Older people are being asked to consider regular chiropractic care, with compelling anecdotal evidence from real life stories that it is helping people to live active, social and independent lives for longer.

The Alliance of UK Chiropractors (AUKC), which represents hundreds of chiropractors across the UK and globally, says that reducing pain and improving the range of motion is key to a better quality of life as we grow older. And, says the organisation, remaining active also plays a crucial role in enjoying a social lifestyle, which is known to assist mental health.

The ‘Move Better, Live Better’ message comes as part of the AUKC’s 2020 Spinal Awareness Week from 17-23 May. The AUKC incorporates the United Chiropractic Association, McTimoney Chiropractic Association and Scottish Chiropractic Association.

Andrew Robson, executive member of the UCA, said: “We are keen to make people as aware as possible, just how much chiropractic care can benefit the older population. It helps their bodies move better, it helps with both balance and strength, and it helps them keep active.

“This isn’t just good for physical health, there are recognised psychological benefits to the social side of keeping active. It keeps you involved in activities, such as walking with friends. Simply getting out and about and seeing people, chatting with people, works wonders for keeping our mind active and sharp.

“Sadly, some elderly people can go weeks without talking to anyone because they tend to stay at home if they suffer a loss of mobility. This also means they sit down a lot more, so it becomes a vicious circle. With isolation comes loneliness and potentially depression and an increased risk of mortality.

“This is why keeping as mobile as possible is massively important to overall wellbeing, it is the critical starting point. In that sense, chiropractic care is a means to an end, it kick-starts everything.”

Andrew sees plenty of evidence of this himself, with some clients at his Droitwich clinic playing regular sport well into their 80s – and even reporting improvements in their golf swing!

“We know that chiropractic care benefits older people because we see it every day in practice,” he said. “They are moving better, doing more, getting stronger. It’s the law of cause and effect – with muscles and bones, it’s a case of use it or lose it.”

One example is Valerie Bird, in her 70s, who is enjoying an active lifestyle again after years of being in pain: “I had struggled with lower back problems for many years, so was recommended to see a chiropractor,” said Valerie. “I saw Andrew regularly and he helped me considerably to become fitter and more active than I’ve been for several years.”

And Sandra Marshall is still line dancing in her 70s, after seeking chiropractic care: “I first attended a chiropractor in 2014, initially after a bad fall which damaged my lower back, coupled with a curved spine and arthritis,” said Sandra.

“The pain and lack of movement in my back prevented me from many of the activities I loved. After intense treatment and encouragement, I started to see an improvement. Five years on, and at the age of 73, I still have a session with the chiropractor every three weeks. My spine has not deteriorated, and he deals with my arthritic joints, enabling me to keep active, enjoying my craft work, line dancing, holidays in our caravan, and regular walks with less pain.

“I wish I had known the benefits of regular visits to a chiropractor when I was younger, especially with the curvature of my spine.”

The AUKC says one of the biggest barriers to better health in older life is people wrongly believing there is nothing they can do to improve things: “A lot of people suffering pain are told ‘you’ll just have to live with it, it can’t get any better’ or ‘you’ve got arthritis and that’s it’,” explained Andrew.

“We are arguing that you don’t have to just grin and bear it, that this doesn’t have to be forever, and that things can improve. For example, chiropractic care can help with balance and with the effects of osteoarthritis. It can get you moving and help you to retain your independence for as long as possible. So don’t give up!”

The organisation points to research that links chiropractic care with less dizziness and better balance, suggesting it might also reduce the risk of falls. One systematic review found that in nine of 11 trials studied, there was a statistically significant improvement in relation to balance
( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22343006/ ) .

Another study of 13 different trials found improvements in dizziness in all but one of them
( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3182131/?report=reader#__ffn_sectitle ).

 

Andrew said: “Clearly, good balance is essential in maintaining an active lifestyle, as well as in reducing the risk of falls.”

Chiropractic care isn’t only about adjustments, however. It adopts a holistic approach to maintaining a healthy lifestyle: “We look at things such as diet and nutrition, meditation and breathing exercises as well,” said Andrew. “It’s really about adopting healthy habits which are important to all of us throughout our lives, but which are even more so as we get that little bit older.”

For those considering chiropractic care for the first time, most chiropractors are happy to offer a free of charge, no obligation chat to find out how it might benefit them. Find a qualified, registered AUKC chiropractor in your area:  www.united-chiropractic.org ; www.mctimoney-chiropractic.org ; www.sca-chiropractic.org

   

A recurring comment when I’ve spoken with people during the Lockdown has been, “It’s funny, I’m doing less but sleeping poorly and am more tired than usual”. There are some good reasons for this. The first is that, despite our best intentions, all of us are more stressed than usual by the current lifestyle we find ourselves adapting to. Constant, seemingly unavoidable news, forced separation from loved ones, a lack of habitual freedom beyond one precious hour a day, to name just a few.

Stress brings about hormonal changes, which all add up to leave us far more “on edge”, and also depletes us of important nutrients. One of these is Magnesium, a key element in a neurotransmitter called GABA, vital for maintaining healthy levels of sleep. Sensitivity to light and noise can also occur, leading to broken, light sleep and vivid dreams. So what can we do?

1. Maintain high levels of vitamins and minerals: a plant-rich diet is absolutely key to do this, as well as “topping up” with a quality supplement. A specific sleep-aiding supplement may be useful. Beware immediately resorting to pharmaceutical sleeping pills unless you have spoken to a medical professional.
2. Exercise, but not too close to bedtime: Getting tired out with physical exercise is vital for a multitude of reasons, but beware of exercising after dinner time. For starters you might struggle as your body is trying to digest your dinner, but you may also find it hard to get your body to shift so quickly from action to rest.
3. Check your pillow and mattress: We recommend a simple formula for good sleep hygiene, which goes as follows: one foam (preferably orthopaedic) pillow, a firm (pocket-sprung and/or memory foam) mattress, sleeping on your back or side, with a pillow between your knees.
4. Keep the temperature down: At this time of year it shouldn’t be necessary to keep the heat on all night. A bedroom temperature of 18 degrees is perfect, so if it’s been a sunny day, you might need to leave your bedroom window on the latch (if safe to do so).
5. Drink moderate amounts of water rather than alcohol or caffeine before bed: Alcohol can make you feel drowsy, but chemically creates an internal environment conducive to sleeping poorly. Caffeine is a stimulant, and although some people are thought to be less susceptible to it, can do the same.
6. Cut out screen time for half an hour (preferably more) before bed: Even with your screen set to “night mode” with a red hue, screens are highly stimulating to the brain. Music, a good book, and conversation are far more healthy before hitting the hay.
7. Meditate or pray: Like reading and conversation, switching your brain to a more relaxed mode (try the free Smiling Mind app if you’ve never done this before).

Let us know how you get on, and remember that we are still open and can very often give advice over the phone, especially if you’re still sleeping poorly and struggling with energy issues. It’s all part of a chiropractor’s holistic look at you and your health, rather than just your aches, pains and illness.

As chiropractic is considered an essential service during the so-called Lockdown, we are able to offer care at the centre. However, as you are only allowed to leave your home for very specific reasons, one of which is a “medical need”, we have to currently suspend any routine chiropractic checks and all massage visits.
If you feel you need to come in to see us for chiropractic care, we would ask that you call. We may be able to give you advice over the phone, and send you information to help you to improve for now. However, if there is a clear clinical need for you to come in for assessment and/or care, our chiropractor, Ed Groenhart, will book you for a convenient time.
Our centre is in a rural setting, separated from our family home, so we ask that you wait outside or in your car (please telephone if doing this). We can then see you in isolation. The studio is cleaned and disinfected after every person has left, and Ed will be wearing appropriate PPE (please don’t be put off by this!)
If you have any further queries or concerns, again please contact us.

Some time ago I began writing a book titled The 7 Habits of Health: Inner health for the Natural Child. The Introduction of this began: As a generation of human beings we are becoming sicker. We are relying more and more on medication and surgery to fight an ever increasing menu of chronic, non infectious health problems, instead of adopting a lifestyle that will allow us to heal and thrive. A bold statement I know, at the time it was questioned due the fact that statistics show life expectancy has risen. True! I know that when we look at life expectancy this contradicts the above statement, but whilst life expectancy has risen, what I’m actually looking at is overall health, quality of life and ability to fight and recover from illness.

My concern is that over the years we have forgotten that we live in a human body with its own innate intelligence with the ability to grow and heal. We have become so scared of illness and disease that we have focused on the wrong things. There is a but here though, in order for our bodies to do this effectively they need to be given the right environment. Like baking a cake, we need the right ingredients and the great thing is that the ingredients are easy to come by. In our practice we refer to these as the 7 Habits of Health:

• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Hydration
• Sunshine/ Fresh air
• Sleep/Rest
• Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)
• Mind-body connection

Now I appreciate that each of these may need a bit more clarification, some of them may even be new to you, and we cover these in more detail in other articles. Please also be aware that there are many other factors that contribute to health, such as stress for example (physical, emotional and chemical).

The 7 Habits of Health is the basic recipe we recommend to help you take responsibility for your own health. At the moment we are collectively going through a major health crisis and many people may be feeling overwhelmed and frightened, even out of control. There are many issues here that need addressing, and now is the time to step up whatever your current health situation and make changes to improve. One way that we recommend when helping patients who are unsure of where to start is to try the following exercise: Be honest with yourself but be kind also, this is not to make you feel bad it’s simply to guide you.

1.  Score yourself 0-10 on each of the following (0 being the lowest or the worst you feel and 10 being the highest or best you feel).

Healthy Habit	Exercise	Nutrition	Hydration	PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)	Sunshine/ fresh air	Sleep	Mind-body connection
Score 0-10

2.   Now look at your scores and take the habit with the lowest score. List 3 things that you can change straight away to improve. For example, you may decide to get to bed before 10.30pm if you feel sleep is the lowest scoring habit. Or you could list your three greatest achievements of the day if you want to work on your PMA. Be sure to keep a log of these and work on them over the next 2 weeks.
3. After two weeks, review your progress. How do you feel about your original score, has it changed? Did you keep up with the new habits you set yourself?
4. If you feel ready take the health habit with the second lowest score and repeat the process. Remember to keep up the healthy habits you have set yourself.
5. Continue until you have covered all the 7 habits but remember to work at your own pace. If you feel you need more time in one area, take an extra week. It is much better to work steadily than to try to change everything in one go, otherwise you will go into overwhelm.
6. You may find that many of the new habits overlap. For example, if you are working on your mental health by making sure that you take time out to go for a walk at lunch, you are also working on Vitamin D and exercise.
7. If you found this useful, please pass onto a friend.

I have lost count of the amount of times in practice that someone has had a health scare and the said to me ‘‘thank goodness it was a false alarm, as I would have had to make some changes.’’ This isn’t a false alarm, people. Make the changes now. Take the exercise, if you need help and further guidance, please contact us.

In light of the recent Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we realise it is important to keep appropriate perspective and balance the risk by taking measures to limit the spread and protect particularly the vulnerable from infection without inciting undue fear.

Chiropractic and Osteopathy are fully regulated health professions and our practice has robust infection control measures in place. Our benches are disinfected regularly, the team are all using hand sanitising gel and headrest paper is changed between every patient. We have asked our team to remain vigilant in keeping high standards of hygiene at all times. We have also been asked by our regulator to monitor the advice regularly issued to the public and healthcare professionals by Public Health England which we continue to do on a daily basis.

As per the government guidance, we ask that if you do not feel well and have a temperature or flu-like symptoms that you self isolate for 7 days at home from the onset of your symptoms. Do not visit your G.P and there is no need to contact 111 unless your symptoms worsen or last beyond the 7 days. Please postpone your appointment with us until after your isolation period has finished to help minimise the spread of this virus in the UK and protect the vulnerable from exposure such as the elderly who attend the practice.

Please follow the current government guidance and focus on what you can do to keep yourself healthy and well. Regular and thorough hand washing is good practice at all times but particularly in reducing your risk of catching this virus. We would also recommend focusing on good nutrition eating fresh fruit and vegetables and taking any recommended supplementation to help boost your immune system to fight any virus regardless of this recent outbreak. Keep yourself active, ensuring you are well hydrated and only access the news to gain information in relation to planning how to deal with any changes in daily life.

For further information please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

We will send further updates if the situation changes.

Yours In Health and Wellness

Pain is serious. And relieving it is big business. Those who suffer from pain spend billions seeking its relief. In fact, pain is often what prompts people to visit our practice.
But pain is rarely the problem! Naturally, if you’re experiencing pain, you want it to go away. And while you can expect our compassion, we’re interested in correcting the cause of your pain.

One purpose of pain is to warn us of a limitation. For example. If you bend your fingers backwards, your body will alert you when you approach the limit to its range of motion. This warning protects us so we can avoid a more serious injury. Life without pain may sound good, but it’s essential for our well being. Pain is also a way the wisdom of your body communicates with its owner: you. It can signal that something needs your attention.

Headaches. Spasms. Tingling. Aches and pains alert you that something is amiss and needs correction.

First, your body will gently whisper to warn you. Unheeded, it speaks with greater urgency. If ignored, it may escalate into full-fledged shouting! When your body talks it’s wise to pay attention.
Because we are self healing, problems can resolve on their own. And that’s often true with stomach aches, a cold and other conditions. But pain involving the bones, nerves and muscles along the spinal column is different. One problem can lead to another. When joints of your spine malfunction, your body responds by depositing calcium to splint and “mend” the spinal joint. With time, if left uncorrected, the two bones may fuse together, reducing mobility, producing nerve tension and a loss of vitality.

Pain prompts many to take a pill to reduce it.

But numbing your body with a pain reliever doesn’t make the problem go away. It’s still there. The drug merely fools your body so you can’t feel it. For a while. Over time, the dosage must be increased to quiet your body’s outcry. Besides possible addiction, it can lead to far more serious problems. As your body tries to eliminate the medicine it sees as a foreign substance, damage may result. Even stomach bleeding. Using a drug to fool your body’s warning system may be convenient, but dangerous. Our strategy is to address the underlying spinal problem with safe and natural chiropractic adjustments.  Many see a chiropractor for neck and back pain. But the pain isn’t our primary focus. Instead, as spinal joints move better and nervous system function improves, the self-healing capacity of your body is revived. Symptoms subside. Naturally. Because the focus of chiropractic care is the integrity of your nervous system, many continue their care on a wellness basis. It helps them stay well after they get well.

The purpose of pain is to protect us. It’s a way our body tells us to stop, change or avoid something. It’s rarely the entire problem. A thorough examination can help determine its cause and correction. If we can help, we’ll tell you. If we can’t, we’ll refer you to someone who can. Please contact us today to see how we can help.

With thanks to Patient Media for providing content

Ed Groenhart of Cambridgeshire Family Chiropractic, alongside Tania Brint of Appetite for Success, chat with Neil Whiteside of Cambridge 105 Radio about getting those changes hardwired into your lifestyle for a healthier 2020. You can listen again here:

It would be a rare chiropractor who hasn’t witnessed an apparent correlation between chiropractic care and improvements in the frequency or severity of headaches and migraines. It may happen in one patient or several, but is there a connection, and if so what are the mechanisms behind it? While it is true that headaches and migraines can have a myriad of triggers and causes, it is also apparent from a range of recent case reports that chiropractic may have something to offer. (This article reproduced from an article by Claire McIvor:
https://spinalresearch.com.au/headaches-migraines-a%e2%80%8bnd-chiropractic-what-the-new-research-says/ )

In the past year, the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research have carried four separate case reports involving improvements in headaches following chiropractic care. The first featured a 59-year old male presenting with headaches, neck pain and rheumatoid arthritis. The case appeared in the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research and hypothesized, “the upper cervical subluxation may be a contributing factor to rheumatoid arthritis-related pain [1].” While the case-report focused more attention on the rheumatoid arthritis (and the course of care lasted 12 sessions over 10.5 weeks), it is interesting to note that headaches and neck pain resolved after the first adjustment and the patient discontinued medication.

The second case report, authored by chiropractors Laura Stone and Joel Alcantara and appearing in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health, looked at a fascinating and somewhat complex case. The patient was an 11-year old male with autism. He presented for care with headaches that were affecting sleep and school attendance. He also had ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder. His case was indeed a complex one, but among the vast improvements noted was a marked improvement in his headaches.

Again, care was focused on the reduction of vertebral subluxations, several of which were noted in the case report (referenced below [2]). With this case, the chiropractor utilized Gonstead and Thompson Techniques.

A third case report involved a 13-year old who had been in a motor vehicle collision and had developed chronic neck pain along with headaches and dizziness following the accident. The case report presented with a number of interesting factors: the first being the fact that he had a significant cervical kyphosis and that resolution of the headaches occurred in tandem with a return to lordosis. The second interesting factor was a gradual return of symptoms in the year following the patient’s discontinuation of care. He was cared for using Chiropractic Biophysics.

It certainly prompts the question: what happens when we allow these familiar subluxation patterns to return unencumbered for a significant length of time?

These three case reports, all of which featured literature reviews and clinical details well worth perusal, featured male patients and different chiropractic techniques. The final case report was a female patient who, at age 23, had a 10-year history of headaches and migraines. Her current management plan was medication-based and reported as “essentially ineffective.” She was cared for using Diversified, Grostic and Thompson Techniques as well as upper cervical technique only on a number of visits. Of specific note to the headaches (as opposed to her other complaint of low back pain), the authors stated:

“For a month thereafter, the patient remained completely migraine-free after only being adjusted upper cervically on two separate visits. Her cervicalgia and low back pain continued to steadily improve as well. She was only experiencing slight headaches intermittently throughout the week that were rated as 3/10 on the VAS. After 10 weeks of continued care like previously mentioned, the patient reported that all her presenting complaints of chronic migraines, neck pain, and low back pain had completely resolved. The patient had a quarterly check-up visit with her neurologist who had prescribed her medication for her migraines. After a discussion with her neurologist about how upper cervical chiropractic care had resolved her migraine episodes, the neurologist agreed she could discontinue the prescription medication regime. The patient has not required the use of pharmacological intervention for migraines since then.“

Once again, her care was directed at reducing vertebral subluxations and featured a variety of techniques.

All of these are case reports and literature reviews and thus we can’t generalize findings. All of them follow headaches with different etiologies. But all of them indicate a significant improvement in headaches within a short amount of time under chiropractic care. They are not the first, nor will they be the last. But the thing that makes them refreshing is that they are focused on subluxation-based care. The reduction in headache symptoms simply follows closely on those heels.

The Neck  – Headache Link

While it is perhaps entirely unsurprising, it is nonetheless noteworthy that a number of basic science research studies have linked neck pain to headaches. As chiropractic has a proven record with neck pain, and many chiropractic patients present with such complaints, it is an easy in-road to conversations about the effects of vertebral subluxation on health more broadly.

In 2017, JMPT published an article looking at the effects of upper cervical translatoric mobilization on cervical range of motion and headache symptoms. It was a randomized controlled trial involving 82 volunteers with cervicogenic headaches. The study looked specifically at pressure pain thresholds from C2-C3, suboccipital muscles, and trapezius muscles. The study found that “upper cervical translatoric spinal mobilization intervention increased upper, and exhibited a tendency to improve general, cervical range of motion and induce immediate headache relief in subjects with CEH [cervicogenic headaches.]

The trapezius muscle correlation may not be an isolated concept either, with a 2018 study indicating “a strong association between trapezius muscle tenderness and the level of intensity and the number of days with a headache among female office workers [6].” While the study was a basic science article that did not comment on vertebral subluxations, the issues of neck pain, associated muscle pain and even the effect of office ergonomics or stressors on posture, neck pain, and subluxation could be more common than we think.

After all, we have a veritable epidemic of people looking down at smartphones, laptops and handheld devices which may induce forward head posture and place huge amounts of undue stress on the cervical spine [7]. This is to say nothing of the postural ramifications of sedentary lifestyles if forward head posture and cervical hyperkyphosis is seen.

It seems the headache-neck pain connection is an easy one to argue, especially when there are cervicogenic connections. Headaches with such origins have long been a concern for post-whiplash patients, neck pain patients or even certain types of athletes [8]. 

The term “cervicogenic headache” is relatively new though, with diagnostic criteria including unilateral pain “starting from one side of the posterior head and neck, migrating to the front and sometimes associated with ipsilateral arm discomfort.”  It may also be aggravated by “certain neck positions.”

It has been suggested that cervicogenic headaches are a“final common pathway for pain generating disorders of the neck. Bogduk has proposed that the pathophysiology of CGH [cervicogenic headache] results from a convergence of sensory input from the upper cervical spine into the trigeminal spinal nucleus, including input from: Upper cervical facets, Upper cervical muscles, C2-3 intervertebral disc, Vertebral and internal carotid arteries, Dura mater of the upper spinal cord, [and] Posterior cranial fossa [8].”

We are growing in our understanding of the implications of neck pain far beyond simple discomfort. While the links to cerebellar processing and mental response times are making themselves increasingly clear in the world of chiropractic research (read more here), basic science seems to be indicating that when there is neck pain, headaches may be lurking somewhere close.

So what’s the take-away for chiropractors? When it comes to headaches and migraines, the best thing we can do is what we are known for: removing subluxations, enabling the body to achieve optimal neurological function and letting the body do the rest. Yes, we need more research. That is always a given. But as the bank of case reports and basic science articles mount up, linking either subluxations or neck dysfunction, the road forward seems pretty clear.

REFERENCES:

1. Slagel J (2019), “Resolution of Headaches and Neck Pain in a 59-Year-Old Male with Rheumatoid Arthritis Undergoing Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care,” Journal Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research, March 14, 2019, pp. 19-27, https://www.vertebralsubluxationresearch.com/2019/03/13/resolution-of-headaches-neck-pain-in-a-59-year-old-male-with-rheumatoid-arthritis-undergoing-upper-cervical-chiropractic-care-a-case-report/
2. Stone L, Alcantara J (2019), “Resolution of Chronic Headaches, Improved Sociability, Health and Physical Behavior in a Child with Autism, ADHD and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Following Chiropractic Care to Reduce Vertebral Subluxation: A Case Report and Review of Literature,” Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health Chiropractic, 2019, pp. 63-70
3. Underhill M, Oakley P, and Harrison D, (2019), “Improved Cervical Lordosis Following Chiropractic in an Adolescent with Chronic Cervicogenic Symptoms form a Motor Vehicle Collision: A Case Report and Review of the Literature,” Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health Chiropractic,2018, pp. 99-108 https://www.vertebralsubluxationresearch.com/2018/09/19/improved-cervical-lordosis-following-chiropractic-in-an-adolescent-with-chronic-cervicogenic-symptoms-from-a-motor-vehicle-collision-a-case-report-review-of-the-literature/
4. Richerson A, Varnum C and Alcantara J (2019), “Resolution of Chronic Migraines and Neck Pain in a 23-Year-Old Female Following Chiropractic Care for Vertebral Subluxations: A Case Study and Review of the Literature,” Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research, July 2019, pp. 90 – 103
5. Malo-Urries M, Tricas-Moreno JM, Estebanez-de-Miguel E, Hildago-Garcia C, Carrasco-Uribarren A, Cabanillas-Barea S (2017), “Immediate effects of upper cervical translatoric mobilization on cervical mobility and pressure pain threshold in patients with cervicogenic headache: a randomized controlled trial,” JMPT, Nov – Dec;40(9):649-658. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2017.07.007. 
6. Lidegaard M, Anderse LL (2018), “Association Between Trapezius Muscle Tenderness and Tension-Type Headache in Female Office Workers: a Cross-sectional Study,” JMPT Jul – Aug;41(6):483-487. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2017.10.016. Epub 2018 Aug 8
7. Staff writer (2016), “Stress on the Spine: the downside of prolific social media use.” Australian Spinal Research Foundation, https://spinalresearch.com.au/stress-on-the-spine-the-downside-of-prolific-social-media-use/
8. Page P (2011), “Cervicogenic Headaches an evidence-led approach to clinical management,” International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201065/