Free Back Care Workshop (for ANYONE!)

As a Chiropractor in Brighton, I often get asked by my practice members what they can do to keep their back strong. Some people want to get into sports again, others want to lose weight and feel good about themselves, and some just don't want another painful relapse!

Well, we're starting FREE Back Care Workshops at Impulse Leisure Lancing, where you can learn from myself and a professional fitness instructor how to build a strong back.

Anyone can come along, it's free, you just have to register.

Tuesday 16th Feb, 8-9pm.
Email Impulse so they have an idea of numbers, as it's likely to be quite popular!

The great thing about a group context is that people can fire questions at us that you may not have thought of, about real-life situations. We can show you precisely how to do certain movements, and tell you realistically what you can expect.

If you're not already a member of the Leisure Centre or of Align, then of course you'll have the chance to sign up if you want to. But as well as the obvious promotional benefits for us, this is about adding value by giving away priceless information and advice that could make an enormous difference to your quality of life.

You can see details on Impulse Leisure's site by clicking on their logo.

FREE Consultation, for Headache Sufferers

I just want to mention this special limited-time offer we're running at the moment, for people with chronic headaches.

We will give you a free Initial Consultation, including x-rays if you need them, which is normally £95. The reason is that not enough people know that Chiropractic can help headaches, and I want to give them the opportunity to find out how much better their quality of life can be without them.
So many people (often you ladies), put up with it and take for granted that it just has to be this way.

Chronic pain can grind you down and really affect your ability to enjoy life.

Even severe headache and migraine sufferers are welcome, don't write yourself off! Often though it's an annoying low level discomfort you think you have to put up with, or just take another pill (have a look at my post How many headaches per week is normal?).

No matter how long you've been suffering (could be years), come to Align and find out if Chiropractic can help you. You might be surprised by the results :-)

This trial finishes on 25th February 2010.
Offer code: BL01
To contact us call 01273 870010,
or email ca@align.org.uk.

Brighton & Hove - FREE Back Care Workshop!

Brighton & Hove - FREE Back Care Workshop!

Health class goes with a bang!

Not literally.

Last night the first of our free Health Classes at Align was a great success. They're going to be a regular thing, to help people learn about how the body really works and simple perceptions that make it easy and exciting to enjoy being healthy.

If it's to work as a wellness tool it has to steer clear of the traditional "This is what you have to do" model, and reach people on an emotional level. It has to be empowering and positive, giving hope and changing outlooks.

Being well is about changing your paradigm of health.

We talked about the role of your nervous system and the body's self-healing abilities, how social interaction and purpose is crucial for a healthy body and mind, and scientific studies which show that even severe heart disease may be reversible just using diet & lifestyle changes.

It's about giving people the responsibility for their own health, in a way that excites them.

If you want to get an idea, have a look at the slideshow here. Obviously it's not the same without the narration (and the animation's missing) but it gives you an idea.

These free classes are available to anyone, just contact us to reserve your place. The next one is on Thursday 4th February 2010, at 7.30pm.

Look forward to seeing you there!

A pain in the neck

Cervical spondylosis is a condition in the neck where the discs between the vertebrae wear out. It's attributed to age, but from a chiropractic perspective I often find that there's a mechanical cause, and that the shape of the curve in the neck is to blame.

If you look at a side-view neck x-ray of someone with cervical spondylosis, you'll often see that their neck isn't curved the way it's supposed to be. There should be a 32° backward curve between the 2nd and 7th vertebrae, but I've seen many with either a completely straight neck, or even worse one that curves the wrong way!

The reason this is bad is because it changes the centre of gravity, putting the weight of your head (around 5kg) through the little discs instead of the strong weight-bearing joints at the back. This could be the result of a minor car accident or fall, possibly many years ago. The result is that the discs wear out and bone spurs start to grow in response to the extra pressure.

The spondylosis is often the effect of bad mechanics, not the problem itself.

How does a chiropractor deal with this?
Firstly, chiropractic adjustments help those joints to work better, giving you more mobility and less pain. Combining a course of adjustments with simple exercises to help improve the curve in your neck, we've seen some great results. Here are a few testimonials from our practice members if you want to have a look.

Now, everyone is different and people get varying results. But if you've been told that you have cervical spondylosis and that nothing can be done about it - don't give up! If a surgeon has said he can't help you, then all that means is that thankfully you don't need surgery. There is hope, if you want it.

Back in the swing of it!

So I finally got back to the gym this week, after a long Christmas / New Year break consisting of eating, relaxing and making resolutions to get really fit this year.
I was not on peak form! But that's ok, I didn't expect to be. When I have a couple of weeks off or more, I really feel it...

Less energy, start to slouch a bit, gasp in horror as my shoulders start getting smaller and my waistline larger - not good for the self-esteem!

So I make the first session back a sort of "reminder" session. Out goes the training log, it's hardly the time to disappoint myself. I'll do a full body session with light-ish weights (heavy enough to be challenging but much less than usual), stick a few of my favourite exercises in there: squats, clean & press, pullups, and do two working sets of each.
It's amazing how the pump you get from weight-training makes you feel instantly better about yourself! Pure vanity in action, but at least it gets you past the inertia :-)

And all of a sudden I'm motivated to eat properly again, get good sleep, get on with growth and progress - what life's all about really.

New start: done.