Did you know that the estimated cost of back pain to the NHS is £481 million a year? Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are extremely common. According to the NHS, over 20 million people in the UK have an MSK condition such as arthritis or back pain, and they account for up to 30% of GP consultations…
After an injury or an illness, the body needs to get itself back into ideal balance, called homeostasis, as quickly as possible. Your immune system sends out white blood cells and other immune cells to the injured area to mop up infections. Swelling occurs to contain any toxins. If you’ve cut your knee for example,…
A bump in the boot from a car behind you or an emergency stop can all cause some nasty effects on the neck and back. Even worse is a full-on crash, of course. When all that forward motion (kinetic energy) gets transferred into your body, the moving parts are the ones that feel the effects…
Have you ever wondered just what is the difference between these three treatment options? They’re all recognised as effective therapies and share the aim of healing and strengthening the body to alleviate pain. Qualifications in these fields require over 1000 hours of clinical practice and 4-5 years of study for chiropractic and osteopathy and 3…
It’s not unusual to feel tired and sore in January. This time of year, we tend to get less exercise and less sunshine, as well as there being an increased incidence of colds and flu. When our mental health isn’t as good as we’d like it to be, back and joint pain often feels worse…
It’s been nippy lately. Have you noticed that your aches and pains feel worse? It’s not your imagination. Cold weather causes muscles and ligaments to tighten up, stressing the nerves, while changes in barometric pressure can cause swelling and make the pain feel worse. Cold weather also affects blood circulation. As your body heat drops,…
Easing pain using your brain is easier than you think. Here’s how… Nerves are really efficient at delivering pain messages to the brain and telling us what we need to pay attention to. But can we turn off the nerves once we’ve listened to the message? No, not entirely, but we can turn down the…
For most people, chiropractic treatment makes their pain improve almost immediately. But this isn’t guaranteed to be the case. There’s nothing more frustrating than making the first steps towards improving your back pain, and then finding you feel worse after your first treatment. This is an understandable cause of concern for chiropractic patients, but we’re…
We all know that as we age our bodies change. Naturally, our joints, bones, soft tissue and organs suffer from the passage of time. The years bring age-related wear and tear on the joints and lower back pain is common among the over 65s. MRI scans confirm that degenerative changes of the spine are typical…
If you suffer from back pain, the hours spent cramped in an airline seat can be agony. Hand luggage can be heavy and awkward getting into overhead lockers. When you arrive at your destination you have to deal with hauling heavy bags off the luggage carousel and dragging them thought the airport an into a…
