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Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 2, No. 23 - June 4, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
Classifieds............................2
Entertainment......................2
Hawthorne............................3
Huber’s Hiccups..................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals............................. 4,6,7
Pets........................................8
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
70˚/61˚
Saturday
Mostly
Sunny
67˚/59˚
Sunday
Sunny/
Wind
71˚/61˚
Thank You Healthcare Heroes
We are so grateful to have these nurses from our sister facility Providence Medical Center in Kansas here to provide support to our community. The whole Centinela Hospital team welcomes you with open
arms. Thank you, Jessica, Deanna, Jackeline, Katrina, Jean and Katrina! Photo courtesy Centinela Hospital.
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-a-half, including
dry-mouth. Symptoms are so bad that she
had to sleep with a washcloth in her mouth. She
had visited experts, as well as an ear-mouththroat
specialist, but “nobody could figure it
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.
He later settled in El Segundo because he
found the town not only financially affordable
but also because he was drawn to the area that
he equated to a small town in the Midwest or
upstate New York. DeRosa said that before
moving to El Segundo, he was working in
Manhattan Beach and Downey. Still, his local
patients bemoaned the fact that there was not
a convenient physical therapy treatment option
in El Segundo. So, the co-owners took a shot,
establishing their company on Richmond Street.
He touts El Segundo as “a tight community,
and business-friendly.”
Davis and DeRosa strive to give back to the
community that has supported their endeavors
for nearly two decades, supporting myriad
community events, like the Run for Education.
Linal Harada, the high school’s college and
career advisor, said that “Chris DeRosa and
his team have been supporting ESHS students
for nearly over a decade. They have hosted
student interns each semester, providing skill
development, work-based learning, as well as
valuable hands-on experience. This internship
is especially popular with our PLTW biomedical
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 See Davis and DeRosa, page 4
pathway. Also, Chris has been a regular
participant at the ESHS College and Career
day each spring. We are thankful for the kindness,
professionalism, and generosity we have
received as community partners.”
DeRosa acknowledges that the devastation
that the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed