Do you spend most of your day sitting, whether it’s at work, in the car, on public transport, or watching TV? Well, you’re not alone. Australia is a nation of ‘sitters’ and its starting to take its toll on our health.

Why not improve your health simply by standing up and moving around more? It’s also important you take regular breaks from sitting to stretch, stand, change or correct your posture or walk around your office.

And while you are sitting, here are a few things to remember:

• Keep your hips, elbows and knees at open angles (slightly more than 90 degrees)
• Recline slightly to ease lower back pressure
• Ensure your feet are flat on the floor or on a footrest
• Position the centre of your computer screen at eye level and tilt the monitor upwards slightly
• Only use wrist rests while resting, not while typing

As part of Spinal Health Week 2012 chiropractors at KingsWilliam will be encouraging patients to prioritise their spinal health by sitting less and moving more.

An active spine is a healthy spine and a healthy spine leads to a healthier life. Why not use Spinal Health Week to encourage your family and friends to make an appointment with our clinic to assess their spinal health and discuss how being more active will improve their wellbeing?

You can also visit the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia’s website for more tips on how to sit correctly and to download the Sit Right desktop widget to remind you when to take a break from sitting. www.SitRight.com.au

Over the years, we have written and spoken about many ways that you can help yourself when it comes to neck pain.  To make it easier, here is a list of things to have a look at on our websites:

Video:

Conversations at KingsWilliam: “Why do I always have a sore neck?”

We are often asked “Why do I always have a sore neck?” There are many reasons but in this video Eve talks about one of the most common.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssM-8V1Vk1w

Conversations at KingsWilliam: “Stress and neck pain”

Sometimes no matter how many things you try your pain just doesn’t quite go away. Sometimes that’s because it’s related to an emotion that is creating a physical effect. Sarah talks about one of her patients whose neck pain was related to stress at work. A simple balance can break the connection and make the pain go away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tnlmmepPbU

Downloads on the chiropractic website:

http://kingswilliamchiropractic.com.au/downloads

Click the title “Chiropractic and Massage”

• 40s a day to release neck tension
• Ear pressure points
• Neck stretches
• Taking care of your body when little things go wrong

Posts on the Natural Health Care website under the chiropractic and massage category:

http://kingswilliam.com.au/category/chiropractic-and-massage

• Computer neck – Is poor posture creating all your pain problems
• Can sleeping on your stomach cause back pain?
• Which pillow should I buy?
• Neck, back and leg pain? Check out the Psoas!

That’s a start at least!  Take the time to have a look.  You’ll feel much better for it.

I thought I might point out a few things about sitting in front of a lap top, just to get you thinking about the sort of damage that you can do without even realising it.

Is this you?

Computer neck!!!  Your head is about as heavy as a bowling ball.  The muscles at the back of your head are trying really hard to hold your head up in this posture.

What happens?

You end up with a sore neck and tops of shoulders.  A lot of people get headaches as well.

Should I even mention that sitting cross legged on an angle can stress your low back?  Maybe not.

Try changing to this!

Making sure that your neck is in line with your back makes for less strain on your neck and shoulders.

Feet flat on the floor puts less strain on your low back.

Hmmmm…. Less pain!

Have a look at my latest “Conversations” video on sore necks.

Many people bring their children to our chiropractors for regular check ups.  The advantages are many – just browse through our past articles.

An interesting and common observation that parents make is that an adjustment can have a calming effect on their children.  Have a look at our latest video: Conversations at Kingswilliam – Twitchy kids to hear about one recent experience.

Pain in the wrists and hands is commonly related to doing repetitive work where the wrist is in the wrong position for long periods of time. One very common cause is in people who work at a computer all day, but it can also be anyone who uses their hands a lot; such as tradesmen, cleaners, professional drivers, and mothers of young children. Your chiropractor can look at your posture when you’re doing these activities, and show you the best position for your wrists and hands.

Many people don’t realise that wrist and hand pain can be coming from their spine. Often it’s being referred from the neck and upper back. Chiropractic adjustments to correct the spine can completely relieve this pain. Other areas it can be referred from are the shoulder, elbow, and the muscles around the neck. Your chiropractor will treat these areas also if necessary.

At KingsWilliam we believe it’s important to give you techniques you can use in between visits to keep yourself healthy and feeling good. Your chiropractor may show you some releases that you can do for your wrists and hands that will help to prevent the pain from coming back.

If you have pain in your wrists and hands don’t think it’s a lost cause, talk to one of our chiropractors about how they can help!

Minerals are essential for growth, healing, bone development, nerve activity, muscle contractions, energy production and many more functions in the body.  Ideally we get all the minerals we need from our diet.  However, food processing, additives, and our stressful lives can mean that we don’t always get enough of these essential nutrients.  It can be even harder when it comes to children who may be fussy about the foods they will eat.

When minerals are depleted they can contribute to some increasingly common childhood conditions.  For example, zinc is essential for brain development, and low levels have been associated with autism.  Low levels of calcium have been associated with hyperactivity in children, and allergies.  Low levels of magnesium have also been associated with allergies.

Toxic metals are part of our modern world and children are particularly susceptible to them.  Kids tend to absorb proportionately more toxic metals than adults because of their smaller size and their bodies aren’t as effective at eliminating them.  Also their body systems are still developing and are more prone to disruption.  High levels of the toxic metals mercury and lead for instance, have been associated with learning difficulties and autism in children.  High levels of aluminium, lead, arsenic and cadmium have been associated with ADHD.

HTMA is a very useful clinical tool for

1. detecting imbalances in essential minerals and
2. identifying high levels of toxic metals in the body.

These are just two factors which may contribute to learning difficulties, ADHD, autism, and allergies.  Your child’s practitioner may recommend an HTMA test to help with your child’s treatment.  You can read more about it on the Interclinical Laboratories website.

References:

Trace Elements and Other Essential Nutrients by Dr David L Watts

Toxins in the 21^st Century, Interclinical Laboratories Seminar Notes 2011

Infertility and Developmental Disorders, Interclinical Laboratories Seminar Notes 2009

Over the next few months, I thought I might point out a few things about various postures just to get you thinking about the sort of damage that you can do without even realising it.

Is this you?

Using your shoulder to hold the phone can lead to chronic neck and shoulder pain.

Sitting cross legged on an angle can stress your low back.

Try changing to this!

Holding the phone in your hand and writing on the table takes all the tension out of your neck and low back.

Hmmmm…. Less pain!

When we’re under emotional stress we have strategies we use to deal with it. Some of these are conscious coping strategies, such as meditating, chatting with a good friend, or doing some form of physical exercise.  Other strategies are implemented by our subconscious mind, we aren’t consciously aware that they’re happening. Sometimes these strategies can be ineffective for the particular stress we’re dealing with. It may be day to day stress such as bills, work, and kids; or it could be bigger stresses such as an illness or death in the family. It can also be emotional stress from our past that we weren’t able to fully resolve at the time that it occurred.

When our conscious and subconscious coping strategies aren’t effective for the stress we’re experiencing, the stress can spill over to affect our physical body. Examples that you commonly hear about are people who get headaches when they’re stressed, or people who get diarrhoea when they’re anxious.  When the stress spills over to our nervous system and spine it can cause or exacerbate spinal problems, leading to back pain, neck pain, headaches, and any sort of physical complaint you can think of.

It’s important to tell your chiropractor if you’re experiencing a lot of emotional stress, so that they can assess if the stress is causing or exacerbating your physical problem. If this is the case, it’s important to treat the stress component in order to fully resolve the physical complaint. If we only deal with the physical component and ignore the emotional component, then the chiropractic adjustments aren’t as effective as they would normally be. We frequently find that the physical problem doesn’t resolve as quickly as it should and will often keep coming back until the emotional stress is addressed.

At KingsWilliam our chiropractors use emotional techniques, which address stresses that are compounding a physical complaint. They work really well to assist in treating issues such as back pain, neck pain and headaches. Sometimes however, the emotional stress might be an indication of a deeper underlying issue, which requires further psychological work. If this is indicated, then your chiropractor will recommend that you see someone to address this. Dr Paul Phillips is the psychotherapist in the clinic who, among other things, works with you to help you to resolve emotional stress that is contributing to your physical complaint.

Well, while you’re waiting for that momentous day to arrive  have a look at this clip from a chiropractic doctor in the USA.  She explains the case for kids chiropractic care really well.  It’s not a recent piece but the information is still relevant.

We’d appreciate your feedback on this.  So sent us a comment on Twitter or Facebook through the KingsWilliam Natural Health Care site.

Please note: Some of the comments on her particular technique don’t apply to us because all our methods are gentle non manipulative (no cracking) techniques.  Also, she mentions “health payment plans” which don’t fit into our way of practising chiropractic.

ICPA is an American based organisation that promotes a particular type of chiropractic technique.  There are many techniques that really fall into two main categories – manipulative and non manipulative.  It’s up to you to choose what you prefer.

A muscle cramp is a painful, involuntary contraction or spasm of a muscle. They usually occur in the calf or foot, mostly at night when the body is resting. If you’re getting recurrent muscle cramps it could be a sign that you are deficient in some important nutrients.

For muscle contraction and relaxation to occur there needs to be a balance of important minerals in our muscles. These minerals are magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium. If our levels of these minerals are low, the result can be frequent muscle cramps. Below is a list of foods you can eat to make sure you’re getting enough of these minerals in your diet.

Magnesium: nuts e.g. almonds and cashews, seeds, wholegrain cereals, kelp, eggs (also look at our article on Magnesium foods in the nutrition section of our chiropractic downloads)

Calcium: dairy products, almonds, sesame seeds, green leafy vegetables, sardines, egg yolk

Potassium: All vegetables, avocado, bananas, citrus fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds

Sodium: Celery, cheese, peas, table salt, tuna, sardines, sauerkraut

There are a few vitamins that can be helpful in getting rid of muscle cramping. B vitamins enhance circulation to the muscles, and help to maintain proper muscle tone. Other useful vitamins are vitamins E and C, which also help to improve circulation to the muscles. Below is a list of foods you can eat to get more of these vitamins into your diet.

Vitamin B: Brewer’s yeast, liver, whole-grain cereals, tuna, beans, lentils (also look at our article on Vitamin B foods in the nutrition section of our chiropractic downloads)

Vitamin E: Nuts, seeds, beef, egg yolk, wheat germ

Vitamin C: citrus fruit, broccoli, strawberries, parsley, blackcurrants

If you suffer from muscle cramps it could be a sign that you are lacking in some important vitamins and minerals. Your practitioner at KingsWilliam can help you to work out which vitamins and minerals you need, and the best way to get them into your diet, so you can get rid of painful muscle cramps for good!

From:

The Nutrient Bible, Henry Osiecki

Prescription for Nutritional Healing, James F Balch and Phyllis A Balch