where each patient has two different specialties handling an issue, both doing what they do best.
For more information on what Patch can offer, visit: http://patchhealthsolutions.com/.
