Newsletter

Goodbye Sophie

It is with great regret that we say goodbye to Sophie after thirteen years of devoted chiropractic care to her patients and as part of our team here at Beeston. Sophie has had a tough year fighting ill health and family bereavement, so decided to take a career break to look after herself and James.

We are sure you will join us in wishing her all the very best and I'm sure we will see her pounding the streets as she continues with her running and dog walking.

Lucy Honychurch, who has done a sterling job supporting many of Sophie’s patients since October and kept Troy and Alex from completely passing out from overload, has agreed to stay on and join the team full time from March 2020.  We feel she will be a great asset to the clinic and those of you that have already met her, know she is a vibrant and energetic character who we will have to try and keep up with.

Don't forget the clinic will be closed on Thursday 13th February from 8am to 5pm as we have a team first aid training day.
Alex and Troy will be working from 5pm to 8pm.

Alex, Troy and Lucy headed off to the Big Smoke last Wednesday for the Annual Royal College of Chiropractors AGM and winter conference. It was nice to catch up with colleagues and Alex fulfilled her role as Chair of the Pregnancy and Paediatric Faculty, where she supports nearly a hundred members through post graduate education, research and promotion of the profession within their local communities. 

The academic programme presented at the conference, illustrated the changing times of chiropractic and where it sits within the medical profession. After having been in practice over 30 years, Alex sees the progress the profession has made; from being the last resort of care. We now have good standing with early referral by other health care practitioners to support patients with musculo-skeletal problems. 

Hands up who remembers the days of two weeks bedrest and a back support followed by weeks of physiotherapy and months off work to manage lower back pain? Management has certain changed by way of reassurance, keeping moving, over the counter pain control and the ever loyal and essential icepack application with a course of chiropractic care to get you 'back' on track again.
Why not send us your story of how you came to have chiropractic care and we can share it with others?

Look out in this edition for some great exercise tips, advice on how to get yourself back on track quickly and how to stop pain making you grumpy. Plus that all important, best way to boost your vitamin D levels, reducing the risk of the bone thinning disease - Osteoporosis.

5 Great Exercises For Those Who Suffer From Back Pain

Chronic back pain has been called a modern epidemic- so how do we help prevent and manage it?

Back pain is the second most common reason to visit the GP, after skin conditions, and almost eight out of 10 of us will suffer from it at least once in our lives. It’s also the number one cause of sick leave – and sufferers are getting younger.  It rarely has a serious cause, usually being brought on by bad posture, awkward sleeping positions and other lifestyle habits.

Exercise is one of the best ways to help reduce back pain and keep it from returning. Most minor cases of back pain can be reduced with regular exercise and tailored workouts.  Stretching, strengthening, and conditioning exercises can result in stronger muscles that support the spine and your body’s weight. When your body’s skeleton is supported, you are less likely to suffer injury and back pain. 5 great exercises to beat back pain:

Pelvic Tilt

You need to take care of the core muscles that support your spine. There are many workouts for back pain that do this, and your doctor or therapist should be able to give you specific advice and training for your unique back pain condition.

A good example of a safe strengthening exercise is the pelvic tilt. To do this exercise, lie on your back with your knees bent. Tighten your stomach muscles until you can press the small of your back flat against the floor. Hold the press for about five seconds and repeat up to 10 times.

Stretches

Keeping your core muscles limber is as important as keeping them strong. Two good stretching exercises are the knee-to-chest and the hamstring stretch.

To do the knee-to-chest, lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Bring one knee up to your chest and use your hands to pull the knee close while flattening out your back; then repeat with the other knee. The hamstring stretch is done from the same starting position. Pick up one leg with both hands placed behind your knee and then straighten your lower leg. These stretches should be held for about 20 seconds and repeated five times. Be sure to warm up before you stretch.

Stretches to avoid: One of the worst stretches for a person with back pain is bending over to touch your toes while keeping your legs straight. Even worse is bouncing while trying to touch your toes. Other bad workouts for back pain are ones that require you to bend or twist with any type of weight in your hand.

Water Workout

An aerobic exercise is any exercise that uses the big muscles of your body in a rhythmic and repetitive way. Aerobic exercise can get blood flowing to your back muscles, which can really help them recover from injury and increase their strength. Walking is a good low-impact aerobics choice for your back, but swimming may be an even better workout for back pain if you get backaches.

In general, swimming is an excellent form of low-impact aerobic conditioning that is easy on the back and spine, with swimming there is practically no impact on the spinal structures. The water supports the body, relieving stress on all joints in the body.

 Yoga and Pilates

Three all-around good workouts for back pain are Yoga, Pilates and working with an exercise ball. Yoga and Pilates are great because, as long as your teacher knows your limitations, they can be adapted safely for most people with back pain.

Yoga and Pilates are both fantastic mind-body workouts that can dramatically improve your overall fitness and wellbeing if a regular practice is put into place. In terms of flexibility, both workouts can improve overall flexibility as well as increasing spinal flexibility. Increasing spinal flexibility will really help to improve your fitness performance, in addition to helping prevent injuries.

Pilates focuses on spinal flexibility through articulation of the spine. It is excellent as a strengthening exercise and supporting your back. Pilates and Yoga stretches benefits include improving your posture, helping support the spinal column and alleviating back pain. However certain postures such as deep back bends and cobras can be a bit risky, especially if you suffer from any back pain.

Modern Day Mishaps

The 21^st century has brought us amazing technological advances and trends that have taken over (pretty much) everyone’s lives. Alongside from the many obvious benefits from these advances, there inevitably comes new struggles. Modern day aches and pains are becoming more and more common with causes varying from mobile phone use, gaming and over-working. Keep reading for tips on how to keep your 21^st century self ache and pain free!

Smartphones:

You can’t live with them, you can’t live without them. Smartphones have become a necessity for the majority of the population, with an estimated 94% of adults in the UK owning a smartphone.[1] ‘Text Neck’ occurs as a result of smartphone users tilting their heads downwards, which considerably increases the loading on your neck, to look at their phones. This can lead to inflammation of the neck muscles and could lead to more long-term problems. Try as best as possible to hold your phone level with your eyes, this will reduce the amount you need to tilt your head down, and in turn, reduce the weight on your neck and upper back. If you do think that you suffer from ‘Text Neck’ try this simple exercise
: the ‘exaggerated nod’; simply look up to the ceiling, let your jaw relax and open your mouth, keep your head here and bring your lower jaw to your upper jaw.

 Gaming:

Gaming has sky rocketed in the 21^st century, with some gamers even earning millions by entering into various competitions. Some of the top pro gamers even admit to training for up to 15 hours a day![2]  Needless to say that our bodies do not favour this amount of time spent sitting down. If you think you fall into the category of a ‘gamer’ it is recommended that you stand up and stretch your legs for 10 minutes every two hours or so. This will reduce the risk of our muscles seizing up and potentially leading to more serious injuries.

Burnout

Burnout is now officially recognised as a real health condition by the World Health Organisation.[3] Millions of people are now working longer hours; not only does this lead to burn out, it can also bring with it a lot of aches and pains. Much like gamers, people working overtime are also spending too much time sitting down and constantly looking at a computer screen. Try to keep the top of the computer level with the top of your head, this will place your eyes in the right place to look at the screen and should reduce the strain on our neck.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/289167/mobile-phone-penetration-in-the-uk/

[2] https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/pro-gamers-in-south-korea-train-for-15-hours-a-day-heres-whats-involved

[3] https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/burn-out/en/

Back Pain and Low Mood

Too much pain and not enough gain

Clinical studies reveal that chronic pain, as a stress state, often induces low mood. With 80% of adults experiencing lower back pain at some point in their lives, this is a very widespread problem.[1]

Whether back pain causes low mood or vice versa, it can be hard to conclude because low mood can cause frequent and unexplained pain, just as back or chronic pain can cause restlessness, stress and other emotions associated with low mood. Regardless of where the pain comes from, it is important to learn how to take care of yourself and your back, in order to prevent back pain from occurring at all.

Back pain and low mood can be caused by a plethora of things, so here are a few tips to help ensure a healthy mind and body.

1. Exercise

Enlisting exercise into your daily routine is absolutely crucial in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you are a gym-goer, make sure you consult a trainer to make sure you have proper form and aren’t overdoing it. Additionally, make sure you warm-up, cool-down and stretch after every session. Stretching allows for posture improvement, blood-flow and tension reduction — stretching the hamstrings and hip flexors, muscles that are attatched to the pelvis, can also help reduce back pain.

2. Healthy Diet

When people are busy, they can often forget to eat properly, putting deadlines and workloads first.  However this can leave you with little energy and in a bad mood, as food is ultimately fuel for your mind and body. Healthy, whole foods are pertinent to long-lasting energy, maintaining a balanced mood and helping your body fight pain. Along with drinking more water, try adding more fruits and vegetables into your diet to give your body the boost it needs.

3. Seek treatment

If you have been in pain for a long time, then it may be time to seek advice or treatment a healthcare professional. Chiropractors specialise in pain reduction, which can sequentially improve the overall health.  Rather than using medicine, they use their hands to restore the structural integrity of the musculo-skeletal system

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5494581/

Change Your Diet To Minimise Osteoporosis Risk

As lifestyle changes in the 21^st century make the condition of osteoporosis ever more prevalent, it becomes a threat that you should take into consideration.

The ageing population, dietary trends such as dairy intolerance and the increase in eating disorders like anorexia all contribute to the growing numbers of sufferers. Today’s indoor lifestyle is also a factor, since a lack of vitamin D from the sun hinders your absorption of dietary calcium.

The frightening part of this condition is that it is sometimes not diagnosed until a bone is broken. A way to assess your risk of fracture is a bone density scan. This is the most accurate way of measuring the strength of bones. This scan can be organised through your GP or private clinics, and then appropriate advice can be given by your GP or chiropractor.

There are precautions we can all take to minimise the threat of osteoporosis to our physical health and mobility, both by medical and natural means.

A nutritious diet, and taking supplements where need be, is of paramount importance. If you’re vegan or don’t consume dairy products for other reasons, it’s important to find an alternative source of calcium in your diet. Leafy greens or tinned, soft-bone fish such as salmon or sardines are great options. It’s important to be aware that some foods make it harder to absorb calcium, such as carbonated drinks.

To help your body absorb calcium, vitamin D is essential. As well as synthesizing this from the sun’s UVB rays, oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines provide some vitamin D. However, especially in the UK, vitamin D supplements are recommended.

Another key nutrient for bone health is magnesium. While this mineral contributes to many functions in the body from nerve function to immune health, it is primary found in bone crystals, contributing to their strength. Magnesium is often included in calcium supplements.

Vitamin C plays an important role too. Collagen is the main protein in bone, and Vitamin C is necessary for collagen synthesis. Vitamin C is present in citrus fruits, tomatoes, and in many vegetables.

Chiropractors are fully qualified manipulative practitioners who diagnose and treat disorders of bones, as well as muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons. Your chiropractor will give you specific advice on how to strengthen your skeleton and minimise your risk.