Good riding posture can become uncomfortable and difficult to maintain when your spine off balance. Horse riders can spot this a mile off as it can make communicating effectively with their horse pretty challenging. Their good body awareness makes riders great people for Chiropractors to work with as we monitor functional improvements at intervals throughout a care program.

If you're having to work hard to sit upright in the saddle, something is wrong. When your spine is more comfortable in a slump and you're consciously holding yourself upright it often leads to intense aching in the mid-back and/or shoulder pain.

Normal Shoulder Function Requires...

• Correct alignment of the shoulder joint, collar bone and shoulder blade.
• Extension (backwards arching) in the mid back. 
• Good balance of muscle tone and length of the rotator cuff muscles, chest, neck and back muscles.
• Full range of motion of the neck, mid & low back.

All of these ideals depend on the skeleton being in good alignment. Most people's shoulders abnormally slump down and forwards - next time your in town, check people's posture out! When a person's spine is crooked, specific muscles pull tight (like guy wires of a tent), in order to keep you upright. Pain almost always occurs in muscles and joints compensating for bones stuck in a direction the body cannot fix itself. In the spine this direction is forwards since the body doesn't have any muscles in the back that can pull a single vertebrae directly  backwards.

Again, when you're in town next observe how many people around you are, what we refer to as 'stuck forwards'.

The following image demonstrates how mid-back ache, neck pain and a slumped posture can occur...

Of course this technique does not miraculously heal fractures, however it can significantly help the pain by reducing abnormal twisting throughout the whole body which influences the mechanical forces going through the fracture site.

The great thing is that by using this technique I can be super gentle, avoiding hurting Nancy whilst making the corrections needed. She did say her friends thought it seemed a bit mad to be going to the Chiropractor knowing she had fractures, but that she's extremely glad she did!! Thank you for trusting me Nancy!

If you're a horse rider and have been putting up with aches and pains, get in touch and we'll discuss how well I can help you.

A friend texted me last week because he was suffering with back ache and radiating leg pain - sciatica. Being miles away my initial advice was to make sure his sitting posture wasn't aggravating the problem.

​I replied with...

You can appreciate how allowing your spine to slump into a C-shape will stretch the intervertebral discs, ligaments of the spine and spinal cord running though the vertebral canal. Years of this physically stressful posture can eventually lead to back ache, leg pain and sciatica. 

I notice our local Post Office have an ideal set up for their team with sit/stand desks. Unfortunately one of the ladies there her set up was obviously causing her discomfort as she cursed the chair for her low back ache. She was on a regular chair designed for a low desk with her feet half resting on a bin which meant she had to lean forwards to use the computer which would have been putting undue stress on her whole spine. 

If you're lucky enough to have mindful employers who have equip you with a standing desk it is vital that you have it set up correctly. I will describe how.

Try all of these initial suggestions, if you're still getting back ache and/or sciatica get in touch here.

Many of us will have our first episode of low back pain between the ages of 30-50 years. This is great testament to how adaptive and resilient the human body is.
To understand why someone has pain I look back with them through their childhood injuries, even birth, particularly if it involved forceps or vontoux.
Think back to when you were 0-10 years old and count up the physical incidents that happened to you. The likelihood is that if you're spine and posture has deteriorated over the years, old injuries are partly to blame.

Which injuries are most significant for later?
Our skull, face and spine are the most important bones because they protect our brain and brain stem. For the brain to 'run the show' perfectly our skull and face ought to be properly formed and symmetrical with the spine and pelvis well aligned and in perfect balance. So it stands to reason that any physical injury that disturbs the balance in such a way that the body cannot self-correct will cause a problem.

Bangs on the head and face, a fall from a height (trees, horses etc) onto the back or coccyx (tailbone). Whiplash injuries, collisions with other children playing games. Incidentally my Dad has a noticeable crinkle on his cheek bone, I know it as a familiar feature of his face. He recently told me that it happened when he collided with another boy's head when he was 12 years old. Luckily it wasn't fractured but if you look at him even now that whole part of his upper face is lower on that side. You could say it's a coincidence, however the more people you talk to about the knocks they've had the more it adds up with the deviation they have in their facial symmetry. No one's face is straight by the way!

​Youngsters take tumbles and clonk themselves daily, you hold your breath waiting for them to scream only to be surprised when they get up and run off again! We take it for granted that they seem to 'bounce' without hurting themselves. If an adult fell in the same way I wonder what pain they would be in, or if an elderly person with stiff joints fell, they would probably break some bones!



Bodies become twisted up with a lifetime's accumulation of old injuries, this means that muscles will be pulling on the twisted bones and joints. When a bone is knocked out of place in a direction that the body cannot self-correct other bones of the skeleton have to compensate throughout the entire body for the abnormal biomechanics. This compensation happens very quickly and the process goes on for years before you become aware something is wrong.
It's something we are totally unaware of in the beginning. It is only when the body has used up it's ability to twist and adapt that you start to notice it as discomfort, pain or another symptom. Hence the 30 year old with their first episode of insidious (no specific cause) back pain. Joints eventually become painful and stiff and develop arthritis. 

Can you spot it before the pain comes on?
                                Yes absolutely you can!
Even without having a consultation with an ABC (Advanced Biostructural Correction) practitioner you can do a simple check yourself.
Take a look at your posture for the following in a full length mirror...

1. Look at the level of your shoulders and arms and whether your neck and head are straight, rotated or off to one side.
2. Then look at the symmetry of your ribs,
3. then hips,
4. knees, ankles and feet. 
5. Take a deep breath in, notice how your body moves, then breathe out, relax and let your body slump (without forcing a slump). Does your body want to sag forwards? 

Our joints were designed to line up in a specific way and take the weight of the body evenly left and right. It stands to reason that alteration in this arrangement will cause some joints to wear out more quickly than others. A good example is if you know anyone who has had a knee or hip replacement? One side is usually in a worse state than the other, yet they're the same age...aren't they?

What old injuries have forced your body to go 'wonky', do your joints have a good range of movement? Do they line up differently? Is your breathing shallow or restricted and feel like you ought to be able to get more air in? All of these observations about your posture tell me that you can greatly benefit from what I have to offer.

If you would like to find out more get in touch, and we will discuss how well I can help you.