Chronic pain can change your brain, your hormones and takes an emotional toll. It is a complex and long-lasting pain from a dull ache to intense pain. Both are unrelenting, lasting for months or even years. The resulting brain and hormone changes increase the pain’s...

Can your shoes affect your spine? Yes. Especially stilettoes and flats. The first force you to stand leaning forward, and put abnormal pressure on your hips, knees, ankles, and feet. Flats rarely provide arch support. If you pronate, this will result in lower back...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat August in South Africa is Women’s Month. The month where we celebrate women with all their diversity, strength, as well as their contribution to our society. So, to all our ladies, HAPPY WOMEN’S MONTH! We appreciate each and every one...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat Well, here we are, just over halfway through the year. Whether we mean to or not, we all start each year hoping for a change in one or more aspects of our lives. And that change is always something better, obviously. No one wakes up...

Can a misaligned spine interfere with your immune system? Yes, it can. By blocking the pathways from the brain to your muscles, nerves, and organs, AND your immune system. The good news is that Chiropractic care can put your spine back into alignment and get your...

It doesn’t matter how young or not so young you are, a good night’s sleep is one of the best indulgences you can enjoy. On the other hand, a good night’s sleep shouldn’t be an indulgence. Why? Because an indulgence is something you only have once in a while. And a...

Not only is pregnancy-related chiropractic care safe, but it is also necessary. Prenatal chiropractic care reduces pain, improves your posture during your pregnancy, and prepares your body for an easier, possibly less painful birth.7 Goal And Benefits Of Chiropractic...

The short answer is yes. As long as it’s dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is one of a number of nutritional ingredients your spine needs for optimal care. Your spine, to coin a phrase, is the backbone of an active lifestyle. That’s why it’s important to ensure your...

Don’t get me wrong, I love road trips as much as the next person, but I don’t go on them very often.4 Ways road trips can be troublesome for your spine Restricted Movement: This reduces your circulation and, bizarre as it sounds, increases muscle tension. Vibrations...

It’s a new year! Time for a new look! It’s a small change but then often small changes have a big impact. After a relaxing Christmas and New Year getting off the couch and going for a walk every day will make a huge difference to your mood, your energy levels, and...

Are you in pain right now, or even just ‘uncomfortable’? Wouldn’t tackling the pre-Christmas prep and enjoying the actual day be more enjoyable if you were pain-free? Don’t put your health on the bottom of the list! Book an appointment with us now. As Shira Tehrani...

Last month, I took part in an adventure. One that took me on a trek across a part of one of the most beautiful deserts in the world, in Morocco. Not only did this event, the MDS Trek Morocco test my limits, it also enriched both my soul and my mind. The famous...

I’m going way out of my comfort zone. I have been training since June for a trek that takes place in one of the world's most beautiful deserts. It’s the MDS Trek Morocco, one of the famous Marathon Des Sables events. According to the race organisers, it’s more than...

While many think of it as a ‘fad’, staying fit and healthy has been a ‘thing’ since 2500 B.C. in China. Confucius said it was important to engage in physical activity to avoid 'stoppages' or 'organ malfunction'. In 1711, Francis Fuller rightly believed that the body...

Have you been watching the Olympics? As August 9 is Woman’s Day, it’s a good time to celebrate the ladies that have been and gone ‘higher, faster and stronger’ this year...so far. Here are six of them - individuals and teams. America, Katie Ledecky tied for the most...

We’re now over the halfway mark in the year. Over six months since you may have made some new year’s resolutions. How are you doing with them? For most people, they don’t last longer than January 31! If you have stayed strong and kept those resolutions - well done! if...

This is a very weird winter. While there have some very cold patches, it really hasn’t been as cold as it normally is, or as cold as it needs to be. If you prefer warmer weather, you’re probably pleased about this turn of events. But there are consequences to not...

As I write, there is a storm brewing. Rain and cold can make things uncomfortably slippery and falls are common.  A bad fall can result in broken bones. For seniors, broken bones, especially hips can be traumatic emotionally but also physically.  The shock to their...

Did you ever wonder why Easter seems to occur on different dates every year?  It does!  Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the day the Sun is exactly above the Equator, and day and night are of equal length.  This moment in the...

We are so close to the festive season! There's excitement bubbling in the air! Trees are being decorated, baubles are being hung, cards are being signed and posted, presents are being bought and wrapped. Cakes, cookies, shortbread, mince pies, are being baked. It's a...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. Since the start of Winter, we've been talking about how Summer bodies are made in the chilly months. Winter is on its way out, but that doesn't mean you need to be. The best way to stay young is to exercise. It's important at every...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. August is here. The blustery, blowy, chilly month of August when doors slam, roofs creak, and joints ache from the cold. Regular exercise can help keep you moving, keep you warm, and keep you strong. Even as brisk a walk as you can...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. We’re over halfway through Winter. The blustery, chilly month of August has just begun. One way to keep warm and keep in shape is to work out, exercise, shake away, or run off the winter blues. Is your life a sedentary one? One where...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. Our focus for the last few newsletters has been building our Summer bodies in Winter. Today, we're going to look at one of the biggest myths about the gym. 'No pain, no gain.' You've probably seen signs up at the gym declaiming these...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. In the last newsletter, we spoke about how Summer bodies are made in Winter. We also spoke about living your life with courage, and how that meant having dreams and goals. To bring those dreams closer and to achieve your goals we...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. This week we celebrate Youth Day in South Africa.   A day when we should all be grateful for the incredible courage, passion, and sacrifice of the young people of Soweto on June 16, 1976. Between 5,000 and 20,000 students walked out...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. We've just had a freezingly cold weekend. There are more of those on the horizon as we head into Winter. Even now, as the season is changing, some people have already succumbed to sniffles, coughs, and colds. If you have a cold, you...

Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat.Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. How are you doing in this first month of Winter? As the cold increases, I hope you're stocking up on Vitamin C, Zinc, and Vitamin D3. Regular exercise also helps keep your immune system strong and...

Are you finding that you always seem to be hurting yourself, and you can never quite figure out how or why?Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat. As we settle into Autumn, it's important not to settle on the couch and wait for Spring! It's five months away. The best and...

Is my training really causing me back issues?  The 4 most common culprits!Welcome to Straight Up-Chiro Chat.It’s the beginning of Autumn. As the seasons change it’s a good time to ensure that you’re ready, in terms of both weather and life. Now is a good time to...

Your lower back provides all the strength, support, and flexibility the rest of your body Needs. Everyday life takes its toll, and your lower back pays the price, from a mild twinge to severe, and debilitating pain. There is no doubt that as we navigate the new normal...

Offering patients approaches to help themselves when unable to consult with a Chiropractor for Chiropractic care, is an important part of a Chiropractors work.  Most Chiropractors have found throughout their career, that teaching patients techniques to better...

Most people have experienced an episode where, having lifted something either too heavy or incorrectly, their back definitely lets them know about it, either at the time or afterwards!  Hasty decisions can cause a lifetime of pain.  So how can one safely lift heavy...

Most Chiropractic clinics have a workstation setup hand-out guide to help each patient make the best of their work environment.  Below are some listed key features that can be easily implemented to assist with the correct workstation setup at home or the office.  This...

In a previous blog post, Which everyday movements cause the most pressure on the spine? we reviewed which positions and movements create the most pressure on the back.  Now let’s have a look at how this pressure can be minimised during everyday activities. Household...

“I slept so well after my treatment’” is one of the most rewarding things a Chiropractor gets to hear from patients when seeing them for Chiropractic treatment.  The reason for this is that it has to do with a hormone called cortisol.  Cortisol levels get a bad rap in...

Unless a person finds oneself in an anti-gravity pod ( #bucketlist), there will always be pressure on the spine because of a little thing called gravity.  Compare standing, sitting and lying down; which do you think places the greatest pressure?  Would it surprise you...

Undoubtedly no.  With emergencies and life-threatening conditions, medical advancements have superseded most of our expectations in comparison to a few years ago and, it is thanks to these advancements that many, still have loved ones to spend time with today....

Sciatica is one of the more common complaints Chiropractors see in their practices.  According to a 2018 article in Medscape, it affects between 42% and 59% of the population at least once during their lifetime.  Although sciatica pain is common, it doesn’t mean it...

It’s been a hectic week and it would be great if the weekend was the cocooned haven you have been dreaming of all week… imagining yourself crawling into this beckoning sanctuary only to resurface all shiny, new and invigorated on Monday morning.  Ummm … no.  In all...

Whiplash is a common injury that occurs when there has been a rapid forward and then backwards force on the neck or lower back (similar to a whip snapping).  Most often it happens in car accidents, but what most don’t realise is that it can also occur in sporting...

Seeing to new moms during and after pregnancy is always a joy.  The changes that occur in the body are a miraculous sequence of events to witness.  As incredible as it is, these biological changes can leave new moms struggling with Postpartum aches and pains.  These...

Schoolbags have changed vastly over the last 2 decades.  Our children have not only more mental demands placed on them, but it seems the more academic pressure is added, the exponentially bigger the school bag becomes. Heavy school bags can damage the spine in various...

Yes, yes, and yes! Because women have very special and specific needs in all three phases of their pregnancy, each phase needs unique attention in different ways. The changes pregnant ladies see and experience during their pregnancy are both unique to each person and...

Arthritis is the name given to a group of conditions that cause damage and inflammation to the joints of the body.  These are generally diagnosed using x-ray evaluation and blood tests.  The most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. ...

In most cases, absolutely!  Chiropractors attend to patients from all walks of life that have undergone all sorts of operations. Having been taught the ins and outs of operational procedures used and understanding the altered anatomy after an operation, Chiropractors...

Dynamic and static stretching has 2 different purposes.  It's not a case of which is better, but more a matter of which is better to do, when.  Have a look at this concise guideline, illustrating how to get the best benefit with these 2 types of stretches. Dynamic...

Without a doubt, Chiropractors firstly always aim to make their patients feel better as soon as possible.  In being able to deliver that, Chiropractors are then able to get to the main goal of Chiropractic and that is to get your body functioning at optimum. It is...

Stretching muscles not only feels great in the short term, but it essentially prevents them from getting tight, weak and unable to support joint movement correctly in the long term. The vast majority of patients experiencing pain and lack of movement have this in...

Hollywood movies have for years, given us Chiropractors far too much credit in this department.  The ‘popping’, or ‘cracking’ sound from a Chiropractic adjustment comes from the release of a gas bubble housed in the joint capsule surrounding the joint.  The sound...

When diagnosed with a ‘blown’ or ‘slipped’ disc, patients may be experiencing a fair bit of pain in their back, possibly referring into the arms or legs, maybe even some tingling or numbness in these areas too.  There are times where patients don't have any symptoms...

Most of us don't like pain.  Quite simply put, because as a whole, no one does, Chiropractors intend providing care that is tolerable and comfortable using gentle Chiropractic techniques.  These techniques don’t typically hurt if done correctly. However, it can be...

Let’s start this blog back to front and ask you, when last did you read a medication’s package insert?  Mmmm?  Now let’s dive into the safety of a Chiropractic adjustment.  

This is a very common question that Chiropractors hear from many hesitant new patients coming into their clinic, and it is indeed a very important one at that. As your Chiropractor, the top priority is making sure that you are a good candidate for chiropractic care. ...

Have you ever pondered about Chiropractic Care and wondered why it is one of the fastest healthcare sectors to grow in the last twenty years? With such a multi-layered question, comes a multi-layered answer. Take a seat and let the explanation unfold with the help of...