Dragonfly River Clinic

08/03/2026

05/03/2026

Today is World Book Day 📚 which as a parent we can feel conflicted over - finding costumes is often more a nuisance than a creative celebration 🤷🏼‍♀️🙄 or in our case, the easy option (one of the 3 bears 🐻 - can you tell someone wasn’t that impressed by their parents genius 🤭)

But it should be a celebration of books that will live with us forever. For me (an avid reader) they fall into one of 3 categories

- Pleasure
- Self improvement
- Work

It is very hard to choose our favourites but I often think of

- Penmaric by Susan Howatch (Historical novel)
- The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield (Spiritual Awakening)
- Presence by Amy Cuddy (The ramifications of our posture)

Partly because each was an easy read 🤗

What are your favourite books?

On a practical level I see many readers who do their reading in bed and would urge you to think about your posture while doing so as it is easy to loose yourself in a book only to find yourself in pain due to poor ergonomics 🫣

05/03/2026

The world is waking up to the power of a well-regulated nervous system. People are beginning to understand the vast neuroplasticity of the brain.

The next step is to experience what it is like to be clear of subluxations that irritate the nerves and reducing the flow and function of life.

Chiropractic identifies and removes this interference from your nervous system! Want to learn more? Comment and tell us where you are - we’d love to connect you to a chiro near you.
Save this for later or send it to someone who still thinks chiropractic is only for back pain!
➡➡➡Chiropractors, please share this to your feed or stories and help more people learn what chiropractic is truly about!

04/03/2026

Hello, my name is Charlotte, and I’m excited to introduce myself as a new Sports Massage Therapist here at the clinic! I recently graduated from St Mary’s University with a degree in Sport Rehabilitation, after three years of studying and gaining hands-on experience in the field. During that time, I worked in a variety of settings, including football and rugby clubs, as well as clinical environments, where I discovered my passion for sports massage and exercise prescription. With a strong background in sport myself, I understand the challenges that athletes and individuals face, and I’m really looking forward to helping clients reach their goals, recover well, and feel their best.

02/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/189iijvMoe/?mibextid=wwXIfr

WHERE FEAR LIVES. 🧘‍♂️🧠

VitalShots

Millions of men and women in their 30s and 50s suffer from mysterious lower back pain, tight hips, and chronic anxiety that no amount of massage or painkillers seems to fix.
The problem might not be your bones. It could be a deep, hidden muscle called the Psoas (pronounced so-as).
In Taoist tradition, it is known as the "Muscle of the Soul."
In modern neurology, it is the physical manifestation of your Fight or Flight response.

The Anatomy of Stress
The Psoas is the deepest muscle in the human body. It is the only muscle that connects your spine (lumbar vertebrae) directly to your legs (femur).
But crucially, it shares a fascial connection with your Diaphragm (your breathing muscle).
When your brain perceives a threat (a predator in ancient times, or a stressful email from your boss today), your Sympathetic Nervous System activates.
Instantly, your breath becomes shallow, and your Psoas muscle contracts tightly. Why? Because the biological reflex to danger is to curl into a fetal position to protect your vital organs.

The Modern Trauma Trap
In the wild, an animal escapes the predator, shakes off the adrenaline, and the Psoas relaxes.
In modern society, we sit at desks all day (which physically shortens the muscle) while reading stressful news. We are in a state of low-grade, chronic fear.
The Psoas never gets the signal to let go.
It becomes permanently contracted, acting like a tight rubber band pulling your lower lumbar spine forward. This causes severe lower back pain, sciatica, and digestive issues.
Worse, because it is linked to the diaphragm, a tight Psoas sends a constant, physical signal back up the Vagus Nerve to the brain saying: "We are still in danger." It creates a loop of chronic anxiety.

Somatic Release
You cannot "talk therapy" your way out of a tight muscle. You must physically release the trauma from the tissue.

⚡ VitalShot Protocol:
How to Release the Psoas:

Constructive Rest: Lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees and place your calves on a chair or couch so your knees and hips are at 90-degree angles. Rest your hands on your belly. Breathe deeply for 15 minutes. Gravity will gently allow the Psoas to "melt" and drop toward the floor, taking the tension off the spine.

The Active Stretch (Runner's Lunge): To lengthen the tissue, perform deep lunges keeping your torso upright. By squeezing the glute of your back leg, you force the front Psoas to relax (reciprocal inhibition).
Heal the muscle, quiet the anxiety.

📚 Source: Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, "The Psoas muscle and its relationship to the autonomic nervous system."

28/02/2026

Lovely review 🙏🏻💖

26/02/2026

✨ RDA vs Therapeutic Dose — What’s the Difference? ✨

Ever noticed how the amount of a nutrient in your supplement is way higher than the % RDA on the label? Let’s break it down 👇

🔹 RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
This is the minimum amount needed to prevent deficiency in the average healthy person.
It’s about survival… not optimisation.

Think:
Enough Vitamin C to prevent scurvy.
Enough Vitamin D to prevent rickets.

It is not designed to correct imbalance, reduce inflammation, or support recovery.

🔹 Therapeutic Dose
This is a clinically effective amount used to achieve a specific health outcome.
It’s targeted. Intentional. Often temporary.

For example:
✔️ Higher magnesium to support muscle tension
✔️ Higher omega-3 for inflammation
✔️ Higher vitamin D to correct deficiency

This is where personalised care matters — context is everything.

💡 The key difference?
RDA = prevent deficiency.
Therapeutic dose = create change.

Supplements aren’t one-size-fits-all. Your body, your stress levels, your lifestyle and your goals all matter.

If you’re taking something “because it’s healthy” but not seeing results… it might be the dose.

25/02/2026

😂

I'm in de-Nile

21/02/2026

Why the label matters…..

When we have an item of clothing, in order to care for it and allow it to retain all the qualities we value it for - maybe it’s softness or warmth or it’s usefulness, we need to know how to care for it.

For cashmere a 40 degree wash and a tumble dry would render it absolutely unfit for purpose yet treat it as it should be treated and it retains all the qualities we adore about it.

People can be the same. If we treat everyone in the same way we can make it impossible for some to flourish if not function at all.

I am often confronted by statements around labels especially in regards the neurodivergent. “Everyone is something these days” is a popular one usually delivered with a disparaging eye roll.

But a dear friend recently used the analogy of a care label in clothes and this made real sense. For people the label allows us all to know what treatment will allow that individual to function and flourish at their optimum in society.

I thought this was perfect 🙌🏻

20/02/2026

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ahsan-syed-83b7525b_neuroscience-and-stress-physiology-research-activity-7430356946978770945-RgV3?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAAO07i0BDf1xIqdt21dhuN_gSD3hA2OHnNg&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link

03/12/2025

Great advice 🙌🏻

Stay safe out there! Come and get checked. X