​ Do you want to be healthy or just not sick? This is one of the first questions I ask my patients when they are considering starting Chiropractic care.

It is very important to establish someone’s health objectives and intended outcomes from the outset. For some patients, all they want is to ‘feel better’, in other words, to be ‘less sick’, whilst for others, they want to achieve greater levels of well-being, beyond the resolution of their aches and pains.
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For some of you reading this, you might be thinking, ‘what is the difference between being healthy and just being ‘not sick’?

​The school year can be daunting for some children and even for parents as well. The simplest things such as not having your best friend from last year in your class, to juggling all the different after school sports can lead to an individual becoming stressed without even realising.

Studies have show that there is a significant relationship between the amount of daily stress you experience and your general well being. Those experiencing higher levels of stress are more prone  to health problems such as flu, sore throat, headaches, and backaches (1). Therefore it is important to manage stress levels to ensure that you and your child are getting the best out of yourselves! 

If you’ve ever experienced radiating pain through your gluteal region, down the back of your thigh or leg, you’ll probably agree that it is far from the most pleasurable sensation that we can feel!

This type of pain is often called sciatica, but in many instances other underlying pathologies can cause similar pain experiences. Hip osteoarthritis, hamstring and calf soft tissue injuries may mimic sciatica. It is important to have a complete assessment and receive a correct diagnosis to start your rehabilitation on the right foot (pardon the pun).

​Foot pain may arise as a result of many different problems; some locally in the foot, some systemic and some from the nervous system. The key with any type of foot pain is to receive a thorough assessment, a correct diagnosis, treatment options and their safety explained and possible outcomes discussed and then a course of treatment with re-assessment to ensure your goals are being reached.

So who do you go to for foot pain? Some conditions like ingrown toenails, diabetic feet, corns and callouses can be very painful and treatment by a podiatrist is the best course of action. But is a podiatrist the only professional to visit when it comes to foot pain? What if your foot pain comes from altered mechanics or even your spine – is it off to the podiatrist again in these cases?

​What is your definition of health? A lack of symptoms or optimally functioning body?

We live in a world where a lack of symptoms is considered being healthy. Many of us go to the doctor when a symptom has arisen because this symptom has made us unhealthy. We expect the doctor to do something or prescribe something to magically make our symptoms go away and then we are healthy again.

​Why would you visit a chiropractor if you had a problem with the movement of your legs or feet (gait dysfunction)?

Don’t chiropractors adjust spines and help back pain?

What if we knew that there was a link between the movement of our feet, the movement of our spine and the function of our nervous system. Things might start to make a little more sense.

Let’s look into this more deeply…

​Low back in spasm? What is causing it and how to help.

Chances are that when you present with these symptoms, you will have one of two problems occurring deep within your spine. You may have an annular tear or you may have a meniscal entrapment. In part 1 of this blog I discussed the first scenario (an annular tear). In this post, I will delve deeper into the second scenario – a meniscal entrapment.

​It’s not much fun when you get out of bed one morning and find that you have intense low back pain. You look at yourself in the mirror and see that, despite your best efforts, you cannot stand up straight and tall.

​In fact, you look a little like somebody has taken the top half of your body and shifted it off to the side. You are twisted! The pain makes you feel a little nauseous and you start to think of a few basic questions…

​Question:  Have you ever held a chain by one end and wiggled your hand? What happens to the chain?

Answer:  The whole chain wiggles as well. The other end of the chain might even flip around all over the place. Not surprising we call this a chain reaction!

The same transfer of energy and movement can happen with our posture. When we have changed posture in our feet or lower limbs, this can change the posture of other parts of our body. The same is the case with the posture of our face and jaw.