Listen or Read Dr. Richard Cutting's Podcast Interview in Tolland

Below you will find an easy to read transcript of Dr. Richard Cutting’s monthly podcast interview. You can click the video to listen to the podcast or simply read the easy to follow transcript below. Enjoy!

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Podcast Interview

Liz Harvey:

Hello everyone. This is Liz Harvey coming to you from our studios in New York City where we are dedicated to bringing you top quality advice from many of the leading expert professionals across the U.S. In today's episode, we are speaking with Tolland chiropractor, Dr. Richard Cutting. Dr. Cutting is the founder of Cutting Edge Chiropractic located in Tolland, Connecticut.

Dr. Cutting received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2009. He received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 2012 from Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Cutting attends quarterly conferences to further his education in areas such as sports, nutrition, extremity adjusting, pediatrics, and neurology.

Dr. Cutting has treated high profile clients including professional MMA fighters, NFL players, Division 1 college athletes, and the average Joe. He is widely considered to be one of the top chiropractors in the country and he is also a contributing member of our national network of industry professionals.

Today we're going to talk about a very important topic:

Flexion-Distraction Therapy

Liz Harvey:

Hello, Dr. Cutting, how are you today?

Dr. Richard Cutting:

I'm great Liz, how about yourself?

Liz Harvey:

I'm doing great, thanks for joining me.

How does Flexion-Distraction Therapy work?

Dr. Richard Cutting:

Well, it's really a good question, and to simplify, it's almost similar to stretching before a workout. So Flexion-Distraction Therapy, what I'm actually going to do is actually manually stretch your vertebrae in your lower back. The table actually bends or flexes down and then we also go side-to-side where that is where the distraction comes in. Most people don't realize that there are small muscles in between each vertebra and those are what we're trying to stretch. Because if we can stretch those and get those moving, the adjustment is going to hold and be a whole lot easier and less painful to the patient.

Liz Harvey:

Will this therapy relieve back pain?

Dr. Richard Cutting:

You know, this is a really good question. Sometimes Flexion-Distraction alone will actually relieve somebody's back pain. When I have somebody that comes into my office and they're a 10 out of 10 in pain and they barely walk in, what we'll do is, of course, I have to shoot an x-ray and read the x-ray so I can't adjust them right away but I can do the Flexion-Distraction just so we can start calming some of the pain that is already there and get them a little bit more mobile.

Liz Harvey:

What other conditions are treated with Flexion-Distraction Therapy?

Dr. Richard Cutting:

That's a great question. There's a whole list of them but I'm going to start off with the more common ones and then work into some of the uncommon ones. The biggest one that most people have are lumbar disc injuries or bulges, herniations, a lot of times people just say like a slipped disc. And of course low back pain, everybody's heard of sciatica. Now we're getting into some of the ones that people are always questioning about and that's arthritis, general low back stiffness, a spondylisthesis, sprain strain, scoliosis, sacroiliac syndrome, spinal stenosis, ankylosing spondylitis, and failed back surgeries.

Liz Harvey:

In some cases, can Flexion-Distraction Therapy replace surgery to alleviate back pain?

Dr. Richard Cutting:

Absolutely. I've seen multiple patients that come in to my office and they're ready to go under the knife, they've been in pain for so long and let me state this: there is a time and a place for surgery. I've had surgery for things that could be fixed in the past, or that couldn't be fixed in the past and really what this does is for pain that's sticking around, for pain that hasn't gone away with physical therapy or any other treatment or just meds or just rest, the Flexion-Distraction really helps.

The big one is lumbar disc syndromes because when we actually stretch the low back, the disc if you think of a disc, it will actually suck in that material that's bulging or pushing out and pinching those nerves. So Flexion-Distraction does help before surgery and can actually prevent surgery.

Liz Harvey:

What does a typical Flexion-Distraction treatment session feel like for a patient?

Dr. Richard Cutting:

Feels great! A lot of people say it just feels like the stretch that they've needed, the one that they just can't get. Everybody who's had some sort of low back tension or low back pain, they all try and bend to the floor and stretch, do some yoga, but there's always that one little area in the low back, really close to the spine that just doesn't feel like it's going to stretch. That's what we're hitting. Because we're isolating each vertebra, we're actually stretching those little tiny muscles again that we talked about before and it feels like a nice, tiny stretch.

Liz Harvey:

Thank you, Dr. Cutting. We know you're extremely busy, so I just want to thank you for your time and your help today.

Dr. Richard Cutting:

You're welcome, thank you for taking the time with me.

Liz Harvey:

And for our listeners across the country, if you are interested in speaking with the doctor, please visit Cutting Edge Chiropractic or call (860) 454-0942 to schedule an appointment.

And on behalf of our team, we want to thank you for listening, and we look forward to bringing you more top-quality content from our country's leading experts.