Spinal Health – The 5 pillars of a happy, healthy back

Article by Chris Lawlor, Chart Clinic Osteopath

In the UK alone up to 2.5 million people experience back pain every day of the year, here at the Chart Clinic we want to give you some tips to overcome your pain or to keep it at bay if you’re not to suffering.

1)    Maintain good muscular tone and strength

Lower back and core muscles are vital players when it comes to lower back pain, it’s important to keep these muscles in shape in order to provide stability and protect your lower back and pelvic region.

Personalised treatment sessions with an Osteopath can massively help; we are specifically trained to spot imbalances or weaknesses in people’s bodies and have a wide array of treatment techniques to help counteract these issues.

Your Osteopath will also give you tailored exercise/strengthening routines in order to maintain strong muscular health.

2)    Maintain Flexibility

Getting the right combination of flexibility and strength is key; too much of one and not enough of the other doesn’t tend to do the body much good. Some light daily stretching exercises should be done regardless of pain in order to keep your body mobile and supple. Again your Osteopath will design the most effective rehab/stretching programme that suits your specific needs and will be checking up on you to make you’re keeping up with your ‘homework’!

3)    Get Enough Sleep

We’d all love an extra hour or two in bed, but evidence does actually show sleeping for slightly longer each night can improve the health of your back, especially with disc related injuries. This is because when lying down your spine is free from vertical compression (which builds up throughout the day, sitting/standing/exercising etc) so at night the discs in your spine have more time to replenish and can then perform their function of shock absorption and nerve protection.

4)    Stay Hydrated

Continuing with the health of your discs, these structures need plenty of water to perform optimally and so it is important to keep hydrated throughout the day. The recommended daily intake of water is 2 litres, so always try and have a bottle or glass on the go and remember if you’re actually thirsty it usually means you are already slightly dehydrated!

5)    Prevention is Better than Cure

As with most things in life, being proactive is better than being reactive, and the same is true with your spine! Generally looking after yourself and following some of the steps above is a sure fire way to keep problems at bay.

But if things do build up make sure you come and see an Osteopath before the problems get too severe.

As a rule of thumb the longer problems are left untreated, generally the more difficult they are to get back to 100%, so book an appointment as soon its starting to bother you and get on top of the problem to nip it in the bud!

To book an appointment with Osteopath Chris Lawlor call 01737 248 023

Foam rolling…. What is it?

You may have seen fitness fanatics and athletes foam rolling in the stretch area of gyms, but what exactly are they hoping to achieve? It often looks uncomfortable, so why do it?

Foam rolling is a self-manual therapy technique used by many who believe it just helps with flexibility, but that is not all. It is also thought to improve recovery, joint range of movement and performance. The well-known term ‘myofascial release’ (MFR) is the scientific wording commonly associated with foam rolling. ‘Myo’ comes from the Latin term, meaning muscle. ‘Fascia’ is a soft tissue that spans throughout the entire body, linking and surrounding muscles, bones, organs and nerve fibres. Fascia has a tensile strength similar to that of steel, works with muscles to provide tensioning and has the ability to transfer energy throughout the entire body. These points highlight the importance of fascia in the human body and any blockages in this system can then have a knock-on effect leading to injury and pain.

So why is Myofascia relevant to foam rolling?

Foam rolling is thought to have a direct effect on local areas of tightness within myofascia and it’s down to mechanoreceptors within this soft tissue telling the brain to alter muscle activity, and ultimately relax the muscle that is being foam rolled. 

What are the benefits of foam rolling?

·         Improves flexibility, both short and long term

·         Enhances joint range of movement

·         Reduces the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)

·         Used as part of a warm up to aid in performance

How long should I foam roll for?

Research has shown that the optimal time and frequency of foam rolling is 3-5 sets of 20-30 second repetitions for short term changes in myofascial flexibility. To have a longer term effect in flexibility, this regime should be performed 3-5 times per week for optimal results. 

Is there scientific backing behind all these claims?

The answer is yes, however, research into foam rolling has only been a very recent focus amongst the scientific community and further trials are needed to reinforce current findings. The fundamental effects of foam rolling appear very encouraging and can potentially benefit individuals who are receiving treatment for an injury, be it sporting or in the work place. It is common practice for patients to be instructed to perform exercises outside the treatment room to speed up their recovery and the use of a foam roller could be a very effective tool. 

Through recent trials, there have been encouraging results for improving hamstrings flexibility, aiding in recovery between training sessions, enhancing hip, knee and ankle range of motion and performance. Unfortunately, foam rolling on its own is not the be all and end all of injuries but it is shown to have a true benefit to help patients on their journey to recovery whilst they are being helped by a health care professional. 

Treating patients who are suffering with sporting injures is a true passion of mine. The biomechanics of their injury is hugely important in knowing how to approach the patient with their injury. With the use of hands on therapy (massage, manipulation, acupuncture, ultrasound, kinesio-taping) and home rehabilitation, the patient will bounce back to fitness in no time.

Article written by Jon Wilkinson (Osteopath) Call 01737 248 023 to book an appointment with Jon

Smartphone user? How smart is your posture?

The smartphone is undoubtedly one of the most significant innovations of most recent times, with ever increasing capabilities and ease of use, more and more people are spending time on them. But this is not just limited to smartphones, portable tablets also, allow  users to spend time on them easily whether at home, travelling or commuting to work.

A recent study found that people spending longer on these devices outside of work hours could potentially be putting themselves at risk, this article on the BBC New Website summarises the findings - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18490433

Reproduced with permission from Joseph E. Muscolino, DC. Art work by Giovanni Rimasti. Originally published in the Massage Therapy Journal: Seven Keys to Healthy Neck Posture, 2010

So what can smartphone and tablet users do to avoid the potential pitfalls of using these devices and causing strain on their backs and necks? Well as obvious as it may seem, just watch your posture. Slouching causes undue strain in the neck and back, compound that effect by flexing your neck forward on an already hunched back and you have a pretty disastrous position for you spine.

To avoid placing excessive tension through the muscles in the back of your neck and back, the user can simply bring the device up to eyelevel and support the hand holding the smartphone or tablet with the other arm, the accompanying picture is self explanatory and a useful visual guide to help improve your smartphone posture.

If you are suffering with back and neck pain, try and alter the way you use your smartphone/tablet, how does it feel? Is there less strain in you neck and back? If you would like to know more about how and Osteopath can help you, please feel free to get in contact.

Headaches? Look at the alternatives before you pop another pill

It has been revealed that more than one million people in Britain may be suffering from constant, crippling headaches because they are taking too many painkillers, experts say. The pills people take to relieve headaches and migraines may be making things much worse, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) in guidance to the health service for England and Wales.

As many as one in 50 people suffer continual headaches because of "medication overuse", Nice reports. The problem begins with taking the odd painkiller for tension headaches or migraines, which usually works. But some people take the pills more and more often, until they are on tablets for more than half the days in a month. Nice says that if this goes on for more than three months the medication ends up causing the problem it is intended to cure.

So what alternatives are there to continually popping pills? British Osteopathic Association Member James Clapham comments, “tension-type and neck related headaches are the most common form of headache. If you suffer from tension-type headache, then regular gentle exercise will almost certainly help - such as yoga, pilates, swimming, walking. Some people find it hard to relax and probably don't realise how tense they are. If someone suffers from headaches it may also be neck related due to stiffness or restrictions of the neck. Osteopaths look to find the cause of tensions or stiffness and seek to relieve it by helping the body achieve more mobility and flexibility.

“Other lifestyle factors such as poor posture at a desk or tiredness can lead to tension-type or neck related headaches. Osteopaths look to relieve this tension and give advice on posture and exercises to do to help prevent the tension or stiffness from building up. For example we would recommend taking regular breaks from sitting at a computer desk for long periods of time or prolonged driving. Any persistent or sudden severe headache should always be checked by a GP first.”

For further information about the BOA or to find a BOA member near you please visit www.osteopathy.org

About the British Osteopathic Association

The British Osteopathic Association (BOA) is the professional association for osteopaths in the UK, acting as an independent representative body whilst promoting osteopathy to the general public and government. The BOA is committed to supporting, protecting and caring for its members and promoting opportunities for individual and professional development in osteopathic practice. There are nearly 4,000 osteopaths on the UK register who carried out over seven million treatments last year, and many of these are members of the British Osteopathic Association

 

Poor posture at work causes back and neck pain, are you sitting comfortably?

For a vast majority of people today, work involves long hours at a desk in an office.  Sitting in one place for lengthy and stressful days, it is no wonder that work-related muscular and joint problems or Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), account for an estimated 11.6 million working days lost each year.*

For most people, we are aware that our posture is probably not that great. Perhaps you are reading this now slumped in your office chair? Have I caught you?!

Do you find that you get an achy back sitting at the desk or a stiff neck looking at the computer screen? These are two of the most common problems that patients present to us at our Osteopathic clinic in Reigate.

Yes, treatments such as Osteopathy or Massage can help to provide excellent relief for these symptoms. But it’s not just about what treatment we can offer for aches and pain, it’s also about what you can do to help yourself...

So why does your neck or back ache when you are working at the computer or laptop? The answer usually lies with your posture and the way your desk arrangement is setup. If you spend hours slouched over a desk and computer, with your head not in the optimum centre of gravity, you will start to run into trouble.

Typically an adult head weighs around 5kg. We can compare the weight of your head to that of a bowling ball, now if you hold that bowling ball with your arms outstretched in front of you, they will tire out pretty quickly.  Now, hold it close to your body and you can support it much more easily. The same applies to your head, sitting up straight balances the weight of your head nicely on top of your spinal column. However, if you are hunched over your desk, the muscles and joints in your neck desperately hang on, supporting the weight of your head.

As your head pulls down and forward your neck gets totally overloaded causing strain to those muscles and joints.

So what can be done? Well in almost all cases of work related back, neck pain and various other forms of RSI we come across, the patient has paid little or no attention to desk setup or what is commonly  referred to as ‘office ergonomics’.

Why not get a colleague to secretly take a photo using their phone, of you busy at work? It has to be when you do not notice, and then we can see your bad habits at their worst!

How is your posture? Just some of the key checks to make are as follows:

§         Your Chair, is it too low or too far back from your desk?

 If it is, this encourages slouching and your back will not be supported, the head tilts forward, your shoulders hunch. You may even hook your feet into your chair base, restricting blood flow in the legs.

Shorter people may need the chair to be low enough so their feet are planted on the floor. But take care, if it is too low this may cause you to overstretch your arms or shrug your shoulders. You may require a foot rest to overcome this.

§         Your monitor, is it too low?

That will cause your head to tip forward and downwards. As a result your whole body leans further forward, moving your back away from the ‘back rest’ of the chair and encouraging you to slouch.

Remember the back rest, it does exactly what it says – rests your back! So be sure to make use of it.

Well I have been typing for far too long; it’s time for a break! Be sure to every so often, look away from your screen and focus on something in the distance this rest your eyes and get up at least once an hour and have a walk around your desk.

For any other work related problems get in touch with us, but we can only deal with musculoskeletal disorders, sorry we cannot do anything about your boss!

*(http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/msds.htm)