Body & Spine Solutions Chiropractor Remedial Massage Acupuncture

06/03/2025

We all recognise that prolonged sitting isn't particularly beneficial for our health. The muscles in your hips and back can become tight, your shoulders and neck might tense up, and if you're like many office employees I encounter, you might even experience a dull headache creeping in by day's end.

However, sitting is an unavoidable part of life—you sit for breakfast, on the toilet, in your car, again at work, while having your coffee breaks, at lunch and dinner, on an exercise bike, a rowing machine, or at the movies.
You get the picture.

So, why not make sitting more comfortable for your body?

This brief video demonstrates how to maximize the benefits of a back support with several crucial tips that can make a significant difference. Many people report that it quickly alleviates back pain, enhances upper back and neck posture, reduces tension, and even facilitates easier breathing. You can purchase back supports or improvise with a firmly rolled towel to transform an uncomfortable seat into something much more bearable.

It's crucial to trust the support to hold you up—this allows your back muscles to rest and reduces fatigue. Avoid the mistake of placing the support and then keeping your back muscles tightly braced, as you won't experience the same relief in tension. You might be surprised at how often we need to remind patients to relax their posture while seated—or even to slouch a bit—because sometimes sitting too upright causes the muscle tension and discomfort they feel at the end of the day.

For more tips, self-help advice, and exercises, visit the patient exercise section on our website buff.ly/mmbmQdL. If you feel it's time for a professional evaluation and a personalised improvement plan, you can schedule a chiropractic appointment online through our website.

Your Recovery is our #1 Priority | Private Consultations | Body and Spine Solutions Chiropractor | Remedial Massage | Acupuncture | Orange NSW

06/12/2024

Hi Everyone. This is our office days over christmas.

16/10/2024

Hi Guys, I will be on holidays after today for two weeks. I will be back on the 5th November. (sneaky pre Christmas getaway)

23/05/2024

If you frequently feel stiffness in your neck and shoulders, try this easy exercise to adjust your shoulder position. This movement is especially helpful for individuals who spend extended periods driving or working at a desk, as it targets the muscles responsible for pulling the shoulders back and down, whilst relaxing the short/tight overworked muscles of the chest and shoulders. Regularly performing this kind of motion can enhance strength and help establish better habits - plus, it's quite enjoyable too.
For the full video and more valuable tips and advice to support your health, visit our website at https://buff.ly/44UjjRn

22/05/2024

The convenience of online booking has been a game-changer, but navigating to the correct web page can be a hassle - especially for businesses with long names like Body and Spine Solutions.
To make it easier and more convenient we've created an intuitive app that links you directly to our online booking pages. The app also offers a range of exercises and stretches at your fingertips, and a fast-track method to contact us. It's simple to download and store on your device for immediate access - check out the screenshots for a visual walkthrough.
get the app here https://buff.ly/4auKseL

12/03/2024

Neck and shoulder discomfort while driving is a common issue.

How often during a lengthy trip do you discover yourself rubbing your shoulder or neck, or maybe even asking your passenger for help?

Among the various reasons for neck tension, one frequent cause is the position in which we extend our arms forward.

Surprisingly, simply adjusting how you reach for the steering wheel can alter the muscles utilized, potentially alleviating those bothersome pains.

Check out the video for a straightforward technique to experiment with on your next drive.

07/02/2024

Lateral hip pain - how to improve it with load management and simple strategies.
This is a simple outline of what needs to happen for a lot of conditions in the body - especially lateral hip pain.
An even simpler answer to what needs to happen is - calm stuff down - and then build stuff back up.
While this sounds over simplistic it is often the best way to view a lot of your aches, pains and injuries.
For more details and suggestions you can head to our website or look at previous (and future posts) where i have been accused of being too old school and writing too much..... (thanks to Auds - my beautiful and tactful teenage daughter!)

29/01/2024

Pain on your hip when sleeping on your side? Hips aching the day after being on your feet a lot?

If you are experiencing lateral hip pain (outer side of your buttock and hip) and have been on a fitness kick recently - then you probably need to now about load management and the tolerance and capacity of tissues - and i will try to explain this using coffee as an analogy.

Now i am sure you think that it is only serious athletes that need to worry about this - but its not.

I can not tell you how many times i have had to have a conversation about lateral hip pain with patients who have come in thinking something is out of whack and needs to be put back in - only for them to discover it is from doing too much too soon on their fitness kick and overloading the tissues.

One of the most common presentations for this is women who have started to take up walking again in there 50’s or later - and have gone from the occasional walk on a weekend - to walking 5 times a week.
This sudden increase in exercise is to be commended for the effort and motivation - but for some of the big muscles of the hip - this sudden increase in load is too much - and pain and aggravation is often the result.

So how does it work.

Lets use the coffee cup analogy and see if it makes sense.

Lets say the muscles on the outer part of the hip have been use to just holding you up, walking around the house and work, sitting down and getting back up again, the weekly grocery shop pushing the trolley, and if your lucky a walk down the street for a coffee and a chat with some friends.

Then one day you wake up with the motivation to get fit and start walking 5 km 4-5 days a week, on top of the usual stuff you are already doing.

Great - but its asking a lot of the tissues that havent seen this sort of demand for the last 20 years. They can and will adapt, but they need some time to do it well.

Now , lets think of the muscles and tendons of the hip like the takeaway coffee cups lined up on the counter of your favourite coffee shop.
(My wife loves “Harley and Hem” in Orange if you havent tried them!)

You have the Piccolo size, the small and then the large (and in some cases the Jumbo! depending on what sort of day you are having).

To start with the capacity of your hip muscles is like the piccolo - its a cute little size, it does the job and gives you your caffeine hit - but it doesn't hold much before it starts to overflow.

Basically, your hip muscles and tendons do the job, your happy enough with them - but when you just want a bit more from them - there is no capacity or room for it to cope with any more.

So the solution is to upsize - to a small.

With your muscles and tendons, the only way you can do that is to slowly expose them to just the right amount of load, over a period of time, with adequate rest for recovery.

However - if you keep trying to overfill (or in the case of muscles - overload) you may end up with a mess.

So how can you upsize safely then?

The good news is that you can do so in several ways - but a lot of it comes down to load management.

What is one of the simplest solutions that everyone can try?

Use rest days . Start with a walk of your chosen length and do twice a week for 2 weeks, then if no sign of discomfort other then muscle use, increase to three times per week for 2-3 weeks.

If you then want to push more - you could increase the length of one of your walks, whilst keeping the other two the same, and so on - all the time just monitoring your body for how it is coping.

And remember, its not just the walking you are monitoring - what if you had a huge weekend in the garden?

Do you think you should still do the same amount of walking in the week following that - or could you perhaps shorten the walks or have another rest day?

I know its not sexy - but it works.

If you are already active and have been doing a lot of exercise already and only recently become sore - then perhaps the 24 hour rule is worth paying attention to.

Basically you pick the load (or exercise amount) by how you feel the next day following the exercise.

If you feel no worse, or better, the load (exercise or reps etc) was fine and can be continued with.

If you feel worse - it was too much, and you need to recalibrate, use rest for recovery and adjust the load back a bit.

Simple right.

Great - and before long - you might just have a large coffee instead of a piccolo.

23/01/2024

Getting active, hitting the gym, running or cycling - whatever it is - its a great to motivated to move more.
But, as a chiropractor a lot of the time i see people who have taken on the challenge to get a bit fitter and healthier - especially his time of year - only to find they are dealing with a whole bunch of new issues or injuries.

I am a big believer that it isnt a sign that you should stop trying (although it certainly feels like it at times), but it is a time to reflect on what it is you are doing, how you are doing it and just as importantly what you want to get out of it.

Personally, finding a sport that i loved as a kid and returning to it again in the last year or so has been great - it has made me move, given me a chance to compete, and even allowed me to mix with a whole bunch of new people.

Has it also made me sore - you bet.

But has it been worth every ache - so far….. absolutely.

The key element to maintaining and sustaining a new exercise regime is figuring out a plan that allows you to build up your tolerance to the new demands - and then build the capacity you have to sustain those demands over time without injury.

A good example of this is people who start walking for exercise.

In many ways walking is a low impact exercise that can be of benefit to most people. It elevates the heart rate, it is a weight bearing exercise that can promote better bone density, it is cheap, easy and accessible to everyone.

So what is the biggest mistake most people make?

Simply - too much, too soon.

And can you guess what one of the most common complaints we hear about that is caused by this sudden increase in mileage?

Outer hip pain - that ache that gets worse when you lay on your side and interrupts your sleep, and eventually can even make you walk with a limp or give you pain on getting out of a chair. (For an explanation of why and what you can do about it yourself - stay tuned and i will tell you more next time).

But the same is true for the gym, swimming, cycling , weights or whatever the physical pursuit you chase.

So this year - when the urge strikes to improve your fitness or get moving again - take your time, allow your body to adapt and reap the benefits without the increased risk of injury.

And dont forget to have a little fun doing it as well.

22/12/2023

Merry Christmas Everyone!🎅
We are now closed for the Christmas break - Andrew will return Tuesday the 2nd of January, Rach will be back from Monday the 8th of January.

Thank you to everyone who has entrusted us with their health and wellbeing this year - Rach and I really enjoy what we do and the interactions we have with you. See you in 2024.

If you need to make a booking for then - you can do so on our website www.bodyandspinesolutions.com.au or phone the office and leave a message for when we return.

Your Recovery is our #1 Priority | Private Consultations | Chiropractor | Acupuncture | Massage | Myotherapy | Herbal Medicine | Orange NSW

19/07/2023

A big thank you to everyone that was concerned for Pippa.

After being fit in for an emergency appointment at Orange Vet Hospital Molong road. It worked out that she has “puppy tonsillitis”(better than the foreign object stuck in throat). The team there were amazing and looked after you so well for the day.

She is back at work and happy to see everyone just don’t be alarmed at her weird cough. Hopefully in a few days that will pass when her tonsils return to their normal size. So she is on soft food no treats (hard for a lab).

22/12/2022

That’s a wrap for the year. Thank you all for your support and loyalty, we can not do what we do without you. Looking forward to the New Year.
ps. Pippa is trying out for reindeer work!!

07/12/2022

Oh no Pippa!!

01/12/2022

Sorry Trixie. There is a new girl in town.

29/11/2022

Christmas break times

15/09/2022

On Monday (19th) Pippa will be joining us in the office, Pippa will be eventually train as a therapy dog (after Puppy school).

08/08/2022

I am back from my holidays, you can book online or call the office (I promise not to drag out the projector and show you photos)

bodyandspinesolutions.com.au or 02 5310 6259

14/07/2022

Hi everyone. I am on holidays from the 18th July to the 8th August. See you all when I return.