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Sore Crick Neck? What do you do?

15/4/2018

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​Waking up with a crick neck. It has happened to most of us before.
However knowing what to do with it is half the issue.
It causes discomfort and pinches with pain when you try to move your head in certain (or all) directions. 
Recently I woke up with a crick neck (yes chiropractors get crick necks too) so I thought I would chat you through what I did to get the best recovery possible.

FIRSTLY:
Looking into what led up to my neck "cricking" helps me figure out a game plan.  
I knocked my head HARD on a weird angled wall making a bed on Saturday (not ideal #1), on Monday a small branch fell out of a tree and hit me on the left shoulder (not ideal #2) and Tuesday night was so hot I could not stay in our bedroom so relocated to the air conditioned lounge, where I slept on the couch (not ideal #3) with the cool air blowing on my head and neck (not ideal #4).
So all in all we have a series of 4 events in close succession that led me to wake with a crick neck.

SO WHAT DID I DO?
  • Put heat on it after I woke up - heat increases blood flow and therefore helps tissues heal. This can be a shower or a hot water bottle or wheat bag. Just make sure the hot water bottle and wheat bag is not too heavy on your neck. People often find that a hot shower helps a lot, so it can be a good idea that a hot shower or a bath is your first go to heat option, then follow up with a hot water bottle or wheat bag throughout the rest of the day and a hot shower or bath before bed is a good option too. 
  • Took my neck through gentle, SLOW ranges of motion regularly. The funny thing about a crick neck is if you move slowly you can often get a greater range of motion than if you were to move quickly. If movement makes it feel worse then don't do it, however chances are if you move slowly and gently enough it will start to ease things.
  • Did some gentle yoga poses focusing on posture and head position, however if you don’t normally do yoga and wake up with a sore neck now is NOT the time to start yoga!
  • Visited my Chiropractor to get adjusted. I nearly forgot to add this because it is so natural for me to get checked if my body is not functioning optimally. Chiropractic assesses the joints and function of your spine, when you have pain it is usually a pretty good indicator there is dysfunction. It is a perfect time to get the dysfunction sussed. 
  • Took a quality Magnesium supplement to loosen the muscles around the neck (if magnesium is tolerated well by you already).
  • Anti-inflammatory food choices throughout the day included home made chocolate after dinner (ask for the recipe if you want it).
  • Before bed heat pack on neck and time lying on Shakti mat with deep diaphragmatic breathing.
  • Pillow choice is something I needed to change as my neck crick came from an accumulation of trauma, however if you are waking with a stiff neck then your pillow may be playing a part in that. If you have questions about correct pillow choice then standby, a blog is on it's way. ​

Within 24 hours my neck was back to full ROM albeit still tender and slightly stiff.
There are varying degrees of severity when it comes to crick necks (and all other injuries) it pays to remember not everyone will see such improvement within 24 hours BUT why not give your body the tools it need to heal as quickly as it can. 


As a Chiropractor I see crick necks regularly. It is important to remember that if you are waking with a crick neck often then there is dysfunction that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Seeing a Chiropractor may be able to help you sort that out. 
Crick Neck? BOOK NOW
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Some of Dr Ainslee's Journey

3/4/2018

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This fully rigid thick plastic back brace is one of the reason's I am a chiropractor today.
I came across it while clearing the garage (hence the dusty shorts) this weekend and thought I would try it on for a giggle, and giggle I certainly did, it DOES NOT fit like it used to when I was 16 years old, which is to be expected! 

I can't tell you ALL of my story because it would be considered a testimonial for Chiropractic and Chiropractors are legally not allowed to share testimonials. So below is what I will share with you.

I wore this rigid full body back brace for 2 years of my life. Age 15-17 years old. in every waking hour (other than showering). Sometimes I had to wear it to bed too.
Why?
Because I had a rapidly progressing Scoliosis and the concern was without brace and then surgery I would get organ failure due to my spine bending side ways and cutting off nerve supply to organs. Lesson 1 from this story: your spine is bloody important and if it is not functioning well then it puts pressure on other systems in your body that you can't feel pain in. 
Believe it or not, they still brace people in certain circumstances now.

Pro's: 
-Developed great squatting and lifting technique due to inability to pick anything up without squatting (forever had short hamstrings). See photo's of me attempting to reach the ground!
-Avoided massive spinal surgery involving 2 metal rods full length on both sides of my spine and 6 months on my stomach as stage 1 of recovery. 
-Did not have to wear a bra. Although at a time in your life when wearing bras seemed to matter ALOT, I really wasn't that thrilled about this part. Hindsight is 20/20 vision right? 
-I had and still have amazing family and friends who I was surrounded by while I wore this brace. They continued to give me as much shit as the next non brace wearing person. They treated me like I wasn't wearing a brace. Which is what every person who is slightly different wants in life!
Lesson number 2: treating someone who is different as normal is one of the kindest things you can do. And also: define "normal" no one is normal. 

Con's: 
-Yes people stared at me. You could see the brace poking out the bottom of my tops and if i bent forward at all it would stick out at the top. I chose to wear big baggy clothes as often as possible to to hide it.
-Pain. The pain was very real when my spine was growing sideways. I popped painkillers like candy from an age much too young because my family and I didn't know any different, didn't know there were other ways and we were doing what we were told. 
Lesson number 3: there is a time and a place for painkillers, but remember sometimes there are other ways without them.

Did it stop me?
No way! I still played competitive netball and basketball with this brace on. While it most likely hindered my performance dramatically I still managed to kick ass in the rep teams of my province. I worked with it and adapted my movements around the brace. I had zero rotation, side bending and forward and backward bending. So my foot work had to be on point! And to ensure i had foot work sorted i spent hours tiny stepping around the wheely bin at home (where no one could see me because i was ashamed and embarrassed but determined to prove my worth) to make sure I could keep up with the people who had full movement of their bodies while playing sport.

This brace taught me:
How to persevere, that family and friends are who you can rely on, to be stubborn, to believe in you and your own capability and that "you are only defined from the walls you build yourself."  That brace didn't define me, although it easily could have. Embrace (mind the pun) the situations you are in, silver lining's are ALWAYS there. 
In a way it shaped some of my personality today. You learn alot about how the world works between the ages of 15 and 17. 
It also lead me to my greatest gift yet, being a chiropractor and it taught me that "the human body has more healing ability than anyone lets you believe." 

And that is a wrap. If you have any more question's about this or know anyone with scoliosis who would like some help let me know! 


Over and out, 
Dr A 

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Chiropractic, Pregnancy, Back pain and Labour

1/4/2018

2 Comments

 
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​During pregnancy your body changes rapidly. Those changes are beautiful and amazing, yet sometimes come with discomfort.
​50% of woman experience significant levels of back or pelvic pain during pregnancy.
Research has shown that chiropractic care may help relieve these symptoms in up to 85% in pregnant woman and that pregnant woman under chiropractic care on average experience a 24% reduction in length of labour time. This is thought to be because it relaxes the muscles and makes joints more mobile creating less stress on mother and baby during delivery.

How cool is that?! Less discomfort during pregnancy and decreased labour time!! Want to know more?

Contact Dr Ainslee at Live Chiropractic.

Referenes:
http://chiropractic.ac.nz/index.php/about-us/college-news/101-new-zealand-research-shows-benefit-of-chiropractic-care-during-pregnancy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2647084/

​

2 Comments

    Author

    Hi. My name is Ainslee, I am a chiropractor and passionate about guiding people towards living their best. I love to facilitating people to get people well and stay well.
    This world is rapidly becoming down right crazy, so let's try and keep some stuff like being healthy simple!
    My goal is to enhance as many people's lives as I can in my short time on this blue ball (earth). Lets just take a minute to appreciate that. We live on a blue ball that floats around a massive fire ball (sun), we breathe air and gravity keeps our bodies on the ground.
    It is mind boggling we are even here. So let's not sweat the small stuff.
    I digress.
    Help me, help you, by reading my blogs. 
    I write them for you. 

    Best Health, 
    Dr A 

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