Father-Son Team Watching Newtown Workers’ Backs (And Knees)

By John Voket

Newtown’s municipal Human Resources Director Carole Ross had a growing concern about the dozens of town employees under her watch. She told The Newtown Bee recently that as her workforce ages and face greater demands, town workers become more susceptible to work-related injuries — some of which are easily preventable.

Enter the Newtown-based chiropractic team of Richard and Aaron Coopersmith. The pair recently gave a series of talks to town workers, to help educate them about how they could enhance their own health while taking steps to reduce or prevent workplace injuries.

“We’ve been having a lot of back and knee injuries,” Ms Ross said. “I don’t know if it’s because our workforce is getting older, or we have fewer people doing more work.”

She said that an average rehabilitation period for a town employee who suffers a knee or back injury is six weeks to two months.

“And 75 percent of the time it becomes a chronic condition,” Ms Ross said, adding to the number of workers who are forced to adjust and lighten their workloads, or who eventually end up on part-time or full-time disability.

She was “thrilled” about the offer by the two local chiropractors to come in and talk prevention.

“The workshops were excellent, the feedback was good and I believe the advice and information provided to them was well-received,” Ms Ross said.

Dr Richard Coopersmith, or “Dr C” has been practicing in Newtown for 31 years, and last month, he was joined by his son, Aaron, who recently graduated from New York Chiropractic College. Aaron, or “Dr A” as he is known, also has a degree in biology from Northeastern University, and is planning to expand the local practice to accommodate patients who may benefit from active release technique (ART).

“As you can imagine, it is a special relationship that my dad and I share,” Aaron Coopersmith said. “Our patients seem to be very excited about our combined approach to the management of their health needs.”

During his years as the director of Newtown Chiropractic Health Center, Inc, Richard Coopersmith has also served as the president of the Connecticut Chiropractic Association. He was voted Chiropractor of the Year in 1991, and was an appointee to the Connecticut State Worker’s Compensation Medical Advisory Board.

According to Dr C, chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts that diagnoses and specifically treats injuries of the neuromusculoskeletal system -— muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, discs, and nerves.

“There is an intimate relationship between the structure of the body and the way it functions,” the senior Dr Coopersmith explained. “The chiropractor uses conservative physical medicine consisting of gentle manipulation in conjunction with other modalities, including hot moist packs, ice, electrical stimulation, and ultrasound, along with rehabilitative exercises, to restore normal movement to the body.”

Chiropractors are also involved in assisting patients achieve optimal health and well-being through proper nutrition, regular exercise, and lifestyle modification, he said. Bringing his son into the practice has facilitated the introduction of ART to Newtown Chiropractic Health Center’s patients

“Active release technique is a specialized technique that specifically addresses injuries of the muscles, ligaments and tendons and nerves,” Dr A said. “These tissues can be injured due to repetitive strain, overuse, poor posture, or trauma.”

As a result, scar tissue can form in these areas, resulting in shortening of the muscle, adhesions, lack of proper movement and pain. Dr A will work with patients to identify structures that have been damaged, and then gently manipulate the muscle from a shortened position to a lengthened one to reduce and remove the scar tissue and muscle adhesions that have been formed.

Besides his effort to assist Newtown municipal workers, the senior Dr Coopersmith frequently speaks to corporations in an effort assist in the reduction of work-related injuries. He is involved in an ongoing public lecture series titled, “Achieving Optimal Health and Well-Being — Through Proper Nutrition, Exercise and Maintaining a Positive Mental Attitude.”

The addition of Dr A to the practice will permit even greater public health outreach in the future.

“We would like to establish an ongoing lecture series that addresses the importance of assuming responsibility for your own health,” Aaron Coopersmith said. “This would not only consist of information that my dad and I would bring to the community, but we would look to other health care providers to share their knowledge and experience as well.”

His dad believes that an ongoing wellness initiative for town workers is a benefit to taxpayers because it reduces on-the-job injuries, absenteeism, reduced productivity, and can help prevent more disability claims.

“It’s a program that makes dollars and sense for taxpayers,” Dr C concluded.