Posted by chiropam on Sep 30, 2009 in
Chiropractic 
I was wondering to myself, “What shall I blog about today”? The last couple weeks of my life as a female chiropractor have been quite full with the administration side of my chiropractic business, so my creative side has been put on the back burner. It is school holiday time in Perth, which means 2 weeks break for the school kids between Term 3 and 4.
My daughter was with some friends in the afternoon and needed to be picked up. On my way, I’m driving along the beautiful coast road, as the sun is getting ready to set over the ocean, and Whack! “What was that?!?!” I thought to myself. The sky is falling! Not sure, I’m driving along, and on the passenger window was an egg splattered over my window. At first, I thought I hit a bird. But the slime that was smeared was not the presentation that hitting a bird would make.
A flood of emotions came over me, startled, shocked, curious, wondering, then angry. This egg did not fly randomly out of the sky, or did it? Was the universe trying to get my attention? When I was angry I was thinking that it was probably kids with nothing better to do during their school holidays. Nothing better to do? How appalling is that? We live in a society where kids have so much, that they find throwing eggs out of bushes at oncoming traffic amusing. Good old fashioned fun is great, playing outside etc. but not when it can endanger others.
If that would have hit the window on the driver’s side, it could have caused a serious accident. I don’t feel angry anymore, I’ve learned it is best not to carry that emotion. Identify it, look at the positives and negatives and be grateful for what it is.
Grateful for an egg splattered on my car? No. Grateful for it not being worse and giving me the opportunity to remind my daughter about values and acceptable behaviour. Yes. Interestingly enough, I could think of many other great things to do with eggs, not throw them at people, places or things.
I felt the need to share this, and would love to get your feedback and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Tags: Chiropractic, egg, female chiropractor, grateful
Posted by chiropam on Sep 17, 2009 in
Chiropractic 
T E A M - Together Everyone Achieves More
In my life as a female chiropractor, I see that a healthy, optimum functioning body requires the coordinated effort of every aspect of the body. No cell, tissue, organ or system by itself will allow us to experience the highest levels of life expression. It takes teamwork by all the parts of the body.
As part of a transition taking place in my office, teamwork will be one of the major focuses.
Teamwork allows teams and families to be successful. Teamwork allows our body and our practice to be healthy. Teamwork in my practice, for example is essential to serve people to the best of our ability.
One of the main reasons I am in practice is to see people healed and delivered from interferences. I live and breathe chiropractic with all my substance. This is my reason or purpose for doing the best I can to inspire my team, to reach people and share chiropractic with them.
When you talk about success, most of the time you would think that you are the reason behind the success. But in reality, the success of your practice or business depends on whether you have developed a strong staff who are all on the same page as yourself.
An essential ingredient is having a team spirit deep within you. Next step is having your team sharing that spirit, or failure is inevitable. When you’re unified as a team, there’s much power and room for growth and success. There have been times of stagnant growth because of being stifled by an environment of distress. This occurred when the group or team worked as individuals rather than team members.
Teamwork is never by accident
It’s always deliberate and voluntary. Teamwork is defined as “the work of a number of persons in close association as members of one unit.”
- The first thing that is needed is to express the need for and the importance of teamwork.
- Describe what the business is all about, why we have a practice and what the purpose is.
- Purpose is defined as “an object or result aimed at with determination”. This word is one of the components of a great team.
- Having people on your side assisting you and believing in what you believe in only makes that idea stronger, and more powerful.
There will be support and challenge, possibilities and difficulties, positives and negatives. This is inevitable. We do have choices on how we tackle it and from which angle. There are many different ways you can look at your team and examine and re-examine whether or not this team is the best it can be. Many factors and a lot of good old fashioned hard work go into making a team that works.
Tags: Chiropractic, female chiropractor, teamwork, transition
Posted by chiropam on Sep 9, 2009 in
Chiropractic Happy 09/09/09 Everyone!
This is a once in a lifetime occurrence! My daughter thought that was pretty incredible, as next year will be 10/10/10! She then said that the 2 years after that will be pretty special too, and that she will be here for all of them. That’s a great attitude, as she has her whole life ahead of her.
The 3 Generations
It was an interesting day, and after the events of the day, I decided to make this the blog post of the day. I had set aside the day for my mum and I to have a Mother-daughter bonding day. We went shopping, had lunch, coffee and conversation that spanned all topics. Last week, I had a Mother-daughter bonding afternoon with my daughter after school. It takes away the routine of homework, dinner, etc. that can take away time from smelling the roses.
The Mother-daughter bond is a very special gift. The value in the mother-daughter bond comes from the two parties caring for one another and sharing a strong investment in the family as a whole. I was reading an article that described the evolution in the relationship between a daughter with her mother. There comes a moment that is critical when the daughter suddenly realises that the mother is another woman. Before this, a mother is more of a symbol. She’s meant to be the nurturer, all-knowing, all-powerful; perhaps even the enemy. She is usually not seen as another woman with similar problems and experiences.
I feel that I had this realisation earlier this year, and I actually had a heart-to-heart talk with my own mother. I explained that relating to each other as women and not just mother-daughter, then our relationship has the potential to really flourish. My personal journey brought me to this and the timing seemed to be just right. My daughter will be a teenager next year, so that relationship will go through it’s own challenges and rewards.
I had some news that shattered my world for a moment. One of my patients rang to share with me that her daughter who was in her early 20’s, fell and hit her head unexpectedly in the shopping centre where she worked, and killer her instantly. I was quite speechless as she was a wonderful young girl that had her whole life ahead of her to live. That is another major reminder to not take things for granted. We don’t know how long we have. I really hope she knew the love in her life - that her family and friends not only told her, but showed her that they loved her and how much she meant to their lives. My heart goes out to her family.
Appreciating the ones we love and letting them know is one of the core values that I choose to live by.
Love to my mum and my daughter - may you always know how much you both mean to me.
Tags: coffee, mother-daughter bond, smell the roses
Posted by chiropam on Sep 3, 2009 in
Chiropractic 
GROIN MUSCLES ON LEFT; PELVIS ON RIGHT
Last week in practice, the ’special of the week’ was groin pain. It can be related to hip pain, but is different nonetheless.
Apart from hip pain which is usually caused by a specific injury or an arthritic hip joint, most pains in the hip, groin or top of the leg are caused by a mechanical overload from a problem elsewhere. This usually stems from the lower back or pelvis, but can be from the knee or even the foot.
Recurring groin strains are very common in sports people, especially footballers. A twisted or misaligned pelvis is often the root cause of the problem, which causes a weakness and an overload of the muscles and tendons in the groin.
Pain in the groin area often makes walking quite difficult and patients have a tendency to seize up if they have been sitting for too long.
If a chronic groin or hip problem is not treated, it usually causes problems in the lower back as the patients start to adapt the way they walk. Different muscles end up compensating for the weakened area.
‘Wear and Tear’ is occasionally found on X-rays. This form of wear and tear is called osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative process in the joints which cause them to wear, and occurs in most people as we get older. It is rarely the wear and tear that causes the pain, rather it is the stiffness and muscle tightness. The good news is that this usually responds very well to chiropractic treatment! Adjustments to the areas that are involved can be very effective.
Whichever term you use:
The reality is that it is a very common muscle strain injury that currently plagues sports like soccer, basketball, football, hockey, track & field and racquet sports.
The groin, described as the junction between the lower limbs and torso, is vulnerable to a lot of different injuries. Hernias, stress fractures, and avulsion fractures are all common injuries that affect the groin. One of the most common groin injuries is groin pull or groin strain.
What is a Groin Pull?
Depending on the severity, a groin pull can range from a slight stretching, to a complete rupture of the muscles that attach the pubic (pelvis) bone to the thigh (femur) bone.
A groin pull or strain specifically affects the Adductor muscles. These muscles are located on the inside of the thigh, and help to bring the legs together.
What Causes a Groin Pull?
Competitors that participate in sports that require a lot of running or rapid change in direction are most susceptible to groin injuries. Other activities like kicking, jumping and rapid acceleration or deceleration also place a lot of strain on the groin muscles. Another activity that puts a lot of strain on the groin is any movement that results in a sudden pressure being applied - such as a fall, landing awkwardly, twisting, or bending while stress is applied to the groin muscles.
How to Prevent a Groin Pull?
The basis of prevention comes down to two simple factors: a thorough warm-up and physical conditioning; flexibility & strength. Firstly, a thorough and correct warm up will help to prepare the muscles and tendons for any activity to come. Secondly, flexible muscles and tendons are extremely important in the prevention of most strain or sprain injuries. When muscles and tendons are tight and stiff, it is quite easy for those muscles and tendons to be pushed beyond their natural range of movement, which can cause strains, sprains, and pulled muscles. To keep your muscles and tendons flexible and supple, it is important to undertake a structured stretching routine. Stretching is one of the most under-utilised techniques for improving athletic performance, preventing sports injury and properly rehabilitating sprain and strain injury. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won’t be effective.
Tags: Chiropractic, groin, groin pain, groin pull, Hip Pain, Stress, Wellness
