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Dry Needling and Its Benefits!

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Dry Needling

Our daily routines effect the way our bodies adapt to stresses, at times these adaptations can turn into episodes of pain and create unwanted postural changes or even irritations of certain areas under stress. The 3 key factors that usually cause a decline in musculoskeletal health include a difficult/stressful working environment, bad sleeping routine and limited physical activity.

The body can only keep up for so long before it crashes. When it does you may begin to feel sore and tight, maybe even get headaches or unwanted low back tension. Therefore it is ideal to keep yourself in check to help maintain areas that are not able to keep up with the demands needed daily.

Dry Needling comes into play here as it helps to relieve pain and soreness in the affected muscles. Usually they are placed in areas where there are trigger points and they can be reduced to give relief!

About Dry Needling

Dry needling can be used for a variety of musculoskeletal problems, neuromuscular dysfunction, muscle imbalances and pain syndromes. Therapy is specifically aimed to help with muscular pain, myofascial pain syndrome, hypertonic and tender muscles, overuse injury, painful tendons, tender ligaments and more.

Many muscular related conditions are thought to be a primary contributing factor to pain and other related symptoms. These conditions include, but are not limited to neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel, golfer’s elbow, headaches, migraines and tension-type headaches, jaw pain, buttock pain, pelvic pain, leg pain, sciatica, hamstrings strains, calf tightness/spasms.

Benefits of Dry Needling?

  • Pain relief
  • Decreased Stress
  • Promotion of healing
  • Increased range of motion
  • Increased Flexibility
  • Increased circulation of blood
  • Allows for muscle release
  • Helps with the bodies biomechanics
  • Increased strength and overall function of the area
  • Can be used on hard to release muscle areas (muscle strain, tendon injuries, TMJ)
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Able To Enjoy Daily Activities (Decreased Tension)

What Is Trigger Point Dry Needling?

Dry needling is the use of either solid filiform needles or hollow-core hypodermic needles, to be inserted directly into the trigger points and muscle bundles to act as a stimulant from underneath the skin.

The process of dry needling, either with or without Myotherapy Massage will help to increase circulation and blood flow, thus speeding up repair of the area and its surrounding tissues.

What Does Trigger Point Dry Needling Do?

Dry needling of a trigger point will elicit an involuntary reflex in the muscle fibres which forces blood, oxygen and inflammation into the muscle. In turn, the nerve endings in the muscle will be stimulated, resulting in a reduction in pain and release of tension in the muscle.

It elicits the same response as with non-invasive trigger point therapy and deep tissue massage. Please ask one of our friendly staff for more information or book online today!

What Can Dry Needling Be Used For?

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Dry Needling Of The Knee

The Melbourne Chiropractor in Broadmeadows, Westmeadows and Fawkner is here to help!

Our team of practitioners are fully equipped to perform dry needling and have also done courses in dry needling so that you have peace of mind during the session. All of our services are claimable through private health. Our clinics are Open Weekends, Online Bookings Available Now!

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Common Posture Issues and How You Can Improve Them!

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Posture Diagram

Common posture problems:

Rounding shoulders

This is when you are sitting with your head forward, away from its ‘neutral’ position. When our head is sitting in a forward position, it increases the load and compression on the neck. As a general rule, every 2.5cm that the head is in a forward posture, an additional 4-5kg of weight is felt on the neck!

Forward head posture

Rounding shoulders is exactly what it sounds like. You may often hear people refer to this as being in a slouched position. We can begin to develop rounding or rolled forward shoulders after being in this sustained, hunched position and adapting it as a postural habit.

Slouching in upper back

When the spine of the upper back curves at an increased angle. This can also be known as an increased kyphosis. This position is often adapted after continuously maintaining a slouched position, rounding shoulders and forward head carriage.

Increased curve in lower back

This is also known as increased lordosis or hyper lordosis. In this position, your pelvis tilts forward and creates an exaggerated curve in your mid to lower back region.

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Good vs Poor Posture

What’s the cause of posture problems?

  • Desk Work
  • Long periods of driving
  • Incorrect sleeping positions or pillow
  • Weak stabilising muscles
  • Hypertonic muscles
  • Structural or functional changes such as scoliosis
  • Sedentary activity
  • Progression of the ageing process (degeneration)

What can be done to help prevent posture issues from occurring?

  1. Awareness of your posture
  2. Stretching and using things such as a posture pole
  3. Keeping active!
  4. Ergonomic working environments
  5. Using the correct pillow
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Correct Seating Posture vs Incorrect

Benefits of Having a Good Posture:

  • Reduction of muscle tension
  • Decreased stress on joints and ligaments
  • Increase in energy and mood
  • Decreases the risk of injury
  • Helps decrease episodes of pain and tension throughout the body

How Can Our Team Help?

Depending on the severity of the injury or area of concern our practitioners in our Broadmeadows, Westmeadows and Fawkner Clinics will treat accordingly to your complaint. Treatments that may be provided but are not limited to include:

  • Spinal manipulation, Activator Methods, Drop Piece, SOT and other adjustive techniques can help alleviate joints that have restriction such as spinal segments and joints (LeFebvre, Peterson & Haas, 2012)
  • PNF/PIR/prescribed stretching – Stretching has shown to reduce pain, improve functionality of the wrist and hand also maintains strength and improves patients in both long and short-term outcomes.
  • Remedial Massage, Trigger point therapy or use of handheld massager – Have shown to decrease pain/tenderness, enhance both range of motion and quality of life and influence flexibility (Shah et al., 2015) (Imtiyaz, Veqar & Shareef, 2014)
  • Advice on daily living activities/diet – This enables advice on how to change to make healthy        actions into habits and may offer a valuable alternative with potential for long-term   impact. (Gardner, Lally & Wardle, 2012)
  • Prescribed exercises – produce more beneficial outcomes in terms of increased strength, improved function and reduced pain scores. (Fernandes, Pedrinelli & Hernandez, 2015)
  • Dry Needling or Cupping to the surrounding musculature to help decrease tension and inflammation around the area of the hand and forearm.
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Chiropractic Treatment

*Note: If you are suffering from severe Neck pain, Low back pain, shooting pains down the legs, troubles lifting limbs due to soreness, sciatica or joint pain and need more than ways to help improve your posture don’t hesitate to contact our team of practitioners who are always happy to help! Bookings are available online 7 days a week! https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now

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Why Does My Pain Keep Coming Back?

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Neck Pain

Are you experiencing continuous neck or back pain that seems to come and go? If so, this is a chronic issue that can be very common as the body likes to adapt to certain stressors put upon it that forces the body to change in a way to avoid pain or further damage.

The body developing changes occurs over a period of time in small instances. Patterns begin to develop and this can be from injuries in the past, poor posture, daily activities, work related issues or lack of mobility in an area. 

Your musculoskeletal system creates new patterns to help decrease pain although in doing so it tightens up and creates stiffness around the spine in turn altering function. This then creates a problem that can cause postural changes and possible acute episodes of pain. As mentioned before many of these issues may be caused by work posture, lifting incorrectly, a poor pillow or poor sleeping conditions. This can usually cause issues such as neck pain, low back soreness and a decrease in both flexibility and mobility of certain regions of the body.

This can become an issue and should be addressed as soon as possible so that the source of pain can be addressed and a health professional can help correct the issue and influence the body in making the right changes to get back on track!

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Low Back Pain Causing a Shift In Posture

What can you do?

  • Seek advice early as it may help decrease the severity of your chronic episode and also prevent it from getting worse.
  • Relapses can be minimised by getting regular check ups to ensure mobility through the joints and tension throughout the muscle is decreased.
  • Being aware of acute episodes or tightness that continues to reoccur and finding a health professional early on before things progress.
  • Find the underlying cause of pain as at times you may find the source of the pain may not be in the area you are feeling it!

When should you seek help?

  • When Numbness or tingling occurs
  • Sharp or shooting pains down either arms or legs 
  • Occurrence of Migraines and Headaches
  • Continuous pain that’s on and off
  • Pain that’s getting worse over time
  • Joint pain or stiffness
  • Changes to posture or scoliosis
  • Pain becoming more frequent and more severe 
  • Pain that is not eased by rest 
  • Pain that’s waking you up at night 
  • Changes in urination
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Migraines and Headaches Caused by Tension

*Note – The longer you take to recognise your pain and do something about it the worse it may get. Getting to the root of the problem early on is ideal as it will help eliminate not only the pain but also enhance overall wellbeing. Get in contact with our team at The Melbourne Chiropractor today and lets get you back on track today!

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What Is the Best Pillow For Neck Pain?

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Good Pillow or Bad?

About Neck Pain –

There are three main types of neck pain which may include:

  1. Acute Neck pain = Neck pain that is usually severe and has been going on for the last 72 hours is considered acute
  2. Sub acute Neck pain = Neck pain that has continued for the last 2 weeks either on or off or consistently painful with movement.
  3. Chronic neck pain = Neck pain that has continuous episodes of pain over a monthly period.

Common causes of neck pain

  • Muscular dysfunction or tightness
  • Poor posture
  • Structural changes
  • Strains or sprains
  • Poor sleeping posture
  • Car accidents or sporting injuries that result in whiplash

Common symptoms of neck pain

  • Stiffness and pain in the neck
  • Difficulty moving your neck
  • Unexplained headaches
  • Tight Muscles within the area
  • Poor posture

If you are someone who is suffering with neck pain and are reading this blog then our recommendation would be to see a Chiropractor or another health care professional to see how you can be helped! The earlier you choose to make a change to your neck pain the better off you will be as being proactive to the causes of neck pain can limit the amount of degeneration and damage you could be causing!

Do pillows help you sleep better?

There are two important factors that determine a good night’s sleep!

1. The position you sleep in

It is recommended to either side sleep or sleep on your back. Sleeping on your stomach is not ideal as it puts allot of strain in the neck area and can cause issues.

2. The pillow you use

The pillow you need is one that allows you to lay your head on to it without bending your neck or tilting it either side. There are allot of pillows around that can support your neck although finding the right one can be hard to do. If you are struggling and need assistance our team are more than happy to help you in the clinic to fit you out with the correct pillow for your posture.

What is the correct height for a pillow?

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Diagram of Correct Pillow Height

All pillows are different and the correct pillow for you will not be the correct pillow for someone else as people sleep differently and may have broader shoulders than someone else.

What Makes A Good Pillow?

The most important factors when looking for a pillow include:

  • Head and neck support in a neutral position
  • No space between the neck, shoulder and pillow
  • Dense materials are great like memory foam although to hard can be problematic
  • A contoured pillow that is comfortable is ideal for sleeping on
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Contoured Pillow For Side Sleeping

What Makes A Bad Pillow?

  • Pillow offers no support for your head and neck
  • Pillow moves you out of neutral spine posture when sleeping
  • Pillow is not breathable or dense.

Pillows usually last up to 2 years as they begin to sag and begin not to hold as well as before. Washing your pillow regularly also helps maintain its freshness and allows it to reman hygienic for many more sleeps.

Do Bad Pillows Cause Neck Pain?

A “Bad Pillow” is a primary cause of neck pain as sleeping in a position that strains the muscles in your neck for hours at a time can do more damage to you then sleeping on a couch! The reasoning behind this is that poor sleeping posture for prolonged periods will aggravate just about anything in your body let alone the neck. Changing your pillow is just an extra step to help correct your poor posture as this is a habit that becomes continuous and may be bringing at risk for episodes of neck pain.

Should You Get A New Pillow?

A new pillow may be a drastic change although if you are someone who is experiencing neck pain this may be the change you need to kick start your journey to better health. It is important that you look around for the best quality pillow and don’t cheap out on something that is there to support your neck for years to come! If you are having trouble finding something that best suits you our team at The Melbourne Chiropractor have various pillows in stock that can be fitted before buying.

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Chiropractic Care and How Does It Help?

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Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is recognized as being a way to help decrease pain and increase overall functional well-being. Chiropractor’s may help you achieve a healthier lifestyle by giving you strategies to overcome stress, injuries, pain, and other musculoskeletal conditions. This can all be done with various methods and not one person is treated the same to the other hence why many modalities are used to make the changes needed to make a difference!

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Chiropractic Mobilisation

What Are The Benefits?

Chiropractic care may help improve

  • Flexibility
  • Overall Energy
  • Coordination
  • Mobility
  • Decreased stress
  • Increased productivity and concentration
  • Better emotional wellbeing
  • Increased athletic performance
  • Better sleep (relaxation)

Chiropractic care may help with

Our Chiropractic Approach

At The Melbourne Chiropractor we bring out the best from our patients by striving to achieving health and wellbeing. Our aim is to reach patient goals and from there do our best to continue to exceed our patients expectations. We always try to offer various treatment modalities and our clinic offers that. Some of the things we bring to the table include both Manual adjustive techniques and low force techniques such as drop piece and activator methods. We also offer dry needling and cupping therapy including remedial massage, soft tissue and trigger point therapies. Our clinic not only offers passive care but we also involve the patient into their own care by creating thorough plans to get them back on their feet long term. We do this by supplying the patient with exercises and stretches and we give various options depending on the situation. Usually to get to such a stage we do a thorough examination which enables us to make an accurate judgment of how to guide you through your healthcare journey.

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The Melbourne Chiropractor Treatment Room (Broadmeadows Clinic)

How does chiropractic treatment help?

The Chiropractic team at the The Melbourne Chiropractor understand that pain is best managed by creating long term changes! Firstly, the pain needs to be alleviated with adjustive techniques or low force techniques to the spine, soft tissue massage to the surrounding musculature and then be accompanied with an exercise regime to help make the changes needed to influence bad habits and behaviours! Many of our patients seek.

By creating a change to your musculoskeletal system, it will help decrease muscle tension and restrictions through the spinal segments which in turn allow you to use your spine to further strengthen it! If you are seeking treatment which will help restore your structural and functional health our chiropractors at the The Melbourne Chiropractor are here to help get you back on track! BOOK NOW

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Should I Use ICE or HEAT?

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Ice Vs Heat

Ice and heat have been seen to be of comfort and substitute as a form of analgesia by altering body temperature in the area. Both Ice and Heat are great but what are the differences?

How does Ice and Heat help?

Ice helps to eliminate inflammation by reducing blood flow to the area of application. Usually heat works best when using it within a 48 hour window after an injury has occurred.

Heat treatment Increases blood flow and works almost as a relaxant to help reduce stiffness in muscles that are suffering within the area. Heat is great for ongoing issues which are chronic and stiffness.

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Ice Or Heat?

What Does Ice Help With?

Ice helps in cases of:

  • Osteoarthritis
  • Recent Injuries
  • Gout
  • Strains and Sprains
  • Tendinitis, or irritation/inflammation of joints after strenuous activity

When Not To Use Ice?

  • When cramping (cold exacerbates this)
  • Already feeling cold or area is numb
  • Open wound or blistered skin
  • Vascular diseases
  • Sympathetic dysfunction (Where blood flow is affected)
  • Hypersensitivity to cold
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What Does Heat Help With?

  • Osteoarthritis
  • Strains and Sprains
  • Tendonitis, or chronic irritation and stiffness in joints
  • Increasing blood flow to stiff muscles or soft tissue before activity
  • Decreasing pain or spasms relating to neck or back pain

When Not To Use Heat?

  • Skin is hot, red or inflamed
  • Dermatitis or an open wound is present
  • Area is numb
  • Peripheral neuropathy or a similar condition that dulls the feeling of heat
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Can You Use Ice and Heat Together?

Yes! Heat and ice can be used together to create a change in blood flow by first restricting circulation to reduce swelling by using Ice and then increasing circulation by using Heat on the affected area.

How to use Ice or Heat

The most common method is to apply Ice or Heat for 5 minutes, then off for 5 minutes, repeated 3 times in total should be 30 minutes including the breaks!

*Note: If you are suffering from severe aches and pains, shooting pains down the arms, difficulty deep breathing, troubles lifting limbs due to soreness, headaches, migraines sciatica, low back pain or joint pain and need more than just a good Ice or Heat protocol our team of practitioners are always happy to help and bookings are available online 7 days a week!

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Top 3 Back Exercises For Low Back Pain

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Low Back Exercises

Low Back Pain is a condition that negates even some of the strongest painkillers due to its unpredictable nature and dramatic change that it can cause in short periods of time. The exercises below are Our Teams Top 3 Exercises that may help with your Low Back Pain.

*Note: If you are suffering more than what you think and exercise isn’t going to help you break this back pain, give our practitioners are call anytime to book in an appointment or just simply book online @ https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now

Lumbopelvic Mobilization – Supine Knee to Chest

Procedure:

  • Lay on your back (both hips flexed, with feet under knees)
  • Gently bring one knee to your chest(using your arms for assistance)
  • Return to the start position and repeat on the other leg.
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Knee to Chest Exercise Diagram

Instructions

Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions each side.

Rest for 30 seconds between sets.

Complete this exercise twice per day.

Progressions:

  • Perform with both legs starting from an extended position
  • Perform double knee to chest mobilization

Special Instructions:

• Breathe normally throughout

• Stay in a pain-free range of motion

Supine Bridge

Procedure:

  • Lay on your back (feet under knees with a resistance band around the thighs)
  • Slightly push thighs out into the band.
  • Squeeze the gluts and slowly raise the pelvis up.
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Supine Bridge Diagram

Instructions

Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Hold each repetition for 2-5 seconds.

Rest for 30 seconds between sets.

Complete this exercise twice per day.

Progression:

  • Perform a single leg bridge

Special Instructions:

• Focus on squeezing the gluts

• Do not hold your breath

Wall Slide

Procedure:

  • (Standing) Position your feet shoulder-width apart, slightly forward of a wall with your back towards it.
  • Place your hands overhead (the “under arrest” position)
  • With the fingers spread (abducted)
  • Slowly squat down
  • Ensure to keep the arms elevated, while “actively” exhaling.
  • Then return to the start position during inhalation.
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Wall Slide Diagram

Instructions

Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Each repetition should occur over 5-8 seconds.

Rest for 30 between sets.

Complete this exercise twice per day.

Special Instructions:

• Keep the head, shoulders, arms, mid-back and pelvis against the wall always.

• Keep the knees in line with the middle of the foot, but not forward of the toes

Still Worried and need more Help?

Depending on the severity of the injury or area of concern our practitioners in our Broadmeadows, Westmeadows and Fawkner Clinics will treat accordingly to your complaint. Treatments that may be provided but are not limited to include:

  • Spinal manipulation, Activator Methods, Drop Piece, SOT and other adjustive techniques can help alleviate joints that have restriction such as spinal segments and joints (LeFebvre, Peterson & Haas, 2012)
  • PNF/PIR/prescribed stretching – Stretching has shown to reduce pain, improve functionality of the wrist and hand also maintains strength and improves patients in both long and short-term outcomes.
  • Remedial Massage, Trigger point therapy or use of handheld massager – Have shown to decrease pain/tenderness, enhance both range of motion and quality of life and influence flexibility (Shah et al., 2015) (Imtiyaz, Veqar & Shareef, 2014)
  • Advice on daily living activities/diet – This enables advice on how to change to make healthy        actions into habits and may offer a valuable alternative with potential for long-term   impact. (Gardner, Lally & Wardle, 2012)
  • Prescribed exercises – produce more beneficial outcomes in terms of increased strength, improved function and reduced pain scores. (Fernandes, Pedrinelli & Hernandez, 2015)
  • Dry Needling or Cupping to the surrounding musculature to help decrease tension and inflammation around the area of the hand and forearm.
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Best Neck Stretches in 2022 for Neck Pain!

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Neck Pain

Neck Pain can become debilitating and extremely annoying when it continues to annoy you throughout the day. Our practitioners have put together for you the Top 3 Neck Stretches that will help alleviate and minimise your neck pain!

Upper Trap Stretch (Neck muscles)
Procedure:

  • (Seated) Reach one hand down by your side to hold onto the edge of the chair (or sit on your hand).
  • With the other hand, pull your head forwards and across to the armpit – “ear to armpit”.
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Trap stretch

Recommended Tasks:

  • Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
  • Perform the stretch 3 times.
  • Rest for 15-30 seconds between stretches.
  • Complete this stretch twice per day.
    Special Instructions:
    • Take the muscle to a point of gentle and comfortable pulling
    • If you feel increasing tightness, discomfort or pain, ease off the stretch until you find a point your muscle can relax
    • Breathe normally throughout, focusing on relaxation

Suboccipital Stretch (Neck Stretch)
Procedure: 2 ways to complete

  • (Seated/Standing) fingers apply pressure just under the back of the skull
  • Pull your chin towards the back of your skull whilst maintaining pressure with fingers
  • (Laying on your back) with a low pillow/support under the back of the skull.
  • Place the tongue on the roof of the mouth, just behind the front teeth.
  • Gently pull your chin in – like nodding “yes”, without dropping your head or looking down.
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Suboccipital Stretch Laying On Back

Recommended Tasks:

  • Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
  • Perform the stretch 3 times.
  • Rest for 15-30 seconds between stretches.
  • Complete this stretch twice per day.
    Special Instructions:
    • Take the muscle to a point of gentle and comfortable pulling
    • If you feel increasing tightness, discomfort or pain, ease off the stretch until you find a point your muscle can relax
    • Breathe normally throughout, focusing on relaxation

Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) Stretch (Side Neck Stretch)
Procedure:

  • (Seated/Standing) Rotate your head to the opposite shoulder
  • Tilt your chin up slightly
  • Push your head just above your ear backwards gently until you feel a stretch
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SCM Stretch

Recommended Tasks:

  • Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
  • Perform the stretch 3 times.
  • Rest for 15-30 seconds between stretches.
  • Complete this stretch twice per day.
    Special Instructions:
    *STOP if any nausea, dizziness, feeling of spinning or light-headedness occur
    • Take the muscle to a point of gentle and comfortable pulling
    • If you feel increasing tightness, discomfort or pain, ease off the stretch until you find a point your muscle can relax
    • Breathe normally throughout, focusing on relaxatio

*Note: If you are suffering from severe neck pain, headaches or migraines and need more than just a good stretch our team of practitioners are always happy to help and bookings are available online 7 days a week!

https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now

What Can Our Team Do To Help?

Depending on the severity of the Sprain or Strain our practitioners will treat accordingly to your complaint. Treatments that may be provided but are not limited to include:

  • Spinal manipulation, Activator Methods, Drop Piece, SOT and other adjustive techniques can help alleviate joints that have restriction such as ribs and spinal segments (LeFebvre, Peterson & Haas, 2012)
  • PNF/PIR/prescribed stretching – Stretching has shown to reduce pain, improve functionality of the wrist and hand also maintains strength and improves patients in both long and short-term outcomes.
  • Remedial Massage, Trigger point therapy or use of handheld massager – Have shown to decrease pain/tenderness, enhance both range of motion and quality of life and influence flexibility (Shah et al., 2015) (Imtiyaz, Veqar & Shareef, 2014)
  • Advice on daily living activities/diet – This enables advice on how to change to make healthy        actions into habits and may offer a valuable alternative with potential for long-term   impact. (Gardner, Lally & Wardle, 2012)
  • Prescribed exercises – produce more beneficial outcomes in terms of increased strength, improved function and reduced pain scores. (Fernandes, Pedrinelli & Hernandez, 2015)
  • Dry Needling or Cupping to the surrounding musculature to help decrease tension and inflammation around the area of the hand and forearm.
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What is causing my shoulder pain?

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Shoulder Pain

Why do you get Shoulder pain?

The shoulder is made up of many different soft tissue structures which include but are not limited to muscles, ligaments and tendons, bones and nerves in such a small area. This means the shoulder is highly susceptible to injury or localised trauma. Shoulder pain can be caused by structural or postural imbalances which can include rounded shoulders and muscle imbalances.

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Anatomy of the Shoulder

What Causes Shoulder Pain?

  • Prolonged sitting or driving
  • Overuse
  • Postural changes
  • Sporting injuries
  • Direct trauma
  • Repetitive strain injuries
  • Underlying/Previous Injury
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Common Area of Shoulder Pain

What are the most common shoulder complaints?

Subacromial Bursitis (Shoulder Inflammation)
Reasons for diagnosis: (Faruqi & Rizvi, 2019)

  • Aggravated by movements involving the shoulder with a reduced range of motion
  • Due to trauma or overuse which is usually on one side (can be both sides)
  • Localized shoulder pain with possibility of redness and swelling in the area
  • Affected activity due to pain

Subacromial Pain Syndrome
Reasons for diagnosis: (Diercks et al., 2014)

  • Non traumatic and usually unilateral (can be bilateral)
  • Localized pain around the acromion with multiple muscles that are hypertonic such as supraspinatus, teres minor/major and rear deltoid
  • Affected activity due to pain
  • Aggravated by lifting the affected arm

Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy
Reasons for diagnosis: (Varacallo & Mair, 2019)

  • Due to trauma or overuse which is usually unilateral (can be bilateral)
  • Localized shoulder pain with an associated muscle weakness of supraspinatus, subscapularis infraspinatus and teres minor
  • Affected activity due to pain
  • Aggravated by movements involving the shoulder (can be a pinching or stabbing sensation)

Myofascial Pain Syndrome of the Shoulder
Reasons for diagnosis: (Alvarez & Rockwell, 2019)

  • Localized pain at the shoulder with possible radiations
  • Aggravated by movements involving the shoulder or when the affected muscle is palpated
  • Due to trauma or overuse on the affected side
  • Affected activity due to pain

How can The Melbourne Chiropractor help you?

Our practitioners offer various treatments and techniques which include:

Depending on your needs and situation our practitioners will guide you in the right direction when it comes to achieving your goals. Examination and diagnosis will have to be done before going ahead with a plan that best suits your complaint!

Bookings available online 24/7 using the link below https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au/book-now

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Am I Suffering From Tension Headaches?

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Tension Type Headache


About Tension Type Headaches: (Chowdhury, 2012)

  • Usually bilateral pressing or tightening sensation around the head
  • Spinal joint dysfunctions found in cervical spine including tight musculature such as Suboccipital muscles and Traps
  • Affected daily activity and decreased concentration due to pain or photophobia
  • Headache worse in the afternoon, due to stress or tiredness
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Various headache types

Factors that could be contributing to the problem: (Ahmed, 2012)

  • Smoking Stress/Alcohol Sedentary Lifestyle
  • Psychopathology Strenuous activities
  • Trauma/Previous Neck Injury Forward head posture
  • Low Work Satisfaction Environment

Can a Chiropractor Help?

Yes! Some ways in which our chiropractors can help include but are not limited to:

  • Spinal manipulation/activator and drop piece techniques, also known as adjustive techniques, have been shown to decrease pain and increase range of motion
  • Trigger point therapy, dry needling and handheld massagers have shown to decrease pain and tenderness, enhance both range of motion and quality of life whilst influencing flexibility.
  • Prescribed stretching and exercise! Stretching has been shown to reduce pain and improving functionality and overall wellbeing in patients in both long- and short-term outcomes

Ahmed, F. (2012). Headache disorders: differentiating and managing the common subtypes. British Journal Of Pain, 6(3), 124-doi:10.1177/2049463712459691

Chowdhury D. (2012). Tension type headache. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 15(Suppl 1), S83–S88.
doi:10.4103/0972-2327.100023

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Check out our Blog on our Top 3 Neck Stretches that you could be doing to help alleviate your symptoms today!