The Achilles tendon is a strong band of fibrous tissue which joins the muscles of your calf [Gastrocnemius & soleus] to the heel bone [calcaneus] ─ The achilles tendon stands as the strongest & largest tendon in the body and serves the function of transmitting power from the calf into the heel and foot. Therefore the achilles tendon plays and important in everyday activities such as walking, running and jumping ─ This tendon can withstand very high forces, however due to it’s limited blood supply, is very susceptible to injury. Injuries can include tendonitis’, tears, ruptures and bursitis’ ─ Symptoms of an achilles injury include swelling at the tendon, pain with weight-bearing and stiffness at the ankle. Here are some exercises that you can perform to help speed up your recovery rate ─ Isometric calf raise Bent leg calf raise Eccentric calf raise Weighted seated calf raise ─ Remember to consult a health care professional before commencing these exercises
The beginning of life for your child creates many new stimuli and experiences that create the most amount of change compared to any other timeframe in life. Within that first year your baby will grow by more than 50% of it’s original size whilst their brain doubles! During this timeframe it can be stressful for your child’s musculoskeletal system due to the excessive growth and changes to the overall body in a short period of time.
What Can Chiropractic Care Help Babies With?
Torticollis (Neck Stiffness Decreasing Mobility)
Plagiocephaly
Colic
Reflux
Feeding Issues
Issues With Sleeping Habits
Irritability
What Can Chiropractic Care Help Young Children With?
Decrease Stress
Increase Mobility
Improve Flexibility
Enhance Overall Function
Manage Pain / Decrease Symptoms
Developmental Milestones
The usual examination for a new-born is to check on your babies motor, cognitive, emotional and speech development. It is common to ensure that primitive reflexes begin to change overtime as it has been shown to delay cognitive abilities.
Retained Primitive Reflexes Can Cause
ADHD
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Sensory Processing Disorder
Sleep Disorders
Fine Motor Issues
Gross Motor Issues
Sleep Issues
Learning Difficulties
What Will Our Chiropractors Do To Treat New-borns?
Our Chiropractors at The Melbourne Chiropractor are specifically trained for paediatric assessments and treatment. It is common for us to see children suffering with colic and reflux. Usually our chiropractors will use gentle techniques and finger pressures in areas to help change areas that are of concern. Adjustments are not going to be your usual chiropractic adjustments seen on adults as different techniques will be used to gently alleviate pain areas.
*If you have a child suffering from colic or reflux or may think they are suffering from changes due to their ongoing development! You can always contact us or book online with one of our paediatric specific chiropractors @ https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now
Arthritis is an inflammatory condition that swells up areas especially joints of the body. It is common to feel soreness and a loss of overall mobility within the joint. As people age arthritis worsens overtime and can have an affect on a persons overall functionality. There are many different types of arthritis ranging from autoimmune to inflammatory arthritis each with their own symptomatology.
In this blog we will be talking about the basics of arthritis and how our team of chiropractors can help those suffering with arthritis!
Arthritic Symptoms
Stiffness in the morning
Soreness within joints
Swelling in areas of concern
Degeneration of bone
Muscle Weakness
Fatigue
What Causes Arthritis?
Arthritis is caused by the bodies autoimmune system attacking itself. Usually it can be a genetic health concern although it can occur from other problems such as gout. The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis which causes bone degeneration and is more common in females. Usually stressors from work and prolonged activities can have an effect on joint inflammation although the driving force of arthritis always comes down to the overuse of joints.
Can Chiropractic Care Help?
In Short, Yes! Chiropractic Care is a great way to help manage flareups especially with the surrounding musculature of the painful joint. Chiropractors are able to mobilise areas and enhance overall mobility in the affect region. It is to be noted that although symptoms may not go away for ever the function of the body would be a key change with the use of chiropractic care.
Staying hydrated is more important than you may think!
It is not only a necessity when it comes to being healthy but it is a tool to help transport nutrients throughout our bodies circulatory system. Without water our bodies would become unable to function or for that matter extinct. Water is a fundamental element that enables us to function at optimal levels and engage in strenuous type activities for prolonged periods.
Water makes up roughly 70% of the bodies total volume and can be a way of controlling bodyweight in some cases. Water also has the ability to decrease muscular tightness and reduce lactic acid build up within the bodies muscles.
Water is also a great way of reducing pimples and skin irritations. Water also stops the body from becoming dry especially in summer and allows the skin to become more supple and less wrinkled.
Water is needed for optimal kidney function as it is able to flush out toxins from the body and reduce acidity from within. Water also reduces the risk of kidney stones and other plaque like build ups within organs and allows for better recovery.
Water Recommendations
2.5 Litres per day for Females
3.5 Litres per day for Males
Use a bottle to stay on track
Set an alarm as a reminder to drink
*There are no upper limits of drinking water although to much water intake can lead to feeling sick and water intoxication which can be life threatening!
If you are someone that is constantly looking down at your electronic device you could be suffering from text neck! It is very common for teenagers and especially now with so many platforms including knowledge on the internet it makes it difficult for people to keep away from screen time.
This Blog will cover our 3 top exercises you should be doing to improve your wellbeing and enhance your overall function!
*It is to be noted that any type of sport that involves pushing or twisting type forces to the body be avoided as our goal with the following exercises is to improve and rehabilitate areas of pain.
Our Top 3 Exercises For Back Pain!
1. Swimming
Water based activities are fantastic for rehabilitating injuries. This is because of buoyance. Buoyance allows the body to feel lighter hence less pressure on joints and sore areas will enable better movement through the water. General swimming or water aerobic exercises as simple as moving the lower and upper body through the water will help to achieve a reduction in overall tension within tight muscles.
2. Yoga/Pilates
Engaging in exercises that help strengthen and lengthen muscles are always going to be a great exercise for both rehabilitation and helping to reduce tight muscles. If there is pain during the exercise it should be stopped as the risk of re injury is greater. There are many different exercises and techniques that can be done to help decrease low back pain. It is indicated that starting with gentle exercises and building up into bigger movements overtime will help strengthen the body long term!
3. Walking/Running
Any type of walking or running whether it is brisk or up and down stairs will be a great way to start your fitness journey. It is an easy way to get out of the house away from the desk and requires no equipment for you to do it. It is a great low impact exercise that can help increase mobility and loosen tight muscles. Walking is also know to have benefits with back pain sufferers as it provides movement to the area of concern helping to mobilise the hips.
Ever done some type of strenuous activity that didn’t involve you going to the gym? Lifting a laundry basket to quickly the wrong way and felt something pop?
In this blog we will be talking about which household chores are the main culprits to our pain!
Repetitive Tasks (Cleaning/Washing)
Repetitive tasks usually lead to pain as you are forcing your body to do things for a prolonged time which may be done with poor posture or even incorrect leaning or bending over which are the most common causes of low back pain!
Lifting Heavy Objects
It is common for us to lift objects without knowing exactly how much they way. At times lifting certain things can also become awkward and this is usually where things can go wrong. It can be as simple as turning over a mattress or lifting up a laundry basket.
Reaching Or Twisting
Same as lifting rotation of our body involves us to move ourselves into awkward positions. Rotation should always be limited when reaching for things especially when carrying objects. Its is common for people to hurt themselves by straining either their neck or low back just from something as simple as turning their neck to quickly!
Prolonged Sitting
Prolonged sitting whether it be at the work desk or the family couch can cause detrimental affects to the body. Muscles tend to tighten up when they are not moved enough hence why pain and especially tightness in areas may arise before you know it!
Incorrect Sleeping
Sleeping is great when done appropriately but when we are putting ourselves in a compromised position we are actually doing ourselves more harm then good. Sleeping on the couch is always a big no as well as sleeping on your stomach. This is because the curves of our spine are not in a neutral position causes us the usual neck pain. Try and combat this by sleeping on your side using a pillow that holds you into that comfortable neutral like position that the body needs.
Exercise is a form of physical activity that involves the person to move, stretch or exert some type of physical force to expend energy. Exercise is usually used to help increase performance, mobility and flexibility depending on the task at hand. Exercise can also be referred to as training where the main goal is to focus on an area of weakness and slowly improve it overtime for long term change. This may involve things such as cardiovascular health, bodily strength, conditioning, weight loss or even flexibility.
The Melbourne Chiropractors Approach to Exercise!
Exercise is used as a functional tool for us as chiropractors. Depending on what you do throughout the day or add into your lifestyle will allow us to predict things such as why certain injuries are occurring or how you can better improve your ongoing exercise regime by adding other types of skills to enhance your wellbeing.
What Are Signs/Symptoms That Exercise Is Killing Your Gains?
An Unlevel or “wonky” posture can be due to many different reasons, some of this could be from ongoing pain to just structural deficits that have occurred overtime or since birth.
The 2 Most Common Reasons For an Unlevelled Posture Include:
Scoliosis is known to many as being a big issue of posture although it really does depend on its severity. Scoliosis is classified in 2 forms known as structural or functional scoliosis and both have different diagnosis and treatments involved to either manage symptoms or improve an unlevelled spine.
Pelvic Tilt is seen allot with people who suffer from low back pain. This could be as simple as tight muscles or a joint dysfunction. There can also be external factors causing these symptoms such as poor footwear or high impact sports causing unwanted changes to the bodies structure and function.
Chiropractors are able to use various treatments and techniques to help reduce tension in areas of restriction and pain. In doing so chiropractors can help with functional scoliosis by making changes to further improve wellbeing. Structural scoliosis becomes more of a management plan that is usually targeting the symptom of pain as well as trying to enhance bodily function to improve things such as flexibility, mobility and strength using both treatment and rehabilitation plans.
Posture pole’s are a long foam roller that can be cut in half to lay flat on the floor. The goal of the foam roller is to be long enough to rest on the full length of your spine up to the back of your head.
How To Correctly Position Yourself On A Posture Pole?
The correct way to position yourself is to lay with your knees bent whilst resting on the posture pole with the back of your head touching and the bottom of your pelvis touching the length of the posture pole. It is then as easy as laying with your arms outwards in a scarecrow position with your palms facing up towards the roof.
Posture Pole Positioning
What Are The Recommendations?
The goal is to lay on the posture pole for as long as 10 minutes at a time. Usually at the beginning it may be uncomfortable meaning that 2 sets of 5 minutes may be better to start with or even 3 by 3 minutes throughout the day. A maximum of 15 minutes is enough to get the body stretched out for the day.
Why Use The Posture Pole?
The reason for using the posture pole is to eliminate tension, increase flexibility and allow the body to relax. It also helps you focus on something other than your electronic devices. Use this time to focus on your breathing and relaxation.
The Achilles tendon is a strong band of fibrous tissue which joins the muscles of your calf [Gastrocnemius & soleus] to the heel bone [calcaneus]
The achilles tendon stands as the strongest & largest tendon in the body and serves the function of transmitting power from the calf into the heel and foot. Therefore the achilles tendon plays and important in everyday activities such as walking, running and jumping
This tendon can withstand very high forces, however due to it’s limited blood supply, is very susceptible to injury. Injuries can include tendonitis’, tears, ruptures and bursitis’
Symptoms of an achilles injury include swelling at the tendon, pain with weight-bearing and stiffness at the ankle. Here are some exercises that you can perform to help speed up your recovery rate
Isometric calf raise
Bent leg calf raise
Eccentric calf raise
Weighted seated calf raise
Remember to consult a health care professional before commencing these exercises
