I'm often asked what's the best way to ease mid-back discomfort when you're sitting at work. If you're someone who finds that they get discomfort between their shoulder blades whilst they're sitting at work, then watch this video because it's really going to help you out.
There is a saying about exercise that goes like this, “You can’t out exercise a bad diet.” That statement seems to go against what many people think, but it’s true. No matter how much you exercise, it is almost impossible to lose weight (or maintain your ideal weight) if you don’t have eating habits that match your weight goals. Take American football players for example. Those guys exercise and have better physical conditioning than most people on the planet. In spite of that, when you look at the big boys on the offensive and defensive line, you will see guys that are carrying a lot of extra weight. If exercise alone was the key to being slim and trim, every single player on an American football team would not only be muscular, but also super lean…whether they wanted to be or not. That’s simply not the case. Some of them have a low body-fat percentage. Some of them have a higher body-fat percentage. The difference is not how much they are working out. The difference is what they are eating.
A similar statement can be said about chiropractic care. You can’t out chiropractic your bad habits. I realise that’s a strange statement, but I promise that it will make sense in a minute. Many people show up at the chiropractor’s office looking for help. I’ve yet to meet someone who wants their chiropractic care to take a long time and involve a ton of visits. Usually, it’s the opposite. People want to get great results in the shortest time-frame and with the least number of visits as possible. That makes sense. What kind of person wouldn’t want that? The good news is that recovery time and chiropractic visit numbers are not set in stone. People can get better results more quickly and with fewer chiropractic visits. But for that to happen, it requires the chiropractor and the patient to work together. If you (as the patient) put all of the responsibility of getting well on the shoulders of your chiropractor, your recovery will take longer, and it will most likely require more visits. Also, the lack of participation in your care may result in a problem that never fully heals. When that happens, you’ll find yourself saying something like, “I’ve never quite been the same since…” Thankfully, you have a lot of influence when it comes to your results. If you take a proactive role in your care, your results will be better. You will feel better faster, stay better longer, and need fewer chiropractic visits. Sounds pretty good, right? How do you take a proactive role in your care? Well, there are several things that you can do to get better results faster at the chiropractor’s office. I made a list below. They are in no particular order, and some of them may have a greater impact on your care than others. The best way to stack the deck in your favor is to do as many of them as possible.
Keep Your Appointment: It can be tempting to cancel your chiropractic appointment the moment you start feeling a little better. On the surface, that makes a lot of sense. If you are feeling better, why go? For most people, chiropractic care involves a series of visits. The purpose of multiple visits is to help you feel better and to make sure your problem doesn’t come back right away. Patients who use how they are feeling in the moment to determine if they will follow through with their treatment plan are unlikely to get the best results. Of course, not every person’s body responds to care the same way. Some people take longer to recover. Some people recover quicker than expected. If you feel like you are doing better than expected and don’t need as many visits, you may be right. Talk to your chiropractor about it. You are a team.
Be Careful: Sometimes when I tell people to be careful, they think I mean sit around and do nothing. That’s not what I mean at all. In fact, sitting around and doing nothing may be why you have a problem in the first place. What I mean is that there are certain times throughout your chiropractic care that you are more likely to re-injure yourself. The most obvious time is when you start feeling better. Healing takes time, and it’s pretty common for people to feel better before their body is fully healed. Because of that, you will want to refrain from jumping right back into situations that are likely to cause a setback. This is especially difficult for athletes since they are always chomping at the bit to get back in the game.
The other time frame that I want to warn you about is the few hours right after your chiropractic visit. Most of the time, chiropractors are performing adjustments. Those adjustments are meant to make physical changes that will help your body heal. The longer those changes last, the better you will do. That’s why you also want to be careful an hour or two right after your adjustment. That’s the time-frame that you are more likely to mess up the work your chiropractor just did. So if you have to decide between going to the chiropractor before the gym or after, I would recommend going after.
Become Posture Conscious: Most people want to avoid bad posture because of how it looks. I understand that. Bad posture makes you look old and out of shape. Bad posture also puts additional stress on your muscles and joints. That additional stress makes you more likely to end up in the chiropractor's office. As a general rule, patients who have good posture respond better to care than those who don’t. That’s why it’s in your best interest to become posture conscious. What I mean by that is not only that you become aware of your current posture, but also that you prioritize having good posture from now on. You may need to start doing specific stretches or exercises to improve your posture. You may need to modify your work space so you’re not hunched over your computer all day. If you aren’t sure where to start, ask your chiropractor. You are a team, remember?
Keep Moving: I was going to use the word exercise, but sometimes we associate that word more with fitness than we do with motion. Your body was meant to move. Your body likes movement. One of the worst things that has happened with the development of technology is that human beings have stopped moving. What’s even crazier is that many people start hurting because they stopped moving. Then they tell themselves that they can’t move because they are hurting, and they get stuck in a cycle. One of my friends always says, “motion is lotion.” It’s her way of saying that the way you fight that unpleasant tightness and stiffness that happens to all of us is by moving. The old saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it” applies here. No, you don’t have to go from 0 to 100. You don’t have to get off your couch and immediately run a marathon. That’s crazy. You need to pace yourself. Decide to start moving more and keep moving. It will make a world of difference with how you feel and it will make you stronger.
Stretch: I already mentioned stretching when I talked about being posture conscious. Stretching is an important part of correcting posture and maintaining good posture. Stretching is also connected to mobility. Movement is much harder when your muscles are tight. Sure, your muscles will loosen up as you start using them, but that doesn't make movement a substitute for stretching. Stretching and movement complement each other. They work together. Stretching will improve your range of motion. It helps relieve certain muscle aches and pains. It promotes better circulation. And a flexible muscle is less likely to become injured with sudden movements. So if you want to get injured less often and spend less time in the chiropractor's office, make flexibility a priority.
Sleep Well: Sleep is so important for your health. Poor sleep makes you more likely to get into an accident. It makes you susceptible to illness. It negatively affects your cognitive function. Poor sleep is devastating to your wellbeing and could result in more doctors visits. Where do you start? Here are a few tips to get you started:
Have a sleep schedule
Avoid caffeine and other stimulants in the hours leading up to bedtime
Keep your room temperature cool
Don’t sleep on your stomach
Turn off your phone notifications
Eat Well: I know. You were hoping to get through this article without me talking any more about diet. Unfortunately, I can’t do that. You are what you eat. If you put good food in your body, your body does better. Your diet affects your sleep. Your diet affects your exercise. Your diet affects how your body heals which ultimately affects how many visits you will need at the chiropractor's office. On top of that, there is the subject of weight. A bad diet will cause you to gain weight. Extra weight puts extra stress on your muscles and joints. Extra weight is not your friend, and it also affects how many visits you will need at the chiropractor's office.
Final Thoughts: Chiropractors are great. I love mine and hopefully, you love yours. But you don’t want to have to visit your chiropractor every day in order to feel well. That’s too much. If you want to get the most out of your chiropractic care with the fewest number of visits, you need to partner with your chiropractor. You are a team. You do your part, and they will do theirs. The result will be the best possible results and the fewest possible visits. That sounds pretty good to me.
Written by Dr Jerry Kennedy
My colleague, Dr Jerry Kennedy, wrote this great article on a common patient question and frustration. He did a great job in answering it.
One of the most common questions that patients ask their chiropractor is, “How long will it take?” Some people ask because their #1 concern is that the chiropractor is never going to let them go. Maybe they have heard the “once you go you always have to go” myth that some people say about chiropractors. If that’s you, I have good news. It’s not true. Your chiropractor isn’t ever going to hold you hostage. That’s not the reason that most people ask that question. The majority of people who ask, “How long will it take?” are asking because they are in pain or in some way hampered, and they would like to get back to normal as soon as possible. That makes perfect sense. If patients had their way, they would get better instantly. I jokingly refer to that concept as patients wanting a “Jesus visit.” That’s when they go into their chiropractor’s office, get an adjustment, and are instantly better. Healed! Unfortunately, it doesn’t usually work that way. Sure, there is the occasional exception to the rule, but for the most part, your body takes time to heal. It’s also important to note that healing and feeling are not the same things. There are times when a medication or a treatment can help your body feel better quickly, but that doesn’t mean it has healed yet. If your pain/problem comes back as soon as the medicine wears off, your body hasn’t yet fully healed. The same is true of treatment. If your pain/problem comes back a few days after your treatment, your body hasn’t yet fully healed. That doesn’t necessarily mean the medicine/ treatment isn’t working. It could just be the difference between feeling and healing. So that brings us back to our original question, “How long will it take?” Unfortunately, there isn’t an exact answer. It depends on the problem. It depends on the person. There are a lot of factors at work. It’s an oversimplification, but I used to tell my patients that 5 factors would determine how long it would take their body to heal.
First - how old are you? That’s an easy one. Younger people heal faster than older people. The older you get, the more you realize how true that is.
Second - how bad is the problem? Not all health problems are the same degree of severity. Let’s use a sprained ankle as an example. On one end of the spectrum, you could have a minor sprain that heals up in 24 hrs. No big deal. On the other end, you could have a major sprain that requires many weeks of rest and therapy to heal. As a general rule, the more severe a health problem is the longer it takes to heal.
Third - how long have you had the problem? Just to clarify, that’s not necessarily the same thing as how long you have felt bad. It’s possible to have a health problem much longer than you have felt bad. Arthritis is a great example. Most people who have arthritis will have it for years before they ever have any pain. As a general rule, the longer you have had a health problem the longer it will take to heal.
Fourth - where is the problem? You may not know this, but different parts of the body heal at different rates. Muscles heal faster than ligaments. Ligaments heal faster than bone. Even the different joints of the body heal at different rates. An injury to your elbow is likely to heal much faster than an injury to a more complex joint like your shoulder.
Fifth - are you (the patient) willing to do your part? Healing not only takes time but it also takes participation. Sometimes rest is required. That means the patient has to be willing to slow down or stop. Sometimes nutritional changes are required. That means the patient needs to add something or remove something from their diet to help their body heal. Sometimes stretching or strengthening is required to help heal an injury. Ultimately, a patient who is willing to do their part to help their body heal will heal faster than a patient who doesn’t.
So when you ask your chiropractor the question, “How long will it take?” often you won’t get a specific answer. Don’t worry…they aren’t avoiding the question just for the sake of avoiding the question. It’s a difficult question to answer because the answer is different for every person. More often than not, chiropractors will take the information that you have given them, and use their clinical experience to give you a timeframe. It’s not set in stone. You may do better than expected and heal faster. You may do worse than expected and heal more slowly. Everyone is different. What does all this mean for you? Well, it means a couple things.
First, it’s important that you understand that healing takes time. If you expect your body to heal instantly, you may quit doing the exact things you should be doing because you aren’t willing to give them the proper amount of time.
Second, it’s important that you have open communication between you and your healthcare providers. You should be able to ask questions and express concerns. They should be able to let you know what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. When you and your healthcare providers work together as a team, you are more likely to get positive results faster.
Lastly, it’s important that you do your part. Patients who participate in their care heal much faster than those who don’t. Stretch when it’s time to stretch. Go to your chiropractic appointment when it’s time to go to your appointment. Do your exercises when it’s time to do your exercises. Rest when it’s time to rest. The bottom line is this…everyone is different. How long it takes your body to heal is going to be different than how long it takes my body to heal. If you want to heal as quickly as possible and get back to normal, you have to be patient and you have to participate in the process. You can do it!
If you are ready to have your back pain resolved, please contact us or call 8096 6781.
There is a good chance it is coming from your 'Forward Head Posture' (FHP).
Your head should sit directly on top of the neck and shoulders. Imagine a bowling ball sitting on top of a vacuum cleaner pipe. If the bowling ball rolls forward it is putting enormous pressure on the vacuum cleaner pipe, as in the case of FHP. The neck and shoulder muscles become very tense and tight leading to tension and pain. It can also cause disc problems and other arthritic problems in the neck. Other issues it can lead to are: headaches, back, neck, arm and hand pain and tingling. It can also cause problems with one’s bite and jaw pain. FHP alters the body’s ability to control your balance leading to a greater risk of injuring yourself.
Causes:
It is usually from being sedentary and spending most of your time sitting down and/or slouching e.g. driving a car, work, watching tv and using a computer, and backpacks. It is the repetitive nature of these activities that causes it.
How do I know if I have FHP?
Have someone look at you side on. The middle of the ear hole should be in a straight line up from the centre of the shoulder. If this is not the case, please consult your Chiropractor as it can cause spine and nerve damage.
How can I prevent or manage it?
If you would like help with your forward head posture please contact us or book online to so our chiropractors and massage therapist can help you to start feeling better.
So, you have yourself a standing work station. They're awesome! Whilst they take a lot of strain off the discs in your lower back and muscles it also means you are burning more sugar and fats i.e. calories. We will be taking a look at the benefits of having one, how it should be set up correctly, common postural mistakes and how to correct them.
As with sitting down to use a computer the set-up is very important as well.
A picture speaks a 1000 words so have a look at the accompanying image. I caught myself a couple of times standing with my weight significantly over one leg and then also leaning on my elbow. This caused my spine to curve which creates wear and tear.
Also, watch out for rounding your shoulders and sticking your chin forward. This causes a huge increase in strain for your upper back and neck, again, causing wear and tear which eventuates in pain and arthritis.
Standing up is hard work. Partly because it takes time to get used to it but even after you have been doing it for a while your heart needs to work harder to pump the blood around your body and your muscles have a fatigue cycle so they need some rest. To help out with this, alternate between sitting and standing every 45-60 minutes.
Acquiring a standing work desk is absolutely a win for your health. Please remember to have it set up correctly and stand properly as this does wonders for your spine and body.
If you have any questions regarding this or would like help with any spine, muscle or joint pain please contact us, book online or call our North Ryde chiropractor on 8096 6781.
Your North Ryde chiropractor and massage therapist offering chiropractic, dry needling (acupuncture) and massage therapy.
