Tag Archives: lower back pain treatment

Mar 27

Prevent back pain in the garden this Spring

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Prevent back pain in the garden this spring by Olivia O Leary D.C BSc Hons Chiropractic

If you are like many of our clients at Gorey Family Chiropractic you may have been trying to get out after the winter to start the spring planting, cut the grass or tidy up after a long winter.

Now that SpringPrevent back pain sunshine has finally arrived in Wexford here are a few tips from our chiropractors at Gorey Family Chiropractic to help make your spring gardening and DIY safe, healthy and enjoyable. However if like some people you are office or car bound by week and therefore a bit of a  weekend warrior type a few precautions to avoid back pain or other injury may be helpful!

I have noticed here in practice that a long winter restricts some client’s physical activity levels often leading to spinal stiffness and lack of physical condition. This lack of exercise can lead to our back’s, hips and muscles becoming stiff and weaker over the winter. So if you also sit at a desk all week and then attack some vigorous gardening all in the one go, it may unfortunately become a a recipe for disaster!

We can end up using muscles and joints and neural pathways that have barely moved all week and are not used to extended periods of physical activity. Another common problem of  trying to do everything all at once also may leave you exhausted, sore and fed up. There’s a better way!

Give these handy back friendly tips a try:

1.     MPrevent back pain in the Garden with Gorey Family Chiropractorake sure you have all the correct tools and equipment you need before you start. This makes sure you are adequately equipped and avoids unnecessary back or muscle strain due to lack of correct equipment for the task in hand just when you are in the middle of something.

 

2.     Do some stretching or warming up before you begin. This may seem silly but it gets your muscles and joints moving and prepares them for the activities to follow. It’s a well known fact that stretching helps flexibility and helps prevent injury so take a little time to give your body a chance to warm up.

3.    If yoPrevent back pain in the garden this springu are tackling a big job break it down. Make sure you allow yourself time for regular breaks every half hour to hour which is particularly important also with tasks that are repetitive like weeding hoeing. Back pain is often triggered by repetitive hoeing or weeding without a taking a break. A break may be 2 or 3 minutes to sit down or to do some stretching if you feel stiff.

 

4. Using the right moves can go along way to enabling you to plant and rake without the ache. Positioning your body correctly reduces strain on muscles and joints. Remember to keep you back straight and bend your knees. When weeding try to use a mat to ease knee joint pressure.

5.    Drink plenty of water.  Keeping hydrated helps muscles, joints, nerves and our brains to keep functioning well.
6.    Get help. For bigger jobs or those involving heavy lifting make sure you have some help to avoid back pain.  Having help makes lifting safer for your back and quicker to complete the bigger tasks.
7.    Actions such as digging, raking and sweeping which involve bending and twisting at the same time can place a lot of pressure on the joints muscles and discs of the lower back. If there is already some instability in these structures it can increase your risk of damage, so be extra careful with these movements.
8.    Think about your Maintenance! Come in and get your spine , muscles and nerve function checked and treated if necessary by our Gorey Family Chiropractic team BEFORE beginning your next project to help your  stability, function and strength and decrease your chances of back pain or other aches and pains.

GOREY FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC: SUPPORTING YOUR RECOVERY, MAINTAINING RECOVERY AND PREVENTING INJURY

Our specialist Chiropractic team are trained and hold extensive experience both in Ireland and the U.K  in the diagnosis and treatment of back pain, neck pain, nerve and disc disorders as well as treating and managing sports injuries and conditions like osteoarthritis.

On site x ray is offered and for your convenience all of our Gorey Family Chiropractic team are registered with VHI, Glo, Aviva and Laya Healthcare allowing clients claim reimbursement from a wide range of private healthcare Insurance providers including the GAA Scheme.

For further information contact info@chiropractor.ie or call 053 94 83338.

Mar 07

Minimising back strain this calving season

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Minimising back strain this calving season by Olivia O’ Leary D.C BSc Hons Chiropractic

As we progress through calving season, how is your back coping with the strain ?
It’s that time of year in farming when the pace and intensity of the workload has increased rapidly and farmers often faprevent back injury this calving seasonll into the habit of pushing themselves too hard and injuring themselves and only drawing breath when the body is at breaking point or in pain.

As Chiropractors in a rural community dealing and treating  significant numbers of farmers daily, we understand the day to day physical challenges posed by the demands of the farm and the injuries that it can cause particularly at calving time.

Our advice for farmers: Think of the long term and plan for the future. Don’t ignore your back, and when you’re tired don’t take  risks lifting or otherwise, it can be a costly, painful mistake  in the long term. So think of these tips…

Back pain at calving can generally be avoided through good forward planning, using a knowledge of safe lifting and body positioning principles, safe work practices as well as using mechanical aids wherever possible.

Calving related back pain often develops from
• Handling Accidents (getting crushed or knocked down by heifers/cows wary of human contact at calving or just after calving.
• Getting stuck in awkward positions; trying to get a calf out (not leaving enough space behind the cow to get the calf out)
• Long hours and regular night work increases the risk of back pain during this busy time of the year due to fatigue; meaning farmers are more of risk of forgetting to lift properly, take chances hauling things around, falsely believing they’re saving time:-(

Remember
• Well designed calving pens and gates minimise the direct physical contact between the cow/heifer and the farmer reducing handling accidents.
• Calving jacks if properly used can reduce the risk of back injury.
• Mechanical lifting aids such as a pulley system in the calving pen is a useful tool to reduce back strain.

The financial costs to the farmer of a back injury are high, do not ignore back pain believing it will go away, if affected, get early evaluation, treatment and appropriate exercises as necessary to help you recover faster, properly and to minimise the chances of getting injured again so as to avoid time lost unable to work through injury.

Offering comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for injuries relating to the back and neck as well as trapped nerves, shoulder, hip, knee and foot joint and muscle problems, Gorey Family Chiropractic also offers clients on site X-ray services, onsite computerised gait scanning, prescription medical insoles and can arrange direct refferal for MRI where medically necessary.

Gorey Family Chiropractic Clinic is registered with VHI, Aviva/ Irish Life Health and Laya Healthcare allowing clients to claim reimbursement for treatment if covered by their health Insurance policy.

For advice or further information T 053 94 83338

or check out our website on www.chiropractor.ie