Are Your Feet Causing Back Pain?

Many sufferers of back pain aren’t aware that your feet could be to blame!
Back pain can be a debilitating condition. When you suffer with it, there is nothing you want more than to get rid of the pain. So, what role do your feet play in the cause of your back pain? It’s all about structure.
Our technology has evolved faster than our bodies. People were not designed to walk on hard surfaces like tile, marble, wood, or concrete—instead, we were designed to walk on grass, dirt, sand, mud, and other natural terrain. These natural, softer terrains are more conforming to the shape and structure of the foot, thereby keeping the arch supported, and causing the muscles, ligaments and tendons of the foot and ankle to work in a supportive fashion.
The Connection to Low Back PainThe three main shock absorbers of the body are the feet, knees, and lower back. It only makes sense that if the feet are flat (unsupported by the ground or shoes) they are not absorbing shock. When that happens, the knees have to work twice as hard, but that can only go on for so long. Eventually, the lower back takes the heat. It now has to make up for the extra shock, and that can wear out the parts, particularly if there is a misalignment of the lower back or pelvis. Imagine a bent axle of a car, riding off road with a tire that is underinflated, with a cracked spring for the shocks!
So what can you do? Here are a few tips:

Things you can do

1. Have your foot mechanics/gait checked by a chiropractor that has trained in this area, they can consider your ankle, knee, hip and lower back function in a hollistic way, ensuring you get the best results.
2. Wear a custom orthotic made by a practitioner who understands the structural relationship of the foot and the rest of your spine (if that is out of your budget, a generic may be sufficient, but understand that it will not be made specifically for you, so results vary).
3. Have your spine, pelvis, and lower extremities specifically adjusted at our practice.
4. Wear good structured shoes or sneakers that support the foot and absorb shock, we are happy to check your footwear, or any new footwear you are thinking of buying if you can bring them to the clinic, there is no charge for this service.  We want you in great footwear that works for you.

Wondering what else you can do to combat low back pain? Ask Dr. Carolyn Hall at your next visit. 

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​By Dr Carolyn Hall
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​Why do some of us struggle so much with joint pain, fatigue and loss of well being? Certainly we are all prone to stressful situations in our lives and some of these aren’t always immediately apparent. Our interest in food diminishes and we are drawn to foods that can give us a quick hit of energy. We feel tired so we look for the boost caffeine gives us. We don’t always drink enough water and we certainly are prone to poor bowel function due to a lack of sufficient fiber in our diets. We find we don’t sleep as well and sometimes start to have the additional wine to help us get off to sleep, and next thing you know, you are experiencing joint pain, back, hips, hands and headaches. We begin to feel chronically tired and can’t motivate ourselves to exercise and the cycle gets worse. 
 
We know a lot about food these days and the effect that certain foods have on our physiology (body’s function). Changing your diet can be very hard, as we have formed habits since childhood that relate to food. It is possible to change and there are several ways to go about this. I am a fan of the cold turkey approach. As sometimes we just simply need to break the habits of a lifetime. We then have to stick to it for a bit, for it to become our new habit. Don’t get me wrong, you will fall off the wagon, but by then you will most likely have developed some new strategies and when you climb back on, each time you learn the skills required to keep your diet in the anti-inflammatory bracket.

PRO-INFLAMMATORY FOODS:
Some foods when they are digested react in your body to create inflammation. Inflammation causes the breakdown of tissue, and affects our joints in a negative way. Chemicals are released in the joints that cause pain and destruction of the joint tissues. They also affect the health of our gut and bowel, and kidneys.  Remember your gut is where you absorb nutrients and your bowel and kidneys are where you eliminate toxins. If you can’t eliminate toxins, these toxins build up and result in systemic inflammation (that affects your whole body).          
Eating small amounts of these from time to time is okay, as your body can manage that. Eating large amounts or too regularly, triggers systemic inflammation. Some people due to their genetics are much more prone to this than others.

AVOID: Saturated fats. These are found in dairy products and red meats predominantly.
 
CHOOSE: Fish, fatty fish and white fish. Fatty fish are packed with anti-inflammatory chemicals. 
CHOOSE: Chicken. Pork. Lean cuts.
CHOOSE: Lentils.

AVOID: Wheat based products, flour, pasta, cakes, biscuits, and breakfast cereal. Etc. etc. Particularly refined wheat.
 
CHOOSE: Rice. Start with brown rice if you can.  (See note on whole wheat products later).
CHOOSE: Quinoa.

NUTS and SEEDS

AVOID: Peanuts. These often carry a fungus that is highly inflammatory to joints; you can’t see it and it is not picked up when they are packaged. 
 
CHOOSE Nuts: Almonds, cashews, brazil nuts. Etc. etc. Nuts on the whole are an anti-inflammatory and great for keeping your bowel healthy and functional. A great main snack as they also contain vegetable oils that are also an anti-inflammatory.
 
CHOOSE Seeds: Chia and linseed are full of good anti-inflammatory oils. A good mix of seeds is a great option and sprinkled on salads are really yummy but great for bowel health and helping eliminate toxins.

PACKAGE FOODS – These contain chemicals to preserve the foods and sugar, which are pro inflammatory. 

AVOID: 
Bacon
Dried meats
Salami
Ham
Pies
Canned/jar or packet sauces
Packaged garlic and spices – they are usually packed with sugar to preserve the product.

SUGARS

AVOID:
Also known as glucose syrup, corn syrup, honey, fructose, maple syrup, agave, cane sugar, maltose, dextrose. The list goes on.
It’s in everything you pick up from the store that is premade. Cereals, bread, sauce, sushi, cakes, sandwiches, deli foods. Fruit juice, fruit syrup and powders. Dried fruits. Bottled flavoured water. 

 AVOID:
Sugars are all pro-inflammatory and should be kept to an absolute minimum. 
Honey and maple syrup and agave have a lower glycaemic index but in the body they are broken down in much the same way.

DEADLY NIGHT SHADE FAMILY (look these up on the internet).

This family of vegetables has been shown to create an inflammatory affect in joints. Some people are prone while others may tolerate these. 
 
AVOID:
Tomatoes – particularly uncooked ones
Potatoes
Courgettes
                                                             Eggplant/Aubergine
        
CHOOSE: Green leafy vegetables that have anti-inflammatory properties.
 
AVOID: VINEGAR.
 
CHOOSE: Opt for using lemon juice where you can as vinegars are in the pro-inflammatory category. Lemon juice and olive oil whisked make a great salad/fish dressing.
 
Saying that, apple cider vinegar in very small amounts has been shown to be a good digestion aide.



CHOOSE: Oats. Oats have many good properties but due to the covering on them, they can be hard to digest. It is recommended that they are soaked over night with some lemon juice or cooked to break down the outer layer.
Note: some people still find them hard to digest so they may need to be left until your gut health has improved.

AVOID: SOY. SOY products were once thought to be a healthier option but much has been found out about SOY since it was mass-produced and sold to the public. In Japanese culture, they handle soy with great care and ferment it before using. Where SOY is being used as a substitute it is not fermented and in variably large quantities of sugar are used to make it palatable.
 
AVOID: MILK. This is a tough one; some people can tolerate a small amount while others don’t.  Start by removing it, then after 3 months introduce a small amount and see how your body reacts. Look carefully for signs of bloating or aching in your tummy or joints.


NUT & RICE MILKS
Be wary, read the labels, they are usually full of added ingredients that make it palatable but really are not good for you – sugar being the main one.
 
CHOOSE: Goat Milk – These products are a better option but again look out for the added ingredients and sugar.

DRINKS

AVOID: Coffee, black tea, green tea and white tea (all contain tannins which are pro-inflammatory). Alcohol.
 
CHOOSE: Water, teas which are fruit or herb based. Fresh ginger tea. Water down fruit juice 1:4 ratios at most. Lemon squeezed into hot water is also a good replacement for tea.
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TIPS:
Use cucumbers and carrots for dips instead of crackers and bread.
 
Hummus: easy to make at home, very nutritious, is great over veggies too.
 
Paleo foods are a good bet. Some foods are now labelled like this in the supermarket but be aware they still may have more sugar in them that they want to tell you about.

 
Diet  Pain & Inflammation  - Series 1.
Dietary Mofications to help with small joint inflammation of the hand or foot.
 
Many of the population will experience inflammatory periods or conditions of the joints of the hands and less so the foot at some point, usually after age 40. The conditions range from degenerative joint disease often known as Osteoarthritis, where there is wear and tear of the joint, inflammatory joint conditions and autoimmune conditions which result in inflamation of the joints of the hands and feet such as Rhematoid, psoariatic arthritis or gout.   Research now strongly supports a change in diet as a key treatment approach in these conditions, with stronger results with inflammatory arthritis and gout. 
 
Our joints are affected by chemicals in our body, foods are broken down into basic chemicals and some of these are aggravators, i.e. they create inflammation or exacerbate inflammation.  Not all of us break down foods into the same chemicals, some people find it hard to break down certain foods and the result can be the production “rogue” chemicals i.e. chemicals that aggravate joints, produce inflammation and result in pain and swelling of the small joints of the hands and feet. 
Today we will start by discussing GOUT.
Gout is a painful form of arthritis that can affect toe, foot, ankle, knee, hand and elbow joints.  Symptoms include pain, swelling and shiny redness over the affected joints.   Treatment of acute gout attacks is designed to relieve pain and inflammation, primarily through medication.  Diet and other lifestyle changes can help prevent future attacks.  
 
Gout is a painful form of arthritis (inflammation of the joints) and is sometimes referred to as gouty arthritis. The most common place for gout to develop is the ball of the big toe but other joints can be affected. It is unusual for gout to affect more than one or two joints at a time. 

Gout is common in New Zealand, with an estimated prevalence of 2.7% for the overall population and a prevalence of 3.75% in people aged 20 years or older. 

Gout most commonly affects adult men (particularly after age 40) and is uncommon in women until after menopause. It is estimated to affect adult men 3.5-times more than women and is more common in people of Maori and Pacific Island descent and is less common in Asians. 

Left untreated over time gout can lead to joint and kidney damage and, in conjunction with other risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes, can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.
Causes
Gout is caused by raised levels of uric acid in the blood (hyperuricaemia). Uric acid is produced naturally in the body. Normally it stays dissolved in the blood and is excreted by the kidneys as a component of urine. 

Under-excretion or over-production of uric acid by the body can cause levels in the blood to be raised. When this occurs, crystals of uric acid can form and deposit in the joints causing gout. However, not all people with raised uric acid levels in their blood will develop gout. 


Risk Factors
A number of risk factors are related to the development of gout. These include:

• Obesity
• High alcohol intake
• A genetic predisposition
• High intake of foods rich in purines (eg: some seafoods and meats)
• Certain medicines eg: diuretics (fluid tablets)
• Injury to a joint
• Long-standing kidney disease.

Occasionally there is no obvious cause for an attack of gout.
 
Dietary modifications – changes in diet are aimed at restricting or avoiding foods high in purines. Purines are substances found in some foods and produce uric acid when broken down by the body. Foods that are high in purines  should be removed from the diet and these include:

• Shellfish (pipis, paua, oysters, mussels) and fish roe
• Offal foods (brains, liver, kidney, tripe)
• Red meat (beef, pork/bacon, lamb)
• Yeast extracts (Marmite, Vegemite)
• Foods containing yeast (bread, beer)
• Oily fish (sardines, herrings, and anchovies).

 
Chages to your Diet will assist in fast recovery and reduce incidence of  further epidodes.
 
DO
Limiting alcohol intake – is also important. Alcohol causes the body to lose fluid (by increasing urine output and drawing water from the blood), thus increasing the uric acid concentrations in the blood. Beer is rich in purines so should be avoided. 

Drinking plenty of non-alcoholic fluids – especially water (eight to 10 glasses a day) is recommended. This will help to flush the uric acid crystals out of the body. Drinks sweetened with fruit sugar (fructose) are best avoided. 

Maintaining a healthy body weight – will help to reduce stress on affected joints and decrease the likelihood of developing gout.
Remove foods containing Gluten and Wheat.
Research shows that these foods are highly inflammatory to joints, when consumed over the long term.  You will not experience a sudden pain or increase in symptoms when you eat these foods, as the issue is your guts ability to break them down into the right chemicals and then remove those from your body.  So when you remove wheat, and gluten and other hard to break down proteins prevalent in food, it will take time to remove these chemicals from your body and so it takes time for a response to be felt.  Often 3-6 months.  The great news is that these foods create system body inflammation so you will find when removed for 3-6 months your whole body will feel better not just your hands.  We want instant results I understand but you really have to work on staying with this program for 6 months to really feel the benefit.  Many people try these new diet changes and when they don’t see a change in 3-4 weeks drop it, which is such a shame as it is at this point that things start to change.  It also takes a lot of learning and at that point you are really just in the early stages. 
I have produced a “Anti-inflammaory diet sheet” it is located on my website at
www.gentle-chiropractic.co.nz  , go to the Menu button, then scroll to the “Food and Thinks “ page it is right at the top.  Or ask me for a paper copy on your next visit. 
 
These changes are hard to implement but I can tell you from experience, there was a time when I thought I would have to give up my profession due to joint pain in my hands and also in my spine.  I do not experience any hand pain at all now, and generalised spinal pain has also disappeared.  Diet is very powerful and we are fortunate to live in a time when research on diet and effect of dietary chemicals is being done.  Consider that it is also free to try, and free to continue with, unlike paying and taking harmful pain killers and antiinflammatories.
 
Natural Powerful Anti-inflammatories.
Recent research on a chemical called Curcumin which is derived from Tumeric Root, is showing excellent results without harmful damage to the gut which occurs when taking ibuprofen/ voltarin.  Sadly just eating a little tumeric root, which is very good for you will not contain bioceutical levels to show decreases in inflammation or create pain relief, certainly include this in your diet, but if you are in an inflammatory phase of joint pain, with swelling or pain, you will get results from a bioceutical with the correct doses of this chemical.  Feel free to talk to me about this in clinic, by email/ facebook messenger , and I can guide you as to if this may be valuable for you along side the above dietry changes.
 
Well all from me on this topic today, there is a great deal more to say so stay up to date with the blog for more information.  If you would enjoy coming to a talk on this topic or any other rasied in the blog let me know,  I am happy to run one locally.
 
On the trail to better health small changes to make big impacts, start small and just keep taking small steps up the hill, in time the new views will be astonishing.
 

 
 
 
 

It always amazes me that so many of the people who come to my clinic, have waited for so long to decide to take action against their pain and stiffness.  They seem to deny themselves the ability to seek help to resolve their pain and stiffness.  The pain and stiffness causes them to no longer be active, their sleep gets worse and they then feel even worse, they sit more and feel worse, they begin to feel down.  Several months later when they begin to feel that their life is very limited they present for care, usually with the attitude that they are old so expect to feel this way.  Believe many of these wonderful people are only in their forties and are considering themselves "old" and beyond help.

What also amazes me is that usually in 4 -6 visits the above person, has a reduction in by by up to 50% and are back at work, back at play, back doing some exercise, sleeping better and making their family and spouse happy too.  

What takes us so long to decide we are worth taking care of.  If our car was not working, even a slight noise and we have it in to the garage and pay what is necessary to ensure that it is fixed and operating well, what is it about taking care of ourselves that causes us to delay, when a basic machine gets care immediately, we respect it, and know that if we don't do anything it will get worse and harder to fix.  Our bodies are just the same, but worse because by the time we have waited 2-3 months are brain function (our higher centre) is affected and the job becomes vastly more complex.

It is well documented that long term (chronic) pain and depression go hand in hand.  It is also well documented that depressed people are the hardest to heal, their brain chemistry is altered and the ability for them to make a shift, to motivate towards, better mobility and compliance with exercise protocals due to lethargy.  So why do we let it get to this point? In answer to that many people tell me, they thought it would get better on its own.  That they read so many conflicting things about getting wellness health care, that they are confused.  What I would respond to those statements is, JUST TRY, GO AS SOON AS YOU BEGIN to Slide, go to whomever you feel comfortable with.  Find someone you trust to take care of you, treat yourself with respect, care and love.  BE KIND to YOURSELF, you are vastly more useful, needed, and important than you car.  Give yourself permission to get some care, and do it fast, so that you can get back on track fast.

We would love to see you at Gentle Chiropractic Mapua, Nelson/Tasman.  

With my sincerest wishes.

Dr. Carolyn Hall.

“If I start chiropractic care, do I have to keep going forever?”

It’s a common myth associated with chiropractic care that is simply not true. While we’re happy to help our patients feel better by bringing them out of pain with chiropractic care, having to go forever isn’t the case. Even though a course of care varies for each person, one thing is true—we aim to make you a partner in your health.

And while you don’t have to do anything, we have many patients who choose to see us on a regular basis. Have you ever wondered about maintenance care? Here’s how it can benefit you.

Prevention: When you visit our practice for ongoing chiropractic care, it can actually help you strengthen your problem area to help prevent an injury from reoccurring. Regular adjustments also keep your body balanced and in tune, allowing for better healing and correction of new spinal problems to avoid a relapse.

Improved Posture: Let’s face it—a lot of us sit for most of our day. You might not notice immediate problems from over-sitting, but down the line your posture could suffer. When your posture is compromised, this can lead to other issues like sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain and more. Get ahead of these issues by opting for chiropractic care before you develop a problem.

Enhanced Wellness: Many patients, after feeling what constitutes “normal” can tell when they need an adjustment. We can do more than just bring you out of pain—we help our patients continue to live the life they desire without problems through health optimization. This doesn’t mean we need to see someone for an adjustment every day or even every week—sometimes, just a once a month “tune up” can be ideal.

​Research: Chiropractic care can increase strength, decrease fatigue and improve the brain’s ability to drive muscles

“What we can say based on this study(1) is that when we adjust subluxations, we improve strength, we prevent fatigue and we change the way the brain drives our muscles. That’s pretty cool.” said Heidi Haavik, one of the brains behind this recent study.

Haavik is referring to subluxations as dysfunctions that occur when the nervous system isn’t controlling movement of the spine as well as it should be.

“When we adjust…subluxations, we change the way the brain processes what’s going on in our bodies. Hence we are able to better process all that sensory information from throughout the body, and control the body in a better way.” says Haavik.

In this recent study, researchers asked groups of people to perform maximum contractions of their leg muscles. For the ones who did receive chiropractic adjustments, they saw a major shift in the way the brain drove the muscle. “The brain was changing that…effect. Our subjects got stronger (in comparison to the control group)” observed Haavik and her fellow researchers.

The study showed:

• an increase of almost 60% in the electrical activity readings from specifically targeted muscles
• a 16% increase in absolute force measures
• a 45% increase in the drive from their brain to their muscle Another interesting finding occurred when Haavik compared these results to another study that looked at three weeks of strength training

​“Our results were almost identical to three weeks of strength training.” These are compelling research outcomes which backup what chiropractors and people under chiropractic care already know: that people function better with chiropractic care.

Republished with permission from the Australian Spinal Research Foundation

1. Changes in H-reflex and V-waves following spinal manipulation. Experimental Brain Research. Vol 233, 4 , pp 1165-1173

By Tanja Glucina, NZCC CCR Operations Manager
Republished with permission from the New Zealand Chiropractors Association

​What an incredible Olympic season! With four gold medals, nine silver and five bronze medals, New Zealand is enormously proud of our sportsmen and women.

In the past, Valerie Adams has thanked her chiropractor as part of her winning team. However, it’s not only Olympians who strive for excellence in athletic performance. Our patients want the best out of their bodies too.

A recently published study from the Centre for Chiropractic Research at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic has shown that chiropractic care improves muscle strength and cortical drive, and prevents athletes from fatiguing.1

To follow on from this, the research team at the College is working on a similar study with a group of Danish, German, and Australian researchers, which is investigating the effects of chiropractic care on strength and fatigue in a group of elite Tae Kwon Do athletes.

In this randomised controlled trial the athletes’ brain waves and muscle strength are being measured before and after a single session of chiropractic care or a passive movement control. Outcomes are being assessed pre-intervention and at three post intervention time periods: immediately post, post 30 minutes, and post 60 minutes.

The preliminary analysis of this study looks really positive! It appears that in this group of athletes, chiropractic care increases strength and cortical drive, and reduces fatigue.2 The strength findings look like they last for 30 minutes and the cortical drive increase persists for at least 60 minutes. This suggests that chiropractic care really may play a role in enhancing athletic performance.

These results highlight what Val Adams and other champions have known for years – chiropractic may help with increasing muscle strength and reducing fatigue. This growing body of research is supporting what we see in our practices every day: chiropractic care enhances human performance!

1. Niazi IK, Turker KS, Flavel S, et al. Changes in H-reflex and V-waves following spinal manipulation. Exp Brain Res 2015. 2. Holt K, Niazi IK, Christiansen TL, et al. ‘The effects of a single session of spinal manipulation on strength and cortical drive in athletes.’ Presented at the International MotoNeuron Society Meeting: Istanbul, Turkey June 2016.

Just when you thought pumping iron was only good for giving you big guns, science goes and gives us yet another reason to hit the gym. The benefits of exercise just seem to keep on growing. Not only does it create endorphins, new brain cells and keeps your waistline in check, it turns out, it’s also going to give you a bigger brain.

If there was ever a reason to get off the couch and pull on your sneakers this might be it. People who exercise through middle age have larger brains than those who spend it flaked out in front of the TV.

The new study published in the journal of Neurology has shown that people who weren’t physically active in their midlife had brains smaller than their peers twenty years later.

The sad fact of life is that as we get older not only do parts of our body start to sag, our brain is affected too. Our once bonnie, large brains start to shrink. Most specifically, the prefrontal cortex. Now that’s a pretty important part of the brain. It’s where our personality expresses itself, where we manage our cognitive and social behaviour and where we do all our planning and decision making. Frankly, it’s not a great place to start shrinking. But the other area of our brain that reduces in size as we age is our hippocampus. This part of the brain is integral in making new brain cells, it’s where our memory, emotions and learning takes place. Again, not the best spot to undergo reduction of mass.  In anyone’s books, both areas are worth keeping in optimum shape not to mention size.

But before you throw in the towel and relegate the rest your life to dribbling unevenly from one side of your mouth, there appears to be good news.

Exercise.

In a study1 that started in 1948, now onto its third generation of participants, it observed the correlation between cardiovascular fitness of people in there 40’s and the size of their brain over the period of the study.
What it found was that people who had lower cardiovascular fitness and higher blood pressure and heart rate response to fitness had small brains nearly two decades later.

“Promotion of midlife cardiovascular fitness may be an important step towards ensuring healthy brain aging,” the study noted.

The study suggests that exercise training may increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which improves the brain’s ability to form new neurons and prevent the brain from atrophying. In a previous post we have covered the benefits of BDNF, which is linked to the production of new brain cells (neurogenesis) that is increased through exercise. Neurogenesis may have a potential therapeutic role in neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and is also increased through exercising.

It’s unclear at this stage at which point in life exercise is most important – midlife or at the end of your life.
“We are not able to tell from our study whether fitness in midlife or later life matters more,” says study author Nicole Spartano, a postdoctoral fellow at the Boston University School of Medicine. “In future studies I would like to explore this distinction, to see whether one is more important than the other. But it is likely that both are important.”

Either way, if you’re not already hitting the treadmill, maybe it’s time you were!


References
[1]Midlife exercise blood pressure, heart rate, and fitness relate to brain volume 2 decades later. Nicole L. Spartano, PhD, Jayandra J. Himali, PhD, Alexa S. Beiser, PhD, Gregory D. Lewis, MD, Charles DeCarli, MD, Ramachandran S. Vasan, MD and Sudha Seshadri, MD February 10, 2016, doi: http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1212/ WNL. 0000000000002415 Neurology 10.1212/WNL.000000000000241