Last month was British Chiropractic awareness month and the topic was ‘Perils of Parenting.’ As most of you have experienced being a parent can be tough work on the back from pregnancy, feeding and carrying to running around and tidying up after the children! There are some great hints and tips on last months blog section.

Chiropractic awareness month was so popular that we decided to have an awareness month regularly at the centre.

This month’s topic is Low Back Pain; Did you know that four out of five people will experience back pain in their life time and that 90% of back pain sufferers stop seeing their GP after three months but most are still in pain a year later. They are scary statistics and a harsh realisation how important it is to take good care of back.

I hope that you enjoy this blog, feedback is always much appreciated.

 

 

Back Pain

A Common Complaint

It is a fact that most people will suffer with back pain at some point during their lives. This is such a common problem because the spinal column is the foundation of our skeletal structure and is put under repetitive pressure when we perform our normal daily activities.

Many people when they initially come in to see us say ‘I only bent over to tie my lace/clean my teeth.’ This is often the case as the constant repetitive stress on the back has been irritating it for a long period under the surface without symptoms. This repetitive stress has caused the back to ‘go’ at this point.

If the vertebrae (spinal bones) in a region of the back aren’t functioning and moving properly, possibly due to these daily pressures, they can become restricted and misaligned. When bones or joints are misaligned the discs between the joints may begin to become thinned. The thinning may put extra pressure onto the joints and the delicate spinal nerves that exit at each vertebrae. This dysfunction and pressure may cause pain, numbness, pins and needles in the back but also in other areas depending on the location of the misaligned region.

What Can Help?

• Bed Rest - Research shows that prolonged bed rest often may delay recovery or make the problem worse.
• Pain Killers - Drugs will mask the symptoms and often we will overdo it thinking that we are feeling better than we really are. Drugs are not correcting the underlying problem.
• Muscle Relaxants - Much like painkillers, they will relax the muscles but the root cause of the problem will still be there.
• Massage - This can be very good to relax surrounding muscles and break up scar tissue but it will not correct the underlying problem. Every muscle in the body is connected to a bone so the root cause is not being dealt with by only working on the muscle.
• Heat - This can sometimes cause an increase of irritation and pain in the area due to the inflammatory response.

Many of these approaches mask the pain and deal with the symptoms only and not the root cause.  Because of this the problem can often worsen and become chronic. When you are experiencing pain it’s the body’s alarm system to alert you that something is wrong, please do not ignore it.

 

Chiropractic Can Help

Chiropractic is one of the fastest growing private health care sectors in the UK as more people are learning about the benefits of Chiropractic care. Chiropractic aims to correct your underlying health problem, which in turn will aid in relieving your symptoms. Chiropractic dedicates special attention to the function of the spine and its effect on the nervous system, aiming to improve the motion and restore optimum position of the spinal vertebrae.

What will happen when I come in?

The Chiropractic approach to any symptom is to locate the underlying cause. This begins on your first visit with a thorough health history and chiropractic, neurological and orthopedic examination to determine if you are a good candidate for chiropractic care.

This information from the first visit then will be assessed and analysed to enable us to reach a diagnosis. A tailored treatment plan for you will be designed specifically to give you the best results from care.

A report of your findings will follow including; what is the problem is, if Chiropractic can help you and if so how it can benefit you. Details of your treatment plan will then be discussed with you including number of sessions you will require and cost.                   The number of sessions required for each individual will depend on the severity and chronicity of your case and what you would like to achieve for your long term health.

Safe and effective chiropractic treatment will commence using a variety of techniques gathered over 10 years of experience within the profession.  Ongoing advice for exercise, lifestyle, nutrition and posture to help to support you on your pathway back to health.

 

If you would like to contact us with any enquiries our helpful team will be happy assist you.

Contact us today on 01707 333390

 

Please visit our contact page for location details, opening hours and telephone number. The Health & Vitality Centre is based in Welwyn Garden City and our team look forward to meeting you there!