Mark Bencivengo, owner of 360 Health Center, grew up in Hamilton, and played baseball and football for Steinert High School. Now he’s using that experience back home to help him treat athletes like him.
After high school, Bencivengo played Division I football at Towson University, where he earned his degree in exercise science. He later earned his doctorate of chiropractic medicine from the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Illinois, and continued his training with a nine-month internship in Florida at St. Petersburg College.
Upon completion of his internship, Bencivengo returned home and joined the Neck and Back Treatment Center, the practice of his cousin, Ralph Bencivengo. When Ralph retired in December 2013, after 30 years as a chiropractor, he sold his practice to Bencivengo. Bencivengo describes his approach as taking “modern treatments that are progressive, evidence-based, and combining them with 30 years of experience. I put everything together into 360, a full roundabout.”
Bencivengo and his staff of nine, including two doctors, use a combination of treatments for ailments such as herniated disks, arthritic knees and frozen shoulders.
“We look at our patient, their goals and their treatment plans,” Bencivengo said. “The patients seem to be enjoying the results.”
Bencivengo said patients will see a variety of people at 360 Health Center to “get whatever is necessary for their condition to improve as quickly as possible.”
Bencivengo came from a health school that preaches evidence-based practice, including being taught what other medical fields do for certain conditions and when it is the right time to refer patients to surgeons or other medical professionals.
“We learned more than theory,” he said.
But things change in every medical profession, and Bencivengo said 360 Health tries to stay up-to-date. Two of its staff graduated recently, and the practice strives to have the latest technology. 360 Health Center accepts most major medical insurance plans, including Medicare.
Bencivengo feels his sports background is an asset in his career. He said he has a good knowledge of exercise and how to improve an injured back from playing football in college. That experience is why, in part, 360 Health uses a combination of physical therapy and chiropractic.
“I saw how much it helped me,” Bencivengo said.
The office has patients ranging from middle school, high school, and college athletes to a 94-year old. Bencivengo said they see a “wide variety of conditions from those playing sports in the highest capability to those who want to get in and out of bed and pick up their grandchildren.”
He encourages people to make an appointment just to get his opinion. For severe conditions, 360 Health won’t hesitate to send patients out for advanced imaging. Bencivengo said he offers referrals in order to get people to the right place for the right care.
“I believe in conservative care,” Bencivengo said. “When we can’t help, we know where to send people.”
He said his practice is the middle ground between aggressive treatments and letting the body heal on its own. The body may have compensated and set itself up for another injury, and 360 Health can combine a lot of different varieties of treatments in an attempt to correct it.
“We were able to take the best of what [the Neck and Back Treatment Center] did and combine it and grow with the newest treatments and most modern technology and protocols,” Bencivengo said. “Continuing with education is important, which is why I enjoy it.”
360 Health Center is located at 1670 Whitehorse-Hamilton Square Road in Hamilton. Phone: (609) 587-1881. Web: 360HealthCenterNJ.com.
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