The new "bad guy": Inflammation

Anyone who has seen me in clinic knows that I talk about anti-inflammatory foods, and diets...about supplements that reduce that systemic inflammation that we all carry to some degree...

...so, here's an update on all the things that contribute to that inflammation that is present:

• poor diet and lifestyle
• obesity
• chronic infections
• toxicity
• stress

"...great, so I need to address those things - but how??"

...some of it is pretty obvious: incorporate more movement into your daily lifestyle, avoid chemicals wherever possible, and find some healthy stress management practices (yoga and meditation are two that come straight to mind)...and then, we can talk about your diet...

(my nephew will be so proud of me for putting that pic in)

...there are a number of foods known to trigger inflammatory responses within our digestive systems: grains and sugar come right up at the top of the list...reducing your intake of these (or excluding them almost completely) will help decrease your body's level of inflammation...

...there are also a number of supplements and nutrients that will reduce your body's levels of inflammation too:

"...okay, okay - so there's a lot of things I could do to reduce inflammation...but why is it such a concern??"

...it's simple - we're starting to realise that inflammation is a major precursor to a lot of modern diseases that debilitate our people, and cost our governments a large amount of money in prevention:

...in fact, the medical industry are becoming very vocal that our previously believed causes of disease are, in truth, secondary to inflammation within the body...inflammation is now our new "bad guy" when it comes to our health...

Why you shouldn't Google your symptoms...

Okay, I'll admit it - I am like most people born after 1975, I do use the internet for a lot of things...

...but diagnosing my health is not one of them...

...I agree, that we live in the age of information...but I'd have to call it "white" information...it's kind like white noise, but a little more informative...

...the other problem is that anyone can post information on the internet - which means that lovely little article Google found for you could be full of mis-information...

...type any vague symptom into Google and you'll be presented with a list of illnesses or afflictions that you may (or most likely, may not) be suffering from...I'll almost guarantee you that "cancer" will be in that list, as well as a couple of other scary conditions that will probably have you calling your health practitioner in a distressed state...

...the simple point is, diagnosis is rarely made from a singular symptom - it usually involves a reasonable amount of history taking, examination and testing...all of which Google is incapable of doing (at this stage anyway)...

...your first port of call should be your primary health practitioner, who has spent multiple years at university studying symptomology and has a raft of tests up their sleeve - and can give you a more realistic idea of what you may be afflicted with...

...just to give you an idea of what I deal with somedays: I had a new patient turn up...as they were filling out their form, I noticed that they had to turn their entire body to look at things around them...of course, my brain starts ticking through a mental checklist of conditions that could cause this...then I notice how calm the patient is, and I assume that they have had this before - and thus are seeking similar treatment as to what has worked previously...yep, I had no idea...

...as soon as the patient enters the treatment room, and I close the door...the patient begins to shake and exclaims:

"...it's okay, you can tell me I've got cancer - I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"...huh..wha??.."

"...I went to bed last night, and I could move my neck and I woke up this morning and I can't..."

"...okay, what happened then?"

"...I Googled it - and it said I had cancer..."

...twenty five minutes later, when I have finally calmed the patient and begin to take an accurate history - the real story becomes evident, the patient is subsequently treated and has fully recovered in 48 hours...

...no, I'm not a miracle worker...the patient didn't have cancer...the answer was a bit more pedestrian and relatively easy to treat - if the patient isn't in a hysterical state...

...the simple point, if you want to distress yourself - go on, Google every vague little symptom you get...but if you really want to know what's going on - see the people trained in these things: your trusted primary health care professionals...

...as always, if you want to know more: the.chiro@mail.com

Don't like the "crack" in chiropractic??

It's called a lot of different things...

...the "crack"...

...the "audible"...

...in chiropractic terms, we call it the adjustment and it is the fundamental base of what we do...

"...yeah, but what does it actually do??"

...the chiropractic adjustment is specifically to remove what is referred to as a subluxation. A subluxation is traditionally considered a joint (anywhere in the body, it does not have to be the spine) that has an unfavourably altered movement pattern. A chiropractic adjustment should restore that joint to a normal movement pattern, but it often does more than that...chiropractic adjustments have been shown to decrease muscular tension, increase the range of motion of the joint adjusted, decrease pain and have a positive affect on muscular strength.

"...okay, all of that is great...but what makes that sound??"

...the "crack" sound it caused when the joint is taken into the paraphysiological space:

As shown by the diagram above, this means that the joint is taken to the end of it's passive range of motion (without active help from the patient) - and then a quick, small amplitude movement is a applied to the joint...this action is known as the chiropractic adjustment...

"...okay, I understand all of that...but what if I find that sound or motion uncomfortable?? Does that mean I shouldn't see a chiropractor and get adjusted??"

...no, seeing a chiropractor is still something you should undertake...however, it means that you should have an open conversation with your chiropractor about how you feel...most chiropractors will have a number of treatment modalities available to treat you...and a number of those will be low force options, that should not produce the audible "crack". There are probably too many different techniques to list here, but it is a standard part of chiropractic training that a low force technique is taught to every chiropractic student before they graduate.

"...but surely that sound isn't normal?? It is safe, isn't it??"

...it is - chiropractic care is extremely safe...a recent review by Mercola shows the low incident of injury from chiropractic care.  Another recent review conducted in America shows the incidence of chiropractic injury against a number of factors:

...as always, if you have questions on how you're being treated, or on the safety of the treatment itself - talk to your chiropractor...or contact me: the.chiro@mail.com

Barefoot and running...

(Sorry for the delay between blogs, but sometimes life takes over...anyway, back to the regularly scheduled blogging)

So, you've seen the weird looking five-toed shoes...that person running the Sydney marathon in bare feet...you hear the buzz at the gym...barefoot running...

...the explanation for what it is is reasonably straight forward - run without shoes on...

...that sounds a little confronting, doesn't it?? And sounds counter to everything we've been told about the cushioning effect, last corrections and arch preservation that used to promote certain running shoes...

"...you mean my $300 [BRAND DELETED] runners are no good??"

...not necessarily, but they're not necessarily doing you a lot of favours either...

...so, let's start at the beginning - what are the benefits of barefoot running??

...there's Harvard University research out there that suggests landing on your mid or forefoot will strengthen the shock absorption capabilities of your feet, knees and hips - therefore, protecting your lower back from injury...

...the other element that supports barefoot running is the concept that our bodies receive most of its proprioceptive feedback through the muscles on the bottom of our feet. Considering our modern environment means we walk on artificially flat surfaces in artificially flat shoes - the amount of feedback our body gains is greatly reduced. This feedback is generally used to give our body a greater awareness of our position in space and improve our balance - factors that become incredibly important as we age...

...so, there are obviously benefits to ditching the runners and going barefoot but the questions remains - should I run barefoot??

"...barefoot??...with the glass and broken twigs and stuff...doesn't sound awesome..."

...running barefoot is definitely something that will benefit most people, but it comes with a caution - barefoot running is actually very difficult to begin with - and you really need your technique to be correct when you're doing it...

...a lot of people believe that they just have to buy a pair of five-toed or minimalist shoes, and that's it...that's a long way from the truth...you need to learn to run all over again...

...my suggestion, if you decide that barefoot running is something you want to challenge yourself with, is that you start small...find an oval, beach or park near you, and find a very clear area of it...then run for 100-200 metres without placing your heel on the ground...walk back to the start in the same manner, and repeat...do this three times, and stop there for the day...

...I know that sounds really simple, and that it wouldn't be much of a challenge but I promise you it will be more challenging than you think...
...then come back in a couple of days, and try again - this time run an extra 50 metres...continue to slowly build up over time...barefoot running isn't something you'll be able to conquer overnight - you have a lifetime of running and walking habits to overcome...

Good luck, enjoy the experience - and if you need more tips or training suggestions, this is where to reach me: the.chiro@mail.com

Superhero facts III: sitting, the new enemy...

I've spoken previously about the muscular effects of sitting for long periods, but if you need a refresh - here it is...

"...okay, I'm getting a hint here - Reed Richards means this is going to talk about stretching somewhere, doesn't it??"

...very good assumption, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here...firstly, what does sitting do to our health?? I'll break it down for you:

...within 15-20 minutes of sitting down: the electrical activity in your muscles drops, and your ability to burn energy drops to about one calorie per minute (think about how little that is in food terms) - which is roughly a quarter of what you would burn if you were just walking...

...after five days of sitting for 6 hours a day: physiological changes will start...your body will drop it's glucose uptake by about 40%, which will eventually cause insulin resistance and may lead to type II diabetes. You can also expect the an increase in blood triglycerides (fat molecules) and LDL (bad) cholesterol...

"...yeah Caolan, for starters - no-one really sits like that - they really sit like this..."

...okay, that's scary - that barely looks human...

...after two weeks of sitting for 6 hours a day: muscle atrophy begins and your maximal oxygen uptake decreases (and you wondered why climbing the stairs was harder)...even if you're exercising every day, the deterioration will still occur as soon as you sit down...

...after a year of sitting for 6 hours a day: you should have experienced weight gain and an increase in your cholesterol levels...if you're female, expect to loss 1% of bone density for every year you're sitting down...

...after 10+ years of sitting for 6 hours a day: by now you will have lost 7 years of quality life...your risk of dying from heart disease is increased by 64%, and your risk of suffering from prostate or breast cancer is increased by 30%...

"...wow, thanks for the doom and gloom..."

...okay, that sounds bad...but there are ways to counteract it...

...the most simple way to counteract the effects of sitting is to make sure that you spend at least an hour of your day standing...that's a solid hour - not 20min and 20min there...this may mean you have to stand in front of your TV and watch your favourite show, or simply get out and walk during your lunch break...

...the second factor is that you need at least thirty minutes of solid activity (notice I said activity, not exercise - this is actually separate from the time you exercise in a day) every day. This might mean walking to work, or at least, setting yourself a longer distance to walk from work to your transport...even ride a bicycle to and from work every day (well, except when the heavens open and make conditions dangerous).

...the final piece of the puzzle for me, is a series of exercises invented by a fellow chiropractor, Eric Goodman, called "The Founder":

...and as always, if you wish to know more: the.chiro@mail.com

Putting your money where your health and minutes are...

Now, before any of my patients start to freak out and think that I have traded careers to become a financial advisor - don't stress...

...what I am going to do today though, is challenge the way you spend money on items that affect your health...

...now, I have friends out there who will spend themselves an extra $2,000 - $10,000 dollars to get themselves the sports or special edition version of one of these:

...but then won't spend an extra $600 - $1,200 to get the top of the line version of one of these:

...now, I understand that the bed doesn't carry the social status that may come with the car but I'm going to make this really simple - which one do you spend more time in??

...realistically, most of you will spend less than 90 minutes a day in the first one, but will spend somewhere between six to ten hours in the second one. Which, to me in numeric terms, means the bed will have four to seven times the amount of effect on your body than the car will (unless you're being struck by one, obviously).

...but more than the bed - how many people do you know who will refuse to spend more than $200 - $300 on one of these??

...now, the humble office chair is inhabited by most people anywhere between six to sixteen hours a day...which, working on the same calculations above, means it should have four to eleven times the amount of effect on your body as the car does...

...and finally, who refuses to spend more than a couple of hundred dollars on a pair of these??

...we're in a pair of shoes anywhere between twelve to eighteen hours - that's a cumulative effect that is eight to twelve times that of the car...

...now, I'm not telling you where to spend your money...but the next time you're about to buy something, consider how often you will wear / use it, and how much effect that may have on your health...and then hopefully, spend accordingly...

...as always if you need to know more: the.chiro@mail.com

Why is wheat suddenly a problem??

You hear about it a lot, that the new key to good health is to eliminate gluten...but why??

Well, this article from the BaoBag website explains how our wheat has been altered by cross breeding...

As always, if you need to know more - email me at the.chiro@mail.com