Chiropractors are allied health professionals who place a large focus on helping people move, feel and function to their greatest potential. Chiropractors use a number of different techniques, such as Chiropractic Adjustments to help make changes to the musculoskeletal system.
People often come to see a Chiropractor for a number of different reasons. These reasons can include neck pain, back pain, headaches, sciatica and more! Chiropractic care may be able to help with these issues by restoring movement in the spine and helping to relieve tension. Some patients seek long term care from a Chiropractor as it may assist in preventing tension and stiffness building to a point that it affects function in everyday tasks.
When it comes to athletes, some athletes prefer to be adjusted by their Chiropractor prior to their competition or game so they are able to perform to their best ability. Adjustments allow full movement throughout the body by decreasing restriction through joints and muscles.
Some Common Areas In Which Chiropractors Can Help Assist!
Chiropractic care may be help athletes in the following ways:
Decreasing muscle tension
Increasing mobility and flexibility
Reduced inflammation
Decreasing pressure off muscles and joints
Increasing blood flow
Decreasing Stress
Increased Energy Levels
Increased range of motion and movement
Improving posture and creating a balance throughout the bodies sytem
Reduction of pain
If you are an athlete wanting a better idea of what we have to offer or help with performing to your best ability without the restriction of muscle and joint tension, consider contacting The Melbourne Chiropractor to get started on your healthcare journey.
Neck Pain is a common issue and can sometimes put us in a difficult position where we start to look at various methods for a quick fix! Many stress in their upper back and neck which is the usual cause of neck pain. When there is an area of weakness of underlying condition muscles tend to get injured as they try to engage to protect the area of complaint.
Muscles that commonly cause pain in the upper back and neck are the trapezius and sub occipital muscles that are found at the base of the skull. These muscles have the ability to bring on unwanted headaches and causes a total restriction in mobility.
How Can Pain In The Neck & Upper Back Be Treated?
Chiropractors have various ways of treating neck pain and this is great for dealing with different neck and upper back pains
Pregnant women frequently get amazing results from chiropractic. Chiropractors utilize specific techniques for adjusting pregnant women. Due to pregnant woman being unable to take medication for pain, the natural approaches of chiropractic are the smarter choice for pregnant women. As of late Obstetricians are also referring to chiropractors due to the effectiveness of spinal adjustments and soft tissue therapy for pain relief.
Treatment before, during and after pregnancy
Congratulations! Pregnancy is an exciting time for you and your family. It’s also a huge learning curve for everyone involved, everyone will face both the expected and unexpected as your body changes rapidly effecting you physically, mentally and emotionally.
Our therapists have been treating pregnancy patients for over 10 years. We offer gentle and specific treatment to address issues such as pain in the joints, spine, muscles and fascia. Our chiropractors, osteopaths and remedial massage therapists can all offer care during your pregnancy. Lower Back Pain is reported to affect between 45% and 75% of women at some stage during their pregnancy. This pain as well as what’s commonly referred to as Pelvic Girdle Pain during pregnancy are common reasons for sick leave, with reports suggesting that over 20% of women take sick leave because of their pain (Bishop, Holden, Ogollah, & Foster, 2015).
During your pregnancy it’s no secret that your environment and mental state are paramount. But when you’re sore all over it’s difficult to stay positive, chiropractic therapy can assist keep the muscles relaxed and body free.
How Can Treatment Help?
Pregnancy Care at The Melbourne Chiropractor offers treatment to help with musculoskeletal types of pain, both prior to and after birth. Treatment may help to relieve back pain, pelvic pain, hip pain, neck pain and associated symptoms that may occur during pregnancy.
Our chiropractors treat the whole body using gentle adjustment, activator stimulation and low force techniques to help improve muscular strength and reduce muscle tension. This will in turn help to reduce stress, anxiety and anxiousness during your pregnancy.
When During Pregnancy Can You Have Treatment?
Our practitioners can work on you at any stage of your pregnancy. Our qualified team offer support and treatment to help with your pain or discomfort.
Our therapeutic treatments for pregnancy includes soft tissue therapy, supplement advice, pregnancy specific stretches, take home exercise program, support cushions, pregnancy cushions and ongoing treatment recommendations.
Pregnancy Symptoms Commonly Treated Be Practitioners
General aches and pains
Nausea or vomiting
Incorrect foetal positioning (breach)
Uncomfortable movement
Swelling
Headache treatment
Pelvic discomfort or pelvic instability
Excessive uterus pressure
Weight distribution issues
Excessive labor time in previous birth
Our Practitioners Aim To Help Manage
Musculoskeletal related aches and pains
Ensuring correct weight distribution for the baby’s growth
Prevent spinal pain
Helps to manage muscular soreness or joint pain
Postural strain or sprains during pregnancy
Labor exacerbated/previous spinal weaknesses or injuries
Pregnancy & Posture
Our practitioners aim to greatly improve nervous system function and musculoskeletal irritation, to allow for better communication around the body and improved posture and weight distribution.
Our treatments during pregnancy care focus towards helping and supporting posture during all stages of growth, change and pressure during your pregnancy. We focus on weight bearing and strength during your pregnancy and birth.
Cracking your neck or back wont cause you to get arthritis although what it can do is stiffen up your joints in the area you are stressing to get that initial “crack”. Usually what happens is when you get that release, is a movable joint that is not restricted is moved into a position its not comfortable in causing areas of restriction above and below the segment to increase in tension and stiffness thus increasing pain in the area overtime. Our Chiropractors at The Melbourne Chiropractor in Broadmeadows are trained professionals at finding areas of joint restriction and in turn moving those joints to free up those stuck area.
Yes, Our team of chiropractors are able to help woman suffering from pain during their pregnancy with specific chiropractic techniques. It is common to see low back pain and tightness through the front of the abdomen due to a growing baby. We also offer pregnancy pillows that allow all pregnant women to lay on their stomachs during all treatments which can help alleviate pain and discomfort. This also enables our practitioners to work on all areas of the body during the period of pregnancy care.
Our chiropractors use therapies that are very gentle and safe for both mothers and babies before and after pregnancy. Our team can treat a wide range of pregnancy aches and pains and create the changes needed prior to birth by helping decrease tension throughout the pelvis and low back.
There is never an clear answer to this question prior to an examination and thorough check up. Usually you will get recommendations on your initial visit about what chiropractic care is needed and what approach will be used unless there are further examinations required such as X-ray reports.
Depending on the person chiropractic care may be for symptomatic issues only.
There are also those who choose to improve their overall function an wellbeing which progresses further over time. Usually after achieving results such as enhanced functional wellbeing many decide to incorporate chiropractic care as ongoing management or wellness care.
Both Chiropractic Care and Massage therapy are great ways of relieving tension throughout the body and apply various different techniques to achieve specific patient goals and outcomes.
Depending on what you are more comfortable with our Chiropractors on your first visit will perform a thorough examination to find out how the body is moving within the joints and how restricted certain movements are. Chiropractors also use different orthopaedic tests which help justify whether or not further imaging is required such as X-ray and if there needs to be certain interventions or other health practitioners to help create positive changes for better health. Chiropractors usually perform spinal adjustments using either their hands, chiropractic activators or drop tables to areas of restriction although that does not mean they don’t focus on the muscle tissue. Chiropractors also use trigger point therapy to decrease pressure in tight muscles and also have the ability to use oils to help massage through areas where muscles are tight and sore.
Some Areas Of Concern Chiropractors Deal With Include:
Unlike Chiropractors, massage therapists use an approach of focussing solely on the muscle and this is great when that is the main concern. There can be times where joints may be causing pressure on other areas of the body causing referral patterns and decreasing muscle tension will not make any changes long term for problems like this.
If you are someone who is getting massages already and is only finding temporary pain relief, chiropractic care may be beneficial! Contact our team of chiropractors to get examined today at either our Westmeadows or Broadmeadows Chiropractic Clinics.
Our westmeadows and broadmeadows clinics offer chiropractic services which also include modalities such as dry needling, cupping, sports taping, trigger point therapy, Stretching and exercise prescription.
Our Westmeadows chiropractic practice also 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!
What Can You Expect On Your First Visit To Our Clinic?
First Visit or First Treatment at either of our westmeadows or broadmeadows health clinics includes a case history, posture scan, movement analysis, pain assessment, orthopaedic testing and a full body treatment. Referral for X-ray imaging (if required) is bulk-billed through Medicare.
Our Westmeadows Clinic
Our Westmeadows Clinic is spacious and easily accessible by car, bus and train. Onsite Parking is available with wheelchair accessibility and is within 10km of Melbourne CBD
What Can Our Team Do To 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.
Inflammation is something we usually see in our joints and is something that we all like to avoid! Unfortunately sugar is something that fires up our bodies inflammatory system in various ways. We all want to be functioning as best as we can so it is ideal to restrict your sugar intake. It is common to have a sugar craving for sweets and there can be healthier substitutes that allow for better energy and overall performance when it comes to bodily functions.
These snacks can include things such as fruit or nuts which are a great way to avoid ramping up your sugar intake and avoiding those high GI foods that cause us to crash. There are also other types of foods such as yogurts and nuts which are also great snacking foods but beware as they are also high in calories and should be limited.
Exercise is also a great way to decrease sugar cravings as the body tends to crave healthier foods to refuel and rebuild.
By substituting or limiting sugar in your diet the following benefits can be seen in various research articles:
Teachers are constantly dealing with a stressful environment day in day out and that means the body begins to deteriorate under these demanding social and physical pressures. Whilst some of the time it can be tempting to do extra work related chores sometimes it is best to take a break and find yourself some stress relief to combat this stressful environment.
Below are some ways in which teachers can relax or even rejuvenate themselves to get through those crazy classroom periods and busy weeks of work.
Enjoy Yourself! — Giving yourself the time to think and relax during the workweek is essential for longevity in any work environment. Having a hobby such as playing netball or tennis or something as simple as watching TV and taking the time to unwind is a great way of having that time to yourself.
Walking or exercise — Exercise is a great way to get the body moving as well as decreasing tension throughout the body. It is proven that exercise brings up endorphins that give the body those good feelings that people always look for. Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous, as long as it is enjoyable and consistent. Yoga and Pilates is a great way of adding some form of mobility throughout your day and if that is to time consuming a general walk goes a long way when it comes to taking a break. The key to all this is as simple as getting the body moving and finding that task or hobby that gets you up and running.
Sleep— Staying up late to finish work or even plan things for the class tomorrow morning is not always ideal. Being sleep deprived can diminish your productivity and limit your capacity to do things throughout the day. The amount of sleep you should be having is about 6-8 hours each night in order for the body to recover physically and mentally.
Deep Breathing— Relaxation is key and deep breathing is a great way of achieving this. The aim of this is to take a deep breath in and hold it for 3 seconds and then slowly exhale. By repeating this a couple of times it can help to reduce current stress.
Chiropractic Care— Chiropractic Care is great when it comes to stress. Being able to reduce tension in affected areas of the body and identifying areas of restriction to create improves are just some ways in which chiro care can help. Headaches and migraines as well as low back pain from desk work or ongoing neck pain are just some of the complaints our team of chiropractors work on to improve overall health and wellbeing of patients.
