With the arrival of spring, many of us enjoy the sunshine after a long winter and it makes us want to be outside – walking, cycling and gardening.  Although all these activities are good for us, they also have some hidden dangers.

Our sedentary lifestyle during the winter months, such as watching too much television and curling up on the sofa, can weaken our muscles and ligaments and put our spines out of alignment.  The sudden increase in activities such as gardening, sweeping, long walks, etc. can put too much stress on our weakened spines and results in injury.

Chiropractors carry out postural checks and give appropriate advice on exercises and activities to help strengthen the affected muscles. With appropriate adjustments, we can increase mobility in stiff joints.

A common postural problem is upper cross syndrome, which is characterized by round shoulders combined with an anterior head carriage.  This causes abnormal mechanical function of the cervical spine.  If chronic, this results in common clinical presentations of cervical pain, thoracic pain, headaches, TMJ pain (jaw) and pain referral into upper extremities.  The second postural problem, also known as lower cross syndrome, is characterized by posterior pelvic tilt and hyper-lordosis of the lumbar spine and is associated with mechanical dysfunction of the lumbar spine.  This results in lower back pain, leg pain and disc injuries.

Chiropractors focus on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and their effect on the nervous system.  The biomechanical function, impaired by poor posture and overuse, is restored with soft tissue work and manipulation, postural advice and muscular rehabilitation exercises.