If you’re suffering from chronic or acute pain in your back, neck, joints, or muscles, then you know how debilitating it can be. Not only does it affect your physical health, but it can also have a significant impact on your emotional and mental wellbeing. That’s why chiropractic care can be so beneficial, providing relief for a variety of conditions.

Chiropractic techniques are based on the scientific understanding that neurological and musculoskeletal dysfunction can affect the body’s overall health and wellbeing. By using manipulative and other manual therapies, chiropractors can help restore proper function to the body and alleviate pain.

Chiropractic care can be used to treat a variety of conditions, including:
– Back and neck pain
– Joint pains
– Headaches
– Sports injuries
– Arthritic joint pains
– Carpal tunnel syndrome

If you’re considering chiropractic care, it’s important to choose a qualified practitioner who has undergone extensive training and has the experience to provide effective treatment. It’s also essential to work with a chiropractor who takes the time to understand your individual needs and develops a personalized treatment plan based on your specific condition.

At our practice, we take a whole-body approach to chiropractic care. We don’t just treat your symptoms, but also work to identify the underlying cause of your pain and dysfunction. We believe that by addressing the root cause of your condition, we can provide more effective and lasting relief.

If you’re ready to try chiropractic care, we encourage you to schedule a consultation with us. We’ll answer any questions you may have about our services, and work with you to develop an individualized treatment plan that will help you achieve optimal health and wellbeing.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health and well-being, commonly known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’, as we can produce it in our bodies when exposed to sunlight. It is important for a variety of functions in the body, including supporting bone health, regulating mood, supporting immune function and reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as heart diseases and certain types of cancer.

The presence of Vitamin D means we absorb calcium and promote bone mineralisation, which is essential for maintaining bone health and strength. Additionally, vitamin D has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects, which can help reduce pain and inflammation in the joints and muscles. Chiropractors often work with patients who are experiencing musculoskeletal issues so ensuring that their patients are getting adequate levels of vitamin D can help improve the effectiveness of their treatments and support overall musculoskeletal health.

Small amounts of careful sun exposure in the spring/summer months, between 11am and 4pm, when your shadow is shorter than you are, is a safe and effective way to maintain your vitamin D levels and make you feel good!

Occipital Neuralgia is a condition characterised by sharp, painful, electric-shock like sensations on the back of the head, neck or ears.

Symptoms include pain behind the eye, radiating pain on one side of the head/neck/back and increased sensitivity of the scalp. These symptoms are caused by the irritation or compression of the occipital nerves that run at the top of the spine to the scalp. Chiropractic care is an effective treatment if you are experiencing these symptoms or similar but here are 3 ways to relieve the pain in the mean time –

• Chin tuck exercise

A chin tuck exercise aims to stretch and strengthen muscles and connective tissue in the painful area. If this exercise increases pain or discomfort, stop immediately

1. Stand straight, tuck your chin down, and pull your head back. Aim to bring your head back up in a straight line without titling
2. Hold stretch for 5 seconds before resting, and repeat x10 (Easy Chin Tucks for Neck Pain | Spine-health  – video demo)

• Heat/Ice Therapy

Apply ice pack or heat pad under the base of your skull as you lie down, leave for no more than 20 minutes at a time and always use a barrier between your skin and the temperature source. This will help to reduce inflammation and relieve pain.

• Gentle neck massage

Massages can help calm tight muscles, relieving tension and pain, although it is important to stop if this aggravates your pain

Finding effective relief from chronic pain can be a long and frustrating journey. While medication might provide temporary relief, it often fails to address the underlying causes or long-term solutions. Here is where chiropractic care truly shines. With its holistic approach, chiropractic care has shown remarkable results in treating various conditions – from headaches and migraines to dizziness and vertigo. Let’s delve into how chiropractic care can bring you lasting relief.

1. General headaches: Whether its tension headaches or sinus headaches caused by allergies, chiropractic care offers a non-invasive solution. By performing spinal adjustments chiropractors can correct misalignments, alleviate muscle tension and improve blood flow to the head which can effectively reduce the intensity and frequency of headaches

2. Cervicogenic headaches: these are characterised by pain originating from the neck; this can be particularly debilitating but lucky for you chiropractors have a deep understanding of the connections between the spine and the nervous system. They perform targeted spinal adjustments and gentle manipulations aiming to restore normal function to the affected cervical spine offering relief to cervicogenic headaches.

3. Migraines: these are often accompanied by intense pain, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound which can significantly affect an individual’s day-to-day life. Chiropractic care focuses not only on pain management but also on preventing future migraines. By correcting spinal misalignments and addressing triggering factors such as poor posture or muscle tension chiropractors can help reduce migraine frequency and intensity.

4. Dizziness and Vertigo: these conditions can make even simple tasks challenging, often stemming from inner ear issues or neck misalignments. These conditions can be effectively managed through chiropractic care by addressing the cervical spines alignment and applying specialised techniques that can help restore nerve functioning and reduce dizziness.

Piriformis Syndrome – a condition in which the piriformis muscle, located deep in the buttock, spasms and causes buttock pain. This can also irritate the nearby sciatic nerve and cause symptoms similar to sciatica

 

The classic symptoms include sharp, shooting, burning or aching pains in the buttock, pain travelling down the back of thigh/leg, and numbness, tingling or weakness in the buttock and/or leg.

Here are 4 EASY stretches to help relieve your pain – 

Knee-to-chest Stretch

• Lie on your back with both feet flat on the floor and both knees bent
• Pull your one knee up to your chest
• Grasp this knee and pull it toward the opposite shoulder (example – right knee to left shoulder)
• Hold the stretch and repeat for other knee

Piriformis Stretch

• Lie in your back with both feet flat on the floor and both knees bent
• Rest your left ankle over your right knee
• Pull your right thigh towards your chest
• Hold the stretch and repeat for the other knee

Seated Hamstring Stretch

• Place 2 chairs facing each other
• Sit on the chair and place the heel of one leg on the opposite chair
• Lean forward, bending at the hips until you feel a gentle stretch along the back of your thigh
• Hold the stretch and repeat for the other leg

Towel Hamstring Stretch

• Lie on your back with both legs straight
• Pull one leg upwards
• Place a towel around the foot of the raised leg and hold, this will straighten the leg until you feel a mild stretch along the back of your thigh
• Hold the stretch and repeat for the other leg

Read more here – What Is Piriformis Syndrome? | Spine-health

Nearly 73% of British people struggle with back pain on a regular basis 

To help empower the British public to help relieve their back pain, aches and strains, here are some quick tips, tricks and hacks for you to add into your daily routine.

1. Take a stand: Inactivity is a leading cause of back pain. If you spend most of your day sitting down, make sure that you take regular breaks, ideally every 20-30 minutes. Stand up, change position and walk around a little.
2. Stretch it out: If you struggle to get away from your desk at work, simple activities such as stretching, shoulder shrugging or even fidgeting in your seat can help to keep your back in line.
3. Get active: Exercise is key to a healthy back. This doesn’t mean that you need to embark on any extreme fitness regimes. Adding just a few extra minutes of walking a day can hugely benefit your back health.
4. Check your workspace: If your job primarily involves sitting at a desk and staring at a computer for hours at a time, make sure your workspace is set up to support a comfortable position. This is different for everyone, so if you don’t feel comfortable in your current set up, try altering the height of your chair or screen.
5. Straighten Up! Try incorporating some simple exercises into your daily routine. Any exercises that promote balance, strength and flexibility in the spine will aid posture and help prevent back pain!

Read more here Back Care Awareness Week: How the British Chiropractic Association is supporting the UK’s back health – British Chiropractic Association (chiropractic-uk.co.uk)

And get in touch with us to begin your treatment here – Contact us | The Reading Chiropractor (reading-chiropractor.co.uk)

Study on office workers states that you should keep moving to reduce spine pain when sitting at work.

A recent study has shown that postural shifting may be helpful in reducing neck and back discomfort.

This study compared 3 different postural shifting frequencies on 60 healthy office workers who were asked to sit for 1 hour. They found that postural shifting frequency of 10 to 30 times per hour had significant effects on workers’ perceived discomfort in their neck, shoulder, and upper and lower back.

The authors recommended that postural shifts of 30 times per hour may help workers reduce perceived musculoskeletal discomfort at the neck, shoulder, and upper and lower back.

WFC Public Health Committee Chair, Dr Claire Johnson, commented, “Chiropractors can incorporate this new information into the prevention recommendations for their patients. The findings from this study support the efforts of the World Health Organization to reduce the amount of physical inactivity. This provides chiropractors yet another opportunity to contribute to improving spine and musculoskeletal health.”

Akkarakittichoke N, Waongenngarm P, Janwantanakul P. Effects of Postural Shifting Frequency on Perceived Musculoskeletal Discomfort During 1-Hour Sitting in Office Workers. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2023 Sep 29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2023.06.003