Blog

As January rolls around, the excitement of a new school year is certainly in the air! With freshly polished shoes and perfectly sharpened pencils, our little learners our eager for the challenges ahead! However, while our kids our diving into their times tables and spelling bees, it’s also important to educate them about the importance of maintaining good spinal health.

Naturally, kids don’t often consider how slouching in their seats or lugging around a heavy backpack might affect their developing spines. That’s why a visit to the local chiropractor is so beneficial at this time of year. We can assess your child’s spinal health and provide valuable tips on maintaining proper posture in class and the correct way to wear a backpack to support their spine. Additionally, we can even adjust their backpack during the visit to ensure it is fitted correctly for the year ahead.

We also have a fun and rewarding ‘Back to School Health Checklist’ that your little ones can tick off as they get ready for school. The checklist, developed as part of the Australian Chiropractors Association’s (ACA) Back to School Campaign, is a great way to encourage kids to build healthy habits both at school and at home.

The checklist is quick and simple to follow and can be easily incorporated into your child’s everyday routine. For instance, packing a healthy lunch filled with lots of fruit and veggies, getting plenty of daily exercise, and wearing their backpack correctly by carrying them with both straps over the shoulders and with the buckles properly secured at the front.

This year, we also have a brand-new colouring book which kids can colour in at their leisure and get their creative juices flowing! You can even enter their favourite ‘masterpiece’ into the Australian Chiropractors Association’s colouring competition to win a brilliant ‘Back to School’ starter kit. This kit includes an ACA-endorsed Spartan Backpack, assorted stationery, a lunch box and a water bottle. Entries close 25 January.

If you are concerned about your child’s spine or any other back to school related activities, book an appointment with us on 5492 5588 for book online at www.suncoastchiro.com.au

For more information on the ACA’s Back to School campaign, visit backtoschool.org.au

On 16 October, we at Suncoast Chiropractic will celebrate World Spine Day 2023 (an initiative organised by the World Federation of Chiropractic) to raise awareness about spinal disorders.

The overarching mission? To help empower YOU to take charge of your spinal health.

Did you know that at any given moment, an estimated 540 million people suffer from lower back pain globally? Or that four million Australians suffer from back problems every year?

This year’s theme ‘Move Your Spine’ will focus attention on the diverse nature of spinal pain and disability at home, in the workplace, in schools and in our communities while addressing movement across the life course. It will highlight ways in which all people, from all backgrounds can help their spines by staying mobile, avoiding physical inactivity, not overloading their spines, and adopting healthy habits such as weight loss and smoking cessation.

Sadly, for many people, spinal disability is more than just an inconvenience; but a terrible circumstance where individuals are no longer able to work and supply food and shelter for their children and families.

To help Australians reset and refocus on their spinal health, the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) is encouraging people to ‘straighten up’ and ‘find a chiro’ this World Spine Day.

Stretching and performing regular spinal exercises are easy and time-efficient ways to help improve your spinal health – which you can now do at the touch of a button with the ACA’s Straighten Up app! Featuring a set of simple exercises (and taking just three minutes to complete), the Straighten Up app will help you maintain correct posture no matter where you are! Download the Straighten Up app today.

With so many of us working and learning remotely, it is now more important than ever, to get outside and stretch those legs! The Department of Health recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each week. Walking not only increases heart and lung fitness, but contributes to a naturally upright posture.

For further advice on World Spine Day, call us 5492 5588 to book an appointment today.

Work Well Anywhere!

It’s WorkSpace Week – that time of year when we at Suncoast Chiropractic turn our spinal health and wellbeing focus toward preventing workspace injuries and minimising the impact work-related disorders have on our patients to ensure they can work well anywhere.

An initiative of the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA), WorkSpace Week is dedicated to minimising work-related disorders that can have a long-term, debilitating effect on both physical and mental health that impacts workers’ overall quality of life.

Disorders can include a range of muscle and joint problems that occur anywhere in the body, but especially the spine. When these problems impact on your nerves, they may alter body function and create health issues, such as numbness, tingling, weakness and other problems.

Body stressing caused by poorly executed lifting, pushing, pulling or bending, using computers in non-ergonomic workspaces (in an office or at home), poor posture, driving a vehicle and repetitive strain injuries can all cause work-related musculoskeletal disorders including chronic neck and back pain, shoulder stiffness and headaches that we can effectively treat at Suncoast Chiropractic.

The good news is work-related disorders caused by physical or mental stress can be minimized and respond to treatment if diagnosed early. For those at risk of these disorders, it’s important they consult a chiro because early intervention is the best protection.

However, should work-related disorders occur, by seeking early effective chiropractic healthcare, we can provide effective treatment and help prevent deterioration, improve recovery, reduce severity and help minimise long-term implications including depression and overuse or reliance on medications for chronic pain which can be harmful.

This WorkSpace Week, contact us on 5492 5588 to make an appointment so we can help prevent or effectively treat your work-related musculoskeletal disorder so you can work well anywhere.

For more information on WorkSpace Week or to access free resources including an Ergonomic WorkSpace Week Checklist, exercise posters, factsheets and the Straighten Up app, please visit www.workspaceweek.org.au.

#MyHealthyWorkSpace #WorkWellAnywhere #StraightenUpAustralia #ConsultAChiro #SafeWorkMonth