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Author: Tania Leski

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What are the affects of prolonged sitting?

Prolonged Sitting – the whole story.

Today we live a very sedentary life style which includes a lot of sitting, either in the home or at the office.

Prolonged sitting can lead to many health risks including; cardiovascular disease, diabetes and musculoskeletal issues like chronic low back and neck pain.

As the trend for prolonged sitting seems to continue to increase it makes it very important to understand and act to protect your spinal health.

To protect your spinal health the best strategy is to prevent it and the best way to do that it to maintain good posture.

Some great tips to help maintain good posture and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal issues includes:
– Keep you feet flat on the ground/foot rest.
– Choose an ergonomic chair.
– Your hips shoulder be slightly higher than you knees.
– Sit upright and ensure you are not slouching.
– Stay relaxed.
– Your hands shoulder be lower than your elbows.
– Your computer screen should ensure you are looking straight ahead, not head down.

Other techniques that can ben incorporated includes:
– Take regular breaks, every 45 minutes to stretch and move around.
– Use sit-stand desks when able.
– Use your lunch breaks to enjoy some walking or outdoor time.
– Encourage movement.

These are some great strategies to help combat low back and neck pain due to prolonged sitting posture.

If you do however experience these issues, our experienced chiropractors at ChiroCure Clinic will be here to help assess, treat and prevent this pain going forward.

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Electrotherapy specialised Myotherapy treatments.

We can offer Electrotherapy treatment during our Myotherapy and Massage appointments.

This specialised therapeutic technique called ‘Electrotherapy’ uses an electrical current that is applied directly into the muscles, tendons, ligaments or nerves, to correct dysfunction and pain within the musculoskeletal system.

The application of an electrical current into a dry needling that is running through the affected tissue, is a direct communication with the brain, which causes the nervous system to reset the dysfunction or chronic pain pattern.

The combination electrotherapy with dry needling allows for a deeper and more accurate application than a typical TENs machines.

We can treat the following conditions using these techniques:

– Chronic pain
– Back pain (Upper, mid & lower)
– Neck pain
– Hip pain.
– Shoulder pain
– Scoliosis
– Spinal disc injuries
– Bulging discs
– Numbness, burning and tingling sensations.
– Carpal tunnel
– Post surgery weakness
– Tendonitis
– Sciatica
– Muscle spasms
– Locked joints
– Osteitis pubis

Come and experience the benefits at ChiroCure Clinic with our qualified and experienced Myotherapist’s and Massage therapists.
We look forward to treating you!

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IBS and Osteopathy Treatment

Irritable bowel syndrome and osteopathy treatment at chirocure clinic in StKilda and Dromana, Melbourne.

Have you ever had stomach pains after a discussion, after an important call or after an unexpected event?
How many times have you had diarrhoea before an exam, an interview or a particularly busy working day?

This condition is called IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and it is much more common than you might think.

Symptoms are stomach aches, cramps, diarrhoea and/or constipation (often alternating), bloating and flatulence.

It is usually triggered by an increasingly common and present element in. all our lives, and which unfortunately can come in many forms: stress.

Stress is also responsible for low back pain, headaches, jaw pain and heartburn.

What can the osteopath do about it?
Osteopathic treatment is effective in relieving inflamed and pain-causing structures, particularly visceral treatment for IBS to contain pain and possibly regularise evacuation.

Furthermore, removing the causes of musculoskeletal and visceral pain allows the body to better absorb the stress loads that come with daily challenges.

The healthier and better prepared the body is, the easier it will be to maintain the benefits of the treatment and better cope with tomorrow.

What can you do?

Many things, including the most obvious, relax!

Find a hobby or an outlet to help you de-stress and distract yourself.
Yoga and Pilates are great for keeping fit, relaxing the body and de-stressing.

In addition, you can resort to some supplements such as magnesium to help relax your muscles, improve sleep quality and regulate the frequency with you go to the bathroom.

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Breathing techniques to prevent back pain – our osteopath explains!

Breathing is possibly the most basic action of our existence, everyone can do it without even thinking, right? Well technically yes, but most of us do it ineffectively.

Let’s do a quick challenge: take a deep breath in.

Done?

Let me guess, you did it through your mouth, inflating as first thing your chest, lifting your collar bones and your shoulders almost to the jaw level.

This is the most common mistake everyone does and that can lead further in time to annoying neck pain, as you are using for most the neck muscles which are lifting a load they are not meant to: the rib cage with the organs inside and in case of women, the breast as well.

Fortunately, there is an exercise you can do to prevent this from happening.

– Lie down, with your feet slightly apart, one hand on your abdomen and the other hand on your chest.

– Gently exhale the air in your lungs through your mouth, then inhale slowly through your nose, pushing out your abdomen slightly and concentrating on your breath. “Listen” to your abdomen expanding. Once you think it cannot hold any more air, start expanding your chest as well.

– Slowly exhale through your mouth. Start emptying your abdomen at first and your chest after the abdomen empty. Gently contract your abdominal muscles to completely release the remaining air in the lungs.

– Repeat until for 4-5 cycles. You may be able to do only 1 or 2 cycles at first as you might feel buzzy and exhausted at the end, it’s perfectly normal.

– Once you feel comfortable with your ability to breathe into the abdomen, it is not necessary to use your hands on your abdomen and chest.

After a few days of exercising, you will find out that it’s becoming easier and easier, and you feel less tired when doing the exercise.

After a few weeks you will realize that you’ll have changed the pattern of breathing at unconscious level: you no longer to think about it, but your abdominal breathing will come in automatically.

You now breath in a way more effective way than a few weeks ago.

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Treating tech-neck with chiropractic at chirocure clinic St Kilda Melbourne

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM TECH-NECK?

These days technology is a big part of our lives and it’s likely to increasingly be that way.

During the rise in use of technology we are noticing increasing cases of neck pain which we refer to as ‘tech-neck’. Whether it’s spending time on the phone, computer or gaming Australians are are increasingly looking down at devices for extended periods of time causing postural strain on our necks.

There are simple strategies to help combat tech-neck. For example, making sure that you are at eye level with your screen will make it less likely that you will be in a slouching position with your head forward.

Here at ChiroCure Clinic, our experienced chiropractor’s can do a thorough assessment into your neck pain and use a variety of different treatments and advice to improve your tech-neck.

We are looking forward to helping you at ChiroCure Clinic in St Kilda Melbourne!

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Should we be sitting or standing at work to prevent back pain?

Have you ever stopped to think about how many hours per day we spend sit at our desks and how our body reacts to it?

Sitting for several hours in a row generally leads us to slump in the chair with the result of compressing the spine and stretching the supporting spinal muscles.

Low back and neck pain can onset because of this reason, and if preexisting, could be aggravated.

Nowadays is very common to hear about standing desks, are they worth it? Should I sit or stand while working?

The answer stands in the middle, as variability is the way to go.
The aim is to not maintain for too long the same position: standing avoids slumping and compressing the spine but gets tiring on leg muscles; sitting gives us the chance to rest and reload those muscles.
By alternating, the muscles throughout your body evenly take the load.

Standing, asides improving your back and neck pain, may also improve your cardiovascular health and blood flow, allowing you to think more clearly and it keeps you alert.

How long should I be standing or sitting?

Ideally a range between 2 and 4 hours before changing position again would be the go to, especially at the beginning since could be hard standing for 4 hours without some sort of training. Going forward, it should become much easier.

If you want to start exploring the standing desk at work, then you should probably also check your footwear and considering what you will be standing on for a few hours.

If the flooring is too hard, using rubber matting where you stand could be a good advice as it allows you to have a more comfortable time when standing.

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Backpack advise for kids going to school

Why is it so important for backpacks to be worn correctly when going to school?

Poorly fitting back or overloaded backpacks can lead to sore shoulders and sore back as a result of overloaded and fatigued muscles.

Constant overloading to the spine can cause strain on muscles, ligaments and the spine. This increases your child’s likelihood of experiencing back pain as an adult.

Backpacks that are not worn correctly can cause alterations to a child’s posture and/or gait. Poor posture and gait can lead to other musculoskeletal conditions that affect the extremities in particular the hips and the knees and other levels of the spine.

Some of these conditions include tendinopathies, excessive pronation and tension type headaches. These can all cause interference in a child’s active lifestyle. On some occasions these conditions may mean a child has to miss out on playing sports because they are in too much pain.

Prevention is the best form of treatment in cases of back pain. Below are a few tips on how to protect your child’s spine and reduce the likelihood of back pain.

How should a backpack be worn?

– Use both of the shoulder straps

– Ensure the backpack sits close to your body by tightening the straps.

– Ensure the backpack sits in the middle of the back and doesn’t sag down to the buttock area.

– Load the heaviest items close to your back.

– Don’t load the back pack up over 10-20% past the child’s weight.

If you have concerns that your backpack is the cause of your child’s back pain book online for an assessment with our chiropractors today.

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How to get out of bed safely without back pain

7.00 am, alarm rings, it’s time to wake up to get to working place.
Lazily you open your eyes, you are looking at the ceiling, you snort because you would like to do a couple more hours in dreamland, you gather all the willpower in your body, you make to get up like every other morning, SNAP!

Something in your lower back has just popped and the noise does not bode well.

It takes a few seconds, and you realise that your omens were correct, a twinge in your lower back and tingling down your leg start to get more and more uncomfortable.

You finally get up and wow, you can barely walk straight, the pain is excruciating, even just the idea of having to bend over to slip on your socks and shoes to leave the house is terrifying.

It can’t go on like this, today is a sick-day, you hope tomorrow will be better, you take an anti-inflammatory, and get back into bed, trying to remain as still as possible. AH! If only there had been a way to prevent this from happening….

Yes! There are many small gestures in our daily lives that we do that unknowingly predispose us to developing pain situations that we would gladly do without.

One of these is for example how we get out of bed.

Many people while getting out of bed ‘crunch’. As they do so, they sink into the mattress and to maintain balance, they concentrate all the weight of their body on the pelvis and activating the core and loading pressure on the discs.

Why instead not trying this way?

Turn on one side, wait a few seconds, slide the legs off the bed and while doing so help with the arms to raise the torso, wait a few seconds again and finally stand up.

This is one of the small things that can help us preserve our spine and maintain our health.

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Our Chiropractor busts the myth about arthritis and running!

For many years the health industry has believed that long periods of running or running frequently will cause arthritis. However, the British Journal of Sports Medicine released a journal article stating “recreational running does not have a negative impact of the articular cartilage in runners.”

So what does cause arthritis?

Arthritis is most commonly caused by poor biomechanics and previous injury. You may be reading this and wondering what does poor biomechanics mean?

Well the answer to that is simple, poor biomechanics is improper loading of a joint, muscle, ligament or tendon. Improper loading is usually the result of weak muscles or poor posture.

A good example of poor biomechanics is excessive pronation, commonly known as flat feet. Flat feet occur when the muscles that form the arch of the foot are weak and allow the arch of the foot to collapse as weight is placed on the foot.

Over time as a joint is loaded improperly it can lead to arthritis. However, this is easily fixed through chiropractic assessment and management.

There are many different variations of poor biomechanics that chiropractors have been trained to assess. Chiropractors are qualified in providing advice and treatment for symptoms that arise as a result of poor biomechanics.

Chiropractic treatment can aid in the alleviating the symptoms of poor biomechanics and may aid in preventing the onset and progression of arthritis.

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We welcome to our chiropractic team!

Dr Meg is our new associate chiropractor here at ChiroCure. She is a graduate of RMIT, where she graduated with Distinction. Dr Meg is passionate about sports and rehab chiropractic management. She enjoys an active lifestyle, in her spare time she enjoys running, hiking, kayaking and swimming. She enjoys dealing with injury prevention and rehab post injury.

During her time at Uni she was a graduate of the RMIT sports academy, which focused on the management, and treatment of many different types of sporting injuries. During her time at the sports academy there was a focus on the concept of prehab or pre-rehab.

This encompassed functional movement assessment to highlight any weak or poorly functioning muscles. This type of assessment is effective in identifying structures that may become injured if there is no strengthening of these structures.

This type of assessment is useful for those who are entering into pre-season or those returning to sports after a break. If you would like to book an appointment with Dr Meg you can book online or you can give us a call.

Assessments are also available to those who have experience an injury and would like a customised rehab to compliment their chiropractic treatment.

Dr Meg also enjoys treating postural related pain (i.e. low back pain, neck pain, etc.), headaches, disc bulges, and extremity issues. She uses evidence base approaches to care and provides tailored treatments to suit the needs of the patients.