The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 109, No. 23 - June 4, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................10
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................5
Legals....................................9
Neighborhood Therapist.....3
Pets......................................11
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate.......................6-9
School Spotlight..................3
Weekend
Forecast
Davis and DeRosa Aim to Take
the Ache out of the Headache
By Duane Plank
The definition of “headache” is very
straightforward: “a continuous pain in the
head.” But the age-old treatments to alleviate
the headache have typically revolved around
taking a dose of aspirin or Advil, maybe
drinking a glass or two of water, and then
waiting for the pain to subside. Very passive,
wait-and-hope treatment.
The therapists at El Segundo’s Davis and
DeRosa Physical Therapy, Inc., located on
Main Street, believe in taking a more aggressive
approach to mitigating a headache,
revolving around treatments for the neck and
cervical spine area that hopefully pinpoint
the specific cause of recurring headaches.
Co-owner Chris DeRosa recently shared
that his cadre of twelve therapists had taken
part last summer in a course taught by the
American Headache Institute, based in
Rochester, Michigan, that touts an innovative
process to combat the all-too-common headache.
The AHI posits that many headaches
emanate from issues related to the neck, and
that, by treating the neck region with gentle
manipulation, headache relief will follow.
DeRosa said that once the perceived
problem area in the neck has been isolated
and treated, he has seen dramatic results in
many of his patients.
“In the big picture of things,” DeRosa said,
“we are trying to make people aware that
your neck and cervical spine area can cause
a myriad of symptoms, headaches being one
of them.” The AHI training system notes ten
specific cervical spine symptom areas, which
can lead to what is termed “referred pain” in
other areas of the body. By isolating the ten
centralized symptom zones on the patient, the
therapists at Davis and DeRosa can design a
treatment protocol that is both corrective and
specific to that patient. DeRosa said that he
had seen a quick abatement of symptoms in
some of his patients in just a few office visits.
Once the patient returns home, the goal is
to have the patient proficient in self-treatment
so that he or she can practice pain-relieving
techniques learned in the office visit in the
comfort of their own residence.
Quick aside, but DeRosa did confirm that the
innovative headache treatment was not going
to help someone suffering from the dreaded,
self-induced hangover headache. “That is a
different type of headache,” laughed DeRosa.
“Those types of headaches, I am not going
to be able to cure, though I would make a
million dollars if I could cure hangovers.”
El Segundo resident Jen Ralls, who has been
a patient of Davis and DeRosa, off-and-on
for 15 years, swears by the treatments she
has received. While not suffering from headaches,
she said she was experiencing “weird
mouth symptoms” for the past year-and-ahalf,
bad that she had to sleep with a washcloth
in her mouth. She had visited experts, as
well as an ear-mouth-throat specialist, but
“nobody could figure it out.” She went to
see DeRosa, who started Ralls on a protocol
of “gentle neck stretching.” He developed a
treatment for Ralls, which she can implement
at her home, that would position her neck
in a way that would stop her symptoms and
discomfort. Game-changer, Ralls said. “It’s
an amazing thing.”
Davis and DeRosa have plied their trade
in El Segundo since 2003. Troy Davis and
DeRosa started the business in 2003, occupying
a spot-on Richmond Street for the first
couple of years, then re-locating their business
to its current Main Street address in 2005.
DeRosa, originally from New York, says
physical therapy was a logical career choice
for him because making people feel good has
always been a part of his DNA. “Following
physical therapy allowed me to interact with
people on a daily basis and provide them
with help to feel better and live their lives
fully,” he said. He received his Bachelor of
Science in Exercise Physiology in 1994 from
Adelphi University in New York, followed in
1998 by his Bachelor of Science in Physical
Therapy from the Robert Gordon University
in Aberdeen, Scotland, and then began his
career as a physical therapist in New York.
including dry-mouth. Symptoms are so See Davis and DeRosa, page 5
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
70˚/61˚
Saturday
Mostly
Sunny
67˚/59˚
Sunday
Sunny/
Wind
71˚/61˚
Showing Love to Our Seniors
Only one week until the end of the school year! Students, you’re doing a great job with distance learning and congratulations to our graduating seniors! Let’s finish strong, Eagles! Photo El Segundo High School.