Christmas gifts or Special Birthday gifts; Looking for the perfect gift for yourself or someone in your life that’s experiencing back pain? Look no further! Consider these four thoughtful and spine-friendly presents.

A gym membership.

Back pain can sometimes be the result of weak muscles. Strengthening your back and body can help prevent future aches and pains.

An ergonomic chair.

If you do a lot of sitting at work or home, a chair that was designed to support your spine is a necessity.

A massage.

Back pain can also result from consistently tense muscles. Relieve them with a gentle, soothing massage.

An appointment with our practice (Riverton Chiropractic).

If you haven’t visited our practice lately and are experiencing back pain, give us a call to schedule a visit before the New Year so you’re able to fully enjoy the holiday season.

Help For Your Asthma

Asthma attacks may be less frequent and severe with regular chiropractic care.

The number of children diagnosed with asthma has increased dramatically in the last several decades.

The quality of our air has gone down in recent years, foods now contain harmful ingredients that weren’t around years ago, and stress factors have increased through the years for our children.

These factors and more have all contributed to this worrying spike in asthma diagnoses.

How Chiropractic Might Help

Asthma is a chronic condition that inflames the lungs and narrows the breathing airways. A chronic condition means that there is no cure; rather, asthma is something we must seek to control. What are some ways to try to help your child?

Eliminate foods that irritate or cause allergic reactionsUse air filters in your home to keep air quality higherUse hypoallergenic beddingRegular chiropractic care

Chiropractic care may help to heal areas of the spine that control your lungs and airways.

Asthma attacks may be less severe and less frequent with regular care. If your child’s nervous system is allowed to function at its highest potential, it might just give them a much-needed boost to their immune system.

If your child suffers from asthma, give chiropractic a try. Call us for a check up and let’s see how we can help!

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Is it muscular??? or what is really happening???

The muscles have a job to do and a large part of that is to protect you from further damage, so when you have a spinal problem it is normal for the muscles to overtighten, or even spasm to protect you - so often what patients feel is the muscle tightness and pain without realising that the problem is not what they feel but deeper.

After an examination and possible xray evaluation your chiropractor will be able to advise why you feel that "muscle pain" and what the recommended approach to resolving it is.

Can I ask questions???

- Absolutely - our goal is to inform you about your problem and your options to resolve it - so you know what to do and why.

If you are feeling "muscle pain" - phone 08 9354 7000 - to make an appointment where you will be greeted by our friendly staff who will always welcome you with a smile.

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Can FIFO workers get chiropractic care, as they are not able to attend all appointments?

The short answer is Yes.

In Western Australia we have a significant portion of our working population in remote location work sites both on land and at sea. Most commonly these are mine site and drilling rigs.

As a result we have a large number of workers travelling to and from these sites and the work places have adapted to this by setting up workplace onsite accommodation and rostering people on for extended periods. The duration of these rosters varies between work sites and may result in workers being away from home for a week, or even several months, at a time.

This is referred to locally as the Fly In, Fly Out work force (FIFO).

The FIFO work schedule can create problems for people requiring chiropractic care on a scheduled programme.

Often initial care programmes require regular attendance at the chiropractic clinic, and when the patient is only in town one week in four (as a commonly encountered example) the treatment for a spinal related condition may need to be maximised during this short period of home time. This is not an ideal situation, however with patient co-operation following advice – it is often possible for a patient to continue working FIFO while undergoing chiropractic care. Anticipated response to care will likely be different than for the patient who can attend for treatment on the recommended schedule. That is it may be drawn out significantly.

It is often more effective to provide effective care on relatively minor problems that are more tolerant of FIFO work rosters. It is more difficult to help provide effective care with severe problems. It is our advise to get relatively minor problems assessed while they are easier to care for.

That is, the mild stiff achy back or neck when you awake some mornings, may be a warning sign of abnormal spinal alignment or function that is gradually deteriorating.

The solution may be simple, but you will not know until it is assessed.

Our contact details are available on our website.Phone when you are ready for us to help.

Alternatively is you are passing the Riverton Chiropractic Centre, do drop-in, located at the intersection of High Road and Wavel Avenue, Riverton Willetton WA on (08) 9354 7000.

Is Texting Hurting Your Neck?

On average, how many minutes a day do you think you spend on your smartphone texting, checking your email, playing games, or searching one of your many downloaded apps? Ten? Twenty? Sixty? More?

A recent study from the Journal of Behavioral Addictions that has found that young woman typically spend 10 hours daily engaged with their cell phones. No, that isn’t a typo. They spend roughly ten hours.

Whether you’re spending this much time texting or conducting any other business on your phone or not, the impact on your neck after even a few minutes can cause you a tremendous amount of issues. Issues that you feel today, as well as years down the road.

The Effects of Texting on Your Neck

Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, the Chief of Spine Surgery with New York Spine Surgery & Rehabilitation Medicine, has studied this effect and found that the force of having your head tilted forward for long periods of time has damaging results on the cervical area of your spine (your neck region). And the more your head is tilted forward, the greater the effects.

A human head weighs somewhere around 11 pounds. Therefore, when you are standing or sitting with good posture (which is defined as head sitting squarely on your shoulders with your shoulders down and back), there is around 11 pounds of force straight downward on your cervical spine.

Now, if you lean forward just slightly, creating a 15 degree angle in your neck, that amount of pressure more than doubles, increasing to 27 pounds. In essence, it is like your head now weighs 27 pounds which, as you can imagine, would put an extreme amount of pressure on your neck while trying to hold it up.

Bend your head forward a little more and it gets even worse. For instance, Dr. Hansraj found that a 30 degree forward tilt raises the pressure to roughly 40 pounds, and a 45 degree bend means that your neck is trying to deal with just under 50 pounds of pressure. No wonder your neck hurts!

SLXLM

Being aware of this fact is the first step to correcting the issue. The second step involves spending less time on your smartphone, and raising it to eye level when you do need to access it. Of course, regular chiropractic adjustments can help put your neck back in place too, but remember that it is always better and easier to prevent an issue than it is to treat it.

“My dog pulled on the leash and I hurt my back!”

I’ve heard this many times in practice, at times like this I wonder – Are you walking your dog? Or is your dog walking you!

The Riverton Chiropractic Centre is central to Perth riverside suburbs of Riverton, Willetton, Rossmoyne, Shelley, Parkwood, Lynwood, Ferndale, Brentwood, Canning Vale, Wilson, Queens Park and Langford where there are many dogs and owners enjoying the beautiful riverside region paths and parks at all hours of the day. Many other dogs and owners also walk the Riverton footpaths and grass verges for their daily exercise.

Most dogs enjoy their walk and their owners want to see them do so. Discipline is often loose as the dog is allowed to range and investigate different smells.

As it is not often appropriate to let your dog off the leash in the suburbs, most dogs are leashed to their owners whilst walking. When an interesting smell suddenly distracts the dog, they can stop unexpectedly or run off to the side unexpectedly; causing the holder of the leash to be unexpectedly pulled and the spine twist frequently resulting in back and nerve injury.

My advice is almost always to require my patients to focus on their dogs movements and anticipate sudden movements; else spine and nerve injury can ruin an otherwise great day.

Recently a patient showed me a new leash that helps reduce the incidence of dog walking injuries requiring Chiropractic care as it attaches temporarily to a waist belt, it can be quickly pulled free to actively control the dog when needed.

This appears to be a great idea and I have attached further details for anyone with this type of problem.

The ‘Active Walker Belt & Lead Set’ is available from several internet sources and prices vary a little however the overall price is not expensive.

As at the time of writing this note, I was able to locate several internet suppliers such as:

http://www.ozpetshop.com.au/product_info.php/products_id/1168

http://www.snooza.com.au/index.php/snooza_store/active-walker-lead.html

Product Description

Finally a lead that enables both of you to get an unencumbered "work out".Run or walk hands free with your dog and maintain your natural exercising rhythm.The belt has Velcro fastening ensuring a snug fit and a quick release mechanism - simply grab the handle and the belt comes away easily while still maintaining control of your dog.One size fits all - the belt is fully adjustable & the lead adjusts from 0.75m to 1.5m.There is a replacement lead for our Active Walker if you ever need a spare. Or, clip two leads to the one belt for walking two dogs at a time.With both hands full of shopping you can still walk the dog!

The Active Walker is a dog lead that attaches to the belt worn by the person walking the dog. The belt has a hook & loop fastening with a quick release handle. The belt and the lead are adjustable. One size fits all.

If you have any suggestions to help avoid dog walking injuries, please let me know at admin@chiropracticrivertonperth.com.au