Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month is March!

March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness month in the UK, and I have therefore decided to blog about my experience of CP as a McTimoney Chiropractor. But first of all I would like to try and explain the situation that we have here in the UK! In an effort to protect the public, we have a system that means that we are very limited in what anyone can advertise that they do in the respect of who or more to the point, what, they can treat. For someone to make claims that their treatment is a treatment for any disease or condition, they have to have clinical trials to back them up. Now that sounds all well and good for stopping people making claims that cannot be substantiated, but it also means that people  are treating many diferent people with different problems and conditions, and seeing excellent results, but cannot advertise the fact, because trading standards states that we must have scientific evidence, empirical evidence does not count in their opinion.

However what follows is my experience and theory about CP and treatment. All babies are born with an amazing amount of potential. It is said (by the experts) that CP is caused by brain damage at birth, but what if this is not the case? What if the brain development is relying on the feedback from the rest of the body to develop these pathways, that the experts call neurons, and what if the baby who is developing CP does not send these messages to the brain to enable it to develop correctly. What if the baby who goes on to develop CP actually has a misaligned spine, to which the muscles are attached via tendons. This baby does not send the correct signals back to the brain so these mucscles develop with tension in them and go on the contract, further pulling the bones out of alignment, ultimately leading to a scoliosis.

 

I have been seeing 5 year old twins in my clinic The Joy of Chiropractic Health Clinic for 15 months now. Believe me, there is no sign of brain damage in them, they are as bright as a button. They were however born very early, too early for their little bodies to take the pressure of contractions through their spines. When they started to come and see me, they little spines were like a branch that had been bent, caused in my mind by the force of the contracion across their spines,as they were lying transversely in the womb.

Their bodies were subjected to 14 hours of contractions before they were born via Caesarean section. When they were discharged from hospital, the discharge letter took a "we will have to wait and see approach" as they could not predict if and what problems they might develop. I put it to you that a check up by a McTimoney Chiropractor at that stage may have had more insight into whether or not those babies would go on to develop problems. I believe that we would have picked up the misalignments in the spine and would have prevented the problems developing. Who knows? but if anyone out there has the money to spend on research, please give me a call.

Just look at the nerves as they leave the spine and imagine the pressure that would be put on those nerves if the spine was out of alignment, as in the image of a scoliotic spine.

 

So where does that leave us, or more to the point, where does it leave those who develop or look after a child with CP? Well if you have been following Marten's progress, you will no doubt know that his parents looked abroad to find ABR, at huge cost to them not just financially but also in time and emotions. ABR treatment is hugely expensive, and although I am not de-crying this treatment, it is such a shame that therapists in this country cannot express the experience that they have in treating this condition because trading standards dictate otherwise. It is such a shame that families are being forced to find vasts amounts of money to undertake ABR, when there are McTimoney Chiropractors in the UK who would get equally dramatic improvements in their children.

So if you or someone you know is caring for a child with CP, and they live near Ayr on the SW coast of Scotland, then direct them to this blog and get them to give me a call. I am always happy to do an assessment, and would not dream of treating anybody that I did not geuinely feel that would benefit from McTimoney Chiropractic. Last but not least, have a look at the video on my website, and see why it is so important to have a straight spine. Structure governs function. Get the structure of the spine right and the function of the body improves in all aspects.

Call 01292 287827

One for the Men!

Last week I looked at the effect on the skeleton of carrying a handbag on your shoulder. Today I am going to look at the effect of sitting on your wallet does. Let's take a look at this picture!

It shows what happents to the pelvis, and the subsequent compensation that occurs in the lower back, or the lumbar spine, when someone sits down with a full wallet in their back pocket! What this picture does not show is that this compensation can continue up the rest of the spine and into the neck, giving rise to headaches! Yes sitting on your wallet can REALLY give you a headache (in some circumstances) This is what I would refer to as a postural problem in my clinic. It has not occured as the result of a trauma ie fall, slip, trip, accident, but it has occured over a period of time. Need I say that the thicker the wallet then the more the spine and the rest of the body compensates.

You may be able to tell that more weight is being sent through the left hip joint here, and therefore it is highly probable that this hip will wear out quicker and ultimatley give rise to osteo-arthritis. Yes, sitting on your wallet could lead to you requiring a hip replecaement in years to come. Not only is the weight being sent through one hip joint more than the other, but the upper body weight has overcompensated back over to the right. This could present in my clinic as a problem in the shoulder or neck area! Which is why, when you go to see a McTimoney Chiropractor, they assess and correct subluxations/misalignments in the whole spine, not just the level that you may be complaining about.

Much of my time in my Chiropractic clinic is spent getting people to assess the things that they do on a day to day basis, that contributes to their problems. It gives me a great sense of job satisfaction if we can work out why someone is experiencing discomfort, and rectify the situation. This really is a simple thing to rectify. The wallet can be placed in a pocket in the shirt or jacket. Not so difficult is it?

Handbags and Gladrags!

Don't you just love science? When you have been doing a job for years, and then "science" comes along and proves that you were right all along! How wonderful is that?

Take this little article that I came across just last week. Now as a McTimoney Chiropractor I get to look at so many women's handbags! or to be more exact, the contents of their handbags. It never ceases to amaze me the weird and wonderful things that we carry around with us, causing our bags to be heavier than we should carefully carry about our person. Just look at this picture and you will see what I mean.

Look at the way that the spine compensates for the bag on the shoulder! Look at the hips, and the weight distribution onto the opposite leg to the one that the bag is being carried on. You can start to see from this picture how carrying something on one part of the body can affect an area in another part of the body.

That is why the McTimoney method of Chiropractic always looks at the whole body. This person could come into my clinic complaining of neck pain, or headaches, but damage is also being done to joints far removed from the area where symptoms are present. So be careful if a therapist only looks at the part that is hurting. Think of it like this, your artereis fur up over a long period of time, but it is not until you have a hart attack that you think you have a problem. The same can be said of your joints. Regular Chiropractic treatment can keep your joints healthy, before you feel a problem in them.

Now back to the handbags. I thought it would be a good idea to get you to assess the contents of your bag. So I am offering a free pot of Proto-col collagen (400mg capsules) to the person with the strangest thing that they carry around with them.Go through the handbag that you used today, and find the strangest thing that you carry around, in it. Post a photo of both your bag and the weird content onto your Facebook page, and you could win yourself a month's supply of Proto-col collagen. Don't forget to leave me a comment with  link to your FB page! I will make my decision on 28th feb, and my decision is final. Looking forward to seeing all your lovely pics!

Referral Exchange Networking Presentation

Having joined the Ayr Referral Exchange in October 2012, I have been keen to do my presentation to the Ayr Exchange as I don't think they have a clue about Chiropractic to be honest, sorry guys I know that some of you do. But how many of you know what a McTimoney Chiropractor does?

Darrin flat out again!

So thanks to Willie Gemmell not being able to take his turn, I stepped up to the plate.

After what I can only describe as a brilliant presentation by moi, (please feel free to correct me if I am wrong,) I sat down feeling that I had got my message across. McTimoney is not just about bad backs, or necks or shoulders, but a way of life that needs to be incorporated into everybody's lifestyle. It should be as well known as your dental check-up or your car service. Since leaving that meeting I have come back to my clinic and the telephone has not stopped ringing from all the people that heard my message and have either decided to listen to my advice, and incorporate McTimoney into theri lifestyle, or they have passed my details on to someone they know. Thanks guys. For those of you who have not yet telephoned, I am now operating a waiting list!

McTimoney Hands ready to perform an adjustment!

The motto of the Referral Exchange is "We don't just Network...We Get Work!"

You certainly do! Have a great weekend and looking forward to helping you guys get fitter and healthier!

...Then I'll Begin!

For those of you who read my blog that was posted yesterday, you will recognise the bottom of these 4 pictures. It is a replica of the picture of someone slumped in front of a computer. Although many professionals will say that this damage is irreversible, it is reversible to some degree with the correct management, in my professional opinion.

Having regular McTimoney Chirorpactic treatment will begin to adjust the vertebrae back into alignment. Add to that exercise to encourage the muscles to strengthen to assist in the correct upright carriage. I personally like my clients to do Pilates exercise, as like McTimoney it is a whole body approach rather than just one area. We also review their seating positions and I will soon be teaming up with the  personnel at Saxen in Newmilns for their expertise in this area. It is vitally important to have the correct furniture  so that you can sit ergonomically to prevent a relapse in sitting habits. Nutrtition is also important to give the body the building blocks it needs to repair the stretched connective tisue ie tendons and ligaments. I recommend Proto-col's Green Magic and Collagen supplements. Green magic is a superfood, and contains high levels of vitamins and minerals as well as other beneficial substances such as Royal Jelly and lactobifudus acidophilos, to aid repair and healing. Investigaions into oral hydrolysed collagen, CH, demonstrate the positive effect on the metabolism of connective tissue. Clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of CH in the treatment of degenerative joint disease. It seems to have a positive effect on tendons as well as skin function and hydration. In other words, it makes you look younger! : )

Ok so that is all on posture and office furniture for now. I am happy to take suggestions as to what you would like me to blog about next! Obviously it has to be health related, and I am sorry that I cannot talk about individual people and their health problems other than generically. Have a great day and remember, sit tall!

Are you Sitting Comfortably..........?

At the end of last week I mentioned that I was teaming up with a local company Saxen Ltd as they provide good quality furniture, ergonomically designed for your health. Now I am going to tell you as to why it is important to have the correct furniture, or at least why it is important to sit correctly at all times. Look at this:

Are you sitting like that as you read this? (Note to self, sit up) You can see from this just what your spine is doing if you sit at your desk in this position. Imagine what that does to your posture if you have a desk job and sit like this for hours on end! Chiropractic will help you straighten up the spine, but if you then go back to sitting like this, you will only put it back again. My job as a McTimoney Chiropractor is to advise you as to what you need to do to get long lasting relief. Contrary to what people think, I do not want to see you coming back week after week for ever to straighten you out. That is only good for my pocket, but does little for your long-term health. My aim is to get you back to health and then do check ups at regular intervals but generally no closer than 3 months apart. If we feel that you need treatment more regular than that, then we need to be looking at something else to help you get long term benefit. That could be massage, nutritional advice, looking at the furniture that you use, that sort of thing.

Here's the correct positioning of equipment which we should all adopt.

OK so I am no longer going to sit at my desk, I am heading over to Saxen to see what they have to help me!

Correct Support whilst at Work

I was very pleased to discover today that I have, right on my doorstep, the suppliers of excellent ergonomic office furniture. So many problems that people experience are due to sitting and using the incorrect office funiture whilst at work or in the home office. So discovering Ergocube, right here in Ayrshire is a blessings, because I now have somewhere that I can direct people to, if they need the correct equipment in their office.

It is very early days yet, but I hope to be working closely with this company, getting people the right advice for purchasing office furniture, so as they say "watch this space!"

My advice is still get yourself checked and corrected Chiropractically! But secondly use the correct office equipment to enhance the good work that your McTimoney Chiropractor does!

Good Old Topic of "Back Pain"

For those of you who have been following my blog over the past few months, it may come as some surprise that I am commenting on an article on "Back Pain". You will have started to see that Chiropractic is so much more than that, it is a method of healthcare which corrects and restores the function of the nervous tissue which just happens to be housed in the spinal cord, and enables the body to function at it's highest level, that is the level of optimum health. Many of my regular clients report that they have more life-like dreams following Chiropractic care, and at least one lady who was an author and writer came to see me when she had "writer's block". She found McTimoney Chiropractic "unblocked" her.

So why am I blogging about back pain today. Well the truth is that we need to get the message out there, to these people who want to spend millions on doing research, that the answer is staring them in the face, and that answer is Chiropractic. At the bottom of this article it says, Bill and Melinda Gates were behind this study. Maybe we should be pressing them to get  Chiropractic care "out there" rather than spending millions in injecting poisons into unsuspecting children around the world! A controversial topic I know, but search around and you will see the cover-up stories that are going on around vaccinations, in parts of the world where the Gate's vaccination programmes are being rolled out. If you read yesterday's blog about the immune system and the effect that Chiropractic has at a part of the body, deep within the spinal cord, which connects with the nerves that are involved with the immune system,you will begin to see why children that have regular Chiropractic care, but therirparents  choose not to have them vaccinated, remain the healthiest children by far.Anyway I am digressing here.

Back pain is on the increase and Chiropractic has the answer. So if you know anybody who is suffering from back pain, do them a huge favour and pass on that message that "Chiropractic has the answer" and then leave it up to me and my colleagues to start the education process that Chiropractic is so much more than that. Watch the video on www.joyofchiropractic.co.uk which explains why it is important to have Chiropractic care for the health of your nervous system.

Chiropractic Healthcare = Health and Happiness

PS. Would someone care to leave a comment on how helpful or not they are finding my Blog! Please! And please feel free to pass the message of Chiropractic around by sharing on any social media network that you see fit! Thank you and have a Happy and Healthy Day!

Chiropractic and your Immune System and Influenza

In 1918 when the Spainish Influenza Pandemic killed more people than had been killed in the First World War, Chiropractic was a new form of healthcare. It's roots go back to 1895. The Pandemic went on to claim 100,000,000 lives in just 6 months around the world.

Years later in 1999, when Gina Kolata wrote her book "Flu" she wrote that those people under Chirorpactic care around the time of the Spainish 'flu pandemic, had a fatality rate 1 fortieth lower than the members of the population who chose regular medical care.

So why did those receiving Chiropractic care fair better than those that did not? Well this video, courtesy of Dan Murphy DC explains how Chiropractic care affects the immune system via the sympathetic nervous system, when a bone in the spine is adjusted. In the McTimoney method of Chiropractic, the whole spine is checked and adjusted, so this effect explained in the clip is happening along the whole length of the spinal cord! Explanation happens around 3.14 in the clip.

Despite having people around me who have the "Winter sniffles, coughs and colds" I have not had a single cough or cold this Winter at all. I put this down to receiving regular McTimoney Chirorpactic treatment and taking 1 teaspoon of Green Magic everyday. Oh and no I did not get the flu shot! Get well soon Piers!


The views expressed here are the views of Joy Gill DC MUCA RGN (ret) and in no way replaces the view of the medical profession of your country. I encourage you to "Think for yourself"!

Sport's Injury and Collagen

In October 2012 I decided to stock Protocol's Sport's Collagen Supplemtents in my Chiropractic clinic based on the research that I had found out about it. Collagen is the primary structural protein in the body. By your mid twenties 76% of the protein in your body is Collagen. We start to lose our body's stores after the age of 25 at approximately at the rate of 1.5% per year, more if you do a repetitive sport, which let's be honest, is most sport. This includes going to the gym, running or jogging, playing golf, tennis, taekwondo, martail arts,football, rugby etc. Even being overweight will cause the lower back to suffer from "wear and tear" as the extra weight "erodes" the lumbar spine, eventually leading to arthritis (OA). Loss of Collagen results in the breakdown of our bodies connective tissue, including bone.

Since learning about this I decided that it would be a great supplement to add for my patients that came to me with a history of a Sporting injury. One such person was Steve. Steve played golf on a weekly basis, he also played badminton and went to a yoga class, both once a week. 4 years ago Steve sustained an injury to his left knee whilst playing badminton. It stopped him playing, and going to yoga as he could not kneel on this knee. Steve had been coming to me for 3 years, and we had him down to requiring a check up every 3 months, to keep him well aligned, but his left knee still troubled him when he played golf, and the day after. On my suggestion Steve decided to try taking Collagen supplements.

After just 10 days of taking 2000 mg of Protocol's higher strength Collagen, he noticed that he did not have any discomfort at all in his left knee even when playing golf, and that he had full flexibilty in it. That was in Nov 2012, he has not had trouble since.

More and more scientific evidence suggests that collagen hydrolysate stimulates the collagen synthesisof chondrocytes thereby helping to renew the bone tissue and minimize the pain caused by the OA.

Research has been carried out by Steffen Oesser PhD of the University of Kiel, Germany which concludes that collagen which is absorbed via the intestine and accumulates in the joint cartilage has the potential to stimulate collagen in the remaining chondrocytes in patients with OA, which reverses the degenerative condition of OA and may even prevent it developing.

Collagen hydrolysate is a food, not a pharmaceutical drug. It has no undesirable side effects and therefore long-term use is safe, Dr Oesser suggests. These supplements are obtained from an animal source so NOT suitable for vegetarians.

This super strength Collagen is on Special Offer until the end of January 2013, just 3 days to go. If you would like to order some, then click here.



Research on the Effectiveness of Chiropractic Treatment and the Colicky Baby!

Does your baby cry for 3 hours or more a day? Does he or she cry unconsolably? The chances are they have been diagnosed with infantile colic and have been prescribed medication that, in my experience, does little, if anything, to stop them crying.

New research done in the UK and  published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics has shown that Chiropractic is effective in reducing the amount of time that the baby cried, when they had been adjusted by receiving Chiropractic treatment.


Colic is often dismissed by the medical profession as something that the baby will grow out of, but studies have shown that colicy babies, long-term, go on to have increased sleep and behavioural problems. Miller et al 2009

In my McTimoney Chiropractic Health Clinic, I repeatedly see young children that were diagnosed with infantile colic, come in with misalignments in the area of the spine that supplies the nerve supply to the gut. In my professional opinion it is these misalignments that cause the gut to "mal-function" and give rise to the symptoms the medical professionals refer to as colic. It is rarely just the nerve supply to the gut that is affected, hence the other problems that Miller refers to in the article in 2009. My McTimoney Chiropractic Health Clinic is in Ayr, on the West coast of Scotland. If you know of anybody whose baby is showing signs of colic, please refer them to this article, and send them my details. They will thank you for it!

It has been suggested in the past that Chiropractic treatment had had a placebo effect on the parents. By this they mean that because the parent feels they are doing something, they start to relax and the baby is attuned to their relaxation and relaxes themselves. However in this study, the parents did not know whether their baby was receiving Chiropractic or not, so that argument is taken out of the equation.

Miller JE, Newell D, Bolton JE. Efficacy of Chiropractic Manual Therapy on Infant Colic: A Pragmatic Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics. 2012;35(8):600-7.

Combatting the Price of Fruit and Veg

Food Prices have Shot Up! The opening statement of Dispatches on Channel 4 entitled "Secrets of Our Supermarkets". They investigated how expensive fresh fruit and vegetables have become due to a variety of factors, weather, fuel prices! Much of my time as a McTimoney Chiropractor is spent explaining the importance of good nutrition to help the body cope with all that it has to do in the way of cell and tissue repair. This is increased when the body is trying to heal an injury to the soft tissue, which is the case when the are coming for treatment, especially in the acute phase.  It requires nutrients, vitamins and minerals, which are found in fresh fruit and veg. With the growing number of people saying that they cannot afford them, what is the answer?

I recommend my patients take a teaspoon of Green Magic every morning as part of their morning routine. It is a great start to the day, it includes their 5 a day in one glass and costs 50p! Dispatches showed us the difficulty that we face when we go to the supermarket in working out how much fruit and veg is. Well 1 teaspoon of GM is 50p, no scales needed to weigh it out, just a teaspoon from your kitchen drawer!


5% of our children have NO fruit and veg in their diet AT All according to Dispatches! A teaspoonful of Green Magic would soon make sure they have their 5 a day! It can be added to fruit juice or sprinkled onto pizzas, after cooking (cooking destroys the nutrients) If they object to the colour, ask them how The Hulk got his colour and his strength.

For those of you who would like to try it but are outside the UK please email us via the website,and we will look into the postage for your area of the world!

Collagen as treatment for OsteoArthritis

We tend to think of Osteoarthritis OA, as a degenerative disease which occurs as you get older and is inevitable, a consequence of wear and tear, not helped by being overweight, which puts added stress on our joints. The treatment used by the NHS is not really “treatment”.  By this I mean it deals with the symptoms and not the cause. Painkillers do nothing to stop the degeneration happening. All drugs come with their side-effects and surgery carries great risk.  

More and more scientific evidence suggests that collagen hydrolysate stimulates the collagen synthesisof chondrocytes thereby helping to renew the bone tissue and minimize the pain caused by the OA.

Research has been carried out by Steffen Oesser PhD of the University of Kiel, Germany which concludes that collagen which is absorbed via the intestine and accumulates in the joint cartilage has the potential to stimulate collagen in the remaining chondrocytes in patients with OA, which reverses the degenerative condition of OA and may even prevent it developing.

Collagen hydrolysate is a food, not a pharmaceutical drug. It has no undesirable side effects and therefore long-term use is safe, Dr Oesser suggests.

To obtain Protocol Collagen supplememts go to The Joy of Chiropractic Health Clinic website

Benefits of Collagen on bones and joints.

Have you ever thought that collagen is only good for fine line and wrinkles? Are you wondering why a Chiropractor would be blogging about it? Well for 3 months now I have been recommending my patients that have been diagnosed with "wear and tear" by their GP, to take Protocol Collagen supplements, and I have been amazed at the results. Combined with receiving McTimoney Chiropractic treatment, they are reporting less pain, and more mobilty even quicker than before.

So now I have developed treatment packages depending on how much you want to invest in your health.

My ultimate Platinum package includes adopting McTimoney Chiropractic treatment as a lifestyle choice, with Green Magic superfood and collagen supplements, because I think you are worth it, and hope you do too!

If you would like to know more, then click onto the Shop on my website and buy via The Joy of Chiropractic Health Clinic.