Articles from Dr Jon (Chiropractor)
As a wellness chiropractic clinic, we want to bring you all the information you need to achieve your optimal health and vitality. In this series of posts, Dr Jon (Chiropractor) takes a closer look at all things chiropractic- and health-related.
8th February, 2012
Last week I talked about happiness as being a major but often forgotten part of our health and wellbeing. Another way to describe a lack of happiness would be ‘depression’. Much has been made of the prevalence of depression in our society and the havoc it can wreak on our lives. Countless studies and therapies have been developed to combat depression, including psychotherapy, drug therapy and lifestyle strategies. In recent times, however, researches interested in happiness and its cousin depression have started to ask the right questions. What makes happy people happy?
There are many factors that determine our happiness, some within our control and others we are born with. Here are some interesting facts to start with. Studies show that 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes, 10% by our circumstances, and 40% by actions we take intentionally in our lives. That’s good news – even if you are genetically a total sad sap, you can influence between 40 – 50% of your happiness with your own actions! It gets better. Contrary to the popular belief in the ‘golden days’ being behind us, studies show that generally our happiness peaks at the age of 65, and does not decline substantially until after 75 years of age. For most of us, that means the best is yet to come!
So what are the things you can consciously do to make yourself happier, and thus lead a happier life?
- Practice Gratitude. People who express their gratitude regularly are happier people. You can do this in a number of ways: keep a daily journal to write down what you are grateful in your life; say these things to yourself in the mirror in the morning; tell others what you are grateful for; or thank people that you haven’t really acknowledged properly.
- Be optimistic. Sounds simpler than it is. Put simply, look at the positive in everything. Does this mean EVERYTHING is great in your life or the world? No, but as the saying goes, ‘It’s an ill wind that blows no good’. Ask yourself the question for every ‘bad’ situation, ‘what’s good about this?’ This is a great habit to cultivate, and like everything, you’ll be better with practice.
- Avoid social comparison. Deriving your sense of self worth, happiness or satisfaction from having more, being better or looking better is always going to go wrong for you. With time everything passes, and if your happiness is rooted in these things, it too will pass. On the other hand, being ‘inner-directed’ will lead to greater and longer-lasting happiness. This is where you focus on your internal goals and achievements – those that are personally rewarding and meaningful, as opposed to being necessarily meaningful to those around you. This is another tough one, as we are all driven in the direction of social comparison from the barrage of advertising (can you see yourself in this car?) in our lives. Avoiding or minimizing TV would be a good help.
That’s a start to get you going. I’ll continue with more tips for improving your happiness next week.
3rd February, 2012
When we talk about health, we’re often referring to how well our body is working – all its bits and pieces, such as the heart, liver, kidneys and muscles and joints. Sometimes we forget the very reason FOR being healthy, and in doing so, focus on only certain aspects of health.
Surely we aim to be healthy so that we can express our true potential in life. That is, be the best mother, father, partner; be our best at work and at home and in the community. A huge part of being healthy is our mental health – put simply, being HAPPY. People under regular chiropractic care are regularly shown to have less depression and greater levels of happiness, and I’ll go into the details of why this happens later. For now, I’d like to share some thoughts and action steps with you taken from articles and programs discussing happiness that have come my way over the past few years.
In an article on happiness in The Australian newspaper last year, the author eloquently pointed out one (there are many!) path to happiness. I will summarise his observations. Many times we seek a feeling of happiness through acquiring something – whether it be something as little as a new pair of shoes, or as much as a new car or house. There’s no question that a new purchase brings happiness – ‘retail therapy’ – but it passes quickly. We soon become accustomed to that new thing in our life, and it is no longer perceived as something special, so we look toward the next ‘thing’. Not only is the happiness ‘purchased’ In this way transient, but it often creates unhappiness in the form of financial stress.
Experiences, on the other hand, have lasting value. Good experiences, such as a fantastic holiday, are enjoyed many times over – in the planning, while you’re there, and in reminiscing as the years pass. Even a bad holiday experience, such as awful service at restaurant, lost luggage, or getting hopelessly lost, after time, become less painful and often become an entertaining anecdote. Much of our happiness is derived from social interaction, and the grist of many an entertaining conversation is life experience.
So when you want to create more happiness in your life or someone you care for, try an experience instead of a ‘thing’. A movie, a massage, coffee with a friend, kicking a footy, walking to the top of Mt Ainslee/Red Hill/Black Mountain for the sunset, or a weekend away. Your happiness will stay with you for much longer, without the financial side-effects.
26th January, 2012
Following on from last week, I wanted to build on the chiropractic approach to helping people get over chronic injury. Just to re-cap, first of all we want to not just exercise, but restore proper function. Chiropractors do this by removing interference to the nervous system through spinal adjusting. Secondly, we want the WHOLE body to be healthy, don’t we? Of course, so we also look to find other areas in the spine and nervous system that are not working and also restore order there.
Now here is the piece of the puzzle that is sometimes missed, but often vital with chronic injury. Remember I mentioned that ‘corrupted motor patterns’ develop in the body as a way of protecting you in the short term but that these same patterns cause further problems in the long term? Well, chiropractic adjustments to the spine will often be enough to help stimulate the right nerve pathways and thus provide the re-education the brain needs to regain normal patterns of nerve activity and movement. However, sometimes we need to undo the patterns that have developed locally in the muscle and joint tissue. The approach I use is a combination of extremity (that is, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee, ankle or foot) adjusting to restore proper joint motion and proprioception (helps your brain locate/place each body part in relation to itself and the external environment), plus specialized muscle re-education techniques called Trigenics. As I explain to my patients with a chronic injury of an extremity, you can work on the spine, or work on the local area, but if you can help restore proper nerve function at both levels, the results will be quicker and longer lasting. And of course, let’s not forget all the additional health benefits of having a fully functioning nervous system.
So, to finish, the best approach to getting back to great function and health is always to work holistically (each and every part of the body affects and contributes to the function of every other part), and to think, evaluate and treat in terms of function, not just pain. Symptoms come and go while you are still heading downhill, but evaluation and treatment based on a thorough functional assessment will always get a better long term result.
Happy Australia Day!
19th January, 2012
Last week I talked about the injury that just doesn’t seem to want to go away. I described the process of a ‘fuse blowing’ in the body in response to an over-whelming stress. This led to a ‘corrupted motor pattern’, in other words, muscles and joints no longer working in their proper order, timing and pattern. When this occurs over long periods, it leads to chronic and recurring injury.
Today I want to go over some of the other repercussions, as well as what we can do about it. Firstly, when things go wrong with the muscles and joints of your spine or other areas of your body, it is important to understand that you don’t just have a neck or back problem, you have a health problem. Let me explain. If we choose the nerves coming from your lower back, for instance, these same nerves go to not only the lower back and leg muscles, skin and joints, but also the organs of the abdomen and pelvis. So, if nerves are disturbed in these areas, you can expect some of the organs not to be working at their best. A classic example is an irritable bowel or bladder, or even disturbed menstrual function.
Now, what to do about that chronic injury? Lots of people try just rehabilitation exercises, but this approach will often just exercise and reinforce the same pattern without correcting the underlying problem. Two approaches are useful. Back to our example of the shoulder problem. First of all it’s really important to get the nerve supply right. Adjusting areas of the spine that have lost their normal motion is essential to remove nerve interference that could be preventing proper function – chiropractors call these areas ‘subluxations’. Are we only concerned with nerves going to the shoulder? Of course not! What about nerves down below affecting pelvic motion, which in turn affects motion and other muscles of the shoulder? Let’s not forget also that for you to be healthy, ALL the nerves of the body should be working free of interference.
So that’s one part of the puzzle – nerve interference coming from the spine. In my next entry, I’ll touch on two other pieces that are often missed, and are sometimes essential for complete recovery from chronic injuries.
9th January, 2012
A common complaint I hear from my patients is: ‘I’ve had this injury (or problem or pain) for such a long time now, shouldn’t it have healed by now?’ It’s a great question, and to answer it, we really need to get to the basis of why the body goes wrong.
Imagine your body as a house, and its wiring system being the communication system of your body – your nervous system. What happens when you overload a circuit with too many appliances running at the same time? Yes, a fuse blows, or nowadays, a switch flips to the ‘off’ position. The purpose of a fuse flipping off is to prevent damage to the system that will cost a lot of money to fix and to possibly save your life.
It just so happens that our bodies operate in a similar manner. When we overload the body with ANY particular type of stress (physical, chemical, or emotional), our body will do one of two things: adapt to the new stress, or a fuse will flip off. It’s a very intelligent response, as it saves further damage such as a muscle tear, torn cartilage, or organ damage.
For simplicity's sake, let's talk about a shoulder injury. You strain your shoulder lifting something overhead one day. It feels a little sore, but seems to get better. Then you notice strange things happening – it doesn’t quite feel as strong as it should; you can’t push as hard in the gym any more; it’s clicking on certain movements; now it even hurts when you lay on it in certain sleeping positions.
What happened? Well, somewhere along the pathways between your brain to your muscles and joints, communication (ie our wiring system, or nervous system) has broken down. This has either occurred at the spine, or at the joint, or even in the muscles. In my experience, it is usually a combination of two or three of the above. Now every movement and activity involving the shoulder will be slightly ‘off’, what we can call a ‘corrupted motor pattern’. At the time of the injury, this prevented a more serious injury, but when this continues for weeks and months without correction, further injury results. Now it is easy to see why some injuries or problems just don’t seem to go away.
In my next entry, I’ll talk about the sort of things that need to be done to ‘reset’ the body’s function and get you back on track after any injury.
22nd December, 2011
A question I’m often asked by my patients is, ‘should I take pain-killers?’ My answer is generally, ‘if you feel you can get by without them, do so. If you are in so much pain that life is a misery, or you can’t sleep, then take them.’
It’s a simple guideline, but I’d like to explain some basic reasons behind my stance. Firstly, inflammation is part of your HEALING response – cells and fluid sent to an area of injury to help fix the damage. Anything that interferes with our inflammatory response interferes with our healing. The use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, eg. aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, nurofen,) for more than 72 hours interferes with the 2nd phase of injury healing – the repair phase. This results in incomplete or delayed healing. Long term use of NSAIDS also is well-known to cause gastro-intestinal bleeding – a serious and sometimes life-threatening consequence. Long term pain medications can cause a reduction in bone marrow activity. Guess where most of our immune cells are made? That’s right, in the bone marrow – hence a reduction in immunity.
So that’s a number of good reasons to minimise or avoid ‘pain killing’ medication if you are able to. Lastly, one more simple reason to avoid them if possible is that you may be doing things that you shouldn’t. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something needs to change (eg. moving too much of a certain way, eating too much of a certain food). When you block those messages so as to get on with your ‘normal’ life, you are ignoring your body’s innate wisdom, rather than listening to it. Ultimately, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to ‘should I take pain killers?’, but armed with some accurate information, you will make your decision aware of the consequences.
13th December, 2011
We had the first of our 'Lifestyle Series' of classes at Canberra Spine Centre yesterday, and those who came really got to learn so much. Mainly what we covered was the 'why' of exercise (some great research showed us that exercise really is an essential ingredient for health); as well as the 'what', 'how' and 'when'.
Today I'd like to share with you some of the 'what'. Briefly, before going into that, it's important to focus on why you are exercising. Exercise, in our modern-day life, is often looked upon as a 'treatment' for any number of ailments, from depression to obesity. Instead of looking at exercise as a means of reducing the severity of a disease state, a better way to look at it is to ask, 'what does my body need to be REALLY healthy?' When you start by asking this question, you are more likely to arrive at an answer that will enhance your life. If you exercise to reach or strive toward optimum health, chances are you WILL lose weight, put on muscle, lower your blood pressure, etc. But with your focus on optimal health, you won't be chasing a thousand ailments, more moving toward a goal that will improve EVERY facet of your life.
So, what should every exercise regime have? Four components:
1. Aerobic exercise – start with something simple such as walking, and progress to jogging (if you can, and only gradually), or if you prefer, riding a bike or swimming.
2. Strength training – building muscle has SO many benefits. Simple exercises with free weights or body weights, especially those movements that mimic activities of daily living, are best. Two great examples are lunges, and 'clean and press' (can be done easily with just some tins of beans!).
3. Flexibility – especially of the spine. When your spine moves properly, it generates BILLIONS of messages each minute that travel up to your brain to stimulate it and keep it healthy. For starters, just think of moving your neck and the rest of your spine in all six degrees of motion (that is forward, back, side-to-side, and around to left and right).
4. Balance – simply start by balancing on one leg at a time for a minute – eyes open or closed (whichever you can do without falling straight away!). Our modern environment, with all its perfectly flat surfaces, robs us on many 'training' opportunities for our proprioceptive (movement and position sensing) system. Use it or lose it.
I go into loads of detail in our 'Move Well' class, and will also be giving all attendees a special handout with specifics on exactly how to craft a quick and effective exercise program for optimum health. So call us and book yourself a spot at our next class. In the meantime, I'll keep you posted on more you can do to help reach optimal heatlh.
7th December, 2011
I’ve recently been reviewing information related to the new ‘Move Well’ class we’re putting on at Canberra Spine Centre and there’s some great information I’d like to share with you.
I’ve always promoted the idea that walking is the best form of exercise, for 30 minutes a day. It’s certainly a good start, but if you look at the research related to our genetic requirements for health, this level of exercise is way off the mark!
What do I mean by our ‘genetic requirement’? Well let me go back a bit.... Back to the pre-industrial and pre-agricultural times of between 40 000 to 10 000 years ago. These were the days when our ancestors were hunter-gatherers. The environment of that era is what shaped the genes we have today. In other words, the humans that thrived in those days were the ones who got to pass on their genes to the next generation. Those who were not suited to the environment died and did not get to pass on their genes. Even though culturally, mankind has undergone massive change over the past 40 000 years, genetically, we have the SAME make-up.
You want to know one of the huge areas of our lives that’s making us sick? We are genetically suited to an environment in which we had to expend a LOT of energy to just feed, clothe and defend ourselves. The modern-day environment, however, is one in which we have a far greater caloric intake, and only a fraction of the energy expenditure of that of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
Research shows that proper exercise can help:
- prevent 91% of type 2 diabetes.
- Prevent up to 50% of heart disease.
- Prevent up to 50% of stroke deaths.
- Reduce breast cancer by up to 60%.
- Reduce lung cancer in smokers(!) by up to 72%.
- Reduce melanomas by up to 72%.
- Prevent 50% of colon cancer.
- Prevent osteoporosis.
- Increase immune function.
- Normalise bowel function and elimination.
- Increase digestive function.
Actually, the list is a lot longer than this. But is this isn’t enough to get you to have a closer look at how you could improve your exercise regime, I don’t know what would convince you!
I’ve lot’s more to share on this site, and I’ll be starting the first of our ‘Lifestyle Series’ of health improvement classes - ‘Move Well’ - soon. Call us if you’d like to book a seat at the next class – it will be jam-packed with information to help you create great change in your life.
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