Did you know that the death rates in Australia are amongst the fastest falling in the world? This is according to new figures that came out last month and were published in The Lancet.  Now, I must say that as a chiropractor I am thrilled that Australians are becoming healthier, and not just compared to, say, Russia or women in Britain.   And,  I have to add that I’m not at all surprised by these new statistics about Aussies because lately I find that more and more 60+ year old individuals are coming into my chiropractic clinic for treatment.

But, as with most “good news,” it is accompanied by “bad news.” Why? Well, longevity is only a good thing if we take care of our health along the way, wouldn’t you say? Life, it would seem to me at least, is more about quality than quantity. And, just from a musculoskeletal point of view, there are changes that individuals need to make early on to avoid age-related problems such as arthritis.

Arthritic changes happen as the body ages. Living longer means that, over time, wear of certain joints as the result of misalignment, repetitive stresses, poor gait, bad posture, and lack of healthy activity can add up to a future that feels painfully long.  Along with causing arthritic changes in the spine and escalating pain, misaligned vertebra can also weaken the body’s resistance and immunity.

So, if you’re an Australian, it’s all the more important for you to get regular chiropractic care early in life since you’re likely to live to a ripe old age. And, the good news (with no apparent bad news) is that if you’ve waited until your senior years to seek chiropractic care, recent studies done on older individuals confirmed that those who received regular chiropractic care stayed healthier.

So, good on you, Australia! Here’s to your health…and your pain-free longevity!

As a chiropractor, I happen to be both holistic and scientific in my approach to health. My experience has shown to me over the years that the “tried and true,” based on scientific protocol and empirical evidence, gives my chiropractic practice its foundation. And, yet, I have also witnessed “miracles” in the healing experiences of many of my patients, and I’ve come to accept that there is an innate healing energy that knows far more than I. I’ve come to view these miracles as natural phenomenon that occur just beyond my scope of scientific explanation. With this in mind, I read with somewhat “awe,” that the “red dust storm from hell” that dumped thousands of tons of soil across eastern Australia just a few weeks ago may actually have been a “great exhalation from heaven,” instead. The estimated 4,000 tons of dust that settled on Sydney, and another three million tons that landed in the Tasman Sea, has created an explosion in microscopic life in the Harbor and beyond.

Measurements taken at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science on the harbor’s north shore show a tripling of microscopic plant life, or phytoplankton. The scientists measure the presence of phytoplankton using remote sensing technology that can detect chlorophyll in the plants, which form the base of the ocean food chain. Microscopic plant life needs nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate to grow. These nutrients have become scarce over the years in our ocean water, but apparently they were abundant in the topsoil that blew across our country.

This is not only “miraculous” news for our country, but according to Ian Jones, director of the Ocean Technology Group at University of Sydney, the dust storm was a natural experiment that supports their work in fertilizing the ocean by adding nitrogen-rich urea to the sea. This promotes the growth of phytoplankton near the surface of the ocean, which then leads to an increase in fish numbers.

“More phytoplankton growth means more stocks of fish. I see much promise in ocean nourishment being able to provide economical protein for vast numbers of malnourished people,” said Jones. Plus, enriching oceans with nitrogen will also aid in the fight against climate change.

So, I leave you with this thought for today: When a seemingly catastrophic and meaningless event occurs in our lives, until the dust clears we can’t be sure that we haven’t witnessed a miracle in the making.

We, Aussies, have a real history with horses, don’t we? They’re as much a part of our country as the desert, kangaroos, and…chiropractors? Well, maybe the horses have been around a bit longer than chiropractors. But, speaking of horses and chiropractors, did you know that there are equine chiropractors out there that can be beneficial in rehabilitating and maintaining the health of your horse? That’s right. After a chiropractic adjustment, there can often be immediate and amazing changes in your horse, physically and visually.

Of course, those changes won’t last without an effective program of rehabilitation because the problem most horses experience is that their used to their joints and muscles being out of the alignment. The chiropractor may put the joint back into proper place, but the memory of the muscles and the habits your horse has developed to compensate will probably result in the joint returning to what it considers a ‘normal’ state. An effective program of rehabilitation will help your horse to maintain the new and proper alignment through a progressive exercise program that allows the changed muscle positions and correct movements to become habit.

The chiropractor can give you a proper plan of rehabilitation exercises and, it’ll come as no surprise that the longer your horse has been out of correct alignment, the longer the rehab period will be. Just like your own muscles, your horse’s muscles need time to develop strength, mass and flexibility. If you have ever had a broken leg or arm, then you know that the muscles of that limb atrophied and didn’t return to normal as soon as the cast was removed. In fact, it required an extended period of carefully planned physical therapy. Remember this when you plan the recovery of your horse after chiropractic treatment.

Here’s to happy, healthy trails…for you and your horse!

Do you feel pain in one or both hips whenever you rotate them or when you cross your legs?  Does the pain wake you up in the night and make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep? When you get up in the morning, or when you get out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it an effort, initially, to move your legs? If you answered “yes” to any or all of the previous questions you are likely suffering from imbalances and alignment problems in your lower extremities that, in addition to generating hip pain, can in the course of time lead to degenerative hip joint disease if not addressed.

Even though hip pain and related problems are often signs of age-related degenerative conditions, especially osteoarthritis of the hip joint, osteoarthritis isn’t always the “bad guy”. In fact, instead of causing the original problem, osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be the ultimate result of damage to your hips at a previous time.

Gait changes caused by biomechanical problems such as an ankle sprain or knee strain, can produce hip pain. Also, if you change jobs, alter the way you sit, take on a new sport or activity, or start driving for long periods of a regular basis, your gait may alter to compensate for these new changes.

In addition, gait asymmetries can occur from carrying a baby or small child on your hip, leg length dissimilarities, or foot pronation problems. The point is, anything that produces an asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion can bring about painful hip problems.

Along with your adjustments, as part of the chiropractic management of your hip problem your chiropractor may determine that you require orthotics. Your chiropractor will also offer applicable progressive rehabilitative exercises that include muscle stretching and strengthening.

Hip pain won’t diminish on its own. Hip pain is an indication that something needs to be corrected. Your chiropractor can help to get you out of pain, get back into balance, and get your life back!

Sciatica is an extraordinarily painful affliction. If you suffer from sciatica, you are, unfortunately, all too experienced with the deep pain that accompanies your waking hours and inhibits your daily activities.

Sciatic pain generally travels from your low back, through the buttock(s), and down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s). Many times, the pain may even radiate into your knee. Sitting, as well as motion, can be painful. Occasionally lying down will lessen, or perhaps temporarily get rid of the pain. Nonetheless, sciatica cannot be corrected without proper treatment.

“Radiculopathy,” the medical term for the clinical diagnosis of sciatica, means simply that a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is placing pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) in the lower back, which forms part of the sciatic nerve. This type of pressure is extremely painful.

Increased pressure on the intervertebral discs, as well as imbalances in the muscles encompassing the spine, can happen as a consequence of prolonged sitting, specifically in a awkward position. Usually, an explicit event or exact injury doesn’t create sciatica, but, on the contrary, it tends to develop over time as a consequence of average wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. Over time the lower spine loses its ability to function in a healthy way during everyday stresses.

Finally, the intervertebral disc develops small fissures, or cracks, which then lets the soft nucleus protrude the disc outward. If the disc puts pressure on sensitive tissues, it causes the pain that is frequently called a ruptured disc. If the disc pushes on the spinal nerve, then sciatica can develop.

With chiropractic adjustments and care, which commonly includes postural exercises, most disc problems, including sciatica, can be eliminated. If you are experiencing sciatic pain, it is important for you to seek help from your chiropractor.

The art and science of being a doctor, which is to say, the heart and mind of being a doctor, encompasses many things. The long and short of it is that doctors who are successful with their patients are those who continue to listen and learn throughout their years of practice. However, as the entrepreneurial doctor knows, especially a doctor of chiropractic, there’s another important aspect to being a success…marketing. As the old saying goes, you don’t want to be the best kept secret in town! But, marketing has changed a lot over the years and what used to be effective is now actually archaic. With that in mind, I discovered a website that’s offering a free, cutting-edge marketing course!

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Hey, I thought it was about time to talk about social media. It is the main buzzword these days. Perhaps you have heard the expression web 2.0. Well, basically that is the web coming to you instead of you having to go surfing to find things. There are rss feeds that allow you to get the information you want right into your email without ever having to go to the site. And with the new browsers like flock you can follow your friends on twitter, facebook and youtube right on your screen all the time. Now if this sounds like a bunch of gibberish, relax, my team and I have put together a free course to explain it all.

As chiropractors there are basically three main social media sites that are somewhat important for us. And let me be the first to say that none of them are going to make you rich! Anyone that promises 20-30 new patients from twitter or facebook or YouTube for that matter is shining you on!

Now, lets talk about why I think you should join these three sites. It is all about communication. We all know, that is, any of us that have been in practice for a while, that the doctor that keep in frequent contact with their patients,has much better retention then the docs that don’t.

The sweet thing about these sites is it allows you to keep up a relationship with your patients. You know how patients always want that personal relationship? And we don’t have time to develop those relationships with each patient, at least not until now! You see, with these types of sites you can keep patients informed about you and your life and practice, without actually having to individually spend the time. It’s Beautiful! So get cracking on setting up your social media sites.

And if you don’t know how to start, sign up for our free 10 part course right here at Chiropractic Masters.

Stuart O’Grady urges Tour Down Under cyclists to mind their backs!