March Newsletter

Staff News!

Abi: is trying to get back on her running game.

Lily: Wants to thank everyone for making her time here so much fun! And wishes everyone the best of luck with all future endeavours.

Jodi: Is working on learning new skills for her woodworking projects & looking forward to her mums visit in May. Lots of planning for all the adventures to be had!

Rachel: Is looking forward to starting a new fitness regime and getting some results and also the day trip we are planning to The Australia Zoo and Moolooba with the Yeronga Chiro girls!

A Big and Sad Farewell to our Lily who is coming to the end of her working visa with us. Thank you Lily for all your great work and all the laughter we have had. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with you – our team and our patients will miss you. You have a lot to look forward to so go get it! Lily will still be here until the end of the month so be sure to wish her well!

Chiropractic today

In Australia, back pain affects almost 4 million people and is the 3rd leading cause of disease burden in Australia. Australian chiropractors treat more than 300,000 people of all ages, including more than 30,000 children (0-18) a week.

Both in Australia and around the world, chiropractic care is a low risk modality of healthcare. There have been few if any serious adverse events reported in medical literature in the past twenty years despite utilisation rates for chiropractors increasing significantly in this time. In summary:

 The safety record of chiropractic care in Australia is exemplary

 Chiropractic care has a very high expressed satisfaction rate with patients

 There is a significant existing evidence base and active research base in Australia and internationally that validates chiropractic care

 Chiropractors are university educated, nationally regulated healthcare professionals who care for and about their patients.

Chiropractic students, in Australia, undertake a 5 year double degree at university. During which time they are educated in many of the subjects (“-ologies”) that a medical undergraduate will study, with emphasis on spinal and musculoskeletal anatomy/physiology, neuroanatomy/physiology, radiology, neuromusculoskeletal exam, technique and rehabilitation.

Chiropractors are regulated by the Chiropractic Board of Australia and, like all other registered healthcare practitioners in Australia, must adhere to National Law and profession specific codes of conduct and guidelines.

Not only has chiropractic utilisation, legislation and education evolved in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA but other countries as well. Today there are university-based schools in many countries including Turkey, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Denmark , Portugal, Spain, Latin America, Hong Kong and, soon to be, Nairobi.

More importantly, the World Health Organization (WHO), the leading global agency for healthcare policy and development, which was unaware of the chiropractic profession until the mid-1990s, is today not only familiar with the profession but in 2005 published the WHO Guidelines on Basic Training and Safety in Chiropractic recommending to member countries that chiropractic practice should be recognized and regulated as an integral part of national healthcare systems. Chiropractic is now established in over 100 countries in all world regions.

There have been many landmark policy decisions and research outcomes that have contributed to both the growth of chiropractic worldwide and confidence in its utilisation for neuromusculoskeletal healthcare. Research, public and inter-professional communication and education can never be taken for granted. The chiropractic profession is continuing to produce, follow and integrate advances in knowledge and management in order to maintain and continue to improve best practice for or patients and the public.

The chiropractic profession has been under scrutiny since its beginning. This is reasonable; scrutiny can be both beneficial for any industry and its consumers alike. Some scrutiny and criticism directed at this profession has been questionable in its intent and has been debunked. To discuss this, in depth, is not the purpose of this article – for another time.

Remedial Massage with Rachel

Remedial Vs Relaxation massage

Relaxation – A relaxation massage helps de-stress and loosen up your body and is great for those who feel like treating themselves to some TLC! The treatment consists of flowing strokes, kneading and gentle manipulations of the muscles. It is a pain-free way to relax both your muscles and your mind. It is used with minimal pressure.

Remedial Massage – If you have particular muscle tension or chronic pain a remedial massage may be for you. Your remedial massage therapist will assess where you need treatment and what may be causing your pain. The treatment itself may involve deep tissue work for short periods of time, but the results are definitely worth it! 

Remedial Massage will balance the length, tone and tension of muscles and tendons, which restores the correct position of the bones, increases blood flow and helps heal injuries. Easing and stabilising the muscles can improve problems such as headaches, carpal tunnel, low back pain, sports injuries and sciatic pain.

Talking point with Abi – Screen time in children under five- how much is too much?

In an age where parents are becoming concerned with their children’s digital literacy and worry over their child missing out on educational opportunities we need to think about how we are using our mobile devices.

A recent preliminary study conducted by paediatrician and scientist, Catherine Birken, in Toronto has found that the more time a child spent with a hand-held device, the more likely they were to have delays in their expressive vocabulary and speech-sound development. These findings of course don’t prove a cause effect relationship but in an age of ubiquitous mobile device use, it does raise the need for a conversation about how we are interacting with our devices and whether we are interacting enough with our children while they use them.

Mobile devices can be wonderful educational tools for younger children when used like a book, where the child can participate with a parent and then apply that knowledge to real world situations. Nothing replaces interpersonal interaction with a loving carer when it comes to learning social, emotional and language skills in the early years- you are your child’s most valuable teacher!

Leave a reply