Blog

Most people tend to think of vertigo as a condition that only people of advanced age suffer from, but such is not the case at all. Young people can also suffer from this life-altering, persistent dizziness that makes it seem like the world is spinning round and round all the time.

Often, this sensation is accompanied by the feeling of fullness in the ear, hearing loss, nausea, vomiting and tinnitus; however, the manifestation of these other symptoms is due to the specific cause of the condition.

According to Headache Australia, 23 percent of homes have at least one migraine sufferer, and up to 7 million suffer from tension-type headaches, 42 percent of which are women and 36 percent are men.

But migraines and tension-type headaches are not the only kinds of headaches people deal with; there is also the cluster headache, which is severe pain in one side of the head and felt behind the eye, and cervicogenic headache, which is caused by misalignment of the neck.

But whatever type of headache you may be suffering from, you have another and even more effective remedy, apart from taking over-the-counter medication and avoiding triggers.

Varying studies and clinical trials indicate that chiropractic care has delivered relief and that it has been highly effective for managing headaches.

Spinal manipulation, for one, which is a primary form of chiropractic care, is widely recognised as a good treatment option for tension-type headaches as well as headaches that originate in the neck.

The word “chiropractic” actually comes from two Greek words: cheir, which means hand, and praxis, which means action. What the word “chiropractic” means, then, is “done by hand.”

But what does it really do — what could it really do for you?

While it sounds like this branch of healthcare seems pretty basic, if you just go by what the word translates to, there is nothing basic at all from what chiropractic can do for your health and wellbeing.

Its primary focus of care may be the spine and, essentially, the framework of the body, but it is considered to be a complete system of healthcare. Its aim is not only to treat whatever aches and pains you may have; chiropractic care focuses on restoring, preserving, and ultimately optimising your overall health.

Shoulder pain, as well as pain radiating down the arm, is one of the most common problems treated by chiropractors today. Chronic pain caused by injury or wear and tear in the shoulder can be distressing and worrying for those affected by it.

If you’re one of the many people who regularly suffer from symptoms such as frozen shoulder, pain radiating down the arms, neck ache, problems sleeping due to pain, crunching, popping, or tingling down the arm, then you will be all too aware of how it can severely affect your day to day life.

The philosophy surrounding chiropractic considers the holistic nature of human beings and their relationship with the environment.

It is a combination of critical thinking, open-mindedness and recognition of the natural order of things.

While the chiropractic perspective on health and disease shares much with modern medicine, it operates in a unique philosophy and differences exist which are often misunderstood, especially by those who are uninformed of its techniques and have not experienced its benefits.

When you hear someone say they have Sciatica, the first thing that may come to your mind is leg pain. However, the pain that radiates from the lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg is actually just a symptom of another condition.

Many of us will actually suffer the pain of Sciatica at some time in our lives and the frequently associated lower back pain is one of the conditions most often treated by chiropractors.

Every year, people injure themselves in slip-and-fall accidents. Most falls are caused by the interaction of multiple risk factors, some of which are modifiable.

A fall can be a major issue for public health and in serious cases, it can cause long-term disabilities or even death.

Here are some facts regarding the risk of falling:

• The risk of falls increases proportionately with age. At the age of 80, over half of seniors fall annually and those who fall are two to three times more likely to fall again
• About one third of the population over the age of 65 fall each year.
• More than 40% of people hospitalised from hip fractures do not return home and are not capable of living independently again, and about 53% of discharged adults for
  fall-related hip fractures will experience another fall within six months.
• The risk of hip fracture is between 4 – 11% for a 50-year-old man and 13 – 22% for a woman.

Neck pain is a common health complaint. It causes discomfort in any of the structures in the neck including muscles nerve, bones, and the disks in between the bones.

Pain in the neck is often described as having a stiff neck, where you have difficulty turning from one side to the other. You may also feel weakness in your arm or hand, numbness and tingling especially if it involves neck pain.

The fact that our neck is so flexible and supports our head makes it vulnerable to injury. Health practitioners estimate that:

• one in 10 adults is experiencing pain and discomfort at this moment
• 50% – 85% of people will be bothered by neck pain again at some point in their lives
• at least one in 10 will find their neck pain disabling 

If you’ve ever tipped over on your ankle then you will understand the pain of an ankle sprain. Most people don’t bother doing anything about it, other than resting up and taking painkillers, because they believe it’s nothing to worry about and it will clear up on its own in a few days.

Well, yes, it probably will but did you know that if you don’t get treatment or administer a little treatment yourself, then you could be putting yourself at risk of re-sprain in the future, or even weakness and problems with your gait?

All this from a simple ankle sprain!

Life has a habit of kicking us where it hurts, and when it comes to chronic pain or generalised niggles, it can feel like toothache of the worst kind in a totally different place!

There are many different treatment routes to go down for such pain, but if you don’t get to find out what it is exactly that is causing it, how can you know you’re not just masking it, and that it won’t just flare up again in the future?

This is where chiropractic comes in very useful indeed.