Advice from Amy
Are your shoes causing lower back pain?
This is one for the ladies! Are your shoes causing lower back pain? If you regularly wear high heels and suffer with low back pain, then take note. High heeled shoes alter our posture by shifting our centre of gravity and put more strain onto the lower spinal joints and muscles. You might notice your back hurts more at the end of the day, especially if you’ve been on your feet a lot. If this sounds familiar, maybe it’s time to invest in some flatter shoes. Even if you just wear them one or two days a week, it could make a difference. Just think how much more comfortable you would be too……
Lower back pain relief at home
I’m always trying to encourage my patients to help themselves when it comes to their back problems. The more you help yourself, the less you need to come see me! So here are some tips for lower back pain relief at home (and yes they work, I sometimes even do them myself!):
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Research has shown that certain foods can trigger the inflammatory process and others help to reduce it, giving us the power to improve our general health and reduce pain without taking pills. Following the anti-inflammatory diet would benefit everyone, but especially those suffering with inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis).
Barefoot Running and Me
I have been looking forward to writing this post for a while, as running is something I’m passionate about and I’d like to keep doing it as long as possible. If you’re wondering what barefoot running is, it’s a type of trainer which provides zero shock absorption and therefore encourage the wearer to run as they would do if they were barefoot. Some people think this concept is crazy, but I think it’s genius and here’s why:
Why is posture important?
We all know about posture, and have been told to sit or stand up straighter once or twice in our lives. But why is it so important? Well….if you have ever suffered from neck pain, back pain or headaches, then you might want to check your posture. This is very common amongst desk workers, and now with smartphones, tablets and laptops used by almost everyone, it is even more prevalent. The most common bad posture is forward head carriage (i.e. your head sits forward of your shoulders). This is a problem because of simple biomechanics; the further away a weight is from your center of gravity (i.e. the head) the harder it is to hold up (so your poor neck muscles are working harder than they need to). If you imagine holding a heavy medicine ball further and further away from your body, it would become more and more difficult to hold up. This causes discomfort at first, and then can lead to pain as the muscles get more and more tired, eventually relying more on the surrounding ligaments and joints, which also become painful. The most common symptoms are neck and shoulder (upper trapezius) pain and headaches. Most tension headaches are caused by the neck (cervical facet joints) and therefore us chiropractors call them cervico-genic headaches. This can also increase the incidence of migraines.
My Chiropractic Treatment Journey
As a solo practitioner I have been guilty of not having much treatment myself over the years. I rely on Pilates exercises, running and stretches. However, recently I had an issue with my lower back and right glute that I couldn’t seem to shift myself. I thought it was likely caused or aggravated by my second pregnancy/labour as I developed coccyx pain afterwards.