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“But I haven’t done anything different!”

The above phrase is one of the most common phrases we hear when a patient first presents to Ilkley Chiropractic Clinic with back pain, or shoulder, or neck pain, or in fact any musculoskeletal pain, from any of their joints or muscles.

Quite naturally, most patients are somewhat perplexed why, if they “haven’t done anything different” in their lives in the recent past, they now have muscle pain or joint pain. In essence, that is a reasonable assumption to make, but if one looks at it the other way round, in that they have always done the same thing, and in doing so, always stressed and strained the same joint complex or muscles, for a protracted period of time, the reason for their pain becomes more obvious.

As a rule of thumb any posture, irrespective of the frequency and longevity with which one has adopted it, that is persistent for a period longer than 20 minutes is poor posture and detrimental to the health of one’s musculoskeletal system.

When one considers the above statement to be true, one can understand how prolonged sitting in front of a computer at work, or standing behind a counter or as a teacher in front of a class for a long period, will fall into the category of being detrimental to one’s musculoskeletal health.

Thus, at some point the tolerances within the joints and the muscles arrive at a “breaking point” and the system notifies you about it, by things becoming painful.

Thus, when one realises that one has undertaken this activity throughout one’s working life, one can start to understand why the musculoskeletal system begins to “moan” and notify one of its discomfort and pain.

None of us would not consider going to the dentist on a regular basis for a check-up, despite our teeth being in the region of 10 years younger than the rest of our body, and only used for a very small part of the day. But we expect our musculoskeletal system to be free of pain and discomfort despite using it inappropriately for decades at a time and for using it for 24 hours a day.

Thus, why wait until the system tells you it is failing by causing you discomfort and pain? Why not book in for a chiropractic assessment and maintenance treatment, to negate that otherwise most probable, upcoming crisis of pain, immobility and discomfort?

Ilkley Chiropractic Clinic has been serving Ilkley and its environs, for almost a quarter of a century now and feels confident to be able to assist and direct you, so that you do not suffer from pain and discomfort now, or in the near future.

Finally, to clarify chiropractors treat ALL musculoskeletal conditions including neck pain, headaches, elbow pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, often as a result of osteoarthritis, hip pain etc., as well as the low back pain conditions that we are so well known for.

Thank you for taking the time to read this piece and we very much look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Earlier this week I was contacted by a lady who had woken up with a very stiff and painful neck.

On presentation her neck was twisted so that her chin was looking to the left of her left hip.

Acute Torticollis is when one of the major muscles of the anterior part of the neck, the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) goes into an acute spasm and pulls the chin out of line.

Onset may arise due to travelling a long distance in a car with the window open, or sleeping awkwardly in bed.

For those who have never experienced it, it can be very unnerving, and some people even believe that they have had a mild stroke.

Treatment requires the relaxation of the SCM by massage and stretching and mobilisation and manipulation of the joint in the neck that are affected by the acute torsion that the SCM has created in the neck.

Due to the eccentric way that the head is held, it regularly causes muscular spasm and joint restriction in the upper and mid back areas between the shoulder blades, which consequently needs to be treated alongside the work to the neck and the SCM.

Usually, approximately 4-6 treatments can resolve the problem satisfactorily.

Chiropractic Treatment will assist to relax the SCM and also the secondary areas that have been compromised.