Clinic news
Thank you all for joining our 30th-year anniversary celebrations. A great day was had by all. The weather was surprisingly kind considering the forecast. We managed to raise a further £438 which takes us to a total so far of £3864.21. Swimming sponsorship money is still to come in, but this is an amazing achievement for everyone involved. Swimmers to cyclists, craft stallers to cake bakers, sweetie jar guessers to bunny namers, prize draw donators to prize draw ticket buyers have all helped to raise this amount over the last year. The additional money will be used to provide fencing around the copse and some spring bulbs between the planted saplings. We have good authority that we will most likely be able to plant in November at the Hetley Pearson recreation ground on Queens Road West. We will keep you updated on progress as it unfolds.
Check out the website for the photos of the day. http://www.beestonchiropractic.co.uk/photoshoot/
Luke has had a very busy month not only managing his 100-mile cycle ride raising £360 but also completing his Chiropractic Spinal Radiography course He is now qualified to take x-rays at the clinic - well done Luke!
As the copious amount of Bank Holidays loom over the next few weeks, the clinic will be closed over the Easter weekend and all the Bank Holidays in May. We will also be closed on Wednesday 19th April 2023 as the team, joined by other chiropractors and sports massage therapists from other clinics, will be refreshing their First Aid at Work certification.
This month we focus on getting you moving more as the days get longer and we feel like getting our bodies ready for summer. Check out the tips below for some helpful advice on spinal health and embracing springtime.
Tips to Improve Spine Health
Spine health is all about mindfulness and constant care. Maintaining a healthy spine, will make everything you do in life a bit easier. Here are some tips on how to keep your spine healthy.
If you can, stretch every single day. Always warm up for 3-5 minutes before you stretch fully. Remember, never stretch cold muscles. Usually after a run or workout you are able to stretch more intensely.
Over time, our muscles and tendons become used to the motions we most regularly perform, tightening up if they are not continually stretched out. The more flexible they remain, the less chance you’ll suffer from a pulled muscle.
Along with staying limber and flexible, you’ll need to make sure your back muscles are strong enough to help you maintain proper form for the entirety of your workouts. Even a few moments of slouching can lead to a pulled back or slipped disc which is not good for spine health.
Try a few weight-lifting and core strengthening exercises at least a few times a week.
Working the body is great but make sure that rest days are taken seriously. Whether you’re practising for marathons or just getting your thirty minutes of activity in, many people forget just how important rest days are.
By not working out on certain days, the body is able to repair damage while simultaneously making your muscles stronger. Too much exercise means this healing doesn’t happen. Make sure you have at least one day a week set aside for rest and repair.
Good spinal health is directly related to a good diet and staying hydrated. Providing your body with necessary nutrients, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts are required. With these, the body can better heal areas that are injured or are showing signs of injury.
Be sure to practice these tips for a healthy spine.
Eating to beat stress
Chronic stress can have a negative effect on our physical health as well as our mental wellbeing. It can play a role in our susceptibility to illness and disease, but also in day-to-day functional problems such as pain and stiffness.
There are many steps we can take to improve our ability to cope with stress; nutrition is one of them. Find out what and how to eat to better manage stress…
Balancing your blood sugar
To cope well with stress, we need our food to provide us with balanced, sustained energy. Foods that quickly break down into glucose and are quickly absorbed – such as sugary foods and fast-releasing carbohydrates – may give us a burst of energy, but can cause our blood sugar to peak and then dip. This can actually increase our body’s stress response and stress hormone levels, as well as making us feel irritated and out of control.
Here are the three fundamental steps to balancing your blood sugar:
- Eat primarily whole foods: vegetables, animal foods (eggs, fish, unprocessed meat, unsweetened dairy foods), nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, and some fruit. Avoid sugary snacks, refined carbohydrates and other processed foods such as breakfast cereals
- Making sure every meal includes a good serving of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. The primary protein foods are the animal foods mentioned above, and nuts and seeds, and beans and lentils. Healthy fats are found in nuts and seeds, oily fish, avocadoes, and coconut. Complex carbs are found in vegetables, whole fruit (i.e. not fruit juices), whole grains, beans and lentils
- Eat regularly. Skipping meals or leaving too long between meals can cause your blood sugar level to drop too low, which can also trigger a stress response
Getting enough food
As well as eating regularly, getting enough food is important when you’re dealing with stress. Going on a weight loss diet – whether it’s low-calorie, low-carb or low-fat – during a stressful time can be particularly bad for your stress levels. Instead, now is the time to focus on balancing your blood sugar as outlined above, by eating regular meals, getting enough protein, healthy fats and non-starchy vegetables and cutting the refined carbohydrates and junk foods. You should find it easier to manage your weight – or lose weight – by eating in this way anyway.
Healthy snacking
Although regular snacking is not the best thing for everyone, it can be helpful if you’re coping with stress, again by helping to keep your blood sugar on an even keel. Your snacks need to be based on whole foods, and contain some protein and complex carbohydrates.
Examples include:
- Two or three oatcakes with one of the following: a tablespoon of hummus, guacamole, cottage cheese, half an avocado, a hard-boiled egg or a teaspoon or two of nut butter (e.g. almond butter).
- A pot of natural yoghurt (without added sugar) with some berries and/or a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds mixed in.
- A wedge of left-over home-made frittata/omelette.
However, you shouldn’t need to be snacking more than once between meals; constantly ‘grazing’ can have a negative effect on your weight and your digestion!
Magnesium-rich foods
The mineral magnesium plays a vital role in our psychological health, including our mood and how well we cope with stress. It’s thought that both physical and emotional stress can increase the body’s need for magnesium; and that having a low magnesium to calcium ratio can actually increase the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline.*
The best food sources of magnesium are green leafy vegetables such as kale, chard and spinach; seeds and nuts; and whole grains – especially buckwheat and rye.
B vitamin-rich foods
Like magnesium, B vitamins also play a vital role in our energy as well as our psychological function.
The various B vitamins are found in different foods, but the best all-round sources include eggs, oily fish, organ meats (especially liver), seeds and nuts, and beans and pulses. Luckily these are also foods that are great for our blood sugar balance!
Avoid overdoing stimulants
Many of us turn to stimulants such as tea and coffee when we’re feeling stressed. But stimulants of any kind also trigger the body’s stress response. Try to keep your coffee consumption in particular to a minimum. Tea can have a gentler stimulating effect so can be better tolerated, but keeping it to one cup a day can still be advisable. Try to introduce calming herbal teas such as chamomile and spearmint – especially later in the day.
Note that alcohol can also act as a stimulant as well as a relaxant. It also disrupts your blood sugar balance. Keep alcohol to a rare treat and stick to one drink only.
Back Pain Myths
In the UK, back pain is one of the most common reasons people miss work, and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. With something so common, it has easy for people to get confused about back pain and misconceptions to arise.
We know that the easiest way to tackle back pain is to keep moving, but sometimes these myths and misconceptions can stop people from doing exercise or seeking proper treatment.
One of the most common myths about back pain is that people think it’s not going to happen to them. In fact 4 out of 5 of us will be affected by back pain at some point in our lives!
Here are the top myths about back pain debunked:
- MYTH: Exercise will cause or worsen back pain
- Staying bed bound with back pain can be one of the worst things you can do! Without exercise muscles become weakened, deconditioned and stiff. To reduce back pain you should rest, calm the pain, followed by gentle exercise.
- MYTH: If you see a spine specialist you will end up getting surgery
- Spinal surgery is only recommended in about 1% of cases. In most cases the treatments recommended will be non-surgical, such as exercise, physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication.
- MYTH: Back pain is a normal part of aging
- Some people believe that back pain is a typical part of getting older but it shouldn’t be a normal part of your day. We all get aches and pains as we age, however with all the options to ease back pain available today you shouldn’t suffer in silence.
Take Care While doing D.I.Y
It is estimated that there are approximately 200,000 D.I.Y accidents each year in the UK.
Although being active around the home can help your overall fitness levels it is always important to ensure you are not over stretching and possibly causing yourself injury.
DIY accidents in the home can cause accidents that can often be easily avoided.
How to prepare when doing DIY:
- Make sure you are wearing comfortable loose fitting clothes that won’t restrict your movement
- Do some basic stretches before you start to loosen up your muscles to ensure that you don’t sprain yourself while working
- Set yourself an achievable goal
Make sure you take plenty of breaks to relax, stretch and keep hydrated. Vary your activity and try to spend no more than 20-30 minutes on any one thing.
Make sure you’re not twisting yourself:
- This can place excess pressure on your spine and back muscles which could lead to an injury
- If you’re painting a wall, keep moving the ladder rather than stretching across
Always make sure you’re directly facing the area in question – If you are painting the ceiling use a paint pad or roller with an extended handle and hold it at chest height
Lifting
D.I.Y and home improvements often require a lot of heavy lifting and bending
- Work out how much you can manage and don’t go beyond your limit
- If you are lifting or carrying a heavy load, make sure your legs are hip width apart and your knees are bent.
- Ensure that both your head and shoulders are directly above your waist and keep whatever you’re carrying as close to you as possible
- Ensure that both your head and shoulders are directly above your waist and keep whatever you’re carrying as close to you as possible
- Don’t lift with your arms straight out, keep your elbows bent and to your side to minimise the stress on your lower back
- Avoid bending from the wait as this could cause the risk of painful strains and injuries to the lower back, instead crouch down and bend from the knees
We treat all conditions that affect any muscle or joint in your body, from your head to your little toe! One of the most common complaints that we treat is back pain and Chiropractic is recommended by the government authority, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) for acute and chronic back pain. Some of the other conditions that we treat are neck and headache, shoulder pain, leg and hip pain, knee and foot pain, sciatica and arthritis. Our registered Chiropractors all have at least five years of training. Treatment costs can be covered through most health insurers. If you are in any doubt, we are always very happy to talk with you on the phone to see if your condition will respond well to Chiropractic treatment. Call the clinic now to arrange an appointment time that works for you. 0115 9225085 If you would like to opt-out of receiving these newsletters please follow the unsubscribe link below, email alex@beestonchiropractic.co.uk or let us know at your next appointment.
