chiropractic

Live Healthier in 2019

February 6, 2019 by Jon Crooker

Are you one of the 75% of people that have already broken their New Year’s resolutions? If you are, don’t despair, we still have eleven months of the year to go and it’s never too late to make a fresh start. If one or more of your resolutions was too be healthier in 2019 then read on for some ideas to help get you back on the road to a healthier you.

You are what you eat

Eating healthy can be a challenge. Planning your snacks and meals in advance is an easy way to ensure you eat healthy and don’t make bad food choices out of hunger or lack of healthy options. Sit down for half an hour each week and plan out your week based on your schedule. You’ll find you’ll be reaching for junk food less often, spend less time wandering around the grocery store, and throw away less food.

Exercise smartly

If you know you aren’t a morning person, then don’t resolve to go to the gym before work. You just won’t be able to stick to it. The same goes for the type of exercise you plan to undertake. If you don’t like lifting weights on your own, you are going to struggle to keep going to the gym. Find a gym buddy or join a strength training class. Make it easy for yourself to exercise and stick to it.

If time is an issue, think about how you can incorporate more exercise in to your day. It could be that you take a walk during your lunch break or a family walk in the evening, catching up together. Or it could be something as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

Look after your body

Make time to stretch. There’s a multitude of benefits to be gained from taking the time to stretch, not least it helps to prevent injuries and keeps those aches and pains at bay. Visit a chiropractor for a wellness check-up. Even though you may not be in pain, getting a check-over is well worth it and can help spot any potential issues before they arise.

Take time for your mental well being

Being healthy isn’t just about looking after yourself physically. Find time to look after your mental well being. Whether that’s treating yourself to a massage or taking time to sit and read…. Or even just be, your mind and soul will thank you for it.

Get more sleep

Not only does lack of sleep make you feel sluggish, it impacts your health. Lack of sleep is linked to an increase in anxiety, high blood pressure (which is a cause of heart disease), weight gain and diabetes. Those zzzz’s are important.

Live healthier in 2019, your body, mind and soul will thank you for it!

Why Text Neck is Such a Problem

June 5, 2018 by Jon Crooker

Text neck is a relatively new term, coined from the bent over position we find ourselves in while texting and the resulting pain it causes. The neck is a wonderful thing. It supports the weight of the head which on average is about 10 pounds.

However, that’s with the head in the position it should be, straight on top of the shoulders when standing. When the neck bends forwards and downwards, the law of gravity increases the weight of your head. A study published in the journal ‘Surgical Technology International’ showed that if you leaned forward by just 15 degrees the head weight feels more like 27 pounds.

A 45-degree angle and the head weight feels like 49 pounds, and with a 60 degree angle forward – common when texting or browsing the web on your smart device – and your head feels like 60 pounds! That means your neck is having to cope with an extra 50 pounds of weight – that’s a 500% increase. No wonder our necks are suffering!

Why is text neck so bad?

It’s true, looking down isn’t a new thing. We’ve been looking down to read for years. However, never before have we looked down for such long periods as we do since we could text, email and surf the web from our smart devices. In fact, according to a study from IDC, 79% of respondents had their phone on or near them for all but up to 2 hours of their waking day.

Preventing text neck

We aren’t asking you to give up your phone, but we are asking you to make some simple changes:

Keep your phone at eye level. The more you can avoid looking down and increasing the angle of your neck (which as we know increases the weight of the head) the less you’ll strain your neck
Take frequent breaks. Prolonged neck flexion is much worse than short bouts
Practice good posture. Stand up straight with your shoulder blades pulled back
Keep healthy. Stretch your back and neck regularly.

The neck is one of the most common areas of complaint we treat at Bryn Mawr Wellness. If you are feeling any sort of discomfort, then please book an appointment so we can assess what’s going on. We can then use the appropriate technique to get you back up to full health. We’ll also show you a range of stretches to help you keep that way.

Back pain: Myth vs. Fact

January 29, 2017 by Jon Crooker

80% of us will experience back pain at some point during our lifetime, be it a dull ache or sharp pain. There is a lot of information to be found on back pain, some of it good… some of it not so good. We hope this article helps clarifies some of the common misconceptions you may come across.

Myth: Lifting heavy objects will injure my back

Fact: It is not the lifting of a heavy object that can lead to back pain but the way in which the object is lifted. Bend from the knees with your back straight and push through the feet and legs to stand back up. Hold the object into your body. Remember though, the heavier the object, the bigger chance you could lift incorrectly and injure yourself, so use judgement.

Myth: Bed rest or lying on a hard surface is the best cure

Fact: Rest is good, but lying down on a hard surface for a few hours, or in bed for a day may make the back pain worse. By keeping still, the muscles may tighten resulting in more pain. Take it easy but keep as mobile as possible.

Myth: I can’t exercise if I suffer from a bad back

Fact: This is probably the most common myth we come across. Exercise can help towards preventing you from experiencing back pain in the future and can be prescribed a few days after back pain. Speak with your chiropractor on which exercises are most beneficial and which to avoid.

Myth: I won’t get back pain because I exercise

Fact: Even though exercising is good for keeping back pain at bay, you may still injure your back at some point. You may forget to stretch and end up with pain through tight muscles. Your form may be off and you strain a muscle. Exercising is still good though!

Myth: I have to learn to live with back pain

Fact: Chronic, ongoing pain should not be a way of life. There is no one cause of back pain and in fact, your back pain may be caused by more than one factor. At Bryn Mawr Wellness, our treatment plans vary from patient to patient. There is no ‘one-fit-all’ cure. For example, it may be that one person’s pain is being caused by tight glute muscles while another person’s back is being aggravated by prolonged periods of sitting combined with stress. We will work with you to identify the causes of your pain then use the right technique to work on the root cause, not just the symptoms.

Enjoying a Safe Sports Year

October 14, 2016 by Jon Crooker

It’s fantastic when your kids enjoy playing sports and join the various sports team either at school or neighborhood leagues. Currently the number of sports injuries sustained by young people is on a dramatic rise and is quickly becoming a concern for parents, teachers and coaches.

Approximately, three million children and adolescents visit the hospital emergency room each year with a sports-related injury and another five million visit their primary care physicians, specialists including chiropractors.

Injuries range from sprains, strains, fractures and breaks. At Bryn Mawr Wellness ,we are seeing a lot more of these injuries among our young patients. We offer a large range of treatments including diversified adjustments, physical therapies, therapeutic exercises and techniques. In combination, all these treatments will help with recovery and pain management so the body can heal. It is also vital to the recovery to follow the doctor’s suggested exercises and treatments for home care.

Preventing injuries

Injuries can and will happen but there are number of steps you and your children can take to lower their risk:

Warm up and cool down. If you try to run or stretch a muscle without first warming up it is more prone to injury. Stretching after exercise is essential to keep muscles flexible and ensure a wide-range of motion is maintained.
Keep hydrated. Muscles can cramp when not hydrated, making them more susceptible to strains. Dehydration can also result in loss of concentration or feinting, both putting your child at risk of injury.
Follow proper technique. Injuries can occur through bad form. Ensure that you trust the coaches to look out for, and correct, form at each practice session.
Wear the correct equipment. In very physical sports like football and hockey, it’s essential that your child always wears the right protective equipment and that it fits properly. This will help aid in injury prevention.

Over-use injuries

Aside from strains and sprains, one of the most common injuries we treat are over-use injuries. Kids are now playing one particular sport with serious intent from a young age and this can result in injuries and pain from repetitive use of a specific set of muscles.

Over-use injuries can be prevented or kept to a minimum by following the above advice. Adding other forms of exercise into the mix can help, ensuring that muscles are worked in a different way. In addition, a well-known techniques known as “The Graston Technique” can also help as it reduces the scar tissue that can build up through chronic over-use.

Kids don’t have to give up their sports, we just have to help them be more aware of injury prevention and protection. If injury does occur… help is available to get them back in the game.

Spotlight on Swimming

August 12, 2016 by Jon Crooker

What a fantastic Olympics the USA SWIMMING team is having so far. Cheers to Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps for their phenomenal achievement in winning gold medals.

Here at Bryn Mawr Wellness, we see swimming-related injuries increase in the summer months due to a surge in recreational swimmers. We have a feeling they’ll increase even more this month with the amazing USA swim team inspiring us to take to the water. Here are four of the most common swimming injuries:

Swimmers Shoulder

If you experience shoulder pain during or after swimming you may have injured the group of tendons and muscles in the shoulder known as the rotator cuff. Swimmers Shoulder can be caused by any number of things including bad technique, fatigue, or repetitiveness of the same stroke. Whilst swimming be sure to concentrate on your form at all times and stop when it starts to slip.

Neck Injuries

Neck injuries can occur among competitive swimmers, especially due to the repetitive nature of the front crawl. In recreational swimmers, neck injuries are more down to holding the head out of the water during the breaststroke. It’s a good idea to remember to stretch and look after the neck muscles and swim with correct form – even if that means getting your hair wet.

Lower Back Injuries

Swimming relies on the mobility of the hips, thoracic, lumbar and cervical spine. One of the causes of lower back pain or stiffness could be tight hip flexors. Tightness can be brought on by the hip-extension motion during the kicking motion. Remember to stretch out your hip flexors after swimming.

Breast-stroke Knee

If you’re experiencing pain in your knee, during or after swimming it will usually be down to poor technique during the breast stroke. The movement of the legs in the breast stroke result in an external rotation of the knee which it isn’t really designed for. We recommend switching to a different stroke.

Assessment, Treatment and Prevention

Active Release Techniques (ART) provide a way for chiropractors to quickly and accurately diagnose and treat repetitive strain injuries without relying on surgery. ART are a soft tissue system used to treat injuries of muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. ART allows the stretching, separation and release of these connective tissues in the body, allowing for an increase in range of motion and an increase in strength and flexibility. ART also helps to restore vascular circulation.

Now the answer, is not to stop swimming. No, absolutely not. Swimming is a fantastic form of low-impact cardio exercise. Just remember to swim with good technique, stretch and look after your muscles. GO FOR THE GOLD…

Say NO to Acetaminophen and YES to Chiropractic Care for LBP Pain Relief

May 29, 2015 by Jon Crooker

As many as 31 million Americans claim to experience lower back pain. For those millions of Americans, acetaminophen has become the quick and easy fix.

Multi colored pills , isolaten on white background — Acetaminophen is not the best treatment for LBP.

A recent study has shown that acetaminophen does not reduce the intensity of pain, nor does it improve quality of life. Acetaminophen only provides minimal, short-term relief of pain. In fact, because acetaminophen is used so frequently and incorrectly, a large majority of the users are close to a toxic dose in their ordinary course of use per the Food & Drug Administration. It is now the most common cause of acute liver failure and the second most common cause of liver failure requiring transplants in our country.

So, if acetaminophen isn’t the answer, what is?

Chiropractic care should and is the primary option to relieve lower back pain.

A common chiropractic treatment for lower back pain is spinal manipulation.

Spinal manipulation is a conservative, safe and highly effective treatment to relieve lower back pain. The best part of this type of treatment is that it helps relieve lower back pain without the need for medication.

Lower back pain can stem from a number of things, including sports injuries, poor posture, obesity, stress and arthritis. To prevent and avoid lower back pain, regular chiropractor care will help maintain a healthy spine. In combination, chiropractors also suggest a healthy diet, an active lifestyle, practicing proper posture, wearing comfortable walking shoes, finding the right mattress and creating an ergonomically correct workspace.

Nutrition: A Supporting Role in Good Chiropractic Health

May 21, 2015 by Jon Crooker

More and more Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) are incorporating nutrition into their practices due to the patient’s desire to be better educated in nutritional and dietary recommendations.

According to the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), chiropractic is based on the premise that the body is able to achieve and maintain health through its own recuperative powers. But this belief also requires that the body have a properly functioning nervous system and receives necessary health maintenance, including adequate nutrition, water, rest, exercise and clean air.

Because of this, many chiropractors join the Council on Nutrition, whose mission is “to encourage and promote a more advanced knowledge and use of nutrition in the practice of chiropractic for the maintenance of health and the prevention of disease.”

NBCE indicates that as many as 97 percent of chiropractors now give nutritional and dietary recommendations, making nutrition an integral part of chiropractic health. Many chiropractors find that their patients are nutritionally deficient and that nutritional care is often the answer for many, and can help improve other aspects of one’s overall well-being. Chiropractors are reliable sources of information for patients and a wealth of referral knowledge.

Chiropractors believe that their patients have to take responsibility for their overall health and well-being, thus many chiropractors go above and beyond with their patients by providing exercise recommendations, dietary guidance, health-risk avoidance advice and wellness counseling.

Are you Sleeping on the Right Mattress?

May 14, 2015 by Jon Crooker

According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) between 40 and 60 percent of the general population has trouble sleeping. Whether it’s daily stresses and worries that keep us up, or physical pains from uncomfortable beds and pillows, not being able to sleep is a frustrating feeling, and something that can start to affect other areas of your life.

But before you reach for the sleeping pills, consider meeting with a chiropractor. They can walk you through other approaches for you to achieve the good night’s sleep you deserve.

Cropped shot of a young woman asleep on her side — Finding the right mattress can make all the difference.

Creating Comfort
A mattress should support your body’s weight and also allow the spine to maintain its natural alignment. Providing uniform support from the head to the toes is also essential. Soft or firm mattresses are a matter of preference, but soft mattresses can often cause back pain to worsen. When choosing a mattress, it is recommended that you actually lay on it for a minimum of three minutes. You’ll be spending a third of your life on that bed, statistically so it’s worth it to correctly test it out!

Pillow Talk
Finding a pillow that keeps your neck aligned with your spine is just as important as finding a supportive mattress. Sleeping pillows should allow your head and neck to rest at the same level as your spine. If propped up too high or resting too low, your head and neck could start to feel sore and strained. A good clue that you need a firmer pillow? Finding yourself sleeping on your side with one hand under your pillow.

Tips for Golfers to Maintain Good Back Health

April 29, 2015 by Jon Crooker

Golf is a lifelong game that brings families, friends and colleagues together. It is a game enjoyed by many both recreationally and professionally. Whether you’re an infrequent player or someone who hits the links every day, there is a good chance you’ve experienced lower back pain as a result of your golf swing.

According to Titleist Performance Institute, 23 percent of professional golfers play with low back pain and 28 percent of golfers in general deal with low back pain after every round of golf.

A little effort to improve form and reduce low back pain can go a long way both on and off the course.

Key Muscles Used in Golf
Massage therapist Tom Myers talks about the Spiral Lines in his book Anatomy Trains. This is a ribbon-like band of muscles, connected by fascia: it wraps around the body and is the chain of muscles that rapidly contract and then stretch with movement. This band of muscles is particularly essential for the golfer who wants to maximize efficiency. These muscles must be free of dysfunction in order to golf efficiently.

How Chiropractic Medicine Can Help Your Game
A golfer’s swing requires a great deal of mobility, balance and muscle coordination. There are two manual chiropractic therapies that can help your body move properly: ART® and Graston Techniques®. These techniques help to create dynamic stability at a joint by encouraging proper motor control.

The combination of chiropractic joint manipulation in addition to ART®, Graston Techniques®, and myofascial therapy fosters total-body stability through motor control and dynamic stability.

Spinal discs don’t like rotation, flexion or rapid movements, all things that are key to the golf swing. This is made far worse if the golfer doesn’t have the adequate balance of sacroiliac, core or lumbar stability and mobility. Chiropractic care can help to alleviate pain and protect spinal/disc health.

The Importance of a Proper Swing
The golf swing requires multiple joints to either move or to stabilize. It requires this in a tiny amount of time and with an immense degree of power. If anything is off, the body quickly has to compensate. In other words, if the ankle isn’t moving enough then the knee or hip is going to have to move into an awkward position to achieve the motion needed for the swing. This will force the spine to rotate over an unstable base. This is how injuries occur. Maintaining balance and sustaining mobility through chiropractic methods can help to avoid injury on the golf course.

Running Barefoot: Controversy Explored

April 23, 2015 by Jon Crooker

Bryn Mawr Wellness is sponsoring and participating in the “Run For Your Mind” 5k walk/run on April 26th at 9 a.m. We encourage you to walk/run with us!

It’s a common question asked of chiropractors: Is it okay for me to run barefoot?

Much of the body’s movement and support depends on our feet, which means we should be careful with them. Of course, many years ago, human beings did not rely on the support of shoes. But those humans also were not standing, walking and running on hard, flat surfaces all day. Nonetheless, there are some compelling arguments for running barefoot.

Daniel Lieberman, a professor of human biology at Harvard, conducted research in 2010, looking at runners who went from barefoot to wearing shoes and vice versa. He found that barefoot runners placed more impact on the front or middle of the feet, rather than the heel. This resulted in less repetitive-stress injuries. And then there are other studies that have shown that both barefoot running and minimalist shoe wearing resulted in more serious foot problems than runners who wear traditional running shoes.

Scientific research has yet to provide a clear consensus on the issue of barefoot running. It remains a controversial topic in both the running world and the medical world. As with many forms of exercise, there is no right answer that can be applied to all athletes and runners. Chiropractic care and orthotic support are encouraged to be used, with the occasional “break” provided to your feet in the form of going barefoot when doing leisurely activities around the house, etc.