Debunking the top 5 Chiropractic myths

The most common statement I hear from patients is “I never knew that chiropractors do this”. Unfortunately, for the most part, the perception of Chiropractic is not well understood and because of this it causes many misconceptions, fears and ill-informed advice. As a proud sports chiropractor I believe the best way to dispel these fears is via education.

1.  Chiropractors only treat the spine – While we specialize in treating back and neck pain, we have a thorough understanding of the whole mechanics of how the human bodies works. Treating injuries involving the upper body, lower body and even jaw is one of the many things we do.

2.  Chiropractic is unsafe – Like any medical intervention has its own risks, adjustments/manipulations/western acupuncture also have their risks albeit small. The key is in making sure your chiropractor takes a thorough history to fully appreciate what is going on with you. Then they can make a sound decision which technique (soft tissue, manipulation, acupuncture) will be the most safe and effective or if you need to be referred to another practitioner.

3.  Once you see a chiropractor you have to see them forever – Absolutely not. Our primary objective is to get you back doing what you love to do – fast. If people wish to continue treatment to allow their bodies perform at their best that is totally up to them.

4.  I have been told by previous chiropractors, physiotherapists and osteopaths to stop my training or exercise - The question I always ask these people is why? Squats, deadlifts or running did not cause your pain although it may hurt when doing it. More so, it is your body telling you something, somewhere is not working correctly and it is your practitioner’s job to fix it. The only way to do that is to test the waters.

5.  Chiropractors only use ‘adjustments/manipulations’ as treatment’- Traditionally this is how Chiropractic was first founded, nowadays many Chiropractors utilize many varied treatment approaches. At Kinetic Healthcare we utilize Active release technique A.R.T (soft tissue technique), dry needling/western acupuncture, exercise rehabilitation, and many others to deal with your bodily complaints.

If you would like to finally resolve your body pain we would love to help you.

We at Kinetic Healthcare are offering all Alternative foot solution clients a free movement assessment for the next month. Bookings are strictly limited to the first 10 people (Please mention at the time of booking).

To make an appointment contact the clinic on (02)9262-6473 or www.kinetichealthcare.com.au 

Diagnosed with a slipped disc?

Most people have had or know someone that has been told that they have a ‘Slipped Disc’. 

Lots of  health and medical professionals explain to patients that this has happened but actually don’t explain that its just old terminology. That is,  you physically CANNOT slip the disc in your back. The main two reasons for this are:

1. There is a ligament in the front of your spine (anterior longitudinal ligament) that helps to maintain the structural integrity of your spine. 

2. Another ligament is positioned at the back of your spine (posterior longitudinal ligament) that also maintains the structural integrity of your spin, therefor you disc will never actually slip. 

These two ligaments work with each other to support the spine in forward and backward movements, they prevent the disc slipping out of their positions and popping out. 

What actually can happen is that your disc can get inflamed and in more severe cases get a bulge or even rupture. This  can affect the nerve associated with the disc and cause pain - but remember your disc isn’t slipped!

The key is to work out if it is a disc issue and what caused the the disc issue in the first place. 

It could be because some part of your body is trying to do the job that your unstable back is not doing,  creating an imbalance and compensation. 

Treating the site of pain will work initially however having someone take a 'whole body approach’ will in work out your underlying problem. 

Have been told you have a ‘Slipped Disc'? Book online below and we would be more than happy in checking it out.

Is Your Big Toe Getting Too Big For It's Boots?

How the Big Toe May Contribute To YOUR Back Pain

If you have been following our blogs, you know that is not all about treating the site of pain – it is always about look for the underlying cause.

The Role Of Our Toes 

Our foot and toes plays a major part in getting us walking correctly. Your heel hits the ground and transfers your body weight to your pinky toe, your midfoot unlocks and your foot goes flat, extending your big toe to make contact with the ground – and off you go taking you taking a big steps into the world!

Sometimes your big toe doesn’t have a good extension and your body uses the incorrect parts of your body to help get you walking. For example instead of using your big toe extension it uses your knee, pushing it inwards to help your foot make contact with the ground. Your hip then turns inwards – making your back favour one side of your hip, causing muscle shortening, joint restrictions, wear and tear etc.

After months and years of walking like this the end result, you guessed it, is back pain!

Why Your Big Toe Can Get Too Big For It’s Boots?

Lot of things can cause poor extension in your big toe - old injuries, poor footwear, those expensive high heels. Majority of the time its two particular foot muscles that have become weakened and limit big toe extension - The Flexor Digitorum longus (FHL). if the FHL is tight say goodbye to your big toe able to lift off. The other is the Peroneus Longus (your outer calf muscle), this guy is super important in transferring weight from your pinky toe to your big toe when walking. If it is weak, it will have trouble pushing off your big toe causing changes upstream.

If you are having back pain that is not resolving with conservative treatment, stretching, releasing, activating your glutes it might be a good idea to see what your big toe is doing.

Still not sure if this is the problem or how to check? Ask us. We would love to help any way we can. Send us an email on the link below and we will get back to you pronto.

3 reasons why you need to stop clenching your jaw

I’m sure you are guilty of this.

You have deadlines to meet, busy work/life schedules and feel like that you have no time on your hands. Your stress levels start to creep up and you begin to clench your jaw. I mean really clench your jaw. Soon enough you may begin to develop headaches, neck pain and that annoying click in your jaw. On the other side of the coin, you notice that you are favouring one side of your body more than the other and 6 months down the track you develop low back pain that has been diagnosed as a disc issue.  

What’s the go? Your jaw (temporamandibular joint TMJ) is one of the most sensory innervated structures in your body. In plain English, it tells your body where it is in space. ‘Where the head goes the body will follow’. With his in mind, if your jaw dysfunction due to over clenching/grinding causes you to stick out your jaw more, it will shift your body forward switching off the chain of muscles in your back. Conversely if you jaw deviates to one side it will make you favour more that side you are deviating to, switching off the other side of your body.

It is not your jaws fault, it just think it is giving you the best chance in stabilising your body. Doing endless amount of  activation for your glutes or ‘core’ will be an absolute waste of time if your jaw is trying to do all the work.

Know where your jaw is positioned.

Think your jaw is the culprit to your body woes?

Book Online below and finally get your body issues sorted. 

Poor Breathing Patterns And Your Pain: The Missing Link

Lets start with a little test. Standing upright and take a big breath in, as much as possible, do it with a group of people to see what everyone else is doing. Did you notice peoples shoulders elevating to the ceiling, there neck muscles straining and not much movement in their stomachs?

Dysfunctional breathing patterns are unfortunately more common due to our sedentary sitting lifestyle and other factors as well. Introducing to you the diaphragm.

This dome shaped muscles sits just above your liver and is responsible for breathing. However due to our poor postures, time poor lifestyle and less than optimum stress control mechanisms, our breathing patterns have taken a hit. It is no wonder then why people now-days are suffering from chronic neck, low back and even jaw pain. No amount of stretching, releasing, prodding or poking your painful areas will fix it. 

Diaphragmatic breathing is advantageous as it is more energy efficient, which means that you will feel less tired and more energized. It will also help regulate your nervous system from a sympathetic state (think of fighting off a saber toothed tiger) to a parasympathetic state (laying on a beach getting your tan on). If you have pain this will also help reduce your pain and control it more effectively.  For the athletes reading this, utilising diaphragmatic breathing will improve your performance by up to 30%.

So now you know the importance of diaphragm breathing, the key is implanting it. A simple and effective way is to lay on your back and place a kettlebell(12 – 16 kg) on your belly. Whilst breathing in through your nose, try to lift the kettle with your belly. The weight will act as a cue to your brain to help use your diaphragm more effectively.

If you have had previous long standing injuries that have not resolved with traditional treatments, diaphragmatic retraining and other rehab-focused exercises used at Kinetic Healthcare may be a solution.

Book online below to get your issues sorted. 

Why Sitting isn't the new Smoking!

Great we got your attention.

There is so much discussion around sitting, in particular relating it to being the ‘new smoking’ issue. More to the point, with the implementation of standing work stations it has been made out that sitting is like the anti-Christ.

We wanted to set the record straight via this blog. Now lets look at cyclists, particularly road cylists (race bikes). We can all agree that there posture are thatsimilar to sitting posture. We can also agree that they are some of the fittest and healthiest people on the planet. What is the difference? There body is in constant movement. There legs are constantly in motion to propel the bike forward, there upper body position constantly changes with change of the slope of the road.

The point is this, there bodies are being challenged to meet the demands given to it. Now lets compare that to sitting posture someone would use at work. It is static. There is no movement what so ever. It is the static postures with no change in movement that are the primary causes in many chronic health conditions, low back and neck disorders and even breathing disorders.

I am not telling you to convert your workstation into a human hamster wheel.  However implementing movement whilst sitting would be a good start. Move your legs whilst sitting, change your posture, get up every twenty minutes and walk around, do some squats.

Whatever it may give your body a stimulus to respond to. Remember every action has a reaction so make sure you give your body the best it deserves.

Concerned that something is not right with your movement or are you suffering from  chronic pain. We may be able to help. Click below to book an online appointment to get yourself sorted.

Stretch or strength? When to do what for your hamstring tightness

Lets face it; we live in an age of a sedentary lifestyle. Everything is made to be easier for us but unfortunately it has the direct opposite effect on our bodies. The change in our biomechanics and our lack of movement causes certain muscles to become tight, for instance our hamstrings. The problem is the majority of people think that just because it is tight it needs to be stretched. What if we told you it may be feeling tight as it thinks that your body is unstable?

Here is a simple test you can do. Standing upright with your feet together, legs straight bend forward and touch your toes. Either you can touch your toes (what we want) or you can’t touch them (Now you need to determine if it is a problem with hip/pelvis mobility or a stability issue).

From here you can work out if both/one of the hips are involved or if it is truly a stability issue. As the test above, modify it by keeping your left leg straight and right leg bent with pressure on the ball of your foot. Bend forward to touch your toes on the left side. Repeat the same process to the other side.

If you went further on one side than the other it means definite hip involvement. If it has no change it could mean that both hips and or back are involved.

Next, you want to challenge your toe touch test in a seated position. Sitting on the floor with your legs straight and feet together, bend forward and touch your toes. Are you able to get further? If so, this signifies the fact that there is an underlying stability issue. The reason is because your body feels safer in a seated position and hence allows our nervous system to work to its full potential. In other words it allows you to take the brakes of your body.

Great. You know now what is going on, what do you do about it. If it is purely a mobility issue, using the foam roller/ mobility ball (download our free mobility guide here) for a few minutes around your hip and pelvic region would be a good start. Opening up the hip capsule would also be great. Seated on the floor, put your leg in a figure 4 position, wrap a band around that same hip and tie it to a pole. Now put tension on it so that your hip feels like it is being stretched out of the socket.

Now for the stability work, you want to have to your upper and lower body talking to each other. Lie onto your stomach and place your left hand behind your neck. Now rotate the left side of your upper body to the ceiling whilst elevating your right leg to the ceiling. Complete a total of four reps and repeat the process on the side.

Remember always look deeper for your underlying problem. Where you think it is it isn’t.

MY OFFER TO YOU

Think you have an underlying mobility or stability issue or have an old injury that just won't go away? Stop guessing, come in for FREE and I will take a look at it

If I can fix it then awesome, if I can't then I will refer you on to someone who can .. either way your issues can be fixed as long as you take ACTION

Book in for a Free 15 minute Assessment with me below