For Long Island chiropractor Dr. Gina Marino, helping patients achieve “alignment” goes beyond offering the spinal adjustments associated with traditional chiropractic care. Her two-step method begins with a light-touch technique to release the soft-tissue structures that can twist, pull and bind the spinal bones. 

“These structures include the muscles and the meninges—the Saran-wrap-like sheath that surrounds the brain and spinal cord,” she says. “Releasing these soft tissues brings greater ease to the whole spinal system. Then I can structurally guide the spinal bones into proper alignment using minimal force or movement. The adjustment process is easier and more effective because the tight soft tissues relax and won’t keep pulling the bones out of alignment. When the body is allowed to correct many of the bony misalignments itself, then it starts to learn and remember how to be more self-correcting and self-sufficient.”

Marino’s practice, the Center for the Alignment of Body, Mind, and Spirit, in Wantagh, offers chiropractic care and healthy lifestyle advice, conducts spinal and postural screenings, and teaches corrective exercises that patients can use at home to facilitate their own healing. It also offers Reiki sessions, acupuncture, nutritional counseling, and various types of therapeutic massage, including Swedish, shiatsu, trigger point, sports, and deep-tissue massage; myofascial release; neuromuscular re-education; visceral manipulation; and CranioSacral Technique.

Location: 2050 Wantagh Ave., Wantagh, NY. For information or appointments, call the center at 516-221-3500 or visit Align-Me.com.