I often hear patients say that they have not done any exercise since they hurt their back, as they are worried that it will make their back worse. I am also asked is it OK to exercise with a bad back.
The short answer is yes. Resting your back from intensive exercise, lifting, twisting or forward bending is be advisable in the early days, particularly if these were the movements that triggered the event.
People are usually concerned about stretching or exercising when in pain. You should always work within your own limits, if it is too painful use ice or heat and gently stretch as much as you can handle. If you are still concerned speak to your chiropractor or GP before you start the exercises.
Once you are in less pain increase the intensity of the stretching and once you are pain free start strengthening your back.
Additionally research has shown that exercise is the best protection against back injuries. The good news is that it doesn't really matter what type of exercise you do - flexibility, core strength, general strength, stretching - it is all effective in the prevention of back pain.
At Bristol Chiropractic Clinic you will be prescribed stretches and exercises to do alongside your manual therapy. Call 01172140785 to book your consultation today.

Want to do something different this Valentines Day? Why not do something that is fun and healthy too! Here are Bristol Chiropractic Clinics top 10 last minute ideas of something different to do...

1: Go for a walk. Walk for Life website has local walks listed you just put in your postcode to search for walks near you. Take a bottle of champagne or a picnic with you.

2: Go to a dance class to get your heart rate up. Try Tango Alchemy in Bristol for a taste of romantic Argentine Tango.

3: Go for a ride on a tandem bike! Try The Bristol Bike Project who have them for hire. You know what they say 'you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle made for two!'

4: Get sweaty and competitive on the tennis court! There are plenty of tennis courts in Bristol, check out the Bristol City website for details of local courts.

5: Go to a museum or art gallery. Bristol is rich in wonderful history and there are plenty of local artists. This is a nice way of getting a leisurely walk in whilst learning about the history and enjoying the culture in our amazing city. We may be biased but we think we have the best city in the UK. Check out this website for information on whats on.

6: Go dry slope skiing. Head to Somerset for a lesson on the dry ski slopes in preparation for your winter holiday! They offer good deals on group lessons and its a fun way to spend the evening. Check out their website for details.

7: Treat each other to a massage. There are plenty of benefits to receiving a massage but also to giving one. For a start it will give your arms and shoulders a good work out and work on strengthening your core muscles. Additionally both you and your partner will be relaxed and ready for romance.

8: Go to a yoga class! Research suggests that frequent yoga practice can lead to improved mood and satisfaction with life and many studies also point to yoga’s many physical benefits. An added incentive is that some studies suggest yoga can improve female sexual function.

9: Make Sushi with your loved one. Learn something new together! This awesome site will guide you in making all the sushi classics and give you advice on information such as sourcing the ingredients and selecting the right equipment to use. There is nothing prettier than a selection of beautiful maki rolls and they taste great too!

10: Go for a swim or to a spa followed by a delicious meal using locally sourced ingredients. The Lido in Bristol is amazing at night and has a restaurant overlooking the pool.

Single? Most of these activities are just as fun with a friend! Whatever your status use it as an excuse to spoil yourself or the special people in your life and have a lovely evening wherever you are and whoever you are with.

Back pain is a common condition, with 8 in 10 people experiencing a bout of low back pain at some point in their lives; and we are continuing to see higher levels of chronic pain.

Your back is a very complex structure made up of many small bones, muscles, ligaments and joints that enable stability with movement. The problem is that as backs are so complicated it is often difficult to pinpoint the exact source of your pain.

Sometimes there is an obvious trigger to back pain which could be

• Bending
• Twisting
• Lifting
• Carrying
• Slouching
• Driving- poor position or long drives
• Overuse
• Repetitive strains

Sometimes the pain can come on suddenly and a reason can't be identified. This is usually caused by underlying weakness/muscle imbalances, poor posture and incorrect movement strategies.

The good news is that most back pain is caused by simple sprains, strains or nerve irritation. Chiropractors are highly trained in diagnosing and treating these conditions with manual therapy, nutritional and exercise advice.

Additionally if there is an underlying movement problem a chiropractor will be able to identify this and prescribe stretches and exercises to help improve the problem.

To book in for a chiropractic consultation call 01173140785

Looking after your body requires an holistic mindset including core/resistance and cardiovascular exercises and optimum nutrition. The current scandal surrounding the supplementation of beef with horse meat in processed foods raises the question of what is in our food chain. To ensure that you are eating as healthily as possible you want to eat food that is minimally processed. Ideally you would grow and make your own food, however for many of us this is not a possibility.
Buying organic is one way to reduce the amount of chemicals in your food, but can get expensive, so it is useful to know which fruit and veg are high in pesticides.
Pesticides were designed to kill plants, weeds and insects and have been implicated in causing cancer, nervous system problems and causing hormonal deregulation.
The EWG's 2012 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ is useful to help you decide which are more important to buy organic.
The picture below lists the fruit and vegetables that are high in pesticides so ideally source them organically grown.

The fruit and vegetables listed below contain much lower levels of pesticides.

When people look at you they unconsciously notice your posture and judge you on it! Think about if you saw somebody sitting up straight but relaxed with a smile on their face compared to someone sat slouched with a scowl... Which one would you feel more positive towards? Which one would you think is happier and healthier?
A 2005 study in the journal Spine commented that 'all measures of health showed poorer scores as forward head and body posture increased.' Therefore your judgement is true! People with an increased forward posture are less well!
There is enough evidence to suggest that addressing your posture will improve your health. Anecdotal evidence suggests there are links between bad posture and the following conditions*:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Headaches
Dizziness
Nasal Congestion
Asthma
Palpitations
Reflux
Constipation
High blood pressure
Joint wear and tear
Musculoskeletal pain for example low back, neck or shoulder pain
So address your posture now!
*posture will be a component of the problem, if you are suffering with any of these conditions seek medical advice as soon as possible.

Here are some checks you can do on yourself to assess whether you have good posture. Get someone to take a photo of you preferably with just underwear on. You will need a side, front and back photo. Stand with feet shoulder width apart, march on the spot for 5-10 steps to ensure your feet are in a natural position and stand as normally as you can. Check the pictures against the points in the above diagram. A qualified chiropractor will be able to accurately assess your posture for problems that may contribute to current or future problems and help give advice and treatment to improve things.

Ever wondered what all the hype was about fish oil?
The component of fish oil that is important are the Omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are well known for their ability to help support healthy circulation, joints and skin, as well as playing a vital role in cognitive function.

Fish oil has many benefits including reducing levels of cancers, particularly breast, colon and prostate cancer, hypertriglyceridemia, secondary cardiovascular disease prevention and high blood pressure, cardiac dysrhythmia, may reduce the risk of depression and suicide, may help protect the brain from cognitive problems associated with Alzheimer's disease, lupus disease activity,possibly protect against the effects of parkinsons disease, psoriasis and protect against fetal brain injury and promotes fetal and infant brain health.

It is important to take a high quality fish oil that does not use fish livers as this is where the toxins such as mercury are processed.

At Bristol Chiropractic Clinic we sell Eskimo - 3 please ask about special offers.

Its been a while since I updated my blog have some interesting ones coming up on posture and nutrition. Been really busy sorting out the two clinics in Bristol. Since March I have been working from both the Clifton branch and The Beauty Clinic in Staple Hill serving South Gloucestershire and North Bristol. Come in and say hello! 37 High Street, Staple Hill, BS16 5HD.

Bristol Chiropractic Clinic is happy to announce we will be accepting the Bristol Pound! This is being launched on September 19th. This is an amazing venture supporting independent Bristol businesses check out the website for more details http://bristolpound.org/