Blog Section

The knee joint is a complex joint that relies heavily on ligaments and muscles for stability. Knee pain can be caused by various factors, not always originating from the knee, which makes the pain difficult to locate.

Common causes of pain are local causes such as, trauma and overuse, dysfunction of the lower limb, referred pain from low back, pelvis and hip. When pain is perceived as coming from the knee all the anatomical components need to be examined in addition to the joints that contribute to the biomechanics of the knee, i.e. low back, pelvis, hip and ankle and the foot.

One of the most common types of injury of the knee is damage to the ligaments. Ligaments are usually injured due to direct trauma to the knee and the amount of ligament injury caused is described as 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd degree sprain:

• 1^st Degree Sprain – some tearing/over stretch of the fibres, no joint instability, mild pain, minimal swelling.
• 2^nd Degree Sprain – Separation/tearing of fibres causing moderate instability and moderate to sever pain, swelling and stiffness.
• 3^rd Degree Sprain – total rupture, gross instability, pain usually severe, profuse swelling, usually requires lengthy immobilisation and/or surgery.

Ligament injury will usually involve a certain amount of swelling directly over the location of the ligament.

Treatment of the sprain depends on the degree of injury.  After the initial treatment, 1^st and 2^nd degree sprains can then be nursed at home with rest, ice, compression/elevation, massage and nutritional support of vitamin C / zinc. Once the ligament begins to heal gradual introduction of mobilisation and strengthening exercises can help and finally, proprioceptive training once ligament has healed. However, 3^rd degree sprains are more serious and often require surgical repair.

It is no secret that a healthy, balanced diet has endless benefits for our health. Knowing in more detail about the amount of vitamins and minerals we need in our diets will only enhance those benefits and decrease out chances of developing deficiencies later on in life. Here is a easy and healthy diet plan for you to follow which explains which vitamins and minerals you need and how best to obtain them; but first, let’s start with some of the foods you should be avoiding:

• High saturated/animal fats
• Refined foods
• White flour
• White sugar
• Carbonated drinks

All of these foods adversely affect the body’s use of minerals and vitamins so be sure to limit these foods from your diet; or if you can, eliminate them completely. Below are some of the vitamins and minerals that are essential for keeping your body, muscles and joints healthy:

Vitamin C

Collagen is extremely important in maintaining the structure of bones, cartilage, muscles and blood vessels and in order to produce strong efficient collagen, you require vitamin C. Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, green leafy vegetables and cauliflower.

Antioxidants

Vitamin C is also a strong antioxidant and it capable of regenerating other antioxidants. Antioxidants swoop up free radicals, which is useful in preventing damage to joint surfaces and muscle cell regeneration. These antioxidants are present in fruits and vegetables, them most in the brightly coloured ones!

Magnesium

Healthy magnesium levels are important because it contributes to efficient muscle contractions and the conduction of nerve impulses. Low magnesium levels can actually affect the body’s calcium levels, therefore putting bone health at risk. Magnesium can be acquired from green leafy vegetables, unrefined grains and nuts.

Essential Fats

Essential fatty acids reduce the degenerative changes in tissues and cells and help guard against some cancers. These are highly unsaturated fatty acids. They can be found in foods such as fish, nuts and avocados.

100 Miles sponsored swim– Join Alex in swimming 100 miles over the next year – from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023. Join as a family, a patient group or do it solo. Get your sponsorship form and length recorder from reception or email alex@beestonchiropractic.co.uk for a printable version. Collect sponsors from family and friends and record every length you do – it can be in a lesson, a competition or swimming for pleasure – mark the lengths down, calculate the distance depending on your pool size and aim for that 100-mile goal. (That’s 160934m or 6,438 lengths of a 25m pool). Newly added: 100-mile activity – what will you do??

Craft stalls – are you passionate about a craft either as a hobby or run a micro-business? – why not display your work on our tabletop in reception. We are offering you a tabletop for one week in the clinic to display and sell your work – anything goes from jewellery to cards to lovingly grown plants that you want to sell. We will be running this event throughout May and June 2022 and if successful offer another opportunity for you to book again in November/ December 2022 nicely in time for Christmas. We just ask for a £5 donation for our tree fund and you get to keep all of your own profits. Dates:

Our craft stall starts this month and each runs Monday from 11 am to Saturday 12 noon we have:

Cats Protection 9^th May

Handmade glass and silver jewellery 16^th May

Bring and buy cake sale open to all 23^rd May* see website or ask at reception for T&Cs

Handcrafted cards 6th June

Decorated cakes 13^th June

Crafted gift ideas 20^th June

Feel free to pop in during clinic hours in even if you haven’t got an appointment to support these lovely businesses and charities. Cash only sales please

To pay and confirm your date slot please use the GoFundMe link : https://gofund.me/6b6eaa55 For more information or to book your week please email alex@beestonchiropractic.co.uk

Bring and buy cake stall – scheduled now for week beginning Monday 23rd May 2022 so get baking and munching. Please take note of the advice below: Please can you ensure cakes are individually wrapped and cupcakes or traybake slices are sealed in a 2, 4 or 6 piece pack. All products should display ingredients to assist with allergy advice, please. Cash purchases are preferred of use the GoFundMe link to buy your cake : https://gofund.me/6b6eaa55 For further information contact alex@beestonchiropractic.co.uk

Free entry: Logo design competition– are you under 18 years old? Do you like art and design? Would you like to have a tree in our copse just for you? This will be the winning design prize. Every entry will get a free ice pack. We are looking for some talented youngsters to design a logo for the clinic 30 trees for 30 years in Beeston. The following criteria are preferred: A single colour, A simple single line drawing , Include Beeston Chiropractic Clinic, 30 years, some sort of slogan eg. “30 trees for 30 years” text. Submit your entry by emailing it to alex@beestonchiropractic.co.uk or handing it in to reception before the closing date. Entries close end May 2022

Any donations please: https://gofund.me/6b6eaa55

Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone and is well-known for triggering the “fight or flight” response in our bodies when we are stressed. However, cortisol is also responsible for regulating a wide range of processes throughout the body.

What is cortisol?

Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal glands, which is then released into the blood and transported around the body.

What does cortisol do?

Almost all our cells contain receptors for cortisol, meaning it plays an important role in several things your body does. For example, cortisol:

• Manages how your body uses proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
• Regulates blood pressure
• Increases blood sugar
• Keeps inflammation down
• Controls your sleep/wake cycle
• Boosts energy

The short-term release of cortisol can give your body energy to fight or flee from a stressor, but it is possible for our cortisol levels to become unbalanced.

Too much stress

Usually, cortisol levels balance when the stress your body was reacting to passes. However, when cortisol levels are too high for too long, the hormone can have a negative impact on your body.

There are some health issues associated with high levels of cortisol over a prolonged period, including:

• Weight gain
• High blood pressure
• Insomnia or difficulty sleeping
• Mood irregularities

In women, this can impact periods causing them to become irregular, less frequent or stop altogether.

Cortisol levels have also been linked to conditions like anxiety or depression.

Managing cortisol levels

There are some lifestyle habits that can help you to manage cortisol levels.

1. Sleep

Getting the right amount of sleep can be an effective way to reduce cortisol levels. Several things can be done to optimise your sleep, such as limiting caffeine intake, avoiding nicotine or alcohol, and implementing a regular sleep schedule.

1. Exercise

Exercise can increase or decrease cortisol, depending on the intensity. Intense exercise can increase cortisol levels afterwards, which will decrease a few hours later.

However, regular exercise can also help with managing stress and promoting good health, which may help lower cortisol levels.

1. Eating a nutritious diet

When trying to lower cortisol levels, it is important to eat a healthy and balanced diet, paying attention to sugar intake. Fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and even dark chocolate are thought to be helpful for managing cortisol.

Similarly, it is important to ear on a regularly because low blood sugar can increase cortisol.

1. Staying hydrated

Dehydration has been linked to temporary increases in cortisol levels, meaning it is important to drink enough water throughout the day.

1. Breathe

Deep breathing is a simple and effective way to reduce stress. It can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with relaxation and lower cortisol levels. Meditation or yoga are just two examples of ways to practice deep breathing.

Whether you have an important work meeting, an appointment to book, or an errand to run after work, everyone is susceptible to dealing with a long to do list. Living a fast-paced lifestyle often means neglecting some of our thoughts and pushing them to the back of our mind. However, when we do this, we are stressing ourselves out more than we realise, and this stress can often trickle back into our body physically. Muscle tension or inflammation can be caused by an overload of stress in our life.

Mindfulness is the practice of becoming aware of yourself in the present moment, enabling you to identify how you feel inside and out. With this mind-body approach, you can clear your mind of negativity and unnecessary stresses and ultimately, help against physical aches and pains. Mindfulness also allows you to understand the pain you might be feeling and how to ease any anxiety associated with it. If constant stress is untreated, it can lead to increased tension, forming a continuous cycle of pain. As well as stress and chronic pain, mindfulness can help combat anxiety, sleep and eating disorders.  Mindfulness can also increase our positivity and energy levels which overall encourages a healthy lifestyle.

Mindfulness has many benefits to your general wellbeing and your physical health. Next time you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, take 10 minutes out of your day to practice mindfulness with these five tips:

1. Sit comfortably and relax
2. Focus on your breath
3. From your head to toes, bring awareness to each body part
4. Identify any sounds or smells and let them pass
5. Acknowledge and accept how you feel emotionally

Spring is in the air, and it is time to get outside and enjoy it! With warmer weather around the corner, there will be an increase in outdoor sport activities. The best way to take full advantage of this season is to keep your health in tip top shape as well. Here are a few ways in which chiropractic care can help you to stay on top of your health and prepare you for the season ahead.

• Regular chiropractic adjustments can help prevent injuries

No matter what type of outdoor activity you plan to take part in this spring, regular visits to your local chiropractor are helpful in reducing the risk of injury, ensuring you are not putting too much strain on your joints, and checking that your nervous system is functioning normally. Whether you are running, riding a bike, playing ball, gardening, or spending time outdoors with your kids, plan a visit to your doctor to learn the best practices to keep your muscles and joints healthy in order to reduce the risk of injury and pain.

• Chiropractic care can help reduce the stress of a busy spring season

With warmer weather comes busier spring schedules. Whether your calendar is booked because you are spending more time with your kids as they have time off from school, or dealing with a busier work schedule, stress seems to be inevitable as the seasons change. Regular chiropractic care is a great way to reduce and prevent stress that can negatively affect your joints and overall health.

The bottom line is that in order to assure you get the most out of the spring season, and stay on top of your health, you need to take care of yourself. 

For more information, contact your local chiropractic clinic, to learn how you can ‘spring’ into your best health and start your path to a healthier, happier, and pain-free lifestyle. 

To say that it is a stressful time in the world would be a tremendous understatement. People are very tense these days, and completely understandably so! Emotional stress can manifest itself physically in the form of headaches/migraines, muscle and joint pain, and neck and back pain. Chiropractors can restore function to the body and nervous system while also reducing muscle tension.

Simply put, muscles do what the nerves tell them to. If your nervous system has interference and nerves cannot effectively reach muscles, this will result in muscle tension. Think of your nerves like a hose watering a garden full of beautiful roses. These roses need water, and as long as the hose is running, the flowers can grow. However, imagine someone puts a rock on the hose somewhere, which cuts off most of the water supply. This is the same thing that the stress is doing to your nervous system: preventing the nerve supply (water in hose) from nourishing the muscles (the garden of roses).

Chiropractors can also work with patients on relaxation techniques and postural stretches to help alleviate the muscle tension and pain brought about by emotional stress. Sleep can also be affected by stress, and a proper night’s sleep is key to a successful day.

For all these reasons, it is so beneficial to see a chiropractor to make sure your nervous and immune systems are functioning to the absolute best of their ability. It’s a crazy world out there right now, and it has never been more important to stay healthy.

To celebrate our 30^th year we have decided to plant 30 trees in the Beeston Community

We have been offered a copse at a nearby recreation ground which we are hoping to populate with trees and bulbs to create a haven.

In 2018 we celebrated our 25^th anniversary and many of you were involved in helping us raise £2018 to buy the defibrillator sited on the building along Queens Road Here are some memories of the event:

We will need to raise something in the region of £3000.00 for the new trees

We are looking for:

• Support of fund raising events over the next 12 months  – TBC
• Businesses to donate gifts for the prize draw which we will hold in April 2023 at our celebratory event
• Any cash donations to buy a tree
• Guardians to help us look after the trees – this will involve watering them and keeping a look out for their safety reporting any problems. We envisage this to be a three year commitment until they are established

For further information, to donate, pledge a gift or be assigned as a guardian please email Alex: alex@beestonchiropractic.co.uk

Balance and co-ordination is an often overlooked part of fitness and should be trained as much as strength and endurance.

It is known that balance and co-ordination is controlled by several parts of the body, namely the eyes and the ears. These senses pass on the data it has gathered via the nerves to the muscles to appropriately move about gracefully. In older people though, these senses deteriorate and as a result, balance may worsen. Improving balance and co-ordination can benefit everyone, especially the elderly, to increase health and mobility.

There are many factors that may hamper one’s balance and co-ordination. The alignment of your neck, your spine, and your pelvis is one.  Age and disease is another problem.  For example, when your pelvis is misaligned, your body needs to compensate for that misalignment. Your neck may shift to one side to promote balance, but this, in turn, may cause you stiffness and neck pain.

Age and disease can also contribute to poor balance. With poor balance, the elderly are prone to slip and falls. It hinders mobility and lessens the overall quality of life. Diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis can also hamper balance and co-ordination.

Exercise improves flexibility and strength and, through these, balance and co-ordination.  Nutrition is another important aspect of a healthy life. Important nutrients for balance and co-ordination include sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium as they are needed in regulating nerve impulses and muscle activity. Without them, you would experience painful cramps. Blueberries in particular are a superfood that contains many nutrients for improving balance and co-ordination.
  With the right exercise and nutrition you will increase you chance of living a full healthy life.

These days doctors often ‘prescribe’ exercise as a way to maintain good health and with good reason. Being active not only makes us feel better, it can also help ease various symptoms and cut risk of disease.

Studies have shown that people in their late 70s who undertake at least 20 minutes of exercise per day need fewer prescriptions and are ess likely to be admitted to hospital than those who don’t.  Exercise has been shown to be as effective at lowering blood pressure as certain medication, as well as being shown to improve heart and gut health, memory and balance. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends exercise 3 times per week between 45min to an hour, for 3 months for those with mild or moderate depression. The physical activity also stimulates our brains and helps prevent anxiety and stress, as well as increasing the lifespan and improving the quality of life.

1. For Living Longer – Jogging

A US study showed that adults over 65 who ran or jogged for at least 30 minutes 3 times per week were as healthy as young adults in their 20s. This might not sound important, but your walking style is a key indicator of mortality, so the longer you can stay spritely on your feet, the longer and healthier your life should be. Meanwhile, another study found that light jogging (between 70-120 minutes per week) was linked to the lowest mortality rate compared to sedentary people and heavy runners – so little and often is key here.

2. For Improving Memory – Dancing

A study from 2017 found that all exercise can help reverse the signs of ageing in the brain, but dancing more than any other sport. The study, which focused on adults in their late 60s who took part in a weekly dance class, found that all participants showed an increase in the hippocampus region of the brain, which can be affected by diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, as well as more general age-related decline.

3. For Back Pain – Active Therapies

Many GP appointments are connected to muscle and nerve problems- and these are often based in the back. If you suffer with back pain, you will know that it can affect your movement and sleep and leave you feeling quite low. Luckily, help is at hand in the form of gentle stretching.  Also, research shows that active therapies, such as chiropractic treatment, are a great option for managing back pain and to create optimal alignment, balance and symmetry.

4. For Depression and Anxiety – Walking

  Science agrees – walking outdoors has been linked to a reduction in stress and a boost in mood, particularly for those who have just been through a negative life event such as serious illness or loss of a loved one. Brisk walks have also been shown to help women deal with the anxiety and stress that’s sometimes associated with menopause. Movement helps your brain to release endorphins, feel-good hormones that can reduce the perception of pain as well as depression or stress.

5. For Bone and Muscle Health – Weight Training

Experts are increasingly suggesting a bit of strength training goes a long way when it comes to better bone and muscle health. As we get older, we start to lose muscle mass, which can leave us prone to falls, as well as making it easier to gain weight. So think of strength training as insurance for your later life. While this could mean leading to lift lightweights, it can also mean strength exercises using your own body weight – such as sit-ups or squats. It’s really never too late to start. A study of 90-year-olds found that 12 weeks of strength training improved their muscle tone, ability to balance, general power and walking speed.

Don’t forget 150 minutes (just over 21 mins daily) is the minimum moderate exercise the NHS recommends for adults to stay healthy! And the best part is, it’s freely available to most of us, small things make a big difference. Movement is the new medicine!