Welcome to another Thoughtful Thursday! This week’s features special guest Grant Munro DC, who’s going to give a shameless plug to something we do all day, every day. But first…

Clinic Updates

Hi gang, welcome back! We made it through another week, HOORAY!!!! Still much the same in clinic… except today is a sad day for us. It is our assistant Sam’s final day with us. Booooo! Thanks for all your help, Sam, and we hope you enjoy life down in the country. I look forward to shamelessly plugging your novel when you finish it!

We do have a couple of staff holidays coming up:

• Sammy from Fulham is off from next Friday 24th for a week

• Bryan from Putney is off from the 29th and back on the 6th

• Craig from Putney is, well, being Craig and will turn up again at some stage, we think? (If you are in Cornwall, let us know and we may be able to help!)

Podcast(s) of the Week

Gopal Handa DC completed Team Kew’s trio of live chats when he spoke to Craig last week, and if you missed it you can catch-up here on IGTV, or as a podcast here.

Craig also featured a special guest on last week’s line-up – Edwina Waddell DC, who was one of the longest-serving chiropractors at Putney before moving back to Queensland and starting her own clinic. If you’re keen to see what Edwina’s been up to since leaving London, you can have a watch here or a listen here.

Craig may have some more guest spots coming up soon, but keep an eye out on our Insta feed for details of these.

Shameless Plug(s) of the Week by Grant Munro DC

Over the last few months, I have spent a fair bit of time exploring breathing and different kinds of breathwork to add into my own daily practices. I’ve been finding just 10-20 minutes of focused breathwork every day helps to keep me energised, focused and more grounded in my body.

There’s a plethora of information out there suggesting that the way we breathe is just as important for our overall health and longevity as the amount and type of exercise we choose, with poor breathing long-term correlating with chronic lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, cancer and asthma, and showing up as snoring and, over time, sleep apnoea.

Recently, I came across James Nestor on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast talking about just this subject. Check out this clip on the effects of mouth breathing – something that I see in a significant percentage of the clients I work with. For more information (but certainly not too geek-heavy science!) you can also check out James Nestor’s book/audiobook.

So what does this mean for you? Well, as stress increases – be it physical injuries/postural stresses, chemical stresses and mental or emotional stresses (check out Ami-Bree’s recent Mindful Monday on these topics) – so does our breathing rate, and we go further into that hunched-over ‘defence-posture’ we commonly see, which puts increasing stress on the spine and further affects your health!

As chiropractors, we find that as well as getting the spine moving, getting the upper six ribs to lift (usually with our modern, hunched-forward ‘defence-posture’ these ribs struggle to lift properly to expand the lungs) and the skull to move properly on the spine (giving more space for the Vagus nerve) can significantly help with some of the restrictions in breathing.

There are lots of different types of breathwork you can add into your day… But most simply, sitting for three times a day and spending five minutes (just set an alarm on your phone) breathing in for a count of six, and out for a count of six, can have significant effects on your levels of stress. I like to recommend doing this just before starting work, in the middle of the day and at the end of your shift, to book-end ‘your time’ from the time you are giving to something else. It’s normal for your mind to start to wander, but just keep bringing it back to the breath during the five minutes.

If you have questions or want to find out more, feel free to send us an email or ask for some further direction when you’re in for your next adjustment!

Ask the Team

Grant Munro DC also answers your question…

If I have a flare up, what should I do to alleviate any symptoms until I can see my chiropractor?

First of all, keep calm. The vast majority of flare-ups, although it might not feel this way, are not usually serious and will settle down. And they are not uncommon – especially if you have had symptoms for some time.

Other than that, do keep moving and keep breathing through the movement – lots of people hold their breath when they perceive they are about to feel pain – and feel the ground beneath your feet to keep you grounded. You can also try applying some cold to the skin around the area for just 10 minutes then have the rest of the hour off (repeat if necessary).

Is there something about chiropractic you’d like to know more about? Have a health-related query we might be able to help with? Feel free to fire us back and we will answer it for you and everybody else!

I am out for another Thursday. Really pleased we managed to coerce Grant into a plug of the week, I found that rather interesting! Might be time to get Kew involved and think our resident Saffa Brad always has something interesting to say.

Until then, stay alert, stay safe and as a lovely client of ours told me this week, if you feel the need for a pizza and an ice-cream this weekend, treat yourself! I may just be doing the same in the Park. ;)

Cheers,

Drew