Gardening and Chiropractic

Preventing back pain when gardening

After a miserable and wet winter (and a pretty chilly spring), the weather has really warmed up! Many people (including my other half), are looking forward to getting being back in the garden and getting their hands dirty, but sometimes doing too much, too soon in the garden can cause back pain!

Most of the painful conditions I see are typically avoidable. If you struggle with poor mobility in the spine, hips or ankles then preventing back pain in the garden when bending or squatting is essential. The risk is increased further if you also spend a long period of time in one position or doing the same repetitive task under load. Here are some top tips to help you prevent back pain in the garden:

Don’t start with heavy-duty gardening.

Warm up with the lighter jobs, like mowing the lawn, or gentle sweeping or raking. When warmed up and moving well, then move on to something else a little more challenging.

Mix it up.

It is important to vary your activity every 30 minutes or so rather than be in one position for too long. Staying in one position can cause the joints and tissues to adapt and stiffen up, causing increased risk of pain or injury when moving again. Varying your activity can minimise this.

If you are laying a patio or doing any heavy lifting,

Keep the object close to your body and bend through your knees and hips. It is sometimes better to bend one knee rather than two to pick up or move objects (also known as a ‘golfers lift’) as your supporting leg gives you a position of strength.

If you are having any problems or gardening causes you back pain, then Chiropractic care could help. This may be in the short term for symptomatic relief, or with long term preventative or maintenance care to maintain good movement and function.

No matter what your problem, we will look to help you to address any underlying causes, empowering you in improving and maintaining your health.

We can help you to achieve better health. Why not come and see what our chiropractors and massage therapists in Stafford and Newport can do for you. We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

Hip pain replacement

Hip or groin pain

If you regularly read my articles, you may know that I love to be active. Recently though, low back, hip or groin pain have stopped me in my tracks. Yes, even us chiropractors aren’t immune from pain or injury! Fortunately, I know how to deal with it which often means that I can help you too!

For those that are also struggling and can’t get around so easily, I know how frustrating it can be and I’ll do all I can to help you back to activity. However, when it comes to more complicated joints like the hip, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the pain. It may not be the hip at all!

The hip joint is a hugely important joint in our ability to move well and stabilise through the rest of the body, particularly the spine. There are a multitude of muscles and other tissues that attach across the hip, pelvis and torso which help to keep us stable through our everyday movements like squatting or bending. If these tissues are not coordinating and contracting adequately, possibly due to injury, restriction or neurological misfiring, then pain and dysfunction can often occur. Over time this can lead to poor movement, weakness, instability and (if long-term), arthritic changes.

Hip and groin pain

It could even be that your pain is not coming from the hip at all – it may be your lower back or sacro-iliac joint thats causing all the trouble. The best way to find out is to get checked over.

No matter what your problem, we will look to help you to address any underlying causes, empowering you in improving and maintaining your health.

We can help you to achieve better health. Why not come and see what our chiropractors and massage therapists in Stafford and Newport can do for you. We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

Featured image: X-ray Image ID: 3684. Photographer: Unknown., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gardening and Chiropractic

Gardening and back pain

Well, we’ve had a miserable and wet winter, but things are looking up! Recent events can all soon get you down, but my hope grows that we might finally get some sunnier and drier weather so we can all brighten up and get outside more with family and friends. I think we are all looking forward to that again. Many people (including my other half), are also looking forward to being back in the garden and getting their hands dirty, but sometimes gardening can give you back pain!

Most of the painful conditions I see are typically avoidable. If you struggle with poor mobility in the spine, hips or ankles then bending or squatting to work in the garden can leave you open to an increased risk of injury. This risk is increased further if you also spend a long period of time in one position or doing the same repetitive task under load.

Don’t start with heavy-duty gardening. Warm up with the lighter jobs, like mowing the lawn, and then move on to something else.

Mix it up. It is important to vary your activity every 30 minutes or so rather than be in one position for too long.

If you are laying a patio or dong any heavy lifting, keep the object close to your body and bend through your knees and hips. It is sometimes better to bend one knee rather than two to pick up or move objects (also known as a ‘golfers lift’) as your supporting leg gives you a position of strength.

If you are having any problems or gardening causes you back pain, then Chiropractic care could help. This may be in the short term for symptomatic relief, or with long term preventative or maintenance care to maintain good movement and function.

No matter what your problem, we will look to help you to address any underlying causes, empowering you in improving and maintaining your health.

We can help you to achieve better health. Why not come and see what our chiropractors and massage therapists in Stafford and Newport can do for you. We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

Shockwave therapy

Persistent pain or injury? Shockwave could help

We are open, and Shockwave Therapy may be able to help.

If you suffer with long term soft tissue or joint problems that don’t seem to be settling, including: plantar fasciitis; heel spurs; shoulder calcification; Achilles tendinopathy and tennis elbow; then Shockwave Therapy is an option!

Radial Shockwave therapy is a safe, proven and effective, non-invasive way to treat various long term joint and soft tissue complaints, including:

  • Foot & ankle pain (Achilles tendinopathy; plantar fasciitis; heel spurs)
  • Shoulder pain (calcification; tendonitis)
  • Hip pain (bursitis)
  • Knee pain (patellar tendonitis)
  • Elbow pain (tennis and golfers elbow)
  • Muscular pain (trigger points)

Shockwave

We’ve seen some great results so far, and have some very happy clients, including Kerry who says:

  “After 4 years of crippling pain and tears shockwave was suggested to me by a friend. I can honestly say Shockwave changed my life!! Pain free, back to running and wearing any type of shoe after 8-10 weeks. Amazing ⭐️ Chris and his team are extremely professional, helpful and friendly. The treatments have a slightly strange sensation but not painful. Affordable treatments too (but the relief is priceless!). I cannot recommend this service and treatment highly enough.”

We have two treatment options available at our clinic in Stafford, either Acute (less than three month history), or Chronic (more than three months). Both include advice and exercises. For more information, including costs, please visit our dedicated Shockwave Therapy page.

Let us help you to achieve better health. You can book an appointment with us by calling 01785 530911 or alternatively you can book using our online diary.

We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

Matt Shockwave

My experience of Shockwave Therapy

Wondering if Shockwave Therapy could help you? Read about Matt’s experience with a long standing elbow injury:

By Matt Price (Sports Massage Therapist & Crossfit athlete)

I had a recurring issue with repetitive strain in my elbow otherwise known as “tennis elbow”. It kept me back from training and enjoying it was impossible. I wasn’t able to carry out a number of exercises that I’d need to do to train effectively and I’d been searching and searching for an answer to resolve my issues. However, nothing was long lasting and effective as I wanted it to be and I wondered if Shockwave could help..

Chris at Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness was able to introduce me to Shockwave treatment. As I’d never heard of it before this was a slightly concerning treatment to be faced with, but the pain and annoyance my arm was causing me I decided it was worth a go to see if we could resolve it once and for all.

Treatment 1

During my first treatment I was introduced to the Shockwave device and the procedure. Chris carried out a full examination and reassured me that it was only a local injury that was causing the pain, rather than coming from somewhere else. We then started the treatment and initially the noise the machine head created was a little concerning, however Chris explained what was happening and that the noise was normal and wasn’t to be feared. There was a little pain and discomfort from this first treatment (to say the least) but I could feel the muscle fibres separating with each tap of the Shockwave. You can see my first session in the video below:

Treatment 2

By the second treatment I still hadn’t tested the area or over-used it due to the rawness being created from the previous treatment but I had been assured that this was normal and actually a good thing. The 2nd treatment was just as painful as the 1st but with even better results. The pain after the treatment wasn’t anywhere near as brutal or as awkward to deal with. Within 2 days of this treatment I was able to carry out light movements that aggravated the area before, from bench press to push up or even burpees. All of these were out of the picture until after this treatment and the results spurred me on to the next as the result I’d been looking for was on its way.

Treatment 3

Now number 3! I now believed I was on the road to recovery and nothing could stop me. I was starting to get the pains increasing back but I was training more than I’d been advised. This treatment wasn’t as painful as I’d expected which is always good. The pain centre had changed due to the recovery and the movements I’d been carrying out, the amazing Shockwave machine is versatile and allows the user (in this case Chris) to change the size of the treatment head to target the area further. Although there was still some discomfort this was so much more manageable than the previous treatment and I was already looking forward to training on it. See the progress in the video below:

Treatment 4

This was the most satisfying and energising treatment to date, Chris rechecked my overall spine and alignment and made sure I was still only having issues in the area we were treating. In this treatment we increased the intensity of the striking head of the Shockwave treatment machine (oh joy I thought), however this wasn’t as bad as anticipated and the results were amazing. Almost immediately I could feel the muscle relax and the tissue move allowing the pain the decrease and the tension to be reduced.

Overall Experience

The results from the treatments have allowed me to overcome the pain and the discomfort I’d been struggling with for the past 6-8 months. I put this down to both the Shockwave treatment and the knowledge of Chris at Pure Health and I’d definitely recommend seeking out this procedure if you have been struggling with recurring issues on any part of your body.  This machine will sort you out and give you a new determination to train or recover and enjoy life pain free!

For more information regarding this treatment, please visit our Shockwave page.

Let us help you to achieve better health. You can book an appointment with our chiropractor Chris or massage therapists Liesa or Matt, by calling 01785 530911 in Stafford, or 01952 825042 in Newport. Alternatively you can book using our online diary.

We look forward to seeing you.

Shockwave for Tennis Elbow – Update!

Shockwave therapy has been shown to be effective for a number of acute or chronic soft tissue injuries. In this video, we are checking up on the progress of Matt who, after a six month history of severe lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow), has had three sessions of shockwave.

For more information regarding Shockwave, please visit:

Matt’s first treatment: https://purehealthchiropractic.co.uk/shockwave-for-tennis-elbow
Our website: https://goo.gl/it7PSa
Zimmer website: https://goo.gl/sAVuzE

Subscribe for more content from Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness for more advice, exercises, and product reviews:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCes0… 
Website: https://www.purehealthchiropractic.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phchiro/

Follow our chiropractor, Chris on his channel MTBChiro for general advice and mountain biking adventures:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmWx…
Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/177911
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themtbchiro/

Let us help you to achieve better health. You can book an appointment with our chiropractor Chris or massage therapists Liesa or Matt, by calling 01785 530911 in Stafford, or 01952 825042 in Newport. Alternatively you can book using our online diary.

We look forward to seeing you.

Shockwave for Tennis Elbow

Shockwave therapy has been shown to be effective for a number of acute or chronic soft tissue injuries. In this case study, we are going to treat Matt over a series of sessions for chronic lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) – but will it work? Watch below for an explanation of Shockwave treatment and also Matt’s first session.

For more information regarding Shockwave, please visit:

Our website: https://goo.gl/it7PSa
Zimmer website: https://goo.gl/sAVuzE

Subscribe for more content from Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness for more advice, exercises, and product reviews:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCes0… 
Website: https://www.purehealthchiropractic.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phchiro/

Follow our chiropractor, Chris on his channel MTBChiro for general advice and mountain biking adventures:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmWx…
Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/177911
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themtbchiro/

Let us help you to achieve better health. You can book an appointment with our chiropractor Chris or massage therapists Liesa or Matt, by calling 01785 530911 in Stafford, or 01952 825042 in Newport. Alternatively you can book using our online diary.

We look forward to seeing you.

Shockwave is here!

No, it’s not the next superhero movie, but it is something quite new and exciting! We are pleased to reveal that we now have a revolutionary type of treatment called Radial Shockwave Therapy (RSWT) available at both of our clinics for new and existing clients.

It has been shown to be particularly successful in treating stubborn soft tissue conditions in the shoulder, hip, knee, foot or ankle, that are struggling to respond to conventional therapy.

Why not see what shockwave can do for you? For more information, please visit our Shockwave Therapy page or Contact Us. We look forward to seeing you.