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How to care for low back pain 1: DISC

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“What do I do if my back goes on me?”

Low back pain: it’s a pretty overdone topic, but it’s relevant! I like to write about things that I say repetitively to clients in clinic. I figure that if I am saying the same things a few times a day everyday at work, it is not common knowledge and should be out there more.

The reason this article is relevant to so many people is because the statistics suggest that up to 80% of us experience low back pain at some stage in our life and 10% suffer significant disability as a result (Briggs and Buchbinder, 2009). That is a very high incident of a health complaint. The focus of this article is on what to do immediately after hurting your lower back to prevent further injury and speed up recovery.

Self management immediately after hurting your low back is very important. If you know what to do in the early phase you can prevent the pain and injury from worsening quite significantly. There are many different structures in your lower back that you can injure and subsequently cause pain, so let’s make a distinction between them because self care can be different for different injuries. This first article is about disc injuries.

DISC INJURY
This is the most common cause of lower back pain I see in clinic. People often say something like: “I bent over and picked up and empty bucket and I felt it go straight away”. This is the same one as lifting something too heavy, picking kids up out of the bath or just bending over and getting instant pain or that feeling of “oh no! I’ve done something bad.” Most commonly this movement injures the intervertebral disc.

CAUSE: Basically the Bend, Lift and twist cause of lower back pain. It commonly occurs from incorrect lifting technique which prevents the muscles from taking the load. When a person is in this compromised position, the tiny ligaments surrounding the disc become sprained or torn which causes the gelatinous central part of the disc to bulge and put pressure on the nerves causing pain. It can occur with just sitting for prolonged periods over time with poor posture; bending and/or lifting and if there is a twisting motion involved as well it usually makes it worse. The degree of injury is dependant on many things like: the condition of the disc prior to this incident, previous injury, smokers status, hydration, digestive health, posture, stress level and activity level of the person.

 

SYMPTOMS: The symptoms can be localised pain in the back, being bent to the side or slightly forward unable to stand straight (antalgic posture), pain radiating down the leg or just in the leg or foot itself. The degree of pain or discomfort can also vary widely dependant on the the degree of injury.

WHAT MAKES IT WORSE? Any position increasing the pressure on the disc will make it worse once you have injured the disc. These include sitting, twisting, bending and lifting and are to be absolutely avoided along with any other movements that make the pain worse. Sometimes standing will also make it worse if there is significant inflammation or some degeneration in the joints prior to injury or if the antalgic posture is significant enough. If this is the case then standing should also be minimal.

WHAT WILL MAKE IT BETTER? The priority is preventing inflammation from building up and taking stress off the disc.
ANTI-INFLAMATORY TREATMENT: Natural anti-inflammatory treatments that I find most effective are Arnica and ice. You can get Arnica in various different forms – orally in homeopathic form and as a topical cream/gel/ointment. One of my favourite topical Arnica is Fisiocream which is now available in health food shops and chemists. The application of ice is also a helpful way to prevent the inflammation building up in the short term. The best way to apply it is: 15mins on, then remove for 10 mins the re apply for 15 mins. You repeat this process in the first 24-48 hours up to 8 times per day.
DECOMPRESSION TREATMENT: The best way to take stress off the disc is to decompress it by lying on your back with your knees very bent or with your calfs resting on the seat of a chair so your hips and knees are at 90 degrees. I usually instruct lying like this for 30 min blocks and breaking it up with getting up (carefully) and walking around.

AVOID: It is essential that you DO NOT SIT, BEND, LIFT ANYTHING OR TWIST in this early phase. The disc has been compromised and those movements can make it significantly worse.

I find if people follow this protocol soon after injury has occurred they significantly reduce their severity injury and pain and significantly improve recovery time. A disc injury should always be followed up with your chiropractor or other spinal care expert. Your chiropractor will ensure your alignment be corrected and disc decompressed as well as reducing other stresses on the body to prevent further injury to the disc while it heals. You practitioner may refer for some imaging and use other techniques like taping to assist recovery. A disc can’t heal while it is under stress. A disc that is not stressed generally heals well providing it hasn’t ruptured.

NOTE: Disc injuries can be from mild to severe. Severe disc injuries may need surgery so it is important you see your chiropractor for treatment and further advice as soon as you can regardless.
by Dr Sara Winchester (Chiropractor)
www.sarawinchester.com

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Your Diamond Health

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I have a belief that the cause of all health problems are either an imbalance in our structural body, stuck emotions, imbalanced biochemistry, or something unexplained by science so I put it on the ‘spiritual realm’. I call this Your Diamond Health model. It’s essentially the ‘Body, Mind, Spirit’ model but I like to split up Body into Structure and Biochemistry. If there is a long term or chronic health issue it may also be combination of some or all of these factors. To have optimal or Diamond Health we have to be healthy and balanced in all of areas. We can’t be healthy physically but an emotional mess. Where the imbalance is, is where your personal healthcare needs to be focussed so you can attain your best level of health.

I love this insightful quote from Thomas Edison: “The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame (STRUCTURE), in diet (BIOCHEMISTRY) and in the cause and prevention of disease.” I like to add the importance of our emotional health too.

This is how I approach all health issues that clients present with. Physical pain isn’t necessarily caused by the physical body! Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn’t. It often isn’t the cause with people who don’t get better even after seeing loads of physical therapy practitioners like Physiotherapists, Exercise Physiologists, Osteopaths and/or Chiropractors. This is when we need to address the physiology of emotions, a biochemical imbalance or a spiritual issue.

Let’s start with the physiology of emotions. All emotions are relevant, real and ok, even emotions that we perceive to be negative like anger. But health problems can occur when they are your default emotions. Like: stuck in a traffic jam = ‘road rage’. That’s not ok! it’s an over reaction to the situation and I guarantee that if it happens in a traffic jam, it’ll be happening in other situations where it is also not warranted. This is unhealthy! Of course, anger is not the only unhealthy ‘stuck’ emotion. All ‘stuck’ emotions are unhealthy, even things like being over sympathetic to others. When this emotion occurs all the time, people tend to jump in with those suffering and be totally ineffective at resolving the issue or effectively helping.

Different ‘stuck’ or ‘default’ emotions affect different organs and visa-versa. If someone has a problem with their lungs they can get stuck in grief or sadness without understanding why they feel like that. The reverse is true too, if they get stuck in sadness or grief it can be the cause of a lung problem that develops. This is what I mean by the physiology of emotions.

Different emotions have different chemicals that get secreted in the body. It has been proven many times by different scientists, firstly by Candice Pert, that when we experience a specific emotion, specific neurotransmitters are secreted from different cells in the body. It used to be thought that neurotransmitters where just secreted from the central nervous system cells but that is actually not so. These neurotransmitters when we are in an emotional state flood the body and cause physiological changes. Lets take an obvious example of this.

Think of a time when you were in a ‘fight or flight’ situation – like an emergency. You cells secrete high levels of adrenalin and flood your body (BIOCHEMISTRY). It increases your heart rate and blood pressure and dilates your arteries so blood can quickly get to the muscles, so you can fight or get out of there (STRUCTURE). Sometimes people can stay in that state when it is not relevant and it can cause anxiety, excess worry and over concern that isn’t warranted (EMOTIONS).

Chronic stress is our biggest killer and has far reaching negative health affects causing diseases like: hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and heart attack. We can take this a little further. If people stay in that state of stress for a long period of time their muscles will get tight, they often get tension headaches, poor posture results, shallow breathing and they are often in pain because stress is pro-inflammatory (STRUCTURE).

If your default or stuck emotions are around chronic anxiety or fear this is what is happening with your structure and your biochemistry most of the time. This is a very unhealthy state to be in. So what is the driver? Is it your genetic predisposition of heart arrythmias or high blood pressure (STRUCTURE), is it some past emotional trauma or PTSD (EMOTIONS), is it because you consume too much caffeine or sugar (BIOCHEMISTRY), or is it just what you have unconsciously copied a parent do all your life (BEHAVIOUR/EMOTIONS)? All of these causes of chronic stress can’t be addressed by just taking a medication to reduce the blood pressure.

I know this is a bit of a different way to think about our health but it is relevant and worth thinking about. Where in your life could you improve your health which will have positive effects on the other aspects of your health with little or no help? What are your ‘default’ or ‘stuck’ emotions that you would like to reset? How could you support the chemistry of your body better?

There are many helpful ways to balance and achieve Your Diamond Health. Coming from a chiropractic background, a good chiropractor who uses Neuro-Emotional Technique and Applied Kinesiology will be able help you address structural health, emotional health and biochemical health. Should you need to be referred onto another expert to get to your health goal, a good chiropractor will refer you.

Always use your own discernment as to what works best for you as an individual and make sure you get a good recommendation for any practitioner you see. There are fantastic and not so great practitioners in all fields, so don’t rule out a different practitioner in a field you’ve already tried if it comes from a reliable recommendation. Enjoy the journey to attain Your Diamond Health.

by Dr Sara Winchester (Chiropractor)
www.sarawinchester.com

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Essential Remedies for kids @ Home

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[/twocol_one_last] [su_spacer size=”10″] As a mother, I know how important it is to want to do your best for your babies and children. Here are some simple remedies with fantastic benefits, I often prescribe as a practitioner.

People often ask me about what they can do at home for certain ailments or injuries as the first port of call before seeing their health professional. This little list is in no way intended to replace seeking medical advice, merely general recommendations for simple things that you can do immediately at home until seeking further advice, if required.

These remedies are my favourite essential remedies that every house hold should have ready to go, especially if you have children. Believe me you will use most, not all of them a lot! Some of these things are hard to find, which is why I am offering to make some packs with the hard to get remedies.

ARNICA: We go through so much Arnica in my household between a teenaged boy and his sport, to a climbing baby that is forever challenging his physical abilities. It should be in every sports bag and every medicine cabinet. Arnica is a fantastic remedy for bumps and bruises to sprains and strains. It can be used topically or orally or both. I have even told older people who bruise easily and don’t like their unsightly marked to apply it daily to those areas that get bumped easily on a daily basis. There are different forms of Arnica which are appropriate for different situations. For babies, I prefer to use my home made lavender and Arnica oil that my friend makes for me. For sports injuries I prefer to use Fisiocream or Heel Arnica gel. The best way to use arnica is immediately and regularly until the injury settles.
THINK INFLAMATION OR BRUISING = ARNICA

CALENDULA: A common healing cream for all sorts of skin conditions. Dry bits, wounds or mild skin infections. It has a soothing element and is a great skin healer. I tend to use it as a base and add stuff to it like Lavender oil or Red Myrtle oil.
THINK SKIN PROBLEM = CALENDULA

COMFREY: Thankfully, touch wood, I haven’t had to use this in my home, yet! It is a topical cream or ointment that I have had loads of clients use for bone breaks and fractures. It speeds up bone healing significantly. For complicated breaks or multiple bone breaks see a Homeopath for oral Symphytum as well. Otherwise you can use it directly over the affected bone.
THINK BROKEN BONE = COMFREY

EAR CANDLES: Ear candling has been around for a long time and can be very helpful when your ears are blocked or you’ve got a build up of wax. You will need someone to do it for you and it is relatively easy to do the procedure.
THINK BLOCKED EARS = EAR CANDLING

HEAT PACK: Heat relaxes things. If your muscles are sore the day after a hard exercise session it’s probably DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), or pre-menstrual or feeling a bit cold, heat packs are very comforting. I never recommend heat for pain and inflammation because of the heat that the body is already generating. It seems to feel nice short term but allows the inflammation to continue and therefore the pain to continue.
THINK DOMS OR PMS = HEAT PACK

ICE PACK: Everyone should have an ice-pack (or bag of frozen peas) in the freezer. You will use it. You always use ice for pain, inflammation, strains, sprains and knocks. When there is an injury there will be an increase in blood flow to the area and usually you are left with a red, hot, swollen and painful area. Ice reduces the blood flow by constricting the vessels slightly. To ice effectively you apply for 15 mins on and then 15 mins off and repeat numerous times.
THINK PAIN & INFLAMMATION = ICE

LAVENDER: This is an amazing essential oil that I have used and prescribe for numerous things. Firstly, it is relaxing – so great for kids that find it hard to chill out or people when they are stressed. You can find or make lavender pillows with real lavender in them, that you can rest on your eyes or put in your bed. Use a good quality organic lavender oil and put it topically on your skin, in a bath or burn it in a oil burner. My favourite use for lavender oil is on itchy spots. To use it for things like mosquito bites you can put it neat directly on the bite as long as the skin isn’t broken. I have even used it on Chicken pox diluted in calendular cream, and lathered it all over my sons body and the results were amazing, he didn’t scratch and no more pox came up! It’s fantastic for stopping the itch.
ITCHY BITS OR NEEDING RELAXATION = LAVENDER OIL

PROBIOTICS: I always have a general gut maintenance probiotic in the fridge for myself, one for my child and one for my baby. Get advice from a qualified practitioner as to what would be best for whatever condition or situation you are using them for. It isn’t a one-size fits all scenario, you will get better results if you get the right one. Definitely needed after anti-biotic use, tummy pains, constipation, diahorrea or any other long term gut issue.
THINK GUT ISSUE = PRO-BIOTICS

RED MYRTLE OIL: This is a beautiful aromatic oil for congestion which is almost impossible to find in a shop. It works amazingly on kids and babies. I used to put it neat on my toddlers neck on the first sign of congestion at night and he would wake up in the morning clear and with no further development. When adults and kids are very congested, I put some drops in a bath, burn it in an oil burner, put some diluted in an oil or calendular cream and rub it on their chest and upper back, like a VIcs rub. Wonderful oil.
THINK CONGESTION = RED MYRTLE OIL

ROSE’S SCARLESS HEALER: This is an amazing ointment for chunky scabs or hard to heal wounds. I have used it on my two year old when he was knocked over by a bike and landed on his face on the footpath. The healing was so fast and no scaring or even major scabs where left. I have had a friend use it on a scab from motorbike burn on his forearm. The big thick scab on that inside soft skin just wasn’t healing. Three days after he was using it each day, the scab had dissolved and the skin underneath was so healthy, pink and healed . I have also had an older client use it after having a thick scab on her cheekbone from tripping on the pavement and landing on her face. Again, scab dissolved and no unsightly scar on her face. An absolute must in the first aid kit.
THINK SCAB OR WOUND = ROSE’S SCARLESS HEALER

SALINE: Saline is great for rinsing eyes and wounds. Good for dry eyes, scratchy eyes and early stages of conjunctivitis. You can make it up yourself or buy it in little squeezey tubes from a chemist. The concentration of salt to water is 1/2 teaspoon per 1 measuring cup. I always use sea salt and make sure the water is distilled by having it boiling for 5 mins. Wait until the solution is at room temperature for use and be careful not to contaminate if you are planning on keeping the solution for a few days. Discard it if it is cloudy or merky. To minimise contamination do not ‘double dip’ with same cotton ball or bud or cloth and keep covered in air tight container.
THINK EYES = SALINE SOLUTION

TRI-GUARD: This is an easy to use multi-purpose remedy from New Zealand. It is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic and anti-fungal! I love this product and it is hard to get (you can only but it from selected Chiropractors). You can use it anywhere except in the eyes. On skin infections you can use it topically straight on the area, orally for any mouth wounds or ulcers, you can put it in your water for any gut issues, I’ve used it in my nose when I’ve had a sinus infection in my ears with a cotton bud, you can use it as a hand sanitiser. You really can use it almost anywhere. I always take this away with me overseas because it is a one hit remedy with so many uses.
THINK PATHOGEN ANYWHERE = TRI-GUARD

As with anything, if symptoms persist or if there is a reaction to any of the above, seek prompt medical advice.

I am going to put a kit together which has all the remedies which are hard to get, so you don’t have to run around to half a dozen shops and practitioners to get the various bits and pieces especially ordered. The quality of the products I source that would be in this kit would be the highest available. The products that are readily available I will leave out of this kit, as they are easy to pick up at any supermarket, chemist or health food shop.
The kit will consist of:
A TUBE OF FISIOCREAM
A 25ml BOTTLE OF ARNICA AND LAVENDER OIL
A SMALL TUB OF COMFREY CREAM
ROSE’S SCARLESS HEALER
A 15ml BOTTLE OF LAVENDER OIL
A 15ml BOTTLE OF RED MYRTLE OIL
A SMALL TUB OF CALENDULA CREAM
TRI-GUARD
EAR CANDLES.

Contact me on: sara@sarawinchester.com should you like to order one for your household or as a gift and I will send you the cost.

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Bad Posture Hurts

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[/twocol_one_last] [su_spacer size=”10″] Do you sit at a desk or computer, or spend a lot of time standing in a fixed position? Well, you would know how hard it is to keep good posture, or in some instances even get good posture in the first place!

With the increased reliance on computer technology and more and more time sitting, is it any wonder so many people have postural issues? Many don’t even know they have postural issues! In fact, they can get symptoms like a shoulder problem, headaches or low back pain for no apparent reason and it’s often all down to their postural habits. Typical symptoms that come from poor posture in addition to the above are: neck tension or pain, foggy head and inability to concentrate, clenching teeth and jaw pain, tight chest muscles, pain throughout the mid back, sciatica and disc issues, sore muscles in mid to low back, tight hip flexors, poor breathing patterns, emotional stress and anxiety and tight hamstrings, just to name a few!

POOR POSTURE NOT ONLY HURTS, BUT IT’S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!

Your posture in any position is important, especially the longer you stay in it! The obvious posture that you’ve probably thought about at some stage, is your sitting posture at a desk. What about your posture when you ride a bike or go for a run? Or watch TV, eat your food or the posture you sleep in? These are all significant postural positions that if done without awareness, for a long period of time and done repetitively, can lead to complicated pain syndromes.

Bruggers exercise is a fabulous way to become aware of your posture and start to correct muscle imbalances that stem from, and lead to poor posture. I prescribe this exercise countless times per week in clinical practice and I would like to share with you how you do it, why you would choose to do it and what the purpose is.

This exercise can be done with or without a band (like in the image)

1. Start sitting tall on your sit bones. Have your hands facing each other and your elbows flexed at 90 degrees with your elbows tucked in by your sides.
2. Keeping your elbows by your side start to separate your hands and allow your palms to slowly face up to the sky.
3. Complete the movement by squeezing the muscles between the shoulders and allow your hands to maximally separate with palms up. (the image shows elbows straight, you can complete the movement with your elbows bent).
4. Repeat movement being aware of the muscles working in your back 10-20 times, 3-4 times per day.
5. Allow your hands to come back in front of you whilst maintaining a gentle tightening in those same back muscles and keeping your shoulders in the same position.

This exercise is good for you if you do any of the following: sit or stand for prolonged periods, slump or slouch, get neck tension or tension headaches, rotator cuff problems in the shoulder or any of the previously mentioned situations. All of these symptoms need you to check in on your posture periodically throughout the day.

What I love about this exercise is that you can do it standing or sitting, with resistance or not to ‘switch on’ those muscles that often ‘switch off’ after being in a prolonged position. It’s an easy way of engaging these muscles as a group and it also makes people really aware of what good posture feels like. So, you can use it to check in with yourself anytime. Other helpful things in conjunction with Bruggers for improving your posture are consulting with a chiropractor, doing regular yoga and/or pilates.

If this exercise is uncomfortable or hurts in anyway, seek advice from your preferred practitioner.

Enjoy the health benefits of being aware and improving your posture.

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How unhealthy is lying?

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HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HOW UNHEALTHY IT IS TO LIE, KEEP A SECRET OR BE INAUTHENTIC?

[su_spacer size=”5″] We humans often convince ourselves that certain things don’t need to be said. We’d rather keep the peace than stir up trouble by being honest. We humans often compromise our own needs by putting other people’s needs first. We humans sometimes keep secrets that we don’t want other people to know about for fear of judgement. We humans sometimes tell terrible lies that spin out of control and get deeper and deeper until we now just can’t possibly tell the truth. All of these scenarios are lying and most of them are only hurting one person…. YOU! Except when we deliberately deceive others, then it has a huge capacity to hurt others as well.

“What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.”

The truth is: THE TRUTH ALWAYS COMES OUT. I’ve always believed this notion to be true. Even when I have told a white lie or not divulged the whole truth, I have felt so uncomfortable because I know deep down, it’s going to come out anyway. The stress of living a lie really isn’t worth it! And the longer the lie continues, the worse it is for your health.

So why not be straight up? Why? Because we are all so scared. Scared of being judged, not being loved or accepted. But we all make mistakes and none of us are perfect. So why do we put so much pressure on ourselves?

When we are lying, either in a small way or a big way, we become incongruent and lose touch with our personal truth. Our integrity starts to falter and it can cause a lot of dis-ease in our lives, and particularly our body, negatively affecting our health. It is this chronic dis-ease which can lead to disease over time and is a very unhealthy state to be in.

Lying creates chaos in your outside world as well as your inside world.

Next time you have a sore throat, ask yourself: what you are not saying that you need to? A pain in your neck: Who is the pain in your pain in the neck and why? Lower back pain: Who do you want more support from? The answers are within you and not anything outside of you. Hard to understand? Think about it.

Where can you be more honest in your life and with whom?

When you become more honest and accepting of yourself, it is easier to be honest with others.

Life is short. Don’t waste it by lying and not living your personal truth. It will only make you sick.

Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) and Neuro Linguistic Programming are great tools to help you back to your truth. Also, read “Radical Honesty” by Brad Blanton and for a good laugh watch the movie “The Invention of Lying”. For a one on one NET consultation with me, call: (02) 9986 0700 to make an appointment. sara@sarawinchester.com