The Bedford Chiropractic Clinic and Wellness Centre

The hip is one of the most vulnerable joints in the body to develop arthritis—particularly osteoarthritis. The lifetime risk for hip osteoarthritis is about 1 in 5 for men and 1 in 4 for women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). How do you know if you're one of the people at risk for hip osteoarthritis? There are several factors that can put you at higher risk. Being older During our lifetimes, our hips carry most of our weight each day, which can be very hard on the cartilage in the joints. Inevitably, joint cartilage degrades more and more as we age, with the potential to become full-blown osteoarthritis after age 45. Most people with hip osteoarthritis problems are in their 60s and 70s. Being overweight The more you weigh, the more pressure is on your joints—and the faster potential degeneration can occur. Unfortunately, joint pain can discourage people from being active, making the accumulation of more pounds likely .   If yo...

Running is both great for the body and hard on the body. It conditions the muscles and joints and it gives you a good aerobic workout, which keeps your heart healthy and weight within a healthy range. But the relentless impact of your feet against the ground can put you at risk for injuries, particularly in your lower limbs and back. Through a sudden, acute injury—but much more often through repetitive wear and tear—the joints, muscles, and other soft tissues of the back can become damaged or strained. This is especially true for distance runners. The good news is running-related back pain is treatable—many times with a full recovery. Also, you can take steps to prevent back pain from running before it starts. Suiting up A running shoe is not just a running shoe. There are several factors that can help determine what the right shoe for you should be, including: The height of your arches Your pronation style (in other words, how your foot hits the ground and rolls through each ...

Ageing is a natural process. Unfortunately as we age from 35+ our bodies, given the opportunity deteriorates rapidly or slowly. Every single day I hear from many people in their 30's and 40's that their aches and pains are because they are old and they seem to accept it as a norm just because their friends, family members went through the years with the same symptoms. After 20 years of treating thousands of patients and literally thousands of hours of study, education and exp erience, what I have found to be the reality is that your health is a result of your input. You are an outcome of what you eat/drink, what exercise you do, what thoughts you have daily and the state of your nervous system. So I decided to prove to all my beloved patients and hopefully their friends and families that this is actually true! And also because I am FED UP of seeing people blaming age on their symptoms when actually it is their actions and inaction are to blame. For this I took some very emb...

As summer sets in and days lengthen, many people rejoice in the warmer temperatures and fun activities this time of year offers. But if you have back pain, the story may be a little more complicated. For some people with back pain, the warm weather means relief, while others struggle with the effects of the heat. By Sfu - Own work Summer is a great time travel, but long trips can be hard on your back. The weather itself is a factor for back pain in the summer. Although scientific studies have not really shown a concrete connection between weather and back or joint pain, many people report that heat, humidity, or even barometric pressure makes a difference in their pain levels—for better or for worse. There are a few ways you can cope with weather-related symptoms, including: Take advantage of indoor air-conditioning to cut humidity levels Use ice therapy to soothe and decrease inflammation to painful areas In addition to the weather itself, several other seasonal ...

Choosing to receive treatment from a chiropractor won’t stop your slice or improve your putting, but it just might end up improving your overall game and lowering your score. It’s no secret that golf can be hard on your lower back. The quick, repetitive twisting motion required to swing a club puts your back at risk every time you play, and if you already have a back injury you’re putting other muscle groups at risk. Keep reading to learn how to improve your golf game with chiropractic care. How Chiropractic Boosts Your Game Since a chiropractor is specifically trained to treat the entire neuromusculoskeletal system they are able to help golfers reduce the amount of stress and strain placed on their bodies. The lower back does undergo a lot of stress with the torque of a standard golf swing, but there are other body parts that can affect your golf game, too. Pain or range of motion issues in your shoulders, elbows, knees or wrists will definitely affect your...

Did you get hurt during your workout?  It’s time to grab the heating pad… or the ice pack… or both—who even knows! There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to using heat or cold to help treat common exercise injuries like strains, sprains, pulled muscles, shin splits, knee injuries and tenderness. Let’s put an end to it once and for all! Here’s your temperature care breakdown, so you know when it’s time to sing a song of fire or one of ice. Ice, Ice, Baby As a general rule, always choose ice for injuries and inflammation. Cold restricts blood flow and reduces inflammation and swelling. Whenever there’s bleeding in underlying tissue—think sprains, strains or bruising—ice treatment is the way to go. You can use cold therapy in two ways: immediate or rehabilitation. Immediate treatment: helps prevent the injured area from becoming stiff by reducing tissue fluid. Rehabilitation: aims to restore normal function to an affected area by reducing pain and spasms, ...

Let’s face it, most of us don’t take very good care of our spines. This lack of care can lead to physical discomfort and make us susceptible to future injuries and complications. Do your spine, and your overall health a favor and take the time to treat your spine to a few of these 11 indulgences: 1. Make exercise a lifestyle Exercise is essential when it comes to maintaining a healthy spine—and it can also aid in the rehabilitation of your injured spine. You don’t need to be an expert in physical fitness to indulge your spine with regular exercise. A simple exercise program that focuses on stretching and strengthening the back, hamstrings, and abdominal muscles can go a long way toward distributing nutrients into your spinal discs and soft tissues, accelerating your healing process, and keeping your discs, muscles, ligaments, and joints healthy. 2. Engage your mind If you suffer from chronic pain or discomfort associated with your spine, take the time to engage in mindful...

Get fit without getting injured The gym; an intimidating testosterone-filled place full of bodybuilders and fitness freaks in lycra. For some, this can already be the ‘nope’ point. I mean, who wants to rock up to a building full of sweaty gym rats?! Once you have gotten over this hurdle, and accepted that your health and fitness comes first, then you can focus on your own mission and get down to work. First, depending on your goals, it’s always a good idea to record your progress in a notebook or phone app. Shedding that extra pound or maybe even lifting an extra rep all adds up in the long run. Evidence of where you started, and proof of your progress, can keep you going through the tough times. So, you’ve got your mind on a goal, your target destination. You’re underway and loving the new body you’re getting. But how do you keep progressing whilst limiting injury? Did you know that the most common gym injury is caused by bad form (wrong or poor technique). Fo...

Your Wellness Profile All of us have had health-related issues at some time or other. Whether it's low back pain, headaches, asthma, gastritis, an ankle sprain, or a rotator cuff injury, we've all had a health problem that ultimately needed treatment. Chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and various types of cancer are especially difficult and usually require interacting with multiple specialists over many years. However, regardless of our health history, it's worthwhile for all of us to stop for a bit, sit down quietly, and take stock of our current health status. As we carefully assess our current situation and where we'd like to be, telling the truth to ourselves is very important. Remarkably, engaging in the process of such an honest overview may create an opening for a new appreciation of the personal importance of health. It's likely that we will notice some dissatisfaction with our current health circumstances and may experience ...

Regular Chiropractic Care and Effective Exercise When we work on developing new skills in sports or activities we're counting on our nerve system to perform its critical functions of command and control. These functions are required for effective training of muscles, tendons, and joints, so that these musculoskeletal structures can advance in adaptability and performance. As your body's master system, your nerve system is responsible for coordinating all the physiological processes of all your body's other systems. The interrelations among these complex activities must be addressed instantaneously and accurately. Regular chiropractic care helps ensure that your nerve system is free of nerve interference and operating at peak capacity. As a result, regular chiropractic care helps us advance in our exercise and sports activities, gain new skills, and enjoy long-term health and well-being.

The Therapeutic Science Of Adult Coloring Books: How This Childhood Pastime Helps Adults Relieve Stress Colouring used to be reserved for children and the occasional adult who got to babysit them, but recently, the activity has found a different demographic. What started as a niche hobby has now turned into an international trend, as adult coloring books find themselves on more and more bestsellers’ lists throughout the world. However, while this trend may be a fun way to pass the time, it’s the books’ therapeutic properties that really have them flying off shelves. Adult coloring is both beautiful and relaxing.  Maxime De Ruyck CC BY 2.0 The Healing Power Of Art Art may not be able to cure disease, but it can surely make coping with it a lot better. Researchers have acknowledged the therapeutic qualities of art for years, and today, art therapy is used to help people express themselves when what they’re feeling is too difficult to put into words, such as when they’re...

You may be sitting, standing, walking, or even running in a way that puts uneven stress on your body, which over time, results in pain. Also, poor posture can cause soft tissue damage, another cause of pain. By correcting your posture and bio-mechanics, we greatly reduce the chance of pain returning in the future!... You only have to look at a spine to see how its various curves may affect the pressure areas on discs, facette joints, spinal nerves, ligaments and muscles. Correct and incorrect posture can alter those curves and result in different stresses by changing the center of gravity. Posture and biomechanical imbalances Posture starts at the head and works its way down or on the other hand starts at the feet and works its way up. Even in books looking at the progress of homo sapiens (homo erectus) in evolution, man is portrayed as somewhat hunchbacked. The head protrudes forward on the neck, the shoulders are rounded, the stomach protrudes forward with a sway back, and...