Break Free From Back Pain

It has long been a subject of hot debate between the medical profession and Chiropractors about the efficacy of longer term patient management programs. In a medico-socioeconomic model it has long been thought by the majority of the medical profession researchers that continual care for musculo-skeletal problems is not effective and that ongoing care is based purely on an economic basis for the benefit of the Chiropractor and not the patient.

This has on occasion put the professions at loggerheads when looking at care. It is important when considering this to question what is health? See previous post on this subject.

Are The Chiropractors Right? Continue Reading »

Slipping Once On Ice Is Unlucky But Not Getting Checked Out After Is A Second Slip Up!

With the recent cold snap we were all left taking tentative steps, for some the result was a crash down to earth. I saw 2 people do it myself. A fall onto one’s derriere at speed causes damage to the ligaments of the sacro-iliac joint and lower lumbar vertebrae.

In fact cadaver studies(1) show that as many as 20% have sustained damage to the lumbar interspinous ligaments that support the lumbar vertebrae.

This leads to increased motion at those levels and eventually disc degeneration and facet joint hypertrophy due to increased stress on these  structures. The result down the line is possible nerve impingement and sciatica or in long standing cases stenosis (a narrowing of the central canal that the nerves run through).

These conditions can require surgery to prevent nerve damage, but in most cases people just have to accept that they can only walk a hundred yards or so before needing to sit and rest due to the cramp like pains they get in the calfs.  Stenosis can also lead to bladder and bowel problems in old age.

Do you know someone like this? Do you know someone who’s slipped on the ice? Help them achieve a better old age by pointing them in the right direction. Fix it now and these issues can be reduced.

References:

1: Rissanen, P.M.(1960)The surgical anatomy and pathology of the supraspinous and interspinous ligaments of the lumbar spine with special reference to ligament ruptures. Acta Orthop Second, (Suppl.46)

A Look At Potential Pitfalls In A Festive Spirit.

It’s Christmas!!!

Well not quite, but the infamous words of Noddy Holder have probably been ringing out for a while now on the high street, but I wouldn’t know about that. Instead of doing this a bit at a time, I join the usual rush of stressed out men looking for that last minute present. So how do I keep from getting knots and aches when out? Continue Reading »

Are You Firing On All Cylinders?

In order for your body to move well with minimal effort and maximum control you need a nervous system that detects and modifies muscle tone accurately.

If there is poor detection of movement, the nerves fail to fire correctly or at the correct time, so the muscles cannot be  contracted to protect your joints. Most of the time this will hardly be noticed, but you may feel a bit lethargic. If you play sport you may find Continue Reading »

GPs are being advised to only use short courses of steroid injections to treat tendinopathies, after a systematic review found using them for longer can produce worse results than no treatment.

Instead they are being advised to use other methods of non-steroidal injections for treatment such as botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid for conditions such as tennis elbow and other tendinopathies.

The extensive review – published in The Lancet – looked at 41 trials involving 2,672 patients and estimated the standardised mean differences between treatments and placebo.

Steroid administration was shown to be consistently effective over the short term but long term the benefit was unclear. For further information the full article can be found here, and the actual paper is here. Read more Continue Reading »

This is a fundamentally important question when considering a “healthy” spine or body.

In the Western World health care is concerned mainly with getting you painfree, and unfortunately in general only lip service is paid to the preventative side of therapy. The commonest way of doing this is with medication until the pain goes, then you are healthy! This is fundamentally wrong and short-sighted.

Health is NOT an absence of symptoms, health is good function, everything working correctly, in a good environment, efficiently. Just focusing on being painfree will not result in good health.

In modern times we are all (well most of us) leading very busy lives, we are having to work harder, for longer, many of us travel ever increasing distances to work. We are under more pressure due to the cost of living, we have less time for ….

Continue Reading »

The Basics Of Back Pain Prevention

When you get low back pain it can be excruciating, it can also be quite frightening for the uninitiated. Most of the time the damage caused is actually slight and the body’s reaction is disproportionate to the damage present. The reason for this is due to the high sensitivity to pain, of the structures of the back. These are the facet joints and the capsule and ligaments that hold the vertebrae together.

When theses structures are stressed beyond their normal range due to poorly functioning muscles, excessive force or lax ligaments they send pain signals that cause a reflex contraction of muscle to splint and protect the joint from further damage. For further information click here.

When we don’t have back pain we tend to get lazy and take route one to pick things up etc. When you have back pain you don’t because the body won’t let you. This is the type of movement pattern that you should be striving for when you don’t have back pain.

So What Is That Movement Pattern?

Very simply it is Continue Reading »

Building Resistance

You’ve Should Have The Flexibility Now It’s Time To Go For Strength And Stamina. Only complete this part if you can comfortably get your arms flat to the wall and keep them there as you lower them on the Wall Angel. Make sure you read this first if this is the first you’ve heard of Wall Angel.

You Need Equipment For This!!

What? Equipment? I hear you say. Never fear this is where the wonderful world of exercise bands come in to play. These are relatively inexpensive but highly versatile rubber bands, the beauty of these is that they improve your control of joint movement while under resistance. As the rubber is constantly working against you you have to work harder to control the bounce back so to speak. They come in a variety of resistances that are colour coded.

The other great thing about them is that they fold away and you won’t stubb your toes on them like a set of dumbells just hidden out of sight beneath the bed!

How To Add Stamina And Strength.

Take a two metre length of band and fold it over, start with a resistance that is comfortable. Remember Continue Reading »

Here Is A Daily Stretch That Will Help You Stay Free Of Upper Back Pain And Neck Pain.

This exercise is called the Wall Angel, you start by standing about 6 inches from a clear wall, sit onto the wall so your lower back is comfortable. Then tense the deep neck flexors as you did with the Bruger’s postural relief. Now raise your arms up with the elbows at shoulder height and bent at 90 degrees.

Start position for Wall Angel Exercise

Here’s the side view:

Note the chin is tucked in

You should aim to Continue Reading »

Upper Back And Neck Postural Relief Exercise

This simple yet powerful exercise will help reduce the tension that commonly builds up in the shoulders and upper back when sat at a desk, or driving.

When we sit at a desk for prolonged periods we tend to let our heads move forwards, our upper back becomes rounded, the chin pokes out and our lower backs slump. This causes stress and deformation of the ligaments and joints and leads to pain. If it goes on for 30 years there could be obvious postural changes.

Here’s a simple exercise to help:

This exercise is called the Continue Reading »