Chiropractor Near Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is a one-square-mile beach town built around Anglin's Fishing Pier and a reef close enough to shore that people swim out to it. There is no room in town for a practice like ours, so residents cross the Commercial Boulevard bridge to the mainland. From there it is Federal Highway north through Pompano Beach to Lighthouse Point, about eight minutes.

The town's mix is retirees who walk the beach every morning, long-time residents in the small condos and cottages off El Mar Drive, and the divers and snorkelers who make LBTS the shore-diving town of South Florida. Each brings its own injuries, and after three decades at this address we have treated all of them.

Diving is heavier on the body than it looks. Carrying a tank and weights across the sand, climbing a boat ladder in full gear and hours of finning load the shoulders, the neck and the low back. Rotator cuff irritation and impingement are the most common diver complaints we treat, in the Shoulder Restoration Program, and neck strain from the head-up position at the surface is a close second.

The beach walkers and swimmers bring knees and feet: arthritic knees that ache after the pier-to-pier walk, and plantar fasciitis from soft sand and hard pavers. The Knee Restoration Program and shockwave for plantar fasciitis handle those, and custom orthotics from an in-office scan keep them from coming back.

Because the town's one road out is Commercial Boulevard, and the bridge merges into some of the busiest traffic in north Broward, accident patients are part of the mix. We treat LBTS crash injuries under Florida PIP; the PIP guide explains the 14-day rule and the benefit limits.

• Shoulder impingement and rotator cuff strain in divers, snorkelers and swimmers.
• Neck pain and headaches from surface swimming and tank carrying, and from the desk work many residents still do remotely.
• Knee osteoarthritis in daily beach walkers.
• Plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinopathy from sand and pavers, treated with shockwave therapy.
• Whiplash and back injury after collisions on Commercial Boulevard and A1A.

From LBTS: Commercial Boulevard west across the Intracoastal to Federal Highway (US-1), then north through Pompano Beach. Stay on Federal past Atlantic Boulevard and Copans Road; the office is just before Sample Road. About eight minutes outside of season, a few more in it.

Free parking in front of the building and a wheelchair-accessible entrance.

I hurt my shoulder climbing a dive ladder. Is that something you treat?

Yes. Ladder and tank-lifting injuries are usually rotator cuff strains or impingement, and they respond well to non-surgical care: soft-tissue work, Class IV laser and a progressive program to restore range of motion before you go back in the water.

How long after a shoulder or neck injury can I dive again?

It depends on what is injured. Dr. McNamara examines the shoulder and neck, tells you what she finds and gives you a realistic timeline rather than a blanket rest order. The aim is to get you back to diving, not keep you out of the water.

Is it faster to come up A1A or Federal Highway?

Federal Highway. A1A through Pompano has no direct connection to Lighthouse Point, so you would still cross to the mainland. Commercial Boulevard to Federal, then north, is the direct route.

Do you see patients who are only in LBTS for the winter?

Yes, many. A treatment plan can be started and completed within a season, and we send records to your doctor at home if you want continuity.