1. Stretch regularly – Yoga and Pilates are brilliant to improve your posture, the better you move, the better your posture and the less problems you will experience. If you feel tight in one particular area or are not sure where you are moving incorrectly then your teacher (yoga/pilates) or manual therapist (e.g. Chiropractor) can help you.
2. Correct your ergonomics at work, if you sit at a desk for long periods at work for example then make sure you ergonomics are perfect. A lot of companies will assess this for you, however make sure it is kept up to date as it is very important for your posture and to prevent injury.
3. Take regular short breaks, if you have to stay in one place for a long period of time (e.g. sitting down) make sure you take a break and move about for at least 5 minutes every half hour. This will allow the structures within your body to recover from a prolonged period of stress in one position which can lead to poor posture.
4. Drink lots of water – staying hydrated keeps your muscles and joints supple and strong preventing your body from getting lazy and adapting a poor posture.
5. Feel free to fidget! Fidgeting is your body telling you that you need to move to get comfortable, listen to your body. If your body needs to move to be comfortable then let it be comfortable, just don’t let it be comfortable in one position for too long .
Always remember, keep moving and stay loose, keep your back straight when bending and use your knees!
If your company would like us to pay you a visit to conduct free postural assessments please get in touch!
Within this post I’ll explain why seeking treatment for your back pain earlier will potentially save you a lot of money.
Take a quick look at these well researched statistics:
80% of the population will experience back pain at some time
40% of the population are affected by back pain currently (16 million)
2.5 million people have back pain every day of the year
119 million working days are lost
1.2 million people are affected by musculo-skeletal pain and 500.000 by work related stress
The Hard Working Citizen
The sooner a person with back pain sees a well trained therapist such as a Chiropractor, the sooner they will get better, simple. Recently I and my colleagues have noticed how patients are presenting with incredibly chronic (>3weeks) back pain. People seem to be putting up with pain without seeking help for longer than ever before, we think this may be due to the recent recession (or double dip recession as it is for us Brits). People are really feeling the pinch, but if you think you are saving money by not getting your back pain treated now, you are very mistaken. In fact, it’s not cost effective at all! Its actually uneconomical! I’ll explain why.
Scary but (potentially) true
I’m going to use a common lower back problem as an example, a lower back disc bulge, a disc bulge usually occurs because the underlying supportive back structures are working incorrectly. The forces within the lower back are therefore repeatedly falling upon structures that cannot cope with the increase in load (the discs, among other things). This leads to failure, if the bulge is not correctly managed and the forces continue to be incurred in a region that has already failed then its ability to heal is diminished. It may take months or years to get better with a very high chance that it will recur in the future due to the mechanism of micro tearing in the outer layers which heals incredibly slowly, if at all (Read more here on disc bulges). Disc bulges can progress and in a lot of cases may even lead to surgery, the likelihood of this increases if you do not seek effective advice and treatment. The earlier you seek treatment, the quicker your disc bulge will resolve itself and with the correct prevention strategy provided you will have a lower back that will be less susceptible to having disc bulges in the future.
“And financially this affects me how?”
The financial implications of this are simple, by letting your back pain progress and possibly worsen it may end with you requiring surgery and months off work with no guarantee it won’t recur. Due to the reasons above you may even require multiple surgeries in the future. Therefore, costing you even more in lost wages with time off work and possibly even your job! This is all theoretical of course and I’m not trying to scare you well, maybe a little lol… as more than likely if it is your first episode of back pain it may be nothing serious but for the price of a consultation fee it’s still best to get it checked out now to be better safe than sorry. The best way to treat the problem and find out the cause is to seek help from a well trained manual therapist such as a Chiropractor. A good therapist will offer you a variety of treatment and prevention options (or referral if required) and an insight into how your problem could progress if left untreated. So what I would recommend is to save yourself money and seek help now rather than later, trust me, your future pain free self will be thanking me in the long run.
On the 25th and 26th of August 2012 Danny Adams volunteered to provide sports therapy for the competitors at the Gloucester Rowing Regatta, Hempsted Meadow. The Saturday was the busiest day of the two with the Junior and Masters events being held and the seniors competing on the Sunday. The rowing in Gloucester was fast and furious with competitors from all around the country attending the event.
On the Saturday Danny provided treatment to competitors from a small marquee attached to the side of the main marquee. He saw a wide range of different injuries which made it very interesting – he was prepped and ready to see some chronic Rowing problems!
It was a great atmosphere on the Saturday, which turned almost festival like when the heavens decided to open, turning the soft grassy meadow into a flip flop eating mud field. He says that from time to time he felt like Ray Mears or Bear Grylls treating in extreme conditions, as often muddy, bare footed competitors made their way to see him in his humble tent! The great thing was that other than the odd grumble, the muddy conditions made the event even more enjoyable as everyone seemed to be having a great day, Danny included!
The Sunday was a little quieter and shorter, with Danny choosing to treat on a much dryer wooden floored area in the corner of the main marquee. As expected, due to the lower number of competitors on the senior’s day, he treated a lot less people but none the less enjoyed the fantastic hospitality and atmosphere that Gloucester Rowing club kindly provided.
A big thanks to Ben Rodford and all at Gloucester Rowing Club for organising this thoroughly enjoyable event. Danny looks forward to treating the competitors again at the Autumn Head event coming this November.
***If you would like us to support an event that you are attending or hosting, whether sport or work related, please get in touch!!***
From the 3rd to the 7th of September Kate will be practicing 8am until 8pm massage shifts. She will be taking care of the masses of media, support and technical teams that lug heavy cameras and equipment around the stadiums, catching those perfect shots of the athletes that we are all waiting for with eager anticipation. She’s ready for a tough but fantastic week, gaining ever more experience to bring back to patients here at the Longlevens Chiropractic & Sports Injury Clinic.
The Paralympic Torch was lit this morning and I heard someone say on the radio – “it’s a chance to really concentrate on people’s abilities, not their disabilites…” Absolutely. We can’t wait.
Best Wishes and Good Luck to all those participating in any aspect of the event – including Kate!!
In August, Chiropractor Danny Adams and Massage Therapist Kate West from the Longlevens Chiropractic & Sports Injury Clinic proudly attended the first ever UK hosted Hockey Masters World Cup, a great opportunity to meet and treat athletes from all around the world.
Our Therapists’ adventure began with the assistance of the RAC, but once they had safely arrived, they very successfully worked as part of the Hockey event’s Sports Medicine Team with 7 other manual therapists, including Osteopaths, Physios and Chiropractors. The set-up of having a team of professionals in one area at one event worked very well at the Hockey, presenting the international Hockey players with a range of knowledge and experience. Hockey injuries were delegated evenly between the group and the competitors were treated on a first come first serve basis.
Danny and Kate were able to take the time to shadow other treatment techniques and found that they came away having gained an incredible amount through observation and learning as well as experience. The hockey players themselves were extremely enthusiastic about receiving treatment making the event all the more rewarding for Practitioners. What a great success. Well done to all who took part.
“I would estimate that at least 90% of world class athletes use Chiropractic on a regular basis to prevent injuries and to improve their performance” says Sean Atkins PhD Exercise Physiologist.
Here is Usain Bolt receiving treatment from the Jamaican team Chiropractor:
It would appear that Usain Bolt’s Doctor of Chiropractic and the rest of the Jamaican medical team got him firing on all cylinders, given his awesome achievements at this year’s London 2012 Olympics.
The fastest man on a bike, the Multi Olympic gold medal winner and 2012 Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins from Great Britain, also swears by using Chiropractic treatment:
Here he is speaking about his Doctor of Chiropractic Matt Rabin:
“I first started working with Matt at the end of 2008 following my success at the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics. After years of struggling with minor niggles that I had learned to live with, and having never really found the answer to my problems despite having sought numerous treatment options with no great success, I went to see Matt.
From my first session with him I had great results that were not short lived. That followed up with regular sessions I saw improvements that I had never seen before and that reflected in the way my body held up on a day to day basis which eventually saw me achieve 4th place in the 2009 Tour de France under his supervision.
Matt will undoubtedly remain an integral part of my medical support in the forthcoming seasons and lead up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.“
After just adding the Tour de France and 2012 London Olympic time trial gold to his list of medals and also for becoming the most decorated British athlete ever, I would like to say a huge Congratulations to Bradley Wiggins. It has been incredible year for him, absolutely dominating his sport, us Brits should all be very proud.
…It can be such a pain in the bum… literally! ‘Sciatica’ is the term used to describe any pain that is originating from irritation of the Sciatic Nerve. This pain can be felt anywhere down a leg, from the bottom to the feet.
The Sciatic Nerve is the longest and thickest nerve in the human body, running from your lower back all the way in to your foot, with its thickest part being around 2cm in width! As you can imagine, a lot can happen to that nerve along its route and exactly what can happen is the subject of this post. The Sciatic Nerve originates as individual spinal nerves known as L4,L5,S1,S2 and S3, these nerves exit the spine individually but then converge to create the Sciatic Nerve. Bear this in mind when we discuss problems that can occur to the Sciatic nerve that lead to what we all know as ‘Sciatica’.
A disc bulge essentially only affects the nerve at which level the bulge is occurring, this therefore would affect the path of the Sciatic Nerve but particularly at the points at which the original nerve supplies the body. For example, a backwards and to the side (postero-lateral) Disc Bulge at L5/S1 usually causes pain/tingling/numbness/pins and needles at the sole and outside edge of the foot on the same side as the bulge. This is because the nerve exiting between the spinal segments of L5 and S1 is what is known as the S1 nerve root (like a tree a nerve has a root, another word for where it starts). The S1 nerve supplies both muscles (a Myotome) and skin sensation (a Dermatome). So as you can see the S1 nerve supplies sensation to the sole and outer edge of the foot which is why pain is felt here. This applies to all nerves exiting the spine. If one level has a bulge then the skin it supplies may have a change in sensation. The muscles that each affected nerve innervates may also not work correctly or may even begin to decrease in size and become flaccid, seen in severe cases. For example, The S1 nerve supplies lots of muscles in the lower leg and foot so it would be quite clear if there was something affecting its innervation severely as all these signs would be present. Chiropractors treat disc bulges all the time, worst case scenario is surgery for a disc but your Chiropractor or manual therapist will let you know if this is necessary.
Foraminal Stenosis
The word ‘Foramen’ basically means ‘a hole’, where the L4, L5, S1, S2, S3 nerves leave the spine between each vertebral segment is a hole called the ‘Intervertebral Foramen’. If anything decreases space at this Foramen then Sciatica can occur, problems such as bony spurs, inflammation, a Spondylolisthesis or a Tumor can all cause a decrease in space here and irritate the nerve as it exits. This can therefore be one of the causes that lead to irritation of the Sciatic nerve and the symptoms associated to it.
Piriformis Syndrome
In a nutshell ‘Piriformis Syndrome’ occurs as a result of the Sciatic nerve being irritated by the Piriformis Muscle. Though it’s not always simple to treat for the following reasons:
The Sciatic nerve’s relationship with the Piriformis Muscle in the general population differs from person to person. As you can see, most commonly it passes beneath the Piriformis Muscle, however in the minority of the population the Sciatic Nerve can actually pass through the Piriformis Muscle entirely, or even stay split around it and connect after.
The Piriformis is an external rotator of the the leg, if it gets too tight (common in a lot of people) it can become irritated, this leads to inflammation at the muscle and surrounding tissues, which in some cases includes the Sciatic Nerve. This irritation can cause symptoms down the leg that are often misdiagnosed as disc bulges due to their similar presentation.
If you have further questions or would like to know more about this topic please ring us on 01452309372 or email contact@longlevenschiro.com
Chiropractor Danny Adams and Massage Therapist Kate West had a great day yesterday treating international hockey players at the first ever UK hosted World Hockey Masters Tournament.
Well done both, fantastic day, great job done.
*We love taking part in days and events like this. Please get in touch with us if you are hosting or taking part in an event that we could help with, however big or small!!*
Registered patients this is for you! We can proudly state that most of our new patients are referred to us by existing patients, so this month we are offering you 50 % off your next treatment if you are already registered with us and you refer someone to us who registers during the month of August (by the way, that still counts if you yourself are a new patient to us in August!).
You can take us up on our half price offer on either massage therapy or chiropractic treatment, depending on which is more appropriate to you. All that we ask is that you do this before the end of 2012. And, you get 50% off your next treatment for each person that you refer during August, so if you refer two people then that’s two half price treatments in a row!
As is the norm, Terms and Conditions Apply. If you would like to book in or if you have any queries then give us a call on 01452309372 or email contact@longlevenschiro.com
The term ‘Shin Splints’ (also known as “runner’s leg”) is in fact a general umbrella term used to describe quite a few different lower leg injuries. Each of the injuries can be grouped in to one of four different categories depending on where the area of pain is felt. I will mention each individual injury but not cover each one in depth. I will, however, give an example of one of the injuries from each of the 4 shin splint group types so as you have an idea of how each of the 4 types presents. I will however not be covering how to treat these areas as that is a whole different kettle of fish and I would recommend seeing a specialist if you feel you have any of the following to receive a personal treatment plan.
A summary of the four types: 1. muscular (various lower limb muscle strains) – tibialis posterior and anterior syndromes, soleus syndrome 2. periosteal (most outer layer of a bone) – periostitis of tibia 3. fascial (Fascia) – exertional compartment syndrome 4. osseous (bone) – tibial and fibular stress fractures
1. Muscular
Example: Tibialis posterior Syndrome
This type of shin splints essentially is as a result of a strain or incomplete tear of Tibialis Posterior:
caused by biomechanical dysfunction (esp. overpronation) of the foot and ankle.
pain usually appears at the beginning of a workout and later disappears, only to reappear afterwards.
palpable tenderness along the medial side of the lower leg.
tenderness is also elicited by resisting plantar flexion and inversion of the foot radiography helps to rule out stress fracture of tibia/ tibial periostitis.
additional treatment – lower leg strap (like elbow strap) for redistribution of muscle tension.
This type of shin splints involves painful inflammation of the outermost layer of bone called the periosteum specifically along the central border of the shin, usually the distal 1/3 .
Originally thought to be related to stress along the posterior tibialis muscles and tendons causing myositis, fasciitis and periostitis, it is now believed to be related to periostitis of the soleus insertion along the posterior medial tibial border. As a result of excessive pulling of the muscle. Excessive pronation or prolonged pronation of the foot causes an eccentric contraction of the soleus, resulting in periostitis.
May be as a result of a change in running distances, speed, form, stretching, footwear, or running surfaces.
Tenderness along the anterior side of the tibia and sometimes slight swelling and thickening above the bone can be noticed.
Additional treatment – ice and NSAID, soft running surface, cushioning of the heel.
3. Fascial
Exertional Compartment Syndrome (ECS)
This type of shin splints involves thick sheaths of Fascia divide the muscles of the leg into four compartments each with their own muscles, blood and nerve supply. The four compartments are the ‘Anterior compartment’, ‘Lateral Compartment’, ‘Posterior Deep compartment’ and the ‘Posterior Superficial Compartment’. The mechanism involved is as a result of fascia that is too tight along with an increase in muscle volume within the compartment as a result of increased activity which can lead to a decrease in compartment space around the muscles. This therefore increases the pressure within the compartment and diminishes the compartment’s veins ability to return blood therefore increasing the pressure further. If really severe the arterial blood supply in this compartment can also be cut off.
ECS is usually exercise induced aching leg pain and a sense of fullness, both over the involved compartment. These symptoms are almost always relieved by rest, usually within 20 minutes, only to recur if exercise is resumed.
Both legs is common
Activity related pain begins at a predictable time after starting exercise or after reaching a certain level of intensity
Many individuals with anterior ECS describe mild foot drop or paraesthesia (or both) which are amplified by physical exertion.
The most common compartment involved is the Anterior 50-60% then the Deep Posterior 20-30% and the remaining 10-20% is between the Lateral and Superficial Posterior compartments.
Home advice involves Ice and reducing the level of strain, though for an active individual fasciotomy provides a quicker and long-term solution (surgery to release the tight fascia and therefore decrease the pressure in the involved compartment.
This particular condition is notoriously difficult to manage conservatively, if there are any practitioners out there with suggestions then I would love to hear their experiences.
Do not confuse with an acute compartment syndrome which is in fact a medical emergency.
4. Bone
This type of shin splints involves stress fractures of the Tibia (shin bone)
as a result of repeated sub-maximal loading.
dull pain, swelling and palpable tenderness is confined within 2-3 cm in diameter.
Insidious onset.
Increased pain with activity/ decrease with rest.
Pain usually limited to fracture site.
Pain on percussion and vibration.
If you are still unsure as to which of these problems you are experiencing or you wish to get more advice then feel free to message me for more advice. Otherwise I would recommend an experienced manual therapist such as a sports Chiropractor.
.
