It Does Wonders

Have you ever found that standing up straight makes you feel better? My Mum used to tell me this and when I was younger I would dismiss it but now science shows it does. You were right Mum!  Sorry I doubted you!

Research by Dr Elizabeth Broadbent at the University of Auckland showed a relationship between mood and good posture.  It shows that one can increase resilience, make you feel more confident and after a success help you to feel more proud.  It also suggests that you can feel less fearful, have higher self esteem after a stressful situation and feel more alert and enthusiastic. (1)

Broadbent also did research on people with depression and found that those who held themselves with good posture reduced their fatigue and had increased enthusiasm.  They also performed better at stressful tasks. (2)

Having poor posture doesn’t mean you will have pain but it most likely will contribute to trigger point or knot formation in your muscles.  These are more likely to be painful when you carry yourself with poor posture. 

When you have poor posture, your joints aren’t moving correctly which can cause the joint to break down and eventually lead to arthritis. (3) So, having good posture does wonders for us by improving our mood and confidence and reducing the likelihood of developing arthritis.  Chiropractors perform spinal manipulation as part of treatment which has been proven to be safe and effective for back pain (4) and it is much easier to stand up straight when you aren’t in pain.

1.       Nair S et al. Do Slumped and Upright Postures Affect Stress Responses? A Randomized Trial. Health Psychol. 2015 Jun;34(6):632-41

2.    Wilkes C et al. Upright Posture Improves Affect and Fatigue in People with Depressive Symptoms. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2017 Mar;54:143-149

3.    Swiss Medical Journal, 19 July 2012, doi:10.4414/smw.2012.13583

4.   https://nccih.nih.gov/health/pain/spinemanipulation.htm

Milk

We have all heard that drinking milk helps to reduce the risk of a fracture however there isn’t any solid research to prove this. Researchers are leaning towards eating a healthy diet and lots of weight bearing exercise to improve your bone health instead.  Particularly eating tofu, beans and greens as they contain lots of calcium. 1 Drinking 3 or more glasses of milk per day can increase your risk of a fracture. It causes oxidative stress and inflammation, which basically means this causes damage to our cells. 2

What about organic milk? It contains twice as much omega 3 as non-organic milk but the levels are still really low relative to other sources. The reason for the extra omega 3 is organic cows are allowed out to eat more grass. Organic milk contains less iodine as the cows don't get it in supplement form. Iodine is extremely important for pregnant women.  Some good news though, cows in Australia aren't allowed to be given growth hormones.  It is unclear at this stage whether growth hormones from external sources may promote cancer growth so best to avoid it. 3

Other dairy products, cheese and yoghurt, promoted lower fracture rates.  This is due to the fermentation process however they don’t fully understand why, it's possibly due to the reduction in lactose during the process. 1 

Why not choose soy milk? It often comes pre-sweetened, so choose the unsweetened ones and per 100 grams only contributes 2% to your daily calcium intake whereas cow’s milk contains 12%.  People often drink it due to its cholesterol lowering benefits, however, it only offers a 3% reduction in LDL or harmful cholesterol. The proclaimed phytoestrogenic effect to help reduce the risk of breast and prostate cancer isn't scientifically backed yet and a small number of studies say it may increase the risk of breast cancer. 4

1. New Scientist 11/3/17

2. http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6015?etoc=

3. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27898-so-many-milks-but-do-their-health-claims-really-stack-up/

4. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2014/02/12/straight-talk-about-soy/

It Needs To Start Now

As school is back next week, we would like to remind you that heavy, poorly fitted and packed backpacks may lead to spinal health problems in children.
 
Spinal health problems in school children often go unnoticed. However, poor posture, back pain or ‘growing pains’ need not become an accepted part of everyday life for your child.
 
When choosing a backpack for your child, choose one that allows for even distribution of weight across the back. Otherwise the backpack can place unhealthy stress on a child’s spine.
 
School can be a challenging time for any child, so ensuring they are as comfortable as possible is important for their physical and mental development.
 
Despite the increased use of technology in schools, school children still overload their backpacks with textbooks, sports and other gear or simply do not wear them correctly.
 
Five simple tips for wearing a backpack:

1. Pack the heaviest items closest to the spine
2. Make sure to do all the zips up
3. Secure the sternum, waist and compression straps
4. Always use both shoulder straps
5. Don’t wear the backpack below the hollow of the lower back as this causes the child’s head to go forward. This starts the process of spinal degeneration and it starts in kids as young as 10 years old.

The Chiropractors’ Association of Australia worked with Spartan School Supplies and Macquarie University to research and develop the ‘Chiropak’. This durable, functional and comfortable backpack is proven to reduce the incidence and severity of neck and back pain associated with the carriage of heavy loads. Find out more about the Spartan Chiropak.
 
Check out this video for further information about school bags, shoes and nutrition.
 
If you know anyone who has school aged children, this information is important so please forward it on to them.

It Takes Time

When starting treatment, people and this includes myself, want to see results straight away and some people do.  For lasting changes it really does take time for our body to heal and become strong again, especially when our muscles and connective tissue have tightened up and are full of scar tissue which pulls us back into our old, incorrect posture.

I was reminded of this recently when I had a moment of frustration about my back still giving me issues after I had an unstable pelvis late in my 2nd pregnancy.  Whilst I am significantly better than I was (I could barely walk from 36 week's of gestation), I had to remind myself that I hadn't given it enough time or adequately done rehab exercises to strengthen my spine to get myself back to great spinal health.  I am now being vigilant about doing my exercises!

So, just remember - Rome wasn't built in a day... It takes time for our body to heal.

Stronger is Better

I hope you enjoyed the October Long Weekend and have adjusted to the clock going forward.  I love this time of year as the days are getting longer.

People tend to get back into exercise if they let their exercise regime lapse over winter. I want to share with you a wonderful exercise to help strengthen your core stabilising muscles, it is called the Pallof Press. It is so important to have a strong core to minimise spinal injury.  Please take a look at this video on our new Riverside Chiropractic YouTube channel.   We will be uploading more videos to our channel in the near future which is very exciting.

We will be uploading more videos to our channel soon which is very exciting.

Yippee!!

Hooray for the arrival of spring! Recently I've been getting stuck into my garden at home by removing some small trees and lots of weeds.  It struck me as to what a good workout it was as well as other DIY activities, however, it is potentially quite damaging for one's spine.  Some of these tips might be really obvious to you but nevertheless a reminder is always good.

1) Vary your position when doing a prolonged activity eg if raking do it from the right and left hand side of body and when weeding change from between crouching, squatting and kneeling.  Doing a deep squat is best as it takes pressure off the balls of your feet and calves. 

2) Stretch: your muscles can get a really good workout so loosening them up when you finish will help you to not only feel better but also reduce the likelihood of injury later on.  Our resources page contains stretches. 

3) Bend your knees not only when you lift heavy pots and plants but also when picking up light objects such as a trowel or a paintbrush.

Gardening and DIY can be a great workout however it predominantly works the muscles at the front of your body so one still needs to do exercises to help strengthen their spine.  This helps to keep it healthy and reduce pain. Some of these exercises are: bridges, vertical row and core muscle exercises.  My colleagues and I can help you out if you have any questions regarding looking after your body whilst gardening.

There's A Reason Why It Is So Important

Walk into any gym or health club and you’ll find people exercising their core. Core training has taken the world by storm, and for good reason as strengthening the core creates stability and better movement and helps prevent lower back pain. To help you get the most out of your efforts, it’s important you understand what you’re doing.  We’ve outlined below the difference between local and global muscles, to help you perform core work safely and effectively.

What Is your Core?

Your core is a shorthand way of referring to all the muscles of your lower back/pelvis/hip area. It’s where your centre of gravity is located and where movement begins. A strong core stabilises the spine and pelvis and supports you as you move. The core has 29 pairs of muscles that fall into two categories:

1) Local Muscles: Think of your local muscles as the deeper muscles, the ones close to the spine and responsible for stabilisation. They don’t have much ability to move the joints. The local muscles are further broken down into primary and secondary categories. The primary local muscles are the Transverse Abdominus and Multifidi (the two most critical muscles for providing stability). The secondary local muscles are the Internal Obliques, Quadratus Lumborum, Diaphragm and Pelvic Floor muscles.

2) Global Muscles: The global muscles are the outermost layer of muscle—they’re the ones you can feel through your skin. They’re responsible for moving joints. The global muscles in the core are the Rectus Abdominus, External Obliques, Erector Spinae, Psoas Major and Iliocostalis.

The core should operate as an integrated functional unit, with the local and global muscles working together to allow easy, smooth, pain-free movement. When the muscles work together optimally, each component distributes, absorbs and transfers forces. The kinetic chain of motion functions efficiently when you do something dynamic, like exercise or run.

Core Injury

An injury to one of the core muscles usually means an episode of lower back pain. When that happens, the deep stabilizers change how they work as a way to compensate for the injury and protect the area. The stabilisers now have delayed action; they’re turned on only after you move, instead of as you move. Because now they’re not functioning as they should, the brain recruits the global muscles to compensate. That causes a core imbalance. The result: pain in the lower back, pelvis and glutes (the big muscles you sit on).

Exercises designed to help get your core muscles back in balance are the best way to prevent re-injury and avoid lower back pain. Traditional abdominal exercises are often recommended to strengthen the global muscles. These exercises can actually increase pressure on the lower spine. Similarly, traditional lower back hyperextension exercises meant to stretch out the lower spine also may actually increase pressure on it. A better approach to preventing lower back pain is restoring stability with the core exercises below.

Abdominal Brace

The abdominal brace activates all the contracting muscles in the abdominal wall. This exercise strengthens the connection between the global muscles and the deep local muscles. This helps restore the balance between them and improves spinal stiffness.

To get an idea of how the muscles in your core work, place your thumbs in the small of your back on either side of your spine. Next, do a hip hinge: bend forward from the hips about 15 degrees. You should feel the muscles in your lower back move as you bend and stand back up again.

To do the brace, stand upright and suck in your stomach, as if you were about to get punched. Hold that for 10 seconds, then relax. Repeat 20 times; do three sets.

You’ll know you’re doing the brace correctly if you poke your extended fingertips right into your side below your ribs and then brace. You should feel the muscles move under your fingertips.

Curl-Ups

Curl-ups train the Rectus Abdominus, the long abdominal muscle that runs vertically from your breastbone all the way down on both sides of your bellybutton.

Start by lying on your back with your hands palm-up beneath your lower back. Bend one leg and put the foot flat on the floor; extend the other leg, perform the abdominal brace. Hold your head and neck stiffly locked onto your ribcage - imagine them as one unit. Lift your head and shoulders slightly off the floor by about 10 centimetres and hold that position for 20 seconds. Your elbows should touch the floor while you do this.  

Relax and gently lie back again and repeat 10 times. Switch legs and repeat 10 times again. Do three sets.

Tip: If you experience neck discomfort doing this, push your tongue against the roof of the mouth to help stabilise the neck muscles.  If you experience pain in your low back try bending both knees.

Bridge

Lying on your back with your knees bent, brace your abdominals then raise your hips up until you are in a straight line.  Do not over arch your back.  Keep your hips level and hold for 10 seconds then lower hips to the  floor.  Repeat 10 times.

This strengthens all of your core muscles due to abdominal bracing as well as your Glutes and Hamstrings.  These muscles become weak from sitting too much.

Side Bridge

This exercise is great for training the back extensors, including the Longissimus, Iliocostalis and Multifidus.  

Start on your hands and knees (quadruped position). Raise and extend the opposite arm and leg simultaneously.  Hold for eight seconds, then return to the quadruped position. Repeat eight times, then switch arms and legs and repeat for ten reps. Do three sets.

All the muscles of the core must work together to produce efficient and effective movement. The core is the centre of the body’s motion—training it is a critical part of any exercise routine.

Back Your Inner Athlete

This year, Spinal Health Week 2016 runs from 23 to 29 May with the theme ‘Back Your Inner Athlete’. 
 
Every day more and more Australians experience disabling low back pain, neck pain and headaches, limiting their ability to work and engage in an active healthy life.
 
One explanation for this is the impact an increasingly sedentary lifestyle has on postural fitness. Think about all the hours you spend each day sitting at work or school, on a computer or other mobile device, watching television or playing computer games. Poor posture increases pressure on your spine which can cause low back pain, neck pain, headaches and fatigue.
 
Low back pain is a growing problem and now ranks second in Australasia and seventh in the world according to the World Health Organisation’s latest Global Burden of Disease study. Neck pain is also problematic ranking ninth in Australasia and 21st in the world.
 
If you suffer from back pain, neck pain or headaches or if poor postural fitness is impacting on your ability to live life to the fullest, visit our chiropractors at Riverside Chiropractic and Back Your Inner Athlete.
 
Chiropractic care focuses on the relationship between body structure (primarily the spine and pelvis) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how this relationship can restore and maintain health.
 
Each week around 300,000 patients visit an Australian chiropractor. Chiropractic care is an increasingly common and effective treatment for back pain, neck pain and headaches eliminating the need for drugs or surgery. This means chiropractic care can also be very cost effective in comparison to other types of treatment.
 
At Riverside Chiropractic, we are encouraging our patients and the North Ryde community to begin a conversation about preventative health and well-being and adopt healthy habits.
 
Chiropractors have an important role to play in preventative health and well-being because they understand that a vital part of maintaining normal spinal function is by helping patients to make healthy lifestyle changes around nutrition, exercise and wellness. 
 
Adopting healthy habits today (such as improving postural fitness) can significantly reduce the risk of injury or pain later on and have a positive impact on your self-esteem, social relationships and even mental health.
 
Back, neck and spinal problems are also a leading cause of lost productivity in the workplace and forced early retirement. Every year forced early retirement has a traumatic effect on the hopes and prosperity of a large number of Australians.
 
We are encouraging people who haven’t been in for 6 months or more or those who have never had their back checked to com in and discover what steps you can take to improve your overall health and well-being and Back Your Inner Athlete.  Please either phone 8096 6781 or email us for an appointment today.
 
Celebrate Spinal Health Week on 23 May by downloading the CAA Back App with augmented reality feature at Back Your Inner Athlete, on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
 
Spinal Health Week 2016 is a national initiative of the Chiropractors’ Association Australia (CAA).

Thrills, Spills, Pills 2

Welcome to ‘Thrills, Spills and Pills 2’.  It is an article containing three tips which reflect the three different types of stressors we typically experience in our lives.

Thrills: Mental and Emotional Stress – relationships, work, finances etc
Spills: Physical Stress – Sitting, sports injuries, training, car accidents etc
Pills: Chemical Stress – Diet, alcohol, cigarettes, pollution, supplements, medication etc

Thrill Tip: The 10 Min Practice: this is an exercise to help purge yourself of a negative self-image. If you are constantly beating yourself up, this exercise is great to reset your thinking. Here’s how it works: every morning, before you do anything else, write down every negative thought about yourself that you have. Try to aim for at least 20 things. Really be brutal with yourself. Then turn around each statement and write down the list again, this time writing the opposite of each thought.  This is another one that only seems to work if you hand write it out.

Spill Tip: Ever wanted to increase your low back mobility? Probably the best exercise for this is the full squat. Here’s how to do it: stand with your feet roughly shoulder width apart and with straight arms held out in front (this helps with balance but is not essential). Slowly squat down into a full squat position. Your buttocks should almost be touching the floor and your heels should be flat on the floor. Let your tailbone sink down and under. If you’re having difficulty balancing, use a pole, table, doorframe etc to hang onto and lean back until your heels are flat. Aim for 10 minutes cumulatively per day.

Pill Tip: Ever tried to start the day with a smoothie but found it unfulfilling? Were you hungry only an hour later? Try the following to supercharge your smoothies: ensure that you add plenty of fat and protein. Do this by adding two raw eggs and a whole scoopful of high quality protein powder. You may also wish to add a tablespoon of coconut oil or a some full-fat, pot-set, organic, biodynamic yoghurt. The extra fat and protein from these additions will bring your smoothie to a much more satisfying level.

Thrills, Spills, Pills 1

Welcome to part 1 of ‘Thrills, Spills and Pills’.  This will include tips covering the 3 different stressors that affect one's health.  We will regularly post more tips to help you achieve better health.

Thrills: Mental and Emotional Stress – relationships, work, finances etc
Spills: Physical Stress – Sitting, sports injuries, training, car accidents etc
Pills: Chemical Stress – Diet, alcohol, cigarettes, pollution, supplements, medication etc

Thrill Tip: Can’t sleep because your mind is too active?  Try getting out of bed and writing down your thoughts.  Spend ten minutes jotting down what you are thinking, how you are feeling and any relevant action steps that you can take over the next few days and weeks.  This will help to still the mind and return you to a calmer state. Sleep should come more easily after this.  It is important to hand write it out, typing it or just thinking it doesn’t seem to have the same effect.

Spill Tip: When working out at the gym a lot of people isolate individual muscles and train until failure e.g. bicep curls with a dumbbell.  This is not a great idea as it can and often does create imbalances with your body. Instead aim for composite movements that incorporate multiple body parts: squats, push ups, pull ups, burpees etc.  I know a couple of awesome personal trainers who can help with this if you need some support.

Pill Tip: The standard western diet has a ratio of 26:1 of Omega 6 to Omega 3. This is far from the ideal.  Instead the recommended ratio should be something like 3:1 or even 2:1.  There are two ways to improve this ratio.  The first is to reduce your intake of Omega 6.  The best way to do this is reduce your intake of vegetable oils and the processed foods that contain them.  The second is to increase your intake of Omega 3 essential fatty acids like EPA and DHA.  Eat small wild fish (farmed fish are feed grain and corn which changes their Omega 3 content to Omega 6) and/or supplement with a high quality Omega 3 product. We sell the best available if you’re after it.