Chiropractic and your Family

A common and yet ironic situation is that parents come in to have chiropractic treatment and their children sit and watch.

The question we ask is that why do we believe it is important for us adults to be under chiropractic care and not our children? Children have spines too! and are generally more active and susceptible to falls than us adults so perhaps it is equally if not more important for our children to have their posture checked?

The position of an unborn child’s spine in utero is often overlooked. If your unborn child is in breech, transverse, posterior and so on, it can impact immensely on your child’s posture and therefore health. It is also no surprise that a baby who has not been carried in an ideal position will more than likely struggle down the birth canal because it is still not in the optimal position. Both the position it is held in over the 40 week period and the position it is in when it travels the birth canal, and subsequent interventions that may need to be used, can all affect the baby’s spine and health.

Furthermore our children are far more susceptible to mini traumas. Our kids climb trees, they run on the road, they fall off their bikes, get pushed over in a sporting match. Our children throw their bodies around, and we applaud them for doing so and assume that their flexible bodies bounce back – only a very small proportion of us actually check that there has not been any effect on their spine and posture!

We are aware that back pain, for example, is generally a sign of something else within our bodies.

Chiropractic care is based on the realignment of subluxations and thus the correction of posture in order to allow our nervous system to function effectively and efficiently. Any misalignment of any joint can impinge that communication between our brain, spinal cord and effector tissue and thus affect our health.

Your local chiropractors in Crows Nest, North Sydney, Mosman and Gladesville are the experts in pain and posture and care about your family. The Spine and Health Chiros ensure that they tailor each individual’s treatment to their level of development. Babies and children receive gentle and effective adjustments that are designed specifically for them. We have implemented a new family rate (see details here) to help you help your family.

We can assist with  your family’s path to looking better, feeling better and moving better.

 

Crows Nest                 Ph 9460 8459

North Sydney              Ph 9955 8055

Mosman                      Ph 9968 3577

Gladesville                   Ph 9817 6611

 

Are your High Heels Causing Back Pain?

It is pretty safe to say that majority of women love high heels. They make you feel more professional, sassy and fashionable. So it is no surprise that millions of women wear them on a daily basis but what they perhaps don’t realise is the detrimental effect the footwear are having on the rest of their body. Women are in pain and they don’t even realise it is caused by their high heels!
A high price to pay for fashion.

 

High heels put your feet in a plantar-flexed position (pointing downwards) and shift our weight on to the balls of your feet. So you’re essentially standing on your tippy toes and your body must compensate for the change in centre of gravity to stop you from falling over! The knock on effect of standing on the balls of your feet is that the lower part of your body shifts forward and the upper part of your body shifts backwards to keep you balanced and thus changes the angles and curves of your knees, pelvis, and spine. This all means that surrounding supportive muscles and ligaments have to work harder to maintain your upright position because your body is not in its correct posture to do so itself. This causes a huge amount of stress, strain and ultimately pain, which in the case of high heels is predominantly in the lower back.

Who would have thought that something as simple as a shoe could ruin your posture! We are standing beings, and although societal behaviours are progressing to an unnatural proportion of time spent sitting (at work, infront of the TV and so on), if we are not standing in our correct posture then we are on our pathway to permanent poor posture and pain.

The Chiros at Crows Nest, North Sydney, Mosman and Gladesville are experts in pain and posture. If you are suffering from back pain, knee pain, hip pain, or neck pain it is worth your while reconsidering your footwear and coming to have your posture realigned.

We are not saying that you should never wear heels, because quite frankly it is hard to give up life’s little pleasures completely, all we are saying is that you should limit your use as to minimise the negative effects they have on your posture. Furthermore we recommend you seek professional help from your local Lower North Shore Chiropractors in order to help you be the best that you can be.

Chiropractic care aims at realigning the joints in your body so that you are in the ideal posture for peak performance. Advanced Biostructural Correction (ABC) technique, used by the Spine and Health Chiropractors, acknowledges humans as standing beings and majority of their adjustments are thus performed in the upright position. Furthermore they view the feet as pivotal to misalignment – if the base of your upright position is out of alignment then other parts of your body must adapt to counteract it and thus alter your posture.

Poor posture causes a multitude of altercations in the body and ultimately results in pain. If you are in pain or would like to prevent the inevitability of pain caused by your poor posture please come and visit one of the Spine and Health Chiropractors in Crows Nest, North Sydney, Mosman or Gladesville. They will conduct a digital postural analysis and then together you can construct an action plan to improve your posture. To look better, feel better and move better please call the Spine and Health team today.

 So give your Manolo Blahnik’s and your spine a break. Learn to love your flats and your local Chiro!

 

Crows Nest                 Ph 9460 8459

 North Sydney              Ph 9955 8055

 Mosman                      Ph 9968 3577

 Gladesville                  Ph 9817 6611

Posture Perfect AND Migraine and Headache FREE!!

Do you suffer from migraines and headaches? Have you ever wondered why Panadol does not have a lasting effect? It is time to consider your posture and the effects it is having on the ability of your body to function correctly!

The World Health Organization declared that most people perceive headaches as a ‘minor or trivial compliant’ and yet the ironic thing is that studies have shown in Australia approximately 87% of people will have a headache in a year (1). An astounding 7 million suffer from tension type headaches and a further 2 million of us suffer from migraine (75% of whom are female)(1). It is a very common and distressing disorder that is most common in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s and there is something that can be done about it! (1).

TYPES OF HEADACHES

There are several different types of headaches that are classified as either primary or secondary. Primary headaches (95% of all headaches) include such things has migraine, tension headaches and cluster headaches. Of these primary headaches majority of them are associated with muscle tension in the neck, which is related to societal sedentary behaviours (2, 3). Secondary headaches are the result of something else, eg. glaucoma, chronic sinusitis, or cervical spondylosis (3).

Migraines occur on one side, can change sides, are mid-severe in strength, give a throbbing sensation and are generally localized at the front part of your head (3).

Tension headaches are usually both sides of your head, severe and give a tight gripping feeling (3).

Cluster headaches are excruciating, are locked to one side of your head, and are often behind the eyes (3).

THE RESEARCH

A study (1995) in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics and a report (2001) released by researchers of the Duke University Evidence Based Practice Centre in Durham, NC have both found that chiropractic care is more effective than medication (2). This research has found that not only does spinal manipulation give almost immediate improvement in headaches that originate in the neck but also that it gives longer-lasting relief of tension-type headaches (2). Furthermore, even if care is ceased the patients experienced sustained benefit (2).

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Visit your local chiropractor in Crows Nest or  North Sydney where they can conduct a digital postural analysis and talk through a potential action plan. The Chiropractors at Spine and Health are experts in pain and posture and can alleviate the stress on your system by removing subluxations. They can offer advice on posture, ergonomics, exercises, relaxation techniques, and nutrition (common trigger) (2).

In analyzing your posture, looking at your body system as a whole (including what you put in and how much you exert yourself) we will be able to put you on the road to looking better, moving better and feeling better.

Say goodbye to tension in your neck and body, migraines and headaches because with correct posture you are less likely to suffer.

So what are you waiting for?

Come and see one of our chiropractors today:

 Crows Nest                 Ph 9460 8459

 North Sydney             Ph 9955 8055

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  1. Headache Australia
  2. American Chiropractic Association
  3. Joubert, J. Diagnosing Headache, Australian Family Physician, 2005 34(8):621-625.