‘Just Start Walking’

Join us on Sunday 22 May for a one and half hour walk in the beautiful Lane Cove National Park.

Meeting point – Lane Cove Boatshed, which is located on Riverside Drive at 9:15am, for a 9.30am depart. The walk will finish back at the Boatshed at approximately 11.00am.

Parking – is available within the park for $7. Please bring correct change as not all meters accept credit cards. If you need assistance getting to the park, please speak with us in advance.

Clothing – wear comfortable walking gear such as exercise or gym gear. Wearing layers is advisable, as you will warm up as the walk proceeds. A spray or rain jacket can make a great outer layer.

Shoes – hiking boots or runners are required.

Personal Items – please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated throughout the walk. The Boatshed will also be open, and sells snacks/drinks.

Wet Weather – The walk will still be on if it looks like it might rain, or is raining lightly. If the walk is cancelled, an announcement will be made on our Facebook page.

Pathways Connect

Watch this space for more information…

Birth Right – CHC Wellness Program Members receive $30 discount off all courses

Pregnancy and Birth are life-changing events. The experience we have teaches us lessons about who we are, what we are capable of and empowers us through into motherhood.

Birth Right™ offers services to support, educate, inform and empower women, their partners and families. It IS important how we birth our babies.

Birth Right™ provides expert training for doulas and childbirth educators. Owner of Birth Right, Susan Ross, is a midwife, doula, educator, trainer, HypnoBirthing Practitioner, mother and author.

http://www.birthright.com.au
A: 1/1 National Lane, Rozelle P: 0419 606 171

Chiropractors, paediatricians and orthopedic surgeons alike agree that backpacks are a problem for a child’s spine. While a backpack alone may not cause major problems, overloading and improper carrying of a backpack can lead to headaches, or neck, shoulder or lower back pain.

According to an article published in Spine, “Of the 1,122 backpack users, 74% were classified as having back pain, validated by significantly poorer general health, more limited physical function, and more bodily pain.”

How heavy is too heavy?
While health care professionals do not agree on the exact weight, the consensus is that a child burdened with more than 10% of his or her body weight risks back and neck pain; and the majority of health care professionals agree that a child carrying more than 15% of his or her body weight can suffer from severe back, neck and shoulder pain, headaches and other spinal discomfort; not to mention aggravate pre-existing spinal conditions such as scoliosis.

How heavy is too heavy? A 25kg child should be limited to carrying no more than 3.75kg; a 35kg child, 5.25kg; and a 45kg pre-adolescent, no more than 6.75kg.

How can parents lighten the load?
It’s important to have parents weigh their child’s backpack at least once a week. If it exceeds the “15 percent” rule of their child’s weight, the parents should be encouraged to work with their child to evaluate his or her backpack and determine how to “lighten the load.” A backpack stuffed with that “extra” book, binder, electronic device or water bottle can easily add up to an unnecessary 5kg.

Proper Loading and Carrying
Parent need to show their children the importance of loading and carrying their backpack appropriately. The heaviest items should rest against the back, which means loading them first and attempting to distribute the weight evenly.

While the child may think nothing of carrying his or her backpack slung over one shoulder, the truth is that this fashion statement is damaging to the developing spine. When carrying a pack on one side only, one shoulder is required to carry a burden that both shoulders and the back should be sharing equally. The only proper way to carry a backpack is with both straps over the shoulders and the backpack resting against the lower back.

Function vs. Fashion
Parent need to be educated that the first priority in purchasing a backpack is to select function over fashion. This request may be easier said than done. Our role as the family chiropractor is to inform parents that years of wearing a backpack in the “fashionable” way can only lead to improper spinal alignment, poor posture and eventually pain for their child.

We encourage you to meet a few criteria when choosing a better functional backpack:
- Make sure the backpack fits properly (not too long or too short).
- Make sure it has wide, padded, adjustable straps (for proper positioning on the back).
- Look for a backpack with a hip strap or lumbar pillow. The hip strap, when used, can distribute a portion of the weight to the hips, easing the load on the spine and shoulders. The use of a lumbar pillow will provide the necessary back support to the lumbar region, where the greatest portion of weight is being carried. When shopping, parents should consider that the more support features on the backpack they buy, the less spinal stress their child will carry.

Are roller bags the solution? Although one might think that the roller bag would be the answer to the problem- by taking weight of the child’s spine and shoulders- it should be noted that an empty roller bag may weigh up to 80% more than an empty backpack. Furthermore, these bags run larger, inviting the owner to overload the extra space with as much as 4.5kg. Although these bags will be rolled, don’t forget that the student (and his or her developing spine) is still at risk when lifting the bag up or down the stairs, retrieving it from the back seat of the car or when twisting the spine and shoulders to roll the bag.

So, as you are preparing your children to return to school, take a brief moment and consider the importance of “function first.”

Resources
1. American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Bulletin, December 1999; 47(6).
2. Sheir-Neiss GI, Kruse RW, Rahman T, et al. The association of backpack and back pain in adolescents. Spine, May 1, 2003; 28(9): 922-930.
3. Arnsodorff M. Mounting research on backpack use. ICPA Newsletter; May/ June 2002.

The 3 year old girl presented with a history of bilateral ear pain and hearing loss after three unsuccessful implantations of grommets (tympanostomy tubes) and multiple medications.

Otitis media with effusion is the label for the presence of middle ear fluid without any signs or symptoms of infection. Chronic recurrent otitis media with effusion, combined with multiple insertion of grommets is documented to be a cause of hearing loss and delayed speech and language development.

Prior to receiving chiropractic care, multiple courses of antibiotics were prescribed, which appeared to briefly reduce the symptoms, but had no impact on the fluid accumulation; and three sets of grommets were implanted, with the final set being removed due to complications of increased fluid accumulation, eardrum (tympanic membrane) rupture, speech disturbances and hearing loss.

Chiropractic care to reduce vertebral subluxations was initiated when the child’s mother wanted to try a different approach. After receiving her seventh adjustment, the child commented that she could hear again, and improvements in attentiveness, interaction at preschool and play and decreased bouts of irritability were noted.

Follow up appointments with the pediatrician and an audiology evaluation confirmed that hearing had been restored and fluid accumulation had diminished.

An accumulation of physical, chemical and emotional stresses produces subluxations and nerve interference, which results in altered function of the body. By reducing nerve interference, chiropractic care can help to improve natural body functions.

This case study can be accessed in full at: http://chiropracticpediatricresearch.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

If you would like any further information on the impact of chiropractic care on immune function or health in general, please ask Dr’s Vanessa or Kim.

Kim’s hours will be:

Monday 7:30 – 12:00 & 3:00 – 7:00
Wednesday 7:30 – 12:00 & 3:00 – 7:00
Thursday 3:00 – 7:00
Friday 7:30 – 1:00 & 3:00 – 5:30
Alternating Saturdays 8:00 – 12:00

Vanessa’s hours will be:

Monday 3:00 – 7:00
Tuesday 7:30 – 1:00 & 3:00 – 5:30
Wednesday 7:30 – 12:00 & 3:00 – 7:00
Friday 7:30 – 1:00 & 3:00 – 5:30
Alternating Saturdays 8:00 – 12:00

This paper, published in the June 2009 edition of the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health, reported on three patients with infertility who were able to conceive following chiropractic care.

Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after at least one year of unprotected intercourse.

In case 1, a 33 year old female with a history of infertility, lower back and jaw pain, painful ovulation, digestive problems and high levels of emotional stress underwent chiropractic care. She and husband had been unable to successfully conceive for the past 4 years, despite utilising infertility drugs and had been through 2 failed IVF procedures. 6 weeks after starting chiropractic care the patient started her 3rd round of IVF, which resulted in a full term pregnancy and a happy healthy baby.

In case 2, a 33 year old female with a history of infertility and a heavy menstrual flow had been trying to conceive unsuccessfully for 2 years, despite 2 rounds of infertility drugs. After 4 weeks of chiropractic care the patient conceived and went on to birth a healthy baby at full term.

In case 3, a 35 year old woman with irregular cycles, neck stiffness and right wrist pain had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive for 7 months. After 14 weeks of chiropractic care, the patient successfully conceived and had a healthy baby at full term.

An accumulation of physical, chemical and emotional stresses produces subluxations and nerve interference, which results in altered function of the body. By reducing nerve interference, chiropractic care helps to improve all of the natural functions of the body.

This case study can be accessed in full at: http://chiropracticpediatricresearch.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

If you would like any further information on the impact of chiropractic care on immune function or health in general, please ask Dr’s Vanessa or Kim.

A case study published in the August 2009 edition of the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health, reported on the effectiveness of chiropractic care in not only relieving the symptoms of asthma and allergies but in improving the immune system function and overall health of a paediatric patient.

The paediatric patient in this case study was a 7 year old male who had suffered from chronic colds, allergies and asthma since he was 5 months of age.

When he initially presented for examination he was taking daily medications for his allergies and asthma, and a nebulizer when required. He was missing 1-2 days of school per month due to poor health.

Some significant factors in his history which put him at a higher risk of / are indicative of having compromised nerve and immune function were:
• Chemically induced labour
• Use of pitocin and an epidural during labour
• Delivery by caesarean section after 17 hours of labouring
• Vaccinated as per standard medical schedule
• Breastfed for 3-4 weeks only
• Did not crawl

After two weeks of chiropractic care he was able to discontinue use of all medications. After his period of initial intensive care, the patient moved onto having regular ‘wellness’ check ups every 3-4 weeks. In the past school year he has not missed any days from school.

This case study can be accessed in full at: http://chiropracticpediatricresearch.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

If you would like any further information on the impact of chiropractic care on immune function or health in general, please ask Dr’s Vanessa or Kim.

Dystocia is a term is used to define an abnormal or difficult childbirth. The patient in this case study was a 26 year old female, birthing at home with 3 midwives and her chiropractor in attendance. After 23 hours of labour there was a lack of cervical dilation and foetal descent, diminished uterine contractions and decreased foetal heart tones. The patient’s lack of cervical dilation and foetal descent, and diminished uterine contractions are indicative of dystocia.

There are four main causes of dystocia:
1. Abnormalities of the explosive forces due to
a. inadequate (weak) uterine (muscular) forces
b. uterine forces inappropriately coordinated to effectively efface and dilate the cervix
c. inadequate voluntary muscle effort during the second stage of labour
2. The presence of abnormalities in the maternal bony pelvis resulting in dysfunctional pelvic contractions
3. Malposition or malpresentation of the developing foetus, eg breech positioning
4. Abnormalities of the soft tissue structures of the reproductive tract that interfere with or block the descent of the foetus eg uterine fibroid

After 23 hours of labour the patient’s cervix was dilated to 7cm and her contraction duration and frequency had diminished significantly. The midwives in attendance determined that the foetus was not in an ideal position for birth.

The patient was adjusted utilising Websters technique, following which there was a significant improvement in labour progression. The patient’s contractions became stronger and more frequent, and the foetal heart tones stabilised.

An hour later a healthy baby girl was born vaginally.

Websters Technique is a specific chiropractic adjustment intended to correct sacral subluxation. The technique reduces interference to the nervous system and facilitates balance in the pelvic structures thereby improving the physiological functioning of the pelvic muscles and ligaments. This in turn removes in-utero constraint and allows for the foetus to get into the best possible position for birth.

Both Dr’s Vanessa and Kim are certified in the Webster Technique. If you’d like to know more please ask them.

This case study can be accessed in full at: http://chiropracticpediatricresearch.web.officelive.com/default.aspx