Whats the deal with paracetamol?

Many of our patients have reported that they have been taking paracetamol for their back pain, and it has not helped.  A report this month in the British Medical Journal has endorsed what we have known for years, and it is good that now that is being acknowledged by the wider scientific community.  26 million people in this country suffer from back pain every year (nearly half the population!) and the treatment they have been using is ineffectual.  Chiropractors have for years been encouraging their patients to get and keep active, and that is now the current recommendation, but if your back hurts how do you get active?  That is where we come in.  Our gentle adjustments release spinal and pelvic joints, increasing flexibility and reducing pain. Exercise then becomes possible and more comfortable and the vicious cycle is broken.  Call us in Bradford on Avon on 01225 862140 or Devizes on 01380 729103 and we can help you ‘feel the difference’.

Check out the BBC article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32132377

Spring Newsletter

Safe Gardening

Meet Lucy- the newest member of the Dixon Health team

Hello all!  I am the new Chiropractor Lucy Rodwell. I am delighted to be joining such a great team at Dixon Health and look forward being a contributor to this blog.

I was brought up just outside Devizes, where my parents still live, and I now live in Bath.  I started working with Dixon Health just before Christmas in both the Devizes and Bradford-on-Avon clinics.

In addition to my work with Dixon Health, I have done a post-graduate course and am practicing for some of the time as an animal chiropractor treating horses and dogs.  This was where my awareness and interest in chiropractic began at the age of 14, when I had a Chiropractor to see my horses.  I owe a lot to her for spending the time to explain chiropractic and the treatments, as well as how to go about training after A-levels.  At the time I remember trying to find a way of skipping out the ‘human training’, but I am now very grateful for the good advice.  The clinical skills we develop during the extensive ‘human’ chiropractic training are fundamental to the approach we take with four-legged patients.  Although my initial aim was to become a horse chiropractor, I would never now give up my human practice.  Despite the incredible effects of chiropractic on horses, the life changing effects chiropractic can have on a person’s life is something difficult to match.  Before qualifying I also saw first hand the difference Peter and other chiropractors at Dixon Health made to my family members when they were in pain.  

People are often bemused by the thought of chiropractic on a horse due to the sheer size of these animals.  I have to admit I was a little sceptical when I began the training, even though I already had experience of the amazing effects of chiropractic on people.  However, after treating horses for only a few weeks I was seeing the same results.  The animal course I attended was open to both human chiropractors as well as veterinarians.  It was a fascinating experience to observe ‘medically-minded’ vets, with little or no experience of chiropractic, learning about how chiropractic works.  Many had only signed up for the first of five modules to ‘see if they liked it’.  After the first module they were all amazed and signed up for the rest.  Many said that they have changed the way they look at treating a horse since completing the course.  They understand the huge impact of the nervous system on the musculoskeletal system and the changes that chiropractic can create.  This is very advantageous to have vets learning about chiropractic and practicing alongside us.

Equine chiropractic goes hand in hand with the treatment of riders as there is commonly a correlation between the horse and rider’s problems mechanically.  When I have been to yards where there is one rider who trains multiple horses, they usually have a similar pattern of compensations in the spine.  I have a particular interest in sports chiropractic having participated in many different sports during my life, including a range of equine sports.  However I also gain much satisfaction from helping the general public and seeing huge improvement in those wishing to seek pain relief care without the use of commonly used drugs, and surgeries which are not always necessary.  Of course there will always be a place for medicine and surgery for those who need it.  Chiropractic is not a substitute for medicine, however an increase in awareness of the effects of and indications for chiropractic treatment is vital for correct referral and reduction in unnecessary medical intervention which could be helped by conservative treatment.

January newsletter

New years resolutions… What’s the point?!?

The time of mince pies, mulled wine and general over indulgence is over, and that can only mean one thing… new years resolutions and the guilt that comes with them are just around the corner!! Its only natural that with a new year, we want a fresh start, and all suddenly jump in the gym to start loosing all that christmas weight expecting to be tanned and toned in time for the summer. Sadly, as I’m sure we’ve all experienced at one point or another, making a new years resolution is a good deal easier than keeping one!

The problem with new years resolutions is that, for most people they are a short lived thing, and they rarely result in long term change for the better. This is the case with most dramatic life changes…. ever started the atkins, 5:2 or any other fad diet, only to find that two months later you are sat eating pringles straight out of the tube, wondering “where did it all go wrong?”. The other problem is that crash dieting, as most of you probably know, generally ends up with us putting on more weight in the long term than we lose in the short term. Ad to this the fact that most people eat more when they start exercising, and you haven’t exactly got the perfect recipe for that tanned toned body you had promised yourself!

So what, should we just not bother? Well I bet most of us have something we know we should change. But the best way is not to decide “from today I’m going to run 10 miles each day and eat nothing but grapes!” because this is obviously never going to happen. Instead try to make small incremental changes which can realistically become part of your daily life for good. Take walking- its great exercise, good for the joints, good for the heart and definitely good for the head. When it comes to preventative medicine there isn’t much that tops increasing the amount of walking you are doing. So why not try to take a 20 minute walk in your lunch break three times a week? Or take a nice long walk with the family each weekend? Throw a few hills in there and you will start to get your heart rate up as well.

When it comes to food, don’t try and drastically change everything, because you will just end up beating yourself up when you eat that inevitable biscuit with your mid morning cup of tea. Instead try including more greens in each meal. Make a wrap or a salad for lunch rather than buying a sandwich. Or simply try to cut out mid meal snacks or cut down portion sizes. You may not see the same dramatic weight loss as you might going on the raw food diet, but equally your body wont think its being starved and go into shut down mode, conserving every single calorie it takes in. It is this which makes people pile on the pounds when they go back to eating their regular diet after a crash diet.

Finally, and most importantly, when it comes to exercise choose something you ENJOY!! If you don’t like going to the gym, then at some point or other, you will stop going… whether its a week, a month or a year, it wont last if you don’t enjoy it. So why not try mountain biking, hiking or climbing. If you get the bug for something, then it stops being a chore and starts being something you look forward to. So get out there and get active, and see how much of a difference it can make.

A chiropractor… having a sale?!?

Thats right, here at Dixon Health, we are having a New Years sale. Starting Boxing Day, we are giving out a whole host of amazing deals on our chiropractic services including 20% off all chiropractic treatment, thats for all patients, new and existing, a 20% reduction in the fees you pay. On top of that, if you buy a block of ten treatments, you’ll only pay for 9, and you’ll still get 20% off on those 9. That works out as a saving of up to £170! Finally for new patients, we are offering the chance to bring a friend along to your first appointment, and only get charged for one of you. And guess what… you still get a 20% discount on that appointment, meaning you could pay as little as £16.80 for your first appointment, and that includes treatment for both of you!

So why are we giving our services away like this? Well we believe in making a positive change to your lifestyle in order to benefit your health and well being. The first step in that process has to be getting more active, and often the biggest barrier to this is pain. Equally as we do start to get more active, it often throws up niggles, which might end up putting you off carrying through with the positive changes you have made. We know how important a role chiropractic can play in keeping you healthy, as well as injury and pain free. Thats why throughout January we want to help as many people as we can to make a positive, and lasting change.

Through the use of specific Chiropractic adjustments, we can help you to keep moving well, stay well aligned, and optimise the condition and performance of your body. Through exercise and lifestyle advice we can also help you to make that change and improvement last. We want to offer these benefits to everyone, not just our new patients, so that everyone can start 2015 the right way… Healthy! Thats why we are offering the 20% discount to every patient who comes through the clinic.

Call 01225 862140 or 01380 729103 to book your appointment now.

Christmas is nearly here!

It comes around so quickly doesn’t it? Only yesterday it seems we were taking down the Christmas cards, packing away the decorations and throwing out the tree. Well, up they go again and on go the baubles. The season of festive cheer can be fraught with hazards, but don’t let that spoil your fun.

Whether you are planning a really quiet few days, or the most enormous blow-out, it will almost certainly be very different from your normal daily routine. Therein lies the biggest risk. We are not very good at change, so it is worth thinking about it. It is a simple mantra, but keeping active keeps us healthy. So at the risk of sounding boring, try to think about getting out for a walk, or something similar, every day. Long periods of sitting are about as stressful for our backs as anything and when that manifests as pain it is difficult to shift. Exercising is the best way to keep it working.

Every year over the Christmas period Chiropractors see people who have suffered in some way with their back. It is pretty easy to avoid a problem, but much more difficult to sort it out after the event. We have some very simple exercises that can help to keep your spine mobile, and so long as it is working well it should be comfortable. If it is uncomfortable, then it may not be too difficult to sort it out and much better to nip it in the bud.

If you have any worries about your back or neck, would like to talk about ways to avoid the Christmas crisis, or simply want to feel more flexible and comfortable over the Christmas period then give us a call. We are open all over the holiday, except for the bank holidays, and are very happy to give you some advice.

It may make all the difference.

Batheaston: 01225 852371

Bradford on Avon: 01225 862140

Devizes: 01380 729103

Simple exercises to increase spinal movement.

Movement is key to staying pain free, as when joints stiffen, they become painful. At this point, it hurts to use them, so our natural reaction is to stop using them. This only makes them stiffer. As such it is really important to keep moving, and particularly as we age, everyone should have a short routine to perform every day, just to get them moving in the morning, and shake off the stiffness from lying still all night. The following exercises take five minutes to complete, and can help to keep pain at bay and keep you moving well.

Firstly, sit on the edge of the bed, in a chair or on the arm of a sofa. Ideally you want your thighs either level to the floor, or pointing slightly downwards. Lift your knee as far towards your chest as it will go, then tuck your chin in, so that your forehead touches your knee (if it doesn’t go all the way, don’t panic, just take it as far as is comfortable, with a bit of a stretch). Then relax and repeat on the other side. Perform this ten times with each leg, alternating side to side.

Then stand up, place your feet a little apart, bend down to the right, making sure not to move forward or backwards, or to twist. As you bend, allow your hips to swing slightly out to the left, and your head to come all the way over to the right, your body should make a nice smooth curve at the end of the movement. You should imagine you are standing between two panes of glass whilst doing this movement, as you want it to be purely a side to side movement.

Performing these exercises in the morning and the evening, can be a very effective way to keep you moving, keep you pain free and to help you stay active as a result.

NB: This is for information only, and does not constitute medical advice, if you are in any doubt, please call 01225 862140 to speak to a chiropractor. These exercises may not be appropriate for everyone.

Half term- the perfect chance to assess your teen’s spinal health

In our practice, we have noticed gradually increasing numbers of school kids, particularly those aged between 13 and 18, coming in with complaints of back pain, particularly towards the end of the school day. Could this just be a nice way to get out of the last lesson? We think the problem runs a little deeper than that…

Dare I say it but…. When i was young! we would get home, and either sit in front of the telly, or go out and play. Now I’m not here to lament the demise of kids playing outside, because the obviously still do, but a huge number of them now have some sort of personal internet access. Whether this comes in the form of a smartphone, tablet, laptop or the good old desktop… they all seem to have something, and many of them will use it at least once a day, and often for long periods of the day. Now leaving aside debates about kids exposure to things on the internet, this is unhealthy on a whole different level…. a postural level! We all know the office work posture… rounded shoulders, hunched towards the screen, chin poking out. Now imagine all of those forces on a spine which is still growing, and is therefore highly susceptible to structural change in response to force. What this means is that repeatedly holding this posture causes the bones to adapt their shape accordingly. This can cause more serious problems in the future, but can also be very easily rectified to prevent issues in the future. Here is a quick case study of one of our patients which summarises a classic case of teenage back pain.

http://vimeo.com/thesounddoctor/review/98804927/3b0407a58f

As highlighted in the video, its not just the postural effects of using technology which causes pain, but also the increasingly heavy bags which children now carry around at school. Carrying a bag with two or three books in plus a laptop is never going to be easy for your back. On top of this is the fact that most kids don’t carry their bag correctly, either its a backpack carried over one shoulder, or the straps loosened to the point that the bag is bouncing around their knees rather than tight to their back. All of these cause excess asymmetric strain to be put on the spine and shoulders, and contributes to the pain.

Because we know that children shouldn’t suffer with back pain, and when they do it is important to correct it early to prevent more serious problems later in life, we offer all under 18s half price treatment fees. A short course of treatment and some simple advice on posture and lifestyle can stop the development of these problems in their tracks, so don’t wait, come in this half term and see how we can help. Call 01225 862140