The history of chiropracticbegan in 1895 when Daniel David Palmer of Iowa performed the first chiropractic adjustment on a partially deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. While Lillard was working without his shirt on in Palmers office , Lillard bent over to empty the trash can Palmer noticed that Lillard had a vertebra out of position. Palmer then asked Lillard what happened and Lillard replied, "I moved the wrong way and I heard a 'pop' in my back and that's when I lost my hearing." Palmer who was also involved in many other natural healing philosophy's had Lillard lay face down on the floor and Palmer proceeded with the adjustment. The very next day, Lillard told Palmer, "I can hear that rackets on the streets."[1] This led to Palmer opening a school of chiropractic two years later. The word "chiropractic" was coined from Greek root words by Rev. Samel Weed. Chiropractic's early philosophy was rooted in vitalism, naturalism, magnetism, spiritualism and other constructs that were not amenable to the scientific method. Chiropractic's founder, D.D. Palmer, attempted to merge science and metaphysics.[2] In 1896, D.D. Palmer's first descriptions and underlying philosophy of chiropractic was strikingly similar to Andrew Still's principles of osteopathy established a decade earlier.[3] Both described the body as a "machine" whose parts could be manipulated to produce a drugless cure. Both professed the use of spinal manipulation on joint dysfunction/subluxation to improve health. Palmer drew further distinctions by noting that he was the first to use short-lever HVLA manipulative techniques using the spinous process and transverse processes as mechanical levers. He described the effects of chiropractic spinal manipulation as being mediated primarily by the nervous system.[4]

Recent news reports surrounding a youtube video of a chiropractor 'cracking' a babies back has sparked new debate surrounding the roll of chiropractors and the care for babies and children.

As a chiropractor I would quickly like to address some of the issues I see in relation to the article above.

1. The chiropractor demonstrates that the baby has a spinal problem by extending its' back to elicit a cry. Clearly the baby seems distressed at being bent back. However newborns are not used to bending backwards. Their spine has a single forward curve and arching backwards is completely unnatural so it is little wonder the bub didn't like it.

2. The chiropractor suggested he was going to use as much force with his finger tips as you could use on your eye. I think he may have been watching an eye gouge in UFC fighting because it sure wasn't the 2-3 hundred grams of pressure that is comfortable on a closed eye.

3. Infants spines are nothing like adults spines. The bones and joints are undeveloped and they should not make loud cracking sounds. Treating an infant should look and be gentle.

So should chiropractors 'treat' infants? In my opinion the majority of treatment should be in the form of assessment and observation for normal developmental progress. I won't get into a discussing of how we should treat if a problem is detected other than to say 'cracking' is inappropriate.

Many patients consult a Doctor of Chiropractic because they think they have a pinched nerve.

Because of the designed of your spine, abnormal spinal function caused from physical trauma, emotional tension or chemical toxins can affect the delicate tissues of the spinal cord and nerve roots.

While commonly associated with the spine, a pinched nerve (compressive lesion) is actually rare. Researchers suggest that only 10% to 15% of spine related problems are caused by direct pressure of bone on nerve tissue! This can result in numbness, burning or a ‘pins and needles’ feeling.

More frequently nerves are irritated (facilitative lesion). This is caused when nerve tissue is rubbed, stretched by a loss of spinal curves, or irritated by malfunctioning spinal bones and inflammation.

For more information please see our Chiropractic page.

While alcohol use to celebrate sport has long been an Australian tradition, there is increasing evidence to show what a poor partnership it really is. Good Sports identifies* that alcohol can affect your sport and exercise performance in two main ways:

1. Directly: due to the effect of alcohol in your body while or after drinking

2. Indirectly: the effects of alcohol on your sleep, diet, level of dehydration, etc

Key Facts

Some essential information for all athletes, coaches and administrators.

If you have alcohol 24 hours before exercising you are more likely to develop muscle cramps

Alcohol affects the body’s ability to create energy therefore it slows down reaction times, increases body heat loss and reduces enduranceAfter exercising, the body needs to be re-hydrated. It’s not helpful to drink only alcohol as it will continue to dehydrate the body furtherIf you sustain injury while exercising, and you have had alcohol the night before or drink any alcohol afterwards (while injured), you are likely to increase your recovery time significantly

How alcohol affects YOUR sporting performance

Speed: alcohol affects you even after you’ve finished drinking. Alcohol affects the central nervous system and slows down the information processing ability of the brain. This in turn slows down your reaction time, hand-eye-coordination, accuracy and balance. Even a small number of drinks can affect performance.

Energy and stamina: the blood sugar that your body needs for energy is produced by your liver when it releases glucose into the blood stream. Alcohol keeps the liver too busy to produce the required sugar levels to sustain an athlete’s energy and stamina to perform at their peak.

Cramps: while exercising, your muscles burn up glucose, producing lactic acid as a waste product. Too much lactic acid leads to muscle fatigue and cramps. Alcohol that remains in your system contributes to greater build-up of lactic acid, increasing the risk of cramping dramatically.

Dehydration: the ‘dry’s’ is a term often used to describe an extreme symptom of alcohol’s diuretic (increased urination) effect. This extra fluid loss added to what an athlete sweats out increases the risk of dehydration significantly.

Performance: when you combine the effects of lactic acid build up, dehydration and the body converting food to energy less efficiently, an athlete’s aerobic performance is greatly reduced.

Read more http://goodsports.com.au/resources/articles/alcohol-sport

I have generally been of the opinion that plain water is the best drink for the body. The 2 litres per day mantra has been a catch line for as long as I can remember.

However most of the people I know, myself included, find it very difficult to get through 2 litres of plain water every day. Even when it is hot or we are exercising. Recently I read a fact sheet from ‘Sports Dieticians Australia’ regarding sports drinks and their potential benefit so I started to incorporate them into my exercise. And so far I would have to say I am pretty impressed. I still mainly drink water, but the addition of a sports drink seems to increase my overall fluid intake and improve my recovery (which seems to be getting slower the older I get).

Have a read of the following information and see what you think.

Your musculo-skeletal system includes your bones, muscles and connective tissue (tendons ligaments and spinal discs). In other words it is your entire skeleton as well as everything that holds it together and everything that moves it.

Your spine is the centre and most important part of your musculo-skeletal system. This is why we can refer to your spine as your ‘core’ and the muscles that support and move your spine as your ‘core muscles’.

Your musculo-skeletal system does all of your physical work, it is your ‘engine’. It is supplied with nutrients, oxygen etc by your internal organs and it is controlled by your brain but it is the musculo-skeletal system that does the work that you do.

The entire Musculo/Skeletal system works together in a beautifully balanced and coordinated way. Teams of muscles supports and guide every part of your body without you even thinking about it.

If we look after our musculo-skeletal system it should remain healthy for a lifetime.

However, because it does so much work it is prone to damage and degeneration and that is why we must look after it properly. You cannot live a full and active life if your musculo-skeletal system is not functioning.

Contact us todayfor your first consulation.

Summer time is the perfect time to get into shape, the weather is just right and we finally feel like being outside of the house, here are a few great bits of advice for Summer time fitness. http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/tips/love-your-summer-workout-10-motivation-tricks/

When patients first come to our clinic they are generally focused on getting out of pain and discomfort. This is perfectly normal. However if pain and discomfort is our only focus we may fail to address important underlying issues.

So we begin with the aim of giving you relief from your symptoms but we maintain a focus on providing long term benefits to your health and wellbeing.

Feeling Better

In this phase we focus on those initial symptoms; the aches, pains and tightness that have brought you to see us in the first place. This will involve a series of treatments tailored to your specific requirements.

Moving better and standing taller

Once you are feeling better our goal is to improve your function; your mobility, flexibility and posture.

Improving your mobility and flexibility is vital for your long term musculo-skeletal health.

It improves the health of your joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. And of course if your body is moving better it is good for your overall health and wellbeing.

Good posture is also very important for your general health. It requires relaxed and well balanced muscle tone allowing your spine and skeleton to support you correctly. A good posture allows your muscles, particularly neck, back and gluteal muscles to be more relaxed as your skeleton does its job of holding you up.

Contact us today for your firstMyotherapy consultation.

Warming your body up right before undertaking exercise, a good way to prevent muscle damage. We found this one and hope you enjoy.