Tag Archive for: back

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Anti-Inflammatory Injection – Press Release from the BCA

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The news that an anti-inflammatory injection will soon be available for some people in the UK with chronic, inflammatory back pain called Ankylosing Spondylitis, will be welcomed by those suffering from the condition which is currently estimated to be around 200,000 people

The vast majority of people suffering from back pain in the UK have the form that is ‘mechanical’ in origin, which can result from wear and tear, poor posture, strains or injury, as opposed to inflammatory disease. There are already many viable options for treatment of inflammatory disease which have been outlined by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. These guidelines on the management of lower back pain include recommending a course of treatment of manipulation, which is provided by chiropractors who are also very well placed to diagnose and treat mechanical back pain.

Tim Hutchful of the British Chiropractic Association, said: “Patients with inflammatory disease affecting their spine form a very small proportion of the total population who have back pain and for these patients, the availability of this drug may make a huge difference to their quality of life. However, the vast majority of patients I see as a chiropractor have back pain that is caused by injury, strain or wear and tear and this form of back pain responds well to a package of care that may include manipulation”.

Figures used were according to Ankylosing Spondylitis guidebook for patients from the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society October 2012

44% of the population stated they currently had some form of back pain or discomfort – British Chiropractic Association February 2013

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Caring for Carers – Back Pain Awareness Week

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This week is Back Pain Awareness Week – a campaign run by the charity Backcare – http://www.backcare.org.uk/. Visit their website to find out more, and to see their useful tips and information.

Back Pain is well documented for costing the UK economy millions of pounds in time lost to sickness, each week. What is less documented is the strain on the backs of people who are carers – lifting, carrying and helping others everyday, despite the toll on their back. This is the theme of this year’s Back Care Awareness Week.

If you are a carer and would like advice on posture and lifting, or are suffering with back pain due to your lifestyle as a carer, please do get in touch with us to find out about our consultations and our posture analysis.

Email leah@longlevenschiro.com

Autumn Gardening Tips From the BCA!

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We love our gardens and autumn is the time of a lot of there is a lot to do – planting for the spring; clearing never ending piles of leaves and tidying dead growth from summer shrubs. Your back is vulnerable to injury with lots of heavy work, so the British Chiropractic Association has some helpful tips.

Clothes
–    Don’t wear clothes that are tight or could constrict your movement.

Warm Up
–    Gardening is like any other exercise; you need to warm up first. Don’t go straight into heavy garden work; start off with lighter jobs as this will lessen the chance of muscle strain.

Clever pruning
–    Get as close as possible to the things you are pruning and avoid overstretching to reach the area you are dealing with.
–   Invest in some long handled secateurs to reach plants and bushes that are beyond normal reach.

Using the rake
–  Keep your body in line with the rake and don’t over stretch by leaning too far forward or dragging your arms too far behind. Use short, precise movements. When going to pick the leaf litter up, bend both knees and keep your back straight.

Take a break
–    Vary your activity by spending no more than 20-30 minutes on any one thing and make sure you take regular breaks.

Plan ahead
–   A specialist garden trolley might be worth investing in to move pots around to protect them from the cold weather as well as being great for carting heavy bags of compost around.

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Adam Balding’s Testimonial For Kate

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Kate has used a wide range of techniques including massage and stretches. As a result my muscles are much looser, my joints move much more freely and my range of motion and feeling of general well being has much improved. There has also been the added benefits of increased speed of recovery from injury enabling me to get back on the pitch quicker, pain relief from injury and improved warm up. Thanks Kate!

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Great Summer Camping Tips from the BCA!

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School holidays and the tents are out of storage, brushed down and ready for action. Sleeping away from your normal mattress and on harder surfaces could cause problems for your back, so the British Chiropractic Association has some great tips for more comfortable camping.

Protect your back – Ensure your back is protected against a hard and potentially damp surface by sleeping on a quality approved camping mat or air mattress. Try these out in the outdoor shop before buying – most good stores will have samples available. Try to also take a pillow, if you are used to having one. A blow-up pillow is the most portable…. even better, take your usual pillow from home.

Prep your sleeping area first – make sure to remove large stones or sticks that could dig into your spine.

Sleep sensibly – You should endeavor to sleep in a position where your spine is in a straight line as this helps to avoid neck and back pain.

Lift and carry with care- 57% of Brits believe that lifting and carrying is a major trigger for their back and neck pain, so take care when loading and unloading your camping gear. Two bags are better than one – If possible, pack your gear into more bags rather than less, so you can distribute the weight more evenly and reduce the strain on your back when lifting and carrying them. You can get advice on lifting and carrying here.

Straighten Up! Our set of simple stretches and exercises can be done at home and on the campsite and help support a healthier posture. See them in action and learn how to do them here.

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Adam Balding – London Welsh, Former Gloucester Player

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“After injuring my back playing rugby, Simon helped clear things up quickly and got me back out on the pitch. His attention to detail, treatment skills and expertise in building an aftercare training program have made a real difference!”

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Great Tips to Stay Pain Free for the Easter Weekend from the BCA

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The British Chiropractic Association has some great tips to help avoid any problems with your back and posture this Easter:

DIY projects:

People in some parts of the UK are unlikely to be gardening, but there will be plenty of indoor projects to be getting on with.

When using a ladder or steps, make sure you are always facing it, keeping your shoulders, hips and knees pointing in the same direction.

Rather than leaning or reaching, move the ladder or step regularly to keep up with where you are. Any kind of ladder must be firmly and safely planted in position and, if possible, have someone else there to keep an eye on things.

If you are painting a ceiling, think about getting the largest amount of paint on in the shortest space of time. Use a paint pad or roller with an extended handle and hold it at chest height. Keep your head as neutral as possible and keep facing forward so you don’t over exert your neck. If you can lie down – do!

Plan ahead – If you are planning a trip to the local DIY store to buy heavy items such as cement or gravel, buy smaller bags rather than one big bag as they are easier and safer to carry. If buying in bulkier amounts, shovel the contents of the large bags straight into smaller containers or wheelbarrow from the back of the car.

If having items delivered, have them unloaded as close to where you need them as possible; this will save the effort of moving them again.

Travelling:

If you are flying, drink plenty of water and NOT alcohol during the flight as this will cause dehydration, which could aggravate muscle pain.

Whether travelling by plane, train or car – you will be restricted in your seat for most of the journey, but avoid stiffness by doing shoulder shrugs, buttock clenches and foot circles.

If on a train or plane, try to stand up and move around every 20-40 minutes or, when you stop for a petrol/food break on a car journey, take the opportunity to just stretch and shake out your limbs to allow your muscles to relax.

Compensate for your prolonged time of inactivity during the journey by doing light exercise – just going for a brisk 20 minute walk once you have arrived at your destination will help

Staying at home:

Although the TV schedules are likely to have plenty to please or you may want to spend time playing your latest computer game, try to avoid sitting for long periods; take a break at least every 40 minutes.

Make the most of the leisure time and fit some exercise in – whether it be a run, time at the gym or going for a walk with friends and family. Active games such as Wii, Kinect or old fashioned favourites like Twister will help keep you moving!

Happy Easter!!

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Knee Pain: Iliotibial Band Syndrome, or Runner’s Knee

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What is the Iliotibial Band?

The Ilio Tibial Band (ITB) is the longest tendon in the body, it originates from the anterior iliac crest outer lip, anterior border of the ilium and the outer surface of anterior superior iliac spine. As well as from the Gluteus Maximus and Tensor Fascia Lata muscles. (In normal words that is an area of the upper outer edge of the pelvis, the muscles originating from the very front upper outer region of the pelvis and part of your bum muscle). Previously thought of as just a connective piece of tissue, recent research has found that tendons and fascia do in fact often contain smooth muscle fibers. ‘Smooth’ muscle fibers are the type more often found in the gut, ‘striated’ fibers are found in the muscles of movement attached to the joints. It aids in leg abduction (leg raising directly out to the side) and force distribution through the leg, it is also an important player in producing fascial tension that supports the Thoraco Pelvic Canister and therefore the lower back.

So What Happens?

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ITBS basically is due to repetitive rubbing of the band on the outer part of the knee (lateral femoral condyle), this leads to thickening of the band over time and eventually irritation that takes a number of months to resolve if not managed correctly. Self management of the lower limbs and building good movement patterns when not in pain are key to preventing this injury from coming back.

What can I do About it?

ITB Syndrome can be self managed in a variety of ways- a foam roller, tennis ball and an Ice pack are your key utensils to getting over this condition. Many rehab ‘specialists’ will recommend simply using a foam roller on the ITB to stretch it out (youtube it to see). However, there is so much more you can do to help this problem. It requires a lot of time and effort but the results will come a lot faster than simply ice and ITB foam rolling. A home treatment plan is not within the scope of this post and causes will differ from one person to another so a bio-mechanical assessment by a movement specialist is what we would recommend getting and a second opinion is always something worth considering. Just remember, the whole lower limb has to function correctly, not just one area. It is all related – foot, knee and hip, though it is the connecting musculature and fascia that are the cause of the problem with some areas more related to the ITB than others.

Sports Chiropractors at this clinic are movement specialists with further qualifications in sports science. We are constantly reading the latest books and research to enable us to get your body functioning better (not just the latest rehabilitation fad!). If you are suffering from ITBS or repeatedly suffer, then contact us for more info and advice.

 

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Safely Does it with the Christmas Decorations!

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There’s lots of helpful information on the British Chiropractic Association’s website.  We thought this particularly relevant and useful right now!:

Buying the Tree: When buying your Christmas tree, take care when getting it into the car. Use a trolly and ask for assistance when loading into the car. Same when you get home; don’t tackle it on your own – wait until you have someone to help. Don’t lift with your arms straight out, keep the elbows bent and to your side to minimise the stress on your back. Bend knees and not your back to pick items up.

Time for the decorations!: When putting up the Christmas decorations, try not to overstretch and use a step ladder to hang up your garlands or to put the decorations higher up your tree. When using the ladder or steps, make sure you are always facing them, keeping your shoulders, hips and knees pointing in the same direction. Rather than leaning or reaching, move the ladder or step regularly to keep up with where you are.  Any kind of ladder must be firmly and safely planted in position and, if possible, have someone else there to keep an eye on things.

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Look After Your Neck and Back at Christmas Time!

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A few seasonal tips to help you have a pain free Christmas this year :-)

Tip 1: Did you know everyone has a built in lower back safety belt? To put it on all you have to do is maximally contract your abs, then back it off 50%, then 50% again, this leaves you with a 25% of maximum contraction at the lower part of your abs. When wearing this belt your lower back is exponentially stronger, if you keep using this safety belt it will become natural and you wont even have to consciously think about putting it on. Just make sure your are wearing it when lifting any heavy Prezzies ;-) .

Tip 2: To avoid muscle tightness you have to move properly, when using your arms, whether it be for lifting, reaching, even subtle motions such as waving make sure you keep your upper shoulder muscles relaxed. Try to concentrate on using your arms without shrugging your shoulders, shrugging the shoulders repeatedly leads to chronic tightness. Make sure your aware of this when your around the house putting up those Christmas decorations :-) .

Tip 3: Stay loose, a tight muscle is usually sore, relatively stiff into touch and occasionally feels like it has strings of linguini running through it. If you notice you have muscles like these then I would recommend getting a massage or seeing a manual therapist such as a chiropractor help get them loosened out. Depending on the region of tightness tight muscles can lead to strains, sprains, headaches and muscle tears.

Remember, as Santa always says “HO HO HO!!” “always be pro active, not reactive!” :p and finally…

Have a Very Merry Christmas from us all at Longlevens Chiropractic and Sports Injury Clinic!

Danny Adams

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