Sometimes you’re just doing a simple, everyday movement – and zap! Your back goes into spasm. The pain is suddenly excruciating, you’re frightened to move and have no idea what’s happening to you. This kind of situation feels like an emergency because the signals your brain is receiving are alerting you to potentially serious tissue…
Do you spend more than four hours a day sitting down? If the answer is yes, you’re one of the millions of people who make up the ‘sitting epidemic’. Due to a decline in the prevalence of physical jobs, combined with the rise of desk-based work, working from home, use of the internet and car…
Have you noticed how low mood and low back pain seem to go together? Research into how exactly the two are linked has been going on for years. Studies have looked at whether depression itself increases the risk of low back pain or if low back pain increases the risk of depression. Now breakthrough new…
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…
A slipped disc is also called a herniated or prolapsed disc – and it can cause a lot of pain. Discs themselves are soft cushions of tissue between each vertebrae. The jelly-like centre (nucleus) of each disc is soft, but enveloped by a tougher substance called the annulus. Their job is to be shock absorbers.…
If you’re suffering with a flare up in your back, the first thing you may want to do is reach for the painkillers. Occasional use of ibuprofen, the key ingredient in Nurofen, may offer short-term relief, but relying on painkillers for persistent back pain will do more harm than good. New research shows that regular…
Pregnancy is a risk factor for back pain – but what can a chiropractor do to help? We know that up to 72% of pregnant women suffer from back pain and some issues may not resolve satisfactorily. A recent study looked at the correlation between pregnancy, childbirth and functionally-limiting back pain. It found that 85%…
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…
