BOOK NOW
What is Recommended for Relief of Lower Back Pain

What is Recommended for Relief of Lower Back Pain

What is Recommended for Relief of Lower Back Pain Lower back pain is something everyone gets at some point to varying degrees. Some people will have a fall or some sort of trauma however lots, if not most people, will just slowly start to get a nagging ache in their lower back that grows over time with no obvious cause for it. If you are any of these then this is a guide on how Chiropractic care can help you. I will try to keep this short and sweet but as you probably can imagine there are lots of elements to lower back pain, especially the not so obvious type. So to start off we should discuss the guidelines set out by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or known as the NICE Guidelines, as this is what all medical and therapeutic services in the UK should abide to that includes the NHS and private services (NICE Guidelines Pathway Updated March 2021). What the NICE Guidelines recommend for Lower Back Pain The first step is to get the correct information on your lower back pain as well as information on how to manage it yourself. Chiropractic is in a very strong position to help you with this as we specialise in back and spine problems, yes we can help with other body parts and problems however back pain is our bread and butter. The second step has many options and which one you take depends on how you would like to manage your problem. The different options are Exercise, Manual Therapy, Psychological Therapy, Pharmacological treatments or Specific...
Are we ever too old to crawl?

Are we ever too old to crawl?

The Benefits of Crawling Are you ever too old to crawl?  Let’s find out…  My fascination with crawling began when my first-born began to roll, reach, stretch and find his own way towards movement on all fours and crawling.   As a dancer and massage therapist I could scarce pull my eyes away from this miracle of movement unfolding in front of my eyes.  The dynamic combination of determination, push and yield that I witnessed, running throughout his whole body, has fuelled my own exploration of crawling, and an ongoing inquiry to its wellbeing benefits.  In this article I will share some of my passion for this simple and profoundly effective method for regaining original strength, as well as a little of the science. A baby’s determination to crawl is initiated by 4 billion years of human evolution coupled with profound curiosity.  In the case of my son, this curiosity often took the form of our cat; though anything that lay in easy eyesight and just out of reach would do.  This movement of reach is made possible by the dynamic force of push that comes from an opposite limb, often on the diagonal, sometimes on the same side of the body.  The push and pull would start with the extremity of toes, fingers, elbows or knees gaining traction on the surface beneath them, and lead to a rocking movement that would gradually provide the momentum for progress towards the said attractive object.  Integral to this push is a movement of yield, when the opposing muscles soften.  This allows the spine to arch and become a spring of rocking movement,...
Should I take statins?

Should I take statins?

Should I be taking statins? We get asked a lot of questions about our opinion on medications that patients have been prescribed by doctors.  The one medication we get asked most about are statins.  The reason we get asked about these the most is that they stir up a lot of controversy and conflicting opinions.  Most people have heard about or experienced side-effects and are recommended to take them as a precautionary measure rather than as a treatment.  Around 12 million people over the UK routinely take statins.  Current guidelines recommend a doctor prescribes statins for anyone with a 10% risk of  heart disease within 10 years, and there have been pushes in the past for everyone over 50 to take statins, regardless of their health.  So, with so many people taking statins and the medical profession pushing for more to join them, do the benefits out-weight the side-effects?  Recent research has found that the benefit of taking statins only helps people live 3 days longer. How do statins work? Statins reduce the level of cholesterol in your blood.  There are different types of cholesterol in your body, including “good cholesterol” (high-density lipoprotein) and “bad cholesterol” (low-density lipoprotein).  Cholesterol is essential for your body, we need it for the health and structure of our cells among other benefits.  High levels of cholesterol, especially “bad cholesterol”, is linked with thinning and blocking of arteries (atherosclerosis), which can cause heart attacks, strokes and coronary heart disease. The main effect of statins is to stop your liver for producing cholesterol, therefore reducing the levels of cholesterol in your blood.  Your liver produces around 70% of the cholesterol in your body,...
Can the anti-inflammatory drugs you’re taking actually accelerate your arthritis?

Can the anti-inflammatory drugs you’re taking actually accelerate your arthritis?

Can your arthritis be accelerated by the anti-inflammatory drugs you’re taking? A lot of the people who come and see us at The Chiropractic Centre: Bristol are struggling with the symptoms of arthritis, and are often taking one of many Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) for it.  However research shows that this is the last thing you want to be taking, as these drugs have been proven to accelerate arthritis, the very problem you are trying to prevent! Cartilage is found between joints and is there to act as a shock absorber, to help the bones move freely in the joint, and to stop the bones grinding on one another.  Osteoarthritis, otherwise known as ‘wear and tear’ is where the cartilage between joints begins to wear down and the movement in the joint decreases and you begin to develop stiffness and pain. NSAIDs are the most commonly prescribed drugs for symptoms of Osteoarthritis, however research suggests that these drugs quicken the break down of cartilage in the joint, in other words, quicken the process of arthritis! When our body is damaged, it starts an immune response to begin the healing process.  When the bone and cartilage is affected, the body releases molecules called prostaglandins, along with many more!  These prostaglandins contribute to the repair of cartilage (Otsuka, Aoyama, Furu, et al., 2009).  NSAIDs stop this from happening by stopping an enzyme that produces these prostaglandins; which is not what you want when you have already damaged joints! Research shows that commonly used NSAID pain killers slow down the repair of cartilage and speed up the development of arthritis in your joints Many people know the common side...
Why are we making our team stand with a new standing desk?

Why are we making our team stand with a new standing desk?

Why are we making our team stand with our new standing desk? Hopefully you’ve noticed, if you’ve been in recently, that we have a new desk in our centre.  Apart from looking much better, the biggest difference between the new one and what we had before if that our CAs (Chiropractic Assistants) stand behind it rather than sit.  So, why have we chosen to have a desk to stand behind rather than one to sit at? Why a standing desk and not a sitting desk? As a clinic, we hire CAs and not receptionists.  This means that they’re not your “computer says no” receptionist that you occasionally meet (disclaimer: I’m playing on the Little Britain stereotype and in no way insinuating that all receptions act this way), they’re an active part of the centre and essential in part of our patients’ healing process.  We want them to freely move from behind the desk and greet and help patients.  A standing desk aides this process.  If you’re already standing, you’ll be far more inclined to hold the door open for a mother with a pram than you would be if you were tucked under a desk on a chair.  It requires a lot of effort to get out of a chair to do any task, so during a long day if the task is not essential then you’ll naturally be less inclined to do it straight away.  We want your CAs to be proactive and stay one step ahead at all times – and they’re amazing at doing it.  On another note, I think they look great- more professional and add...

All our Bristol Chiropractors are fully registered and insured with the General Chiropractic Council and the United Chiropractic Association.

We are accredited by: