Are you working from home or in an office? 
Are you getting back pain and/or headaches and wondering if your desk set-up and chair is a contributing factor? 

It's coming up to two years since the switch from working in an office to working from home for many people. This may even be the new normal for many of you. If this is the case, it's important to make ergonomic improvements to your home office for the longevity of your back.

In this blog I'll discuss the body positions and common habits that are very likely to increase tension in back and neck muscles and how to improve them with furniture and simple exercises.

This is important from a chiropractic view point because whatever twists you had in your spine and whole skeleton before you got pregnant will now be changing as a result of the effects of this hormone circulating in your body during this time and for approximately 5 months after childbirth.

You may know someone who's back pain disappeared when they got pregnant and hasn't returned or equally someone who never had a bother with their back/neck/shoulders etc until they had children. Aside from the physical stresses of pregnancy, child birth and bringing up children, a woman's body isn't the same as it once was and this absolutely includes the alignment of the spine.

I help people with the physical stress of headaches, for people who need nutritional advice and testing I recommend speaking to Jane Collison and for emotional stress, Ben Oakley. Click their names for a links to their websites.

I'd love to hear what's worked for your migraines and headaches, please share your experience here or send me an email if you would like me to treat your head pain.

​Sarah :o)

Many of you reading this will have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, my Dad included. Like you he doesn't like taking medication and understands that being on it long term will be harmful to his body.
Knowing what you can do to start coming off them is essential so in this blog I will share with you...

1. How blood pressure is influenced by our posture
2. Why its not an inevitable fact of ageing and
3. What small steps you can take to naturally return it to normal.

                                                           POOR POSTURE COMPRESSES YOUR HEART
The heart and lungs require a supple ribcage and adequate room for optimal function. The shape depends on the alignment of the spine which can alter over an lifetime. This is mainly due to injury, slumped sitting and habitual forward bending postures.  A classic stooped posture often seen with advancing age hinders how well the lungs and heart can work, so it's no wonder that are organs develop problems as we age.
There is no need for your body to follow this common trend if you start to make small changes with Chiropractic adjustments and lifestyle changes.

The main thing apart from pain relief that people notice during a course of treatment is that they are more upright and open though the chest and that it's easier to breathe. Would you agree that the heart will also function better? 

                                                  PRE-DIABETES: A CAUSE OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.
Poor blood sugar regulation (pre-diabetes and diabetes) and high blood pressure are two problems that go hand in hand. Over the years I have spent working with people there have been several whom I've been really concerned about regarding type 2 diabetes.
In a nutshell it is the condition of your body where your cells no longer responds well to insulin. Blood sugar and insulin levels increase, this is most commonly the result of a high grain and/or sugar diet, especially when coupled with inadequate exercise. 

1 in 16 people (3.9 million of us!) in the UK have diabetes, 90% of which have type 2. 
​
Pre-diabetes first starts to show up as weight gain, especially around the abdomen, poor energy levels and chronic digestive issues, often a result of poor food choices. Later the classic thirst and frequent urination symptoms occur.

How does this relate to high blood pressure?
It is all to do with the effects of elevated insulin in the blood stream. Elevation of insulin means that your body cannot store adequate Magnesium (an essential mineral for relaxing muscles including those surrounding blood vessels) therefore blood vessels constrict which raises blood pressure and leads to fatigue/tiredness.
Interestingly insulin’s other role is to retain Sodium, abnormally high levels therefore cause water retention, classically showing up as swollen, puffy feet and legs. Does this sound familiar?
(For more information on these minerals and how they affect the body go to my pinterest page )


                                                                             HOW HEART DRUGS WORK
Heart drugs lower blood pressure so that the reading is within a normal range however blood pressure went up to meet the body’s requirements, now all of a sudden under the influence of the medication, the oxygen demands of the body are not being met. In the short term this leads to decreased circulation and fatigue and in the long term heart muscle degenerates, organs not receiving adequate oxygen degenerate.

                                                                        5 PROACTIVE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE
The 5 key points below each have small steps themselves. I support you by making this a manageable and gradual process starting by addressing your posture.

1. Look after your spine and posture, the best way I've found is to get adjusted by an ABC practitioner and be mindful of how upright v's slumped you're sitting and standing (this is all part-of-the-parcel when you're getting your body fixed with me).
2. Change dietary habits; Remove all wheat gluten and processed sugars from your diet, cook with good quality saturated fats like coconut oil, here's a great article to read by Jane Farrell.
3. Gradually build up simple body weight exercises (it is best to do these with your practitioner or qualified personal trainer. If you're in the Dorset area I highly recommend Dave Wall) and start going for walks.
4. Eliminate caffeine slowly and drink filtered water, you can have another good read on the subject  here.
5. Identify stress and set about fixing it, a great way to do this is with Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) books can be helpful but nothing like actually doing a course yourself. Ben Oakley is your man for this work.

If you have managed to lower your blood pressure naturally I would love to hear from you. Please share what has worked for you.

Good luck!
      Sarah DC