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3 Easy Ways To Manage Your Sciatica!

Sciatica is a term used for a pain that shoots down one or at times both sides of the legs. This is a cause from irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve. This is a common issue with people suffering from sciatica hence why many have heard of this term before. In this blog we will be talking about the common causes of sciatica and how we can manage this condition!

Common Causes Of Sciatica

  • Disc protrusion in the lower back causing inflammation and compression of the sciatic nerve
  • Bone or disc degeneration in the lower back region
  • Spondylolisthesis
  • Tight Piriformis Muscle causing compression of the sciatic nerve – most common cause due to over-sitting

3 Ways To Manage Sciatica

  • Avoid prolonged sitting and get moving more!
  • Stretching and exercising the lower back and glute muscles to reduce tension within the area!
  • Seeing a chiropractor! Chiropractors are able to alleviate symptoms of sciatica by decompressing the spine and reducing tension within the piriformis muscle if its causing symptoms.

*Our Chiropractors are upskilled in many areas of rehabilitation. If you are someone who is suffering from sciatica or sciatic like pains book an appointment today or give our team a call today on 9376 2002 at The Melbourne Chiropractor to find out how we can help you out today!

*You Can Visit Us At Any Of Our 3 Locations – Broadmeadows – Westmeadows – Fawkner

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All About The “Posture Pole”

What is a posture pole? 

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.

*Our Chiropractors are upskilled in many areas of rehabilitation. If you are someone who is suffering from poor posture or bad postural habits book an appointment today or give our team a call today on 9376 2002 at The Melbourne Chiropractor to find out how we can help you out today!

*You Can Visit Us At Any Of Our 3 Locations – Broadmeadows – Westmeadows – Fawkner

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Can Poor Posture Affect Your Breathing?

What Are The Impacts Of Poor Posture?

Poor posture can limit breathing capacity and cause increased tension within the upper back and shoulder region. A prolonged posture that is not corrected can lead to uneven weight distribution throughout the body and be a cause of increased wear and tear on bones, discs and joints. This is what our team of chiropractors aim to correct and make changes to so that joint dysfunction and degeneration can be avoided.

4 Activities That May Cause Poor Posture

How Does Poor Posture Affect Breathing?

Poor posture decreases the amount of capacity within the lungs. This is because the area becomes compressed not allowing the lungs to fill adequately and limits the amount of strength the diaphragm has to operate effectively.

3 Ways To Help Improve Posture!

  • Be aware of activities that cause forward head posture and rounding of the shoulders
  • Stand tall or sit upright with head support to stop you from hunching
  • Use a standing desk and use chair’s with lumbar support

Tips to improve Overall Breathing

  • Deep breathing
  • Breathe in through your nose (Avoid mouth breathing unless exerting)
  • Practice breathing (breath in for 3 seconds, hold for 3 seconds and exhale for 3 seconds)
  • Stretching and exercising the upper back (thoracic region)
  • Yoga / Pilates

*Our Chiropractors are upskilled in many areas of rehabilitation. If you are someone who is suffering from poor posture or bad postural habits book an appointment today or give our team a call today on 9376 2002 at The Melbourne Chiropractor to find out how we can help you out today!

*You Can Visit Us At Any Of Our 3 Locations – Broadmeadows – Westmeadows – Fawkner

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How Can A Sports Chiropractor Help You?

About Sports Chiropractors?

Sports chiropractors pride themselves on exercise and wellbeing when it comes to daily activity. Whether you are a professional athlete or someone that has a sporting hobby, sports chiropractors are able to treat specifically for your injury! The main goal for a sporting chiro is to get you back on track using various techniques and exercises to help strengthen the areas of concern.

Sports chiropractor’s have studied rehabilitation methods for injured athletes and help to guide the patient to achieve ongoing mobility and healthy wellbeing. Sports Chiropractors also aim to prevent sporting injuries from reoccurring again in the future!

What Is The Difference Of A Sports Chiropractor?

Different to your traditional chiropractor who will take a holistic approach to your healthcare a sports chiropractor will be more specific to injuries from sports and will target those areas as best as they can. They are also more than likely going to give you strengthening exercises and stretches to help build the strength within the area.

What Conditions Can A Sports Chiropractor Treat?

Benefits Of Visiting A Sports Chiropractor!

*Our Chiropractors are upskilled in many areas of rehabilitation. If you are someone who is suffering from a sporting injury book an appointment today or give our team a call today on 9376 2002 at The Melbourne Chiropractor to find out how we can help you out today!

*You Can Visit Us At Any Of Our 3 Locations – Broadmeadows – Westmeadows – Fawkner

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5 Tips On How You Can Manage Fibromyalgia!

About Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes chronic fatigue and cognitive issues. The reason why our team of chiropractors work with people suffering from fibromyalgia is because the symptoms that follow with it are arthritic-like or that of inflammation (especially in joints).

It is common to be hypersensitive to both hot and cold temperatures and have an increased sense of smell. Unfortunately there is no definitive cause of how fibromyalgia starts although it is more common in those with auto-immune conditions or substance abuse.

Can You Cure Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a condition that you will never be able to get rid of unless there is a new miracle drug that helps. At this very point in time fibromyalgia can only be managed by using a few particular methods!

How To Manage Fibromyalgia?

Can Our Team Of Chiropractors Help?

Of course! Our main goal as chiropractors is to reduce the pressure throughout the musculoskeletal system. This enables us to reduce inflammation and allow the body to settle itself down. Fibromyalgia is a condition that over exerts the bodies receptors hence why the nervous system needs to be settled!

Our Locations:

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What Should You Do After Seeing A Chiropractor

Chiropractors are experienced allied health professionals who use a variety of techniques known as adjustments. The main goal for a chiropractor is to help alleviate symptoms and enhance bodily function of patients to improve their overall health. Most people seek Chiropractic care to prioritise their health and wellbeing.

What Should You Do After A Chiropractic Appointment?

1. Increase Water Intake

Drinking plenty of water 24 hours after your appointment is a great way to stay hydrated and flush out any toxins within the system. Water is also a great wat of helping your bodies muscles and joints to relax!

2. Walking!

Walking is a great tool to help the body limber up after a session. Using the new and improved mobility helps you to maintain the benefits for longer. As they say “use it or lose it!”.

3. Relax!

Relaxing after your appointment is beneficial to ensure your mind and body remain relaxed and destressed.

Things To Avoid After A Chiropractic Appointment!

1. Heavy Lifting

Chiropractic Care mobilises joints meaning that compression type exercise can once again compress the joints. Usually after adjustments that can lead to pain and increased stress overall to the bodies musculoskeletal system.

2. Tummy Sleeping

Sleeping on your stomach adds unneeded pressure and strain on the joints throughout the spine and creates muscle tension throughout. This is because the body is not set in a neutral position such as on your back or side and can cause problems such as neck and back pain.

3. Over-Working

Over working is always something difficult to avoid especially if it is the nature of the job. It is always recommended that prolonged sitting be avoided as it tends to aggravate areas such as the neck and lower back. Heavy lifting at job sites and wearing heavy tool bags for long periods can also cause ongoing issues and affect the recovery of your condition or complaint at hand.

* If you are someone who is suffering from Headaches, Neck Pain or Low Back Pain due to your working environment book and appointment today or give our team a call today on 9376 2002 at The Melbourne Chiropractor to find out how we can help you out today!

*You Can Visit Us At Any Of Our 3 Locations – BroadmeadowsWestmeadowsFawkner

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Shin Splint Rehab 

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🦵🏻 Shin splints are a common complaint affecting athletes, particularly runners! Shin Splints are a generalised term used to describe pains felt along the tibia [Shin bone]. They are an injury associated with overuse, overtraining and in some cases poor foot & leg mechanics. This ultimately leads to strain and pain in the muscles of the leg


🏃🏻‍♂️ Shin splints can be categorised into anterior and posterior shin splints. They usually arise due to dysfunction or strain through the Tibialis anterior and posterior muscles. These strains can occur due to changes in training load or running surfaces and insufficient rest. This strain pattern can also occur due to bio-mechanical causes, such as weakness and inflexibility in the muscles of the lower limb. Poor footwear can also contribute

👨‍⚕️ Shin splints are generally diagnosed through a case history and physical examination by your physician. Further scanning can be utilised to rule out other sinister diagnoses’ such as fractures


🧊 Initial treatment involves pain and inflammation reduction through decreases in training load, increased rest and use of Ice. Once achieved, the aim is to regain full ROM of the leg and to regain normal foot biomechanics. Once that is completed, muscle strength of the lower limb must be restored, as return to sport and activity will commence


🥵 If left untreated, shin splits can can progress into tibial stress fractures which will require further intervention. In rarer cases, muscle compartment syndrome can develop, where surgical intervention may be required


✔️ Here are some exercises that may help decrease your pain associated with shin splints


1️⃣ Loaded Kettle Bell Plantar Flexion or Dorsi Flexion
2️⃣ Balance Reach Activity
3️⃣ Tibialis Posterior Calf Raise

⚠️ Remember to consult a health care professional before commencing these exercises 

If you are someone who is suffering from Shin Splints and don’t know where to start, or wondering what to expect on your first chiropractic visitour team of chiropractors at our BroadmeadowsWestmeadows or Fawkner Chiropractic locations we are more than happy to help you get back on track. You can always contact us or book online @ https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now

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How To Find A Great Chiropractor!

What is a Chiropractor?

Chiropractor is a health practitioner that focuses on making changes to the bodies musculoskeletal system. Chiropractors are primary healthcare practitioners which enables them to provide comprehensive healthcare long-term and can be seen without a referral from a general practitioner.

Chiropractors are doctors of their field and use various methods to find the underlying cause of your body. Some methods may include a thorough medical history as well as an understanding of your general health and wellbeing. Orthopaedic tests and other types of examinations are also conducted to get a better understanding of what is restricted or suffering in regards to function. There can also be times when chiropractors may refer for an X-ray. Most times X-rays are done when there is concern for fractures or severe spinal anomalies. When it comes to your health we don’t like to guess what may be the cause and this is when X-rays may be handy.

Education And Qualifications For Chiropractors?

Chiropractors in Australia need to complete a five year university degree which encompasses subjects such as neuroscience, physiology and anatomy, microbiology, pharmacology and toxicology. Chiropractic students also require supervised clinical hours to gain experience and confidence in chiropractic adjustments and other low force methods before graduating.

When Should You See A Chiropractor

If you are someone who is suffering from headachesneck pain or low back pain and don’t know where to start, or wondering what to expect on your first chiropractic visitour team of chiropractors at our Broadmeadows or Westmeadows clinic locations are more than happy to help you get back on track. You can always contact us or book online @ https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now. What we find is that symptoms are usually the last thing to show. There can be issues that have arisen over a period of time that Chiropractic care can help with.

Back-Pain-TMC
Back Pain Sufferer

What Should You Look For In A Chiropractor?

Does the Chiropractor have a particular area of interest that suits your needs?

Some Chiropractors complete additional training in other areas after finishing their studies. For example, some move into paediatric care or pregnancy chiropractic care, while others move into sports rehabilitation. Finding a Chiropractor that specialises in these fields may help you find a better suit for your needs as a patient.

Does The Chiropractor Complete A Thorough Initial Consultation?

If your Chiropractor takes the time to complete a thorough initial exam you can be sure that they are interested in finding the underlying cause to your complaint and what they recommend moving forward will be of benefit.

Does Your Chiropractor Focus On Symptoms Or Function?

Do you want to be pain free? Or do you want to find out the cause of your pain and stop it from coming back over and over again? As discussed symptoms are the last thing to come about and is usually due to an underlying cause inside our body that needs to be addressed.

Does The Chiropractor Create A Plan To Help Achieve Your Health Goals?

You need to have a goal and and understanding of what your care involves so that you are on the same page as your chiropractor. Being able to understand if you are improving and what each treatment entails will allow you to benefit from the experience.

Does Your Chiropractor Address Your Concerns And Questions Relating To Your Health/ Complaint?

You need to be understood by your chiropractor. You have to feel like you are in the right place to discuss your problems and get them checked out.

Does Your Chiropractor Explain Your Condition And How They Will Help You With Chiropractic Care?

A Chiropractor that wants to explain and show you the reasoning behind your pain is essential. This ensures that you understand what is going on during the process and that you are seeing someone who cares about your complaints.

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How To Correct Sway Back Posture!

The importance of good, straight posture can’t be down played. However, by simply sitting up straight you will not correct incorrect postures.

5 Reasons Why Posture Is Important:

1) Good posture helps you perform better
2) Your body position looks and feels better
3) An optimal posture helps your body function at a higher level
4) Good posture limits abnormal wear and tear on joints throughout the body
5) Your internal organs are able to function better/no unneeded compression through the ribs affecting lung capacity

Given that these benefits are associated with good posture habits, who wouldn’t want to have good posture! Here at The Melbourne Chiropractor, we meet patients who need help correcting postural problems, including sway back. military posture and text neck. As chiropractors our goal is to help manage and correct these postural issues.

Some Common Posture Problems We See Include –

  • Sway back posture
  • Lumbar lordosis
  • Thoracic kyphosis
  • Forward head posture.

Bad postures tend to put extra pressure and stress on your spine, shoulders, hips, and knees.

Can you relate to any of the postures in the image below?

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Types Of Standing Postures

Problems Of Poor Posture:

About Sway Back Posture

Sway Back Posture also known as hyper lordosis exaggerated the curve in the lower back increasing pressure. When standing the stomach looks to pull forward and the hips tilt forward to compensate.

How To Tell If You Have Sway Back Posture?

  • The pelvis may be tilted and positioned forward
  • Tight Hamstrings
  • Bad Postural Tendencies
  • Forward Head Carriage
  • Hunch Back Like Curve
  • Sunken In Chest

Other Problems Caused By Sway Back

Tight hamstring muscles can cause:

  • Misalignment of pelvis, contributing to:
  • Back Pain
  • Disc degeneration
  • Nerve interference
  • Bulging discs
  • Weak glutes and hip flexors

Forward head posture can cause:

Problems associated with a rounded upper back may include:

Problems associated with a sunken chest may include:

TREATMENT FOR SWAY BACK POSTURE

  • Finding the underlying structural issues is key
  • Chiropractic adjustments and mobilisations help to increase mobility and functional capacity through the affected joint segments
  • Soft tissue therapy allows us to decrease the muscle tension throughout the areas of concern and in turn improve postural areas.
  • An exercise and rehabilitation program that is specific to the area which will include a series of stretches and low force exercise to begin with before getting into strengthening the area of complaint.

Chiropractic Care also has continual benefits such as:

If you are someone who is suffering from headachesneck pain or low back pain and don’t know where to start, or wondering what to expect on your first chiropractic visitour team of chiropractors at our Broadmeadows or Westmeadows clinic locations are more than happy to help you get back on track. You can always contact us or book online @ https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now

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Westmeadows Chiropractor

The Melbourne Chiropractor Westmeadows aims to provide the best in evidence based chiropractic care to help with all types of musculoskeletal problems. We strive to decrease patient pain, enhance function and create a long-term solution to your problems. Our goal is for patients to live life to the fullest, no matter how challenging their situation may be.

Our Westmeadows chiropractic practice accepts referrals from GP’s for chiropractic services. If you are given a CDM or EPC plan you are eligible for up to 5 chiropractic visits per year!

Hours

Mon: 12:00 pm – 09:00 pm
Tue: 12:00 pm – 09:00 pm
Wed: 12:00 pm – 09:00 pm
Thu: 02:00 pm – 09:00 pm

Fri: 12:00 pm – 07:00 pm
Sat: 08:00 am – 03:00 pm
Sun: 08:00 am – 01:00 pm

Please contact us directly with any questions, comments, or scheduling enquiries you may have.

 Call Us: 03 9302 1023
 Visit Us: 1 Hopetoun Court, Westmeadows