Back pain in pregnancy

What Causes The Popping Sound At The Chiropractor?

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So you’ve probably seen my videos where I am adjusting my patients and you may wonder “what is actually making that pop sound?”

I’m not actually caring about the sound effects. That’s the least of my worries. It really comes down to the cause. What I’m actually doing is more movement, therefore allowing the body to function normally again, at its optimum, rather than being stuck, and over working in certain areas more than others.

So I’ll be really looking for those joints that are not functioning optimally, that have a bit more stiffness in them or a reduction in range of movement.

When I find those joints, by putting a specific movement through there, it may create a little popping sound often. The reason is because in those joints, if they haven’t been moving for a while, some gas builds up in the joints. Those tissues are still alive so they release gases in the body anyway. So when I put that movement through the joint, some of the gas can get released and it makes a popping sound.

Often that popping sound has been misunderstood, and instead described as a cracking. I get asked “Can you crack my bones?”

Hopefully not! Because if I do crack your bones, that’s technically a fracture.

So by moving those bones we are adjusting the joint thereby improving its range of movement and achieving optimal function.

Now you may often hear some different pops when you’re moving around some cracks and clicks. In those cases it may be due to some tight tendons flicking over a bone. That’s not quite the same as what we often create in our patients. The noise that you hear is often that the popping sound is created from the joints moving, and the gas releasing from between the joints.

But then also when I put a movement through a joint and I don’t hear a pop it doesn’t mean it didn’t work.

The sound is not the important part. What is important is the movement that we have now achieved in that joint, i.e. the function.

 I also have some people tell me that tell me they crack their joints themselves.

But you to avoid doing that yourself, because even for me, I can’t, and it’s impossible for me to align or adjust my own joints that need them the most.

It’s impossible for me to actually generate the force required on those stiff joints that needs that movement.

Instead I will often go to see my own colleagues to get adjusted, rather than attempt it myself.

I would encourage you to do the same. If you are trying to adjust yourself, it is not really an adjustment. That movement is likely to go through space or a joint has already got too much movement anyway. So all you are doing in the long term is exacerbating the problem.

Lower Back Pain When Walking

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So you have woken up with back pain and you have probably also searched online to see what the best solution is for it. Some of the advice may have recommended for you to be active and keep moving. Following this if you have gone for a walk you quickly realise that your back pain is still there or even getting worse.

So what should you do? Do you keep walking and have the mindset of “no pain no gain”? Or do you take rest to stop the pain getting further worse?

There are a number of things that can cause low back pain. Until you find the source of the problem it’s difficult to provide specific advice for your current symptoms.

However in most cases if your pain is being aggravated, even by advice you have read from seemingly reputable sources online (or anywhere else) you must stop that activity. That pain is your body’s way of telling you that this is a crisis situation and that it must be addressed and resolved properly.

You must avoid anything that is aggravating your lower back pain, even if it is walking or moving. So get into a position that makes the lower back pain more comfortable. This allows the body to start healing those tissues, rather than further injuring and aggravating that problem.

How To Help Lower Back Pain

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If you are unfortunate enough to be suffering with some sort of lower back pain and it just so happens to be at a time with it’s rather difficult to get hold of a health professional, such as on the weekend, during a national holiday, or when abroad in a remote area.

There are a few things you can do in the interim until you are able to get to a health professional. Remember this is not a fix, but just a simple way to potentially help you through the uncomfortable period.

Even if it starts to feel better it’s still worth taking the time to seek professional advice to be fully sure.

  1. Avoid Aggravation

The first thing you must do is avoid anything that aggravates the pain. Although some general advice says to keep active, if that particular activity is aggravating your symptoms then stop – this is NOT a no pain, no gain scenario (quite the opposite)

  1. Calm The Fire

Most of the time a lot of pain is due to inflammation. That means it’s hot and red, so we need to cool it with ice. Of course make sure you wrap the ice in a thin towel otherwise you may end up with frost bite on top of all the other problems you already have going on.

WIth an area that is inflamed, it’s “flame-atory” meaning it’s hot, so applying heat can potentially add more fuel to the fire.

If it was just muscle tightness then it may be suitable to apply heat – however the real question then becomes “Why is that muscle tight?”

So if you’re unsure go for the ice. The other advantage is your nerves don’t work very well at low temperatures anyway, so this can help give some comfort and relief by dulling the pain.

How To Enjoy A Healthy Pregnancy

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If you are pregnant, know someone who is pregnant, or trying to become pregnant this is for you.

I see a lot of patients who are either pregnant or have happened to become pregnant whilst under our care.

The adult human body changes the most, in the shortest period of time during a pregnancy than at any time. The spine of an expectant mother really goes through a huge transformation. A lot of weight is gained in just 9 months when creating an entire human being!

Aside from weight gain there are a lot of other changes that occur during pregnancy.

One of the biggest changes is the production of a hormone called Relaxin. It’s role is to soften the touch ligaments of the pelvis to prepare for childbirth.

See when we look at the spine and pelvis, it doesn’t take very long to realise that the space in the pelvis for a baby to pass through during natural delivery is far too small. Relaxin will help add laxity to the touch pelvic ligaments, to allow a little extra space from the baby to pass through the birthing canal. Also to help further, during the birthing process the baby’s skull bones will squeeze just enough to be able to pass through – it really is an amazing process!

However Relaxin being a hormone, it is transported in the blood, so this means it’s affects do not end up being specific to just the pelvic area, but affects ALL the soft tissues in the body. All the other ligaments in the rest of the body also then have increased laxity in them. See, ligaments are great at helping you to prevent injury. If they are not able to function correctly, you can be prone to more injury.

In my experience, the expectant mothers I have see at AVID Clinic have had their muscular system take over the role of some of those ligaments. Muscles require a lot more energy to contract, so doing this for a longer period of time than they are meant can increase to the aches, pains and discomfort.

It may also lead to more pinching on nerves, further adding to unnecessary discomfort and less than optimal function, all whilst growing a new human baby.

Without professional spinal care, e.g. by an Osteopath or Chiropractor, to ensure the body is functioning optimally, all these because a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

It also helps to prepare for life after having the baby. Sleep patterns for the parent(s) will be disrupted with feeding and napping patterns. Posture during breastfeeding, hauling the pram in and out of the car, twisting awkwardly to put the baby in the car seat all have further impact mechanical on the body.

Breastfeeding posture can be quite a slouched position, often for long periods of time. Relaxin hormone continues to be produced in the mother until they stop breastfeeding.

The beauty of Chiropractic and Osteopathy is that they are natural and safe. Chiropractors and Osteopaths don’t put anything new in the body or take anything out, meaning we find where parts of the body are not working optimally and get them to function at their peak, helping the baby, the mother and the family.

Low Back Pain – what no one tells you

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5 min read

Have you, or do you know someone who has been suffering with low back pain for a short while or a really, really long time, perhaps for many years?

Most people suffering with low back pain get very concerned, really stressed and worried. Quite rightly so! The pain is a good indication that something is wrong with the body, and needs urgent attention.

A lot people tend to contact loved ones for tips or advice. Others may look online for an attempt at a self diagnosis. However the best thing to do in any case is seek professional advice.

I see thousands of patients every year suffering with low back pain, or some sort of symptoms. At the first meeting they often tell me “Trishul, I’ve tried everything!”

That’s when I will take down a detailed case history, asking questions about what they have been up to, what has been going on in their lives seeking the possible cause of their symptoms.

I will also ask about what they have tried, what makes it feel better or worse. They may have tried painkillers, heat, ice, certain exercises, some gadgets or supports. Due to sheer desperation to find relief they attempt all these things, sometimes at the same time, causing even more confusion and chaos within the body. Ultimately in a lot of cases these leads to a point where they are in a state not able to fix the problem themselves.

Some people get very worried about seeking professional advice, as if by chance if they don’t confirm a diagnosis, then it may not actually exist. (This is madness in my opinion!)

The sooner you get a professional diagnosis, the better the prognosis (chances of improving the condition) and the more efficient it is to get onto the correct path to fix the problem.

I was speaking with someone recently who told me they had been taking a whole bunch of painkillers. I explained that painkillers are not going to help the problem in the long term, because their condition was not due to a deficiency in painkillers. In fact I have yet to meet someone who has a deficiency in painkillers (no such condition exists).

Another person I spoke with said they were not sure why they suddenly had this pain, because they had done nothing out of the ordinary. However, the thing they had not understood is whatever they had been doing, in terms of any lifestyle choices they had made, was slowly but surely leading them on a path where their body could no longer compensate, and therefore ending up with this enormous pain!

We get everything checked regularly to prevent problems, from teeth and eyes, to cars and heating boilers in your home. Your spine and body are the same! (Most people probably look after their cars better than their own body). By having regular check ups, it increases your chance of preventing a problem from occurring in the first place. In the off chance that a problem occurred anyway, then because of those regular check ups they get picked up quicker, meaning the prognosis is better – yay!

However if you are already in a lot of discomfort then we need to find the root cause of your problem. You would never expect a surgeon to ask you to jump up onto the surgery table to perform surgery at your first consultation without first having taken the time to go through a full case history, a thorough examination and determine the best course of care for you. The same is true for your chiropractor or osteopath. Before I treat any patient, the reason I have been able to achieve great results is by carefully analysing that patient’s condition, and prescribe the best solution for their problem based on published research and my years of experience.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me on any of my socials and I will always take the time to help you out.