Health Matters

When I was asked to contribute to this magazine by writing a monthly health article, my initial thought was to instantly write about some ground breaking contribution to health care that would amaze everybody and provoke a mass response and subsequent debate!! However, upon reflection, it would make more sense to firstly introduce myself, giving some background into my move in to the health profession. I will then follow this with my first monthly health topic which is very prevalent in everyday life, especially this time of year.

When I lived in Devon I worked as a Quality Engineer in the jet engine industry and I suffered a severe and painful injury to my neck. Although surgery seemed likely I was advised to see a local Chiropractor in Newton Abbot who not only treated my condition so I became pain free but lead me to have a complete change in career direction. The rest, as they say, is history!

So what is it all about? Chiropractic is a primary healthcare profession that specialises in the treatment and management of the nervous system, the aim being to improve the overall health of the patient.

Treatment does not focus on manifestation of pain but instead looks at the body as a whole, in order to identify and treat the root cause of the problem. Improvement in mobility and relief from pain, through manipulation, encourages the body's natural ability to heal itself. Chiropractic treats an extensive range of conditions from migraine and whiplash, back pain, always a problem, through to knee and foot pain. I like to make my patients aware of potentially harmful situations, such as, bad posture, poor seating, inappropriate lifting techniques, this knowledge allows patients to build a healthy understanding of their own responsibilities and capabilities and how they can help themselves.

Chiropractic management and rehabilitation exercise, which can be practiced at home, enables patients to obtain great relief from a huge array of painful conditions.

At 'Creative Chiropractic' we offer the best in patient diagnosis including the most up to date digital x-ray equipment, which means patients, have the opportunity to view their detailed images during their first consultation with a knowledgeable and professional report of findings. Everyone can benefit from Chiropractic, from babies to mature 90+ year olds, and from all walks of life.
Creative Chiropractic treats families, pregnant women, children with special needs, sportsmen and women, trades people, etc, etc.

A different approach. My primary aim is to provide a first class service of care to enable patients to achieve their maximum health potential. The practice philosophy at 'Creative Chiropractic' focuses on encouraging patients to take responsibility for their own health, through teaching a better way to tackle pain management as opposed to simply treating symptoms.

With Christmas and the New Year comes a time of sitting around watching the television playing the games Santa brought. As we move into the time of lighter evenings, many of us are out in the garden getting ready for spring or just simple house cleaning, washing away the winter blues. This time of year has the classic potential for pulling the low back leading from simple back pain to full blown sciatica. So, to introduce the first topic of 2008, what could be more appropriate than the subject of one's posture?    Posture is essentially the position of the body in space, the relationship of the body parts-head, trunk and limbs-to each other. Changes in posture occur when any part of the body is moved. Posture also communicates nonverbal body language, reflecting self esteem and mental attitude.  The effects of posture can be far reaching effecting breathing, digestion and the circulatory systems as well as the muscles, bones and joints. It begs the question, how does poor or faulty posture develop? The causes of faulty posture can be divided into two categories- Positional and structural- but for this article, we are only concerned with positional posture.  Positional causes of poor posture include: - poor postural habits, psychological, degeneration processes, pain leading to muscular spasm or simply due to normal growth development. Also, excess or restricted joint movement, breathing problems, general muscular weakness, excess body weight, loss of proprioception ( the ability to perceive the position of the body with the surrounding  environment) and overreliance on positive supports such as Velcro belts or neck collars.

Over time, the muscles in the back of the neck for example become tight and start to tug and pull at the base of the skull, this can cause head pain. In some patients it's a dull ache, in others the headache may be more throbbing and to one side. A similar situation occurs in the low back. Two thirds of a person's bodyweight is supported by the low back so with repeated bending and twisting, the joints can lock and the muscles tighten leading to dull back pain. Over time, this pain can be referred leading to buttock and leg pain. In severe cases, the discs in the lower back can become damaged and this can cause sciatic symptoms to the lower leg and foot.
I could fill this magazine with a discussion on Posture, but I leave it to you to evaluate your own posture and see if you can make changes that could help you to stop becoming a low back pain statistic. I have developed a Fact Sheet containing more information about posture and lots of helpful tips so please telephone the Practice to receive your free copy by post or e-mail.

Future editions Each month I will be discussing a different health issue and I would welcome your suggestions and any questions you have for the monthly topics.

You can either telephone me on: 01263 715522, e-mail me on: michael@creativechiropractic.co.uk or write to me at: -
Creative Chiropractic, 5 Lyles Court, Lees Yard, HOLT, Norfolk, NR25 6HS.

I look forward to the next issue but in the meantime if you have any individual health issues which you would like to discuss in
confidence or if you would like to find out more about Chiropractic please contact me at the Practice and I will be most happy to advise. Any discussion would be in total confidence.

I wish you all a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year Dr Michael. J. I'Anson