Other conditions Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Spine and Health Chiropractors Sydney

December 3, 2012December 16, 2023

How to be a Healthier More Attractive YOU!

Have you ever noticed that the people who catch your eye tend to be standing taller than the rest?

Poor posture affects the ability of the body to function. Just like stepping on a hose and lessening or stopping the flow of water, having a vertebra out of alignment we can see the same effect on the spinal nerves. In diminishing the flow of information through your body you are affecting the ability of it to function!

How do vertebrae become misaligned? There are chemical, emotional and physical stressors that can cause misalignment and they all result in a change in your posture, which ultimately affect your health.

How does health affect your appearance?

People who have health problems,are in pain, and/or lack self confidence tend to have hunched posture.

Take notice, next time you go out, of the posture of the walkers by. What did you observe? Those who stand taller with their heads directly above their shoulders seem happier, more confident and secure within themselves don’t they?

Now it’s your turn – Stand in front of a mirror and look at yourself in your natural posture. Now stand up straight! See the difference?

It’s true that we are attracted to happy, healthy people and you can have that too!

Your ideal posture will:

– make you stand taller

– stretch out your abdominal muscles and make you appear slimmer

– bring your shoulders back and push your chest out

– improve your proprioception (innate knowledge of the placement of your body) making your movements smoother, easier and less clumsy

– improve your ability to breath by opening out your rib cage

– improve your clarity of thoughts

– reduce your stress / improve our ability to deal with stressful situations

So how can you have your ideal posture, improve your health and subsequently be one of those people who “stands taller than the rest” !?

How can we help?

The Spine and Health chiro’s in Crows Nest and North Sydney are trained in pain and posture. Chiropractic care aims are realigning your spine to aid you in being the best you can be. The chiro’s will conduct a digital postural analysis and create an individual plan of action for you should they feel chiropractic care can help you and your posture.

Crows Nest Ph 9460 8459

North Sydney Ph 9955 8055

October 15, 2012December 21, 2023

7 Ways To A Better Nights Sleep

Tip #1 – keep to your circadian rhythm.

Your body has a natural sleep-wake cycle. If you maintain a consistent pattern of sleeping and waking at similar times your body will thank you for it.

You may need to experiment with what works best for you so over the next 2 weeks play with the timings, go to bed at the same time but do not set alarms (wake up naturally) and eventually you will work out how much sleep your body needs and go from there.

Tip #2 – Increase your light exposure during the day

Your body produces melatonin when it is dark to make you sleepy but the problem we have these days is that we are inside for a great deal of the day and then at night when we are meant to be in the dark we sit in front of the bright lights of the television or computer. So during the day make sure you increase your exposure to natural light and you will feel more alert. And at night turn those electronic items off!!! Read a book under a dull light and you will fall asleep much more easily.

Tip#3 – Unwind before you go to bed

If you give your body a chance to unwind and relax before bed you are more likely to fall asleep easily and have a deep sleep. Make the last hour of your evening calm – calm noises, relaxing temperature, unclutter your space so you can unclutter your mind.

Some tips on relaxing rituals are:

– reading a book or magazine

– prepare for the following day

– listen to relaxing music

– take a shower/bath

Tip#4 – Eat the right foods

You are what you eat! Remember that your body has to process all the foods you put in your body. If you’re eating natural products like fruit, vege, proteins (as we were designed to) then your body will be regular in digestive patterns. If, however, you have a tendency for poor food choices then your body works in overtime. It will be far more difficult to “switch off” if you’re trying to break down a high fat high sugar meal!

Tip#5 – EXERCISE!!!

We are active beings and yet we are leading sedentary lifestyles! It is important to do regular exercise as it stimulates activity within our bodies! It is the single harshest and most powerful impact we can have on our cardiovascular system. Not only will exercise invigorate and energize you through the day, it will also tire you at by evening and cause you to sleep better throughout the night.

Tip#6 – Get anxiety and stress levels down

If you cannot clear your mind of tasks you need to achieve or aspects of your life that cause stress your body will be stimulated and thus will not allow you to fall asleep or maintain that sleep throughout the night.

You will have to implement ways of decreasing this stress and anxiety through techniques of deep breathing, muscle relaxation, being more organised (use a diary!) so you know that tasks will not be forgotten and of course with the aid of you chiropractor.

Tip#7 – See your local chiropractor!

If you’re suffering from poor sleep please come and have a chat with us at Spine and Health. We are health professionals who are here to help you. If sleep is a problem for you it is likely that there is an underlying reason and we will construct an action plan with you to help your body repair itself.

To start the path to a better you have your posture digitally analyzed today. The pain and posture experts at Spine and Health will help you to look better, move better, feel better and SLEEP BETTER! Please give us a call at one of our four locations:

Crows Nest Ph 9460 8459

North Sydney Ph 9955 8055

September 17, 2012December 21, 2023

The Dangers of The Dreaded Schoolbag!

When was the last time you picked up your child’s backpack? It is astonishing just how heavy they are!

How much attention do you pay to the way your child carries their backpack? One shoulder? Hanging around their bottom? Why isn’t it cool to wear your backpack up high and held firmly against your back?
A recent study has provided some figures/percentages based on body weight versus maximum weight that one’s back should be able to handle without causing postural problems or pain. See chart at the end of the article.

Backpacks are a real problem for kids of today. It is causing current pain and long-term postural issues and chronic pain. Problems are related to the weight that is being supported by the spine and the knock on effect it has on the surrounding muscles. So what can we do about it?

• Ensure that the backpack has thick straps that are evenly spaced apart
(Thin straps can dig in to your child’s shoulders and effect nerve and blood flow)
• Avoid one shoulder bags
• Position the backpack up high over the strong mid-back muscles, keeping the weight close to your child’s centre-of-mass and ensuring maximum support. High and tightly positioned on the body.
• If you’re in the market for a new bag, get one that has a waist clip so that if your child has to have the occasional heavy bag day that they have extra support through their pelvis – note that this has it’s own problems (just shifting the problem) so is not recommended on a regular basis.
• Buy a bag that has wheels! Why carry the bag at all!
• Do they really need to be taking all of those books to school? Be organised and know in advance what you will need for certain. Lighten the load if you can!
• Organise the items so that the heaviest items are closest to the back.
• See your local chiropractor! They are experts in posture and can help you to realign your spine to better deal with the weight, minimize pain and long term effects (2).

Why does this all matter? Your child’s spine houses their spinal cord and thus directly effects nerve flow throughout their bodies. If a heavy weight is continuously held in an unfavourable manner it will activate muscles that are not usually firing. These activated muscles will pull at your vertebrae and hold them in an unnatural position, which in turn causes more stress on the body.
There is a connection between posture and personality! Your child’s backpack could be doing more damage than you think!

The Spine and Health chiropractors in Crows Nest and North Sydney, are experts in pain and posture. Take the time to examine your school-kid’s backpack and the way they carry it. And take the time to bring them in for a thorough spinal examination. If your child has a problem our chiropractors will be able to come up with an action plan to undo as much of the damage as possible and ways to ensure it doesn’t progress any further. It may effect them in ways you never dreamt! AND we have NEW Family Care Rates!

To enable your child to reach their potential please give us a call today on:

Crows Nest Ph 02 9460 8459

North Sydney Ph 02 9955 8055

Person’s Weight (kg)	Maximum Backpack Weight (Kg)
27	2
27-32	4.5
45	7
56	8
68	9
90+	11*

*No-one should carry more than 11kg .

Another standard rule is never to carry a bag that is more than 10% of your body weight.

Category: Other conditions