Our lives are stressful these days and anything we can do to help relax is going to be beneficial for our bodies.

In this short video I show you a simple breathing technique to help you calm your body and move into the 'rest and digest' part of our nervous system.

I also show a simple activation of a Chapman's Reflex point to help stimulate the Diaphragm and help you breathe better.  

Try this exercise and see how it makes you feel.  Your body will thank you for it.

​The world federation of chiropractic has created an initiative called “just start walking”. The New Zealand Chiropractors Association is also getting behind it.  Chiropractor and New Zealand Chiropractors Association (NZCA) spokesperson Dr Hayden Thomas explains: ‘Walking benefits all aspects of your health ­ from increasing your levels of vitamin D, improving the efficiency of heart and lung function, reducing circulating stress hormones, assisting spinal function, and helping with weight loss. And it’s something nearly everyone can do to increase their fitness and well being’.

I have found through my experience that children and babies can benefit greatly from chiropractic care.  I have seen some great results over the years and more recently I have noticed it first hand with my own child.  That is her in the photo.  I wanted to try and answer and clarify a few of the common questions I get asked in regards to chiropractic care for babies and children. These are some of the main questions I get asked.  If you have any other questions, please contact me and I will try to answer them for you.   Continue reading to see the FAQs. 

So far in my headache blog series, I have discussed how chiropractic care can help people that suffer from headaches.  I have given 7 useful tips for helping ease the pain of headaches at home and finally described what a cervicogenic headache is and how to help stop it.  In this 3rd post I will discuss one of most common types of headaches – Tension Headaches.

Tension headaches are commonly referred to as stress headaches.  They can be periodic or can be more constant in nature.  People often describe them as a mild to moderate, constant band-like tightness, or pressure around the forehead or back of the head and neck.  They can last a few minutes or can last days. People don't often get the visual changes that other headache types can create.  How do you stop them? Continue reading to find out.

I think the feet are a part of the body that should have more attention paid to them. Most people wouldn't look at the feet unless there was a problem with them.  This could be a mistake.  Having feet that are working well enables your body to function better.  Foot dysfunction can lead to knee, hip, lower back and upper back problems. I came across this research the other day that showed how self-myofascial release of the underside of the foot can increase hamstring and lower back flexibility.  It is a very simple thing to try. Continue reading to see what they did PLUS I give my 5 simple tips for improving your foot function. 

I have been practicing chiropractic care for a while now and know the benefits of a chiropractic adjustment.  Being a small and relatively young profession, chiropractic care has in the past, lacked the research to back up what we do and the effect it can have on the body. This is definitely changing with numerous research projects helping explain what how chiropractic care works.  In fact one of the foremost researchers in chiropractic care, Heidi Haavik, studied at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic (where I studied) and is the head of research at the college.  She has some amazing projects on the go and was featured on Seven sharp a few weeks ago talking about the effect of chiropractic care and how it can improve your sex life! Watch it here.  I recently came across a research paper looking at the effect of manual therapy in Resting-State Functional Connectivity and how this manual therapy can modulate or affect pain.  The results of the research were quite interesting.  Continue reading to find out what they found and what it means.

Neck pain is a very common complaint that I see in practice.  The causes of this discomfort can vary dramatically.   Some new research suggests that poor breathing patterns may affect how the neck functions and therefore could be a contributing factor for neck pain.

Continue reading to find out what the research revealed and why your breathing technique can affect your neck function.

People often think that any pain in the leg, whether it is in the front, back or side, is called 'sciatica'.  However, this is not the case.  Sciatica is defined as pain or discomfort associated with the sciatic nerve which runs from the lower back, down the back of the legs to the feet.  It is estimated that up to 40% of the New Zealand population will experience sciatica at some point in their lives.

To fully understand Sciatica, you first need to know what the sciatic nerve is.  The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body and is actually composed of two nerves, the common fibular (or peroneal) nerve and the Tibial nerve.  These nerves are originally formed from 5 different nerve roots in the lower lumbar spine and pelvis. These nerves join together then run down the back of the thigh to knee level where they split and one travels down the front of the lower leg and one travels down the back of the lower leg.

Lets look a bit deeper and see how sciatica occurs, how you diagnose it and most importantly, how to fix it.

Repeated cycles of lumbar hinging (flexing of the lower back) has been shown to be the quickest way to herniate a disc in the lower back.  The research shows that the injury to the disc occurs from the inside out. So how does this occur? In order to understand this you first need to know how the intervertebral discs are structured.

The ice and heat debate is a never ending discussion.  Depending on what book you read or who you talk to, you will get different answers as to what is best and how to use them effectively.  Here is my take on heat therapy.

Heat therapy can have numerous benefits and has long been associated with comfort and relaxation.  However, it can provide both pain relief and healing benefits for injuries. Heat is best used for sub-acute and chronic or long term conditions.

So how does it work?
Heat therapy can help provide relief through several mechanisms:

• Heat therapy dilates the blood vessels in the area. This process increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and washes away the toxin build up, helping to heal the tissue and reduce pain.
• Short term heat application will only penetrate a few mm's. Deeper tissue reactions are due to local reflexes and require more than 15 minutes of heat.
• If mild heat is used it can decrease sensation of sensory nerve endings.  This means that applying heat to the area will decrease the transmission of pain signals to the brain and help relieve the discomfort.
• Heat application also facilitates stretching the soft tissues around the spine, including muscles, connective tissues and adhesions.  As a result of this, there will be a decrease in stiffness as well as pain, with an increase in flexibility and overall feeling of comfort.

How to use heat therapy effectively
My suggestion for using heat therapy is to have a good heat source like a wheat bag, hot pack or a heat lamp. 
My favourite thing to use is a wheat bag for its ease of use and safety (if you follow the instructions and heat it correctly).  If you are using a microwave to heat a wheat bag, make sure you put a cup of water in the microwave to avoid overheating the wheat.

When applying the heat I have found short bursts tend to work more effectively from a physiological perspective.  Apply the heat for 20min (to make sure it penetrates deeper tissues) them remove the heat for approximately 40 min before re-applying for a further 20min.  These short bursts will help bring two big rushes of fresh oxygenated and nutrient rich blood to the area to help speed up the healing process.  You can leave the heat on for longer, but applying it in shorter bursts will give you the best physiological response.

We stock a range of wheatbags made locally in Whenuapai.  They are great value and great quality.  If you come to my practice, make sure you check them out.  If you would like some more information about this article please contact us.  Stay posted for the next blog on the reasons for using ice and how to use it effectively.




 

One of the most common statements I hear when someone comes to see me is, my back has gone out, can you pop/crack it back  in.  This statement leads to my usual response, if your back has gone out, then where did it go?   It is a common misnomer that people have that their backs can “go  out”. Unless you have a significant  injury with a traumatic joint separation and dislocation, it is unlikely that  you back is “out”.  What actually  occurs is that a joint complex has lost its normal motion and is fixed or stuck,  which can then cause pain, irritation to nerves etc.  Chiropractors, call this joint dysfunction a Subluxation.  Rather than 'popping' or 'cracking' it back we chiropractors perform an  adjustment, with the intention of restoring normal motion back to the  joint.  Various techniques that  chiropractors use do create a popping or cracking sound. So what is this popping sound that you hear during a chiropractic adjustment? One thing I can say is that is not “bones cracking”.

Based on the results of some research published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, it would appear it could. The study, entitled "Effect of Cervical Spine Manipulative Therapy on Judo Athletes' Grip Strength" by M, Botelho and B, Andrade, looked at the effect of chiropractic spinal manipulation on a team of top Judo Athletes.  The results showed that there was a statistically significant increase in the grip strength in the treatment group compared to the sham group.  Over the three treatments the treatment group received, the left hand grip strength improved by up to 11.53% and the right hand improved by up to 17.02%.  This is quite a big improvement. 

The results of this can be useful for anyone who requires grip strength for their work, sports or hobbies.  Think of cricket or tennis players that need to hold onto their bat or racket.  Think of tradies, like builders and plumbers, who need good grip strength to hold onto their tools.  How could an improvement like this help you in your work, sports or activities?  If you would like to find out some more about chiropractic care and how it may be able to help or benefit you, contact us. 

The research article can be found at www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754(11)00223-5/abstract

Health history.  Getting a thorough health history is important to understand what is happening in your body and what may have led to your current situation. Often there is a buildup of problems over time rather than just one simple accident/injury.

Postural assessment.  Posture can often give a good indication as to why you may be feeling a certain way. With all of the bad habits we pick up over the years and our sedentary type lifestyles, posture is often