New consumer research from the BCA has found that two fifths (41%) of people have been prevented from exercising due to back or neck pain. Furthermore, a quarter (25%) of respondents reported their back or neck pain has deterred them from physical activity for up to a month, with a further 9% stating their back or neck pain has led to them avoiding exercise for over half a year. An unfortunate 34% felt it was exercise itself which triggered their pain.

To help people of all ages and fitness levels back pain-proof their work-out routines the BCA has developed these top tips:

• Know your equipment at the gym: When trying a new activity, it’s always best to make sure you ask your instructor how your equipment should be set up, and make sure it’s right for you. For example, if you’re cycling or spinning, you need to set your saddle and handlebar to the correct height so that you are in a comfortable position that isn’t putting tension on your neck or back

• Know your limits: Even professional athletes aren’t born ready, it takes time to build the intensity of your practice. If you try a new sport, or want to intensify your workout, it’s important to take a slow approach and not to push your body’s limits. It is always advisable to visit a professional who can assess your body’s capabilities and advise on a safe way of training based on your body’s limitations

• Warm up and cool down: Before starting any form of physical activity, you should warm up any muscle groups which might be affected whilst you exercise. If you use them without preparing them first, your muscles could get a shock, causing you pain which could have been prevented
• Reduce the impact: If a previous injury is causing you pain, adapt your exercise to reduce the impact on your joints and muscles. Activities such as swimming, walking or yoga can be less demanding on your body keeping your muscles mobile!

• Not all exercise is the same: The fittest of athletes will still find it difficult to adapt to a new sport, as each sport uses some muscle groups more than others. With this in mind, always approach a new activity with care and don’t assume that you can jump in at the deep end!

The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) recommends that, if you are experiencing pain for more than a few days then you seek professional help, as an undiagnosed problem could lead to longer-term problems if left untreated.

Arthritis is a painful and debilitating condition and can have a significant impact on the quality of life of individuals suffering from this disease.

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine(i) reported that 63% of patients who visited a rheumatologist for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia conditions also sought some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Of these individuals 31% (almost half) chose Chiropractic care, making Chiropractic the most popular alternative used by this group of people. Importantly, 73% of these patients determined that Chiropractic care was helpful in controlling their chronic pain.

An additional aspect of this study was to determine why these arthritic patients chose CAM and the reasons they gave are somewhat typical;

(1) because their prescribed medication wasn’t working to control pain

(2) because they heard it would help;

(3) because it is safe;

(4) because it helped someone they know.

Reducing the use of prescription medicines or over-the-counter medications such as NSAIDs for pain relief means fewer harmful side effects and addiction from long term use. The lifestyle changes associated with chiropractic recommendations will also positively influence diet, exercise and overall health.

The ability to control some symptoms through Chiropractic care not only reduces the financial burden on the NHS (arthritis cases are set to double by 2030!) but more importantly it improves the quality of life of those suffering from the disease and may in some cases delay the necessity to take early retirement.

(i) Rao JK, Mihaliak K, Kroenke K, Bradley J, Tierney WM, Weinberger M. Use of complementary therapies for arthritis among patients of rheumatologists. Ann Intern Med 1999; 131:409-416

1. Have your spine checked! Chiropractic care helps keep our nervous system working optimally, which may boost your immune system and natural healing ability.

2. Take a Vitamin D supplement.
Originally known for its crucial role in maintaining calcium levels for bone health; it is rapidly becoming apparent that we have vastly underestimated Vitamin D’s significant importance for our overall health and wellbeing. The sunshine vitamin plays a key role in boosting the immune system, researchers believe. In particular, it triggers and arms the body’s T cells, the cells in the body that seek out and destroy any invading bacteria and viruses.

3. Juice.
Did you know that 95% of the vitamins and enzymes our bodies need are found in the juice of raw fruits and vegetables? Juicing helps you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion because of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body’s ability to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Juicing will help to “pre-digest” them for you, so you will receive most of the nutrition, rather than having it go down the toilet. We would need to eat 2 lbs of carrots, 10-12 apples, or 8 lbs of spinach to get the same amount of nutrients you receive in one 16 oz juice. When you drink juice, highly concentrated vitamins, minerals and enzymes rapidly enter the bloodstream absorbing all the nutritional benefits of the fruits and vegetables and giving your digestive organs a much-needed rest.

4. Crush a garlic clove finely before bedtime
Leave to oxidise for 5 minutes, place in a spoon and swallow quickly with water. Garlic is antibacterial, antifungal and a natural antibiotic.
WARNING: don’t chew it or this healthy routine will affect your social life!

5. Take a good quality fish oil daily
Omega 3’s are part of every single bodily reaction, and a deficiency will cause ill health. Your fish oil should be triple molecular distilled for purity, and cold-pressed for stability of the molecules.

6. Take a Probiotic/Eat Probiotic Rich Foods
Probiotics can give your immune system a real boost. Your body is filled with billions of different types of bacteria that help you to do everything from fight off infections to maintain healthy internal organs. Bacteria may have a negative connotation, but the truth is that you can actually stay healthy by putting the right types of bacteria into your body.

7. Take Elderberry Syrup
Elderberries are rich in flavonoids that are organic compounds with antioxidant qualities that safeguards cells against injury or infections. Elderberry also includes vitamin A, B, considerable quantities of vitamin C, and amino acids. All these nutrients can allow you to stay healthy by improving your immune system.

9. Take Echinacea
Echinacea makes our own immune cells more efficient in attacking bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells. Echinacea loses its effectiveness if used continually. It is best to take two weeks on, two weeks off for better results. It is particularly useful in winter months and in spring, when hay fever and allergies are most common.

10. Decrease your bread, pasta and potato consumption
Simple carbohydrates have either been stripped of their fibre through manufacturing or are naturally low in fibre to begin with. Eating too many simple carbohydrates can lead to weight gain because the quick blood sugar rise triggers the release of the hormone, insulin. Insulin’s main function is to lower blood sugars but it also transports fat around your body.

11. Drink green tea or Rooibos instead of tea/coffee. It is full of antioxidants and cancer fighting goodness. And it tastes nice!

12. Take a warm cup of water with fresh lemon on waking every morning. This helps alkalise your body and cleanses the digestive tract.

13. Eat berries every day, blueberries and blackberries being the best! They are high in anti-oxidants and full of cancer fighting goodness.

14. Exercise
Exercise moderately but don’t over train – Working out for up to 45 minutes, 3-5 times per week makes immune cells more active, with some studies showing that women who exercise had half the sick leave days of those who did not. However, extended exercise can do the opposite. Long sessions of high intensity exercise like 90 minutes of running raise levels of the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol which can suppress immune-system activity for up to 3 days. So, if you are specifically training for an event like a marathon, make sure that you drink 1 litre of a glucose drink every hour of exercise as the sugar can cause the adrenal gland to release less cortisol.

15. Reduce stress
Many studies have proven the link between stress and illness, making people 3 times more likely to catch colds. Reduce the stress in your life and if you are going through a period of stress you can’t avoid like divorce, redundancy or monetary problems, make sure you put time aside for yourself to relax. Also watch your favourite comedy films or TV sitcoms as a good laugh can counteract many of the effects of stress.

AVOID
Sugar! It’s an immune suppressor. As little as 3.5 ounces can suppress your immune system up to 50 percent. Most sugar is void of nutrients, and get this: It actually requires nutrients to metabolize sugar and, therefore, pulls minerals from your body. Sugar also impairs your white blood cells from doing their job, which is to scavenge up bacteria that can make you sick.

Cigarettes. Smokers suffer higher levels of respiratory infection than non-smokers as well as having higher risks of a whole list of other diseases.

In the Autumn as the leaves start to fall and plants start to die back, our minds turn to the many jobs in the garden that need completing before Winter sets in.

Whether you are digging, raking up fallen leaves, or wheeling a wheelbarrow it is important to take your time and look after your back.

Here are some tips to prevent back pain:

Clothes – Wear warm clothes that will keep you dry but avoid wearing clothes that are tight or could constrict your movement.

Warm up and stretch – Gardening is like any other exercise; you need to warm up first. Take a 10–15 minute walk to warm up your muscles and start with the lighter jobs as this will lessen the chance of any muscle strain. Stretch before and after.

Take regular breaks and stay hydrated –-Vary your activity to prevent your body from being in one position and avoid repeating the same actions for a long period of time. Take a break every 20 minutes to stand up straight and stretch. Gardening is a form of exercise, so it is important to bring a water bottle and stay well hydrated.

Use your wheelbarrow – Many injuries occur when lifting and moving heavy weights. Use a wheelbarrow to transport heavy loads and remember you don’t have to move everything at once – it is much better to divide the load into smaller and lighter loads. Ask a family member or neighbour to help you move any heavy or awkward objects.

Remember Your Posture! – Bend using your knees, not your back. Keep your back straight and engage your core muscles.

Keep the rake or shovel near your body – Keep your body in line with the rake or shovel, use short precise movements and avoid twisting movements.

Pay attention to any numbness, tingling, weakness or pain. A chiropractic check-up could be needed.

Approximately 25% of our patients come to us with a specific complaint of lower back pain running down the leg. Often referred to as SCIATICA, the discomfort can be described as a deep dull ache or a sharp and burning pain. The pain may be continuous from the back of the thigh all the way to the foot. It is not uncommon for patients to also complain of pins and needles or numbness in their limbs especially when sitting or driving.

There are two main causes of sciatica; the nerve may be trapped under or within the piriformis muscle, a muscle deep in the buttock, or there may be misalignments of the spine, causing irritation on the small nerves which form the sciatic nerve.

The symptoms can be brought on by old injuries, repetitive strains, poor posture, motor vehicle accidents or just everyday living.

In several studies conducted in the UK, Australia and North America to establish the efficacy of spinal manipulation as a treatment for lower back pain researchers reported that “the trend for spinal manipulation to produce better results than any other form of treatment to which it was compared was very consistent”. Patients have consistently reported to have had longer lasting results, fewer relapses and much faster recovery from back and leg pain.

If you suffer from
• Pins and Needles in the leg
• Sharp stabbing pain in the leg
• Difficulty sitting, standing or walking
• Lower back pain
• Muscle spasms and stiffness

– then it’s time to see your Chiropractor!

Joint dysfunction and misalignment of the cervical spine could cause any of the following symptoms:

– Headaches/Migraine
– Jaw Pain
– Neuralgia
– Dizziness
– Sinus Problems
– Shoulder Pain
– Arm Pain/Wrist Pain
– Numbness/Tingling

Neck problems can be caused by anything from trauma, to stress, to poor posture which can result in imbalances in the spine. When damage occurs to a joint, pressure may build onto the spinal nerves. People often refer to this pain as a ‘trapped nerve.’ The nerve may give pain signals localised to a specific area in the neck but in other cases may result in the referring symptoms in other areas.

If you suffer from any of the above symptoms it is wise to have your spine checked. In your consultation appointment we establish the history of your complaint and then undertake a thorough physical examination, which includes postural analysis with orthopaedic and neurological tests, and a scan of the spine to show any imbalances.

Arthritis is a painful and debilitating condition and can have a significant impact on the quality of life of individuals suffering from this disease.

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine(i) reported that 63% of patients who visited a rheumatologist for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia conditions also sought some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Of these individuals 31% (almost half) chose Chiropractic care, making Chiropractic the most popular alternative used by this group of people. Importantly, 73% of these patients determined that Chiropractic care was helpful in controlling their chronic pain.

An additional aspect of this study was to determine why these arthritic patients chose CAM and the reasons they gave are somewhat typical;

(1) because their prescribed medication wasn’t working to control pain

(2) because they heard it would help;

(3) because it is safe;

(4) because it helped someone they know.

Reducing the use of prescription medicines or over-the-counter medications such as NSAIDs for pain relief means fewer harmful side effects and addiction from long term use. The lifestyle changes associated with chiropractic recommendations will also positively influence diet, exercise and overall health.

The ability to control some symptoms through Chiropractic care not only reduces the financial burden on the NHS (arthritis cases are set to double by 2030!) but more importantly it improves the quality of life of those suffering from the disease and may in some cases delay the necessity to take early retirement.

(i) Rao JK, Mihaliak K, Kroenke K, Bradley J, Tierney WM, Weinberger M. Use of complementary therapies for arthritis among patients of rheumatologists. Ann Intern Med 1999; 131:409-416

It’s recommended for babies and children to walk barefoot as much as possible.

One of the simplest ways to motivate proprioceptive and vestibular development is to let our babies be barefoot. Another benefit to keeping babies barefoot is the encouragement of presence of mind and conscious awareness. As the little pads of babies’ feet feel, move, and balance on the surface that they are exploring, the information sent to the brain from tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular pathways quiet, or inhibit, other extraneous sensory input. This creates focus and awareness of walking and moving through space; babies get more tuned in to their surroundings.

This is a large part of the reason why some neurologists recommend flat shoes, like swim shoes, for children with certain neurological delays. Wearing shoes with less padding improves the feedback from the feet and helps improve walking in these children.

Wearing shoes prevents proper toe spread, which interferes with the foot’s ability to function properly, and prevents proper movement development, which can make children more susceptible to foot and lower leg injury. Studies show that a barefoot childhood will result in fewer instances of deformed toes, greater foot flexibility, stronger foot muscles, greater agility, better hip circumduction and more flexibility of the gluteal and hamstring muscles.

The benefits of going barefoot are plentiful!

Adults should kick off the shoes too!

Adults who go barefoot have naturally shaped feet, straighter toes, free of corns, hammer toes, bunions and calluses, and well-shaped legs resulting from a natural and balanced gait. Barefoot running and exercise is becoming a growing practice showing better performance, less ankle sprains, less plantar fasciitis and less lower back disc problems due to more of a natural motion and foot awareness. Many top companies are trying to produce shoes that can emulate the bare foot such as Nike “free” and Merrill. Going barefoot, your feet and legs tire less, circulation is better, and endurance is increased. If you have been a shoe person all your life, you will have to start slow to develop all those muscles again. Start by wearing no shoes at home and perhaps going for a walk on the beach. Yoga practise is also great for the feet.

Barefoot Shoes: A Healthy Compromise?

For those who aren’t comfortable with being completely barefoot, new minimalist and barefoot shoes are the best of both worlds. These are also great for everyday use in places where shoes are needed.

Being barefoot is the best when possible. When that isn’t an option, there are some great barefoot shoes that provide almost the same benefits. In general, shoes can be considered “barefoot shoes” if they:

– Do not have a raised heel. The shoe should be flat and all the same thickness from heel to toe.

– Allow free movement of the toes. Many shoes have thin or even pointy toe beds and constrain the toes. A barefoot shoe should be open or allow free toe movement.

In other words, barefoot shoes provide a basic protective barrier between the foot and the ground and not much else. Barefoot shoes also qualify as minimalist shoes, though not all minimalist shoes are technically barefoot shoes.

Recommended Barefoot Shoes

Adults – Vivo Barefoot. For a true barefoot shoe, their Eclipse model is great. Five Fingers is another popular brand.

Babies and Toddlers – Robeez

Thankfully, walking barefoot is a little more socially acceptable before age 2 or so! When going barefoot isn’t allowed, Robeez (or similar) shoes are great. There are many options for kids on the website Happy Little Soles.

If you have any concerns about foot alignment or how this may be affecting your spine, just ask Dr Graeme at the clinic.