Why we are different

At Tancredi Chiropractic and Physical Therapy we offer the most effective methods available to rehabilitate your injuries. This includes literal "hands on" care, with each patient we feel we can help. Our attitude is, "we will never fail for lack of effort" and this holds true for every single patient. Successful treatment frequently comes down to the doctor's desire to be effective in each and every case; whether you are a professional athlete or someone who is self employed and is the sole provider for their family.  We will not let you down.  Even though we care for many professional athletes; we feel it is just as important to provide the absolute best care to every single patient.  Many patients are surprised when they see the video of Dr. Tancredi treating Cole Hamels, the Phillies World Series MVP pitcher, and they are receiving the exact same care.

Every patient should respond very quickly, typically receiving fifty percent relief in two to four visits. If they do not, we are immediately considering referrals to the proper physicians. We have developed relationships with the top physicians in our area and across the country in just about every specialty, and can get you seen very quickly, should the need arise. For example it is not uncommon for our patients to travel to the top orthopedic hospital in the country; New York Hospital for Special Surgery for care.  Once pain control is achieved, rehabilitative exercises are implemented. Every patient receives a personalized strengthening program they can continue at home, or in their local gym, so they can be released and hopefully not require any further care.

Because life gets in the way and we don't always do the exercises we should, you may require further care. However; if you go through our initial phase of care, "you will know" if and when you need to return. We feel it is our job to educate our patients, and show them the proper exercises to maintain their own health. 

No doctor can predict the need for ongoing care, but we'll do our best to help you prevent the need for ongoing care. 

Why we are so successful

Tancredi Chiropractic and Physical Therapy Center specializes in combining the best of chiropractic, and the best of sports medicine/physical therapy.  In particular; Active Release Technique (ART), is a main part of just about every treatment plan.  Dr. Tancredi has been practicing ART longer than anyone in the tri-state area, and is one of only 150 instructors in the world.  He is also a member of ART's Elite Provider Network.  Please read below for more detailed information on Active Release Technique (ART) and the Elite Provider Network (EPN).

Frequently patients get "somewhat" better with standard physical therapy and the same holds true with chiropractic care; unfortunately the results can be "short lived".  In some cases they do not get any relief at all.  That is very rare at Tancredi Chiropractic.  Even if we cannot alleviate your pain; we will place you into a strengthening program.  So you will at least get stronger; this will make the next more aggressive form of care (medication, trigger point injections, epidurals, prolotherapy, platelet rich plasma, etc) more likely to be effective.  So no matter what your outcome is; you will not be wasting your time, or feel like you are just "spinning your wheels".  In our profession; the saying "you are either going forward or backwards" could never be more true.

From your first visit; you'll know you are in the right place.  Research shows that 80% of the accurate diagnoses are determined from the patient history.  We truly believe that if you "listen to your patient, they'll tell you what is wrong".  Diagnostic studies are important; but time with the patient is vital, it is the only way to truly understand the full extent of a patient's condition.  So on your first visit; expect to spend at least 30 minutes with the doctor during the history and evaluation.  If you are a candidate for our care; and we feel comfortable treating you on your initial visit, expect to spend another sixty to ninety minutes.

Once a treatment plan is formulated; the absolute best care will be provided consisting of passive modalities (heat, electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, etc) to achieve some pain relief and spasm reduction.  If you are a candidate, we'll then perform active release technique and then a spinal adjustment/manipulation.  This can be a bit scary; however, we have been doing this for such a long time if you are not relaxed enough to have a beneficial outcome, we WILL NOT do the adjustment.  It may be easy for us to tell you to relax, but in reality it can be very difficult to relax if you can at all.  We know exactly how your spine should feel, so if it doesn't feel as though the adjustment will be easy, we won't adjust.  It may mean you need other treatment; with our dual background in chiropractic and sports medicine we can pick and choose which treatment is best for each day. 

This is also vital in achieving quick results.  One of the problems experienced by Dr. Tancredi, when he was a patient and when he worked in the physical therapy field, was the inability to change treatment protocols without sending the patient back to an MD.  As a chiropractor, we can change treatment daily (and frequently do) if necessary.  Rarely does a patient get better every day without an occasional flare up, especially during the rehabilitative or strengthening phase.  If this does occurr we are prepared to change treatment that day.  So if you are supposed to exercise on a certain visit, but flare up and are having a bad day, we'll go back to passive treatment.  This will decrease your symptoms and get you back exercising faster.  This may not seem like a very important issue, but it is incredibly important and why we are so successful when others fail.  You will not need to stop care, return to your MD, get evaluated and another prescription for care, and then come back to resume care.  With the state of health care today (overbooked doctors, need for referrals, insurance company restrictions, etc) this could turn out to be weeks or even over a month.  Continuity of care prevents unnecessary "down time" and the need to "start over". 

Finally as your symptoms subside; you will be provided with a specific, individualized program to get stronger so you can manage your own care.  The real success if achieved when you are taught the correct way to perform every single exercise.  The program is modified daily until a complete full body program is reached and the patient fully understands how to do it on their own.  The entire program is give to the patient in writing so they can then continue it at home or the gym of their choice.

Why our rehabilitation is different than standard physical therapy

We see many, many patients who have already gone through standard "physical therapy" and failed to get relief or at least long term relief.  Programs, in which you work with “whatever therapist happens to be working that day”, giving you various opinions and ideas, are rarely effective. At Tancredi Chiropractic you will work with one person, who has spent the last twelve years with us, specifically rehabilitating injuries. Most of the programs at large centers consist of more flexibility exercises than anything else.  Research on proper stretching is very controversial; in that very few experts agree on the type or timeframe anyone should stretch. In “real life” we have found rehabilitation programs that concentrate on flexibility (especially of the lumbar spine), instead of strengthening, are not very effective and have a high re-injury rate.  There is very little if any, good research that truly correlates "tight hamstrings" with an increased incidence of lower back pain, but that is the emphasis in just about all physical therapy programs.  They also stress strengthening your "core" and give patients strengthening exercises that are mainly for your abdominal muscles.  While abdominal strength is important; it is frequently done at the cost of lumbar strengthening. One of the first things we consider when evaluating, and more importantly rehabilitating, our patients is lumbar strength. So rather than having the “typical” program that emphasizes “stretching your hamstrings and strengthening your core” (meaning abdominal muscles); we concentrate on getting our patients spines stronger. This is what we have found to be the most effective way of helping our patients “stay out of our office".

For almost 20 years chiropractic care helped Dr. Tancredi's old sports injuries.  Unfortunately, in 2002 he had to have back surgery when he failed to respond to conservative chiropractic care, and for that matter, every other type of care.  He has also had four knee surgeries which ended his collegiate wrestling career.  This makes him very empathetic to each and every patient.  Chiropractic care worked great for almost 20 years, but eventually he required surgery.  Prior to surgery he concentrated on strengthening and very little flexibility.  He was admitted and had surgery at 3 PM; he walked out only 7 hours later.  He then returned to work just 8 days later!  He feels his success was because of his lumbar "strength"; not flexibility.  Not that flexibility should be omitted; especially for an elite athlete, but patients respond much more quickly if their backs are strong.  This is frequently not the case in most "physical therapy" programs we review.  This means doing specific exercises that concentrate on strengthening your back.  We have come to realize the single most effective way to stay out of our office is to get stronger.  If you get stronger and follow our rehabilitation programs, you rarely if ever need to see us again, unless there is a new injury.  We stress strengthening, not flexibility; and of course cardiovascular conditioning.

Why do we do this; when the profession has the reputation of over treating?  First and foremost, it is the way we would want to be treated.  Dr. Tancredi frequently lectures on this same topic.  We truly believe if we ultimately do what is best for the patient, they will trust us for the rest of their life.  Then if they do need us; they will come back.  Why would we want a patient in our office that we cannot help anyway?  So if you are not responding; we will be recommending other doctors.  In reality, if a patient isn't responding, they are going to go to another doctor anyway.  We would like it to be a doctor skilled in treating musculo-skeletal injuries and one who understands what we do.  We have had countless new patients tell us that the person who referred them to us assured them "if Dr. Tancredi cannot help you, he'll send you to someone who can".  This is how we have built our practice over the last 20 years; by treating patients the exact same way we would want to be treated.  We build your trust, by treating you right.  Then if you do have other injuries, you will come back when we can help you.