Warr Physio & Wellbeing Clinic

Christmas Stress Busters

2011-12-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

Simple things can make all the difference;

My principles include;

· Booking your time out and your rewards. What fun things have you planned just for yourself. A massage, a walk with friends and a pub lunch, a trip to the beach or the cinema. Put them in your diary now.

· Never, ever, ever, neglect your exercise. It’s more important than ever now to slot in your gym session, your swim, your Zumba class (oh, my , goodness, just started Zumba and it’s hilarious. I always knew I had no co-ordination but in this class it really doesn’t matter. Give it a go!) Or just get out for a walk.

· Dress in your best. Don’t save the nice clothes for a ‘special’ day. Wear them everyday and if you present yourself well you will feel better. You will walk taller and smile more if you know you look god.

· If you need treatment book it now. Don’t suffer with joint pain now. Pain dampens the spirit so be proactive and do something about it. The physio’s will also be able to advise you on how to get moving safely if you don’t currently exercise.

Christmas Present Idea- Easy

2011-12-06T04:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas Present Idea?

Relaxation
Rejuvenation
Therapeutic
Time Out
Re-energising
Reviving

Which of these would your loved one like? Gift Vouchers available for all Complementary Therapies. Massage, Refleoxology, Aromatherapy, Tel: 0118 978 2409
www.warrclinic.co.uk

Digestive Issues and Bowen

2011-11-18T02:50:00.000-08:00

Did you know that 80% of your immune system is located inside your digestive tract? And that good digestive health is absolutely critical for good health? Tell tale signs such as bloating, gassiness, stomach cramps and irregular bowel movements are all indications that your digestive system is struggling. If not resolved, poor digestion can lead to many serious issues.

The Bowen Technique offers an excellent approach to restoring digestive health.

It has been estimated that poor or declining gut health is a major factor in the manifestation of 90% of all chronic symptoms and diseases.

Many symptoms such as bloating and gassiness, stomach cramps, heartburn, acid reflux, constant feelings of fullness or loss of appetite and irregular bowel movements with bouts of diarrhea and/or constipation are all indications of a struggling digestive system. Many of these symptoms are commonly diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS for which conventional medicine has no real solution.

Good digestive health is about more than just breaking down your food properly; it’s essential for nutrient absorption, immune function, detoxification and the overall balance of the body’s chemicals and hormones.

High levels of stress play a major part in upsetting digestive health. When the ‘fight or flight’ stress response is triggered for significant periods of time, the balance of chemical substances necessary for breaking down and digesting food become depleted and digestive processes are suppressed. This slows the passage of food through the stomach and intestines, creating a build-up of harmful toxicity.

A struggling digestive system is in itself a large source of stress to the body, as partially undigested food particles start to interfere with the gut’s delicate balance leading to damage to the gut wall and over-production of unhealthy bacteria in the intestines. In the case of ‘leaky gut’, the damaged gut lining becomes porous, allowing toxins, pathogens and undigested food particles to enter the bloodstream; the root cause of many sensitivities, allergic reactions and recurring illness.

Over time if not resolved, stress overload, poor digestion and compromised immune function can lead to recurring infections, loss of energy, unexplained aches and pain and contribute to many serious issues such as inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis and cancer.

The Bowen Technique can make a significant difference in helping to restore digestive health. Often just 3 treatments is sufficient to bring significant improvements. Here’s how…

Switching off the ‘fight or flight stress response’

Bowen is extremely effective in tackling stress head on. The unique Bowen moves trigger the brain to switch off the ‘fight or flight’ stress response allowing the body to re-balance and revert to its natural alpha healing state, enabling vital body processes to normalise.

Boosting the immune system and repairing of the gut wall

As stress leaves the body, the immune system and all natural repair and healing processes will be boosted and restored. This enables your body to get back on top of the situation in repairing and healing damaged tissue and gradually reinstating a good level of protection as the health and integrity of the gut wall is restored.

Restoring chemical balance

Bowen helps to restore chemical balance throughout the body, and together with a healthy, balanced diet can help to improve the quality of digestive juices to improve digestion and absorption and help to flush toxins out of the body.

Improving muscle function

Since the whole digestive process relies on a muscular action called peristalsis to move the food right the way through the stomach, small and large intestines and out the other end, Bowen comes up trumps again in ensuring clear, unconfused communication between the brain and these muscles to restore and maximum efficiency.

If you are experiencing discomfort in your stomach or colon, diorrhea or constipation or are finding that your tolerance of certain foods is becoming increasingly restricted, it may be time to experience the benefits of the Bowen Technique. Lindsay Evans offers 1 hour appointments at The Warr Clinic on Mondays and Fridays. You can

“Having recently been experiencing chronic acid reflux after every meal or drink. A scan revealed that I had multiple gallstones and was advised that only surgery could correct this issue. I naturally turned to Bowens it had helped me in the past. After 3 Bowen treatments, I can eat and drink anything!  K S, Wokingham, Berkshire”

“I was very anxious and stressed following a bowel cancer operation followed by a heart attack. I also suffer with back pain (genetic) and a hiatus hernia. After just 3 sessions of Bowen I am more confident and relaxed, my back pain is almost non-existent and the hiatus hernia symptoms have virtually disappeared. Thank you Lindsay!  A O, Finchampstead, Berkshire”

Written by Lindsay Evans -Bowen Therapist at The Warr Physio & Complementary Health Clinic

Mind over Matter Matters- Improving Sport Performance

2011-10-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

You can ‘trick’ your mind into improving your sport performance. Visualisation of achieving the end result has long been the mainstay of top athletes. Everyone said the 4 minute mile was impossible except Roger Bannister who visualised it and then did it. After that it became a regular occurrence.

Researchers at Northumbria University have found that athletes can improve their performance beyond expectations. They asked cyclists to compete with a virtual cyclist who they said was going at the athlete’s personal best time. In fact the virtual cyclist was going 1% faster. The cyclists were able to keep up and the researchers think the brain assesses how much energy will be needed to complete the distance and then measures it out in the resources provided.

Do you have a reserve of energy to tap into to take you from mediocre to outstanding?

Stress and Ageing Mums

2011-08-22T04:28:00.001-07:00

The end of the school holidays are nigh. I was wondering what to write about well-being this month and then went down to make a cup of coffee to give me a break from work. Both daughters currently at home the place looked like it had been burgled. No wonder my freezer thief had left the house alone, he thought someone had been in before him! After throwing the usual mummy wobbly, I came up to my office and read an article that says middle aged women are the most stressed-out beings on the planet. Really, no can’t believe that for a minute. Apparently stress wrecks our telomeres, the tips of our DNA and so if it is a skin cell it will start to age more quickly. Great!

But they can be repaired and regenerate. Good news and top ideas for doing so;

Do some exercise you enjoy. ‘Enjoy’ being the operative word- e.g. walking the dog or gentle swim or bike ride.

Research has shown meditation and hypnosis increases the level of telomerase in the blood stream

Yoga has shown the same results

Good diet- as always a diet high in antioxidants and oily fish rich in Omega 3 can help

Now I do most of the above but I am still capable of having a temper tantrum! Ho, hum just blame it on the menopause.

Very Depressing Wine Research

2011-07-15T02:48:00.000-07:00

From personal experience I know this to be true but thought it was just old age creeping up. Now confirmed by research, it has been shown that drinking wine after 6pm will help you fall asleep earlier but will disturb your sleep in the second part of the night. So many people have said to me how they wake at 2 or 3am and cannot go back to sleep. When wine was stopped the sleep improved.

So better finish the bottle before 6pm I guess!

Thinking of Looking For That New Car in September?

2011-07-05T04:58:00.000-07:00

If you're out and about looking for new cars the next couple of months take a few moments to adjust your seat and you may save yourself hours of pain.

Setting up your driving position

· Move seat as high as is comfortable to give maximum vision of the road and adequate clearance from the roof

· Move seat forwards to enable you to fully depress the clutch and accelerator pedal. Adjust the height as necessary again.

· Adjust the seat tilt so thighs are fully supported and no pressure behind the knee

· Adjust the back rest to provide support along back. Avoid leaning back to far as this will put strain in the neck as you bend forwards to drive.

· Use the lumber support to ensure even pressure along the back with no pressure points or gaps

· Adjust the steering wheel up or down, forwards or back for easy reach

· Check for clearance of knees and thighs when using the pedals

· To minimise the risk of injury in an accident adjust the head restraint.

Repeat these steps again to fine tune your position. We wish you many happy hours of pain free driving.

We are happy to advise you free of charge on your car seating position. Just call us at the clinic and we will arrange for you to come in. We will spend a few minutes with you looking at your driving position and listening to your driving needs. We will then help you adjust your seat so that it feels comfortable for you and supports your body correctly.

Walking For Health and Weight Loss

2011-04-01T03:54:00.000-07:00

No excuses, the weathers warmer, the evening and mornings lighter and its free. With so many tightening their financial belts gym memberships are being cancelled. The easiest way to improve your mood, your fitness and lose weight is to walk briskly.

Every day I hear excuses as to why you can’t do this. Just ask yourself what would happen if you could. Sometimes it’s a matter of turning off the stress box (the TV) and living your life more instead of watching others. Sometimes it’s a matter of getting up 20 minutes earlier and waking your body up in the fresh morning air. I know all our street cleaners, cafe cleaners and window cleaners. (Not that this is a recommendation for early walking). People say ‘Good Morning’ early in the day. The early morning club.

Don’t try to do it, just do it and it doesn’t have be long. Just 20 minutes perhaps in your lunch break will make a significant difference to your concentration, your weight loss and your well-being. It’s amazing how many problems get solved when I walk.

Let me know how you get on.

6 Top Tips for Avoiding Computer Back Pain

2011-02-22T05:33:00.000-08:00

Tip One: Invest in a decent office chair. It should be stable and adjustable allowing freedom of movement. To keep your pelvis upright, your thighs should be at a 110 degree angle to your trunk. The lumber support of your chair should fit the small of your back to maintain the natural ‘s’ shape of the spine.

Tip Two: The best designed chair in the world cannot help unless used properly. Make full use of the chair movement (especially when reaching behind you or for the phone) and try not to slouch.

Tip Three: Take frequent breaks and change position. Every 20 minutes stand and move around briefly. If this is difficult, stand to take a phone call or move from side to side and twist gently on your chair regularly. Changing your posture regularly works wonders to avoid putting the same muscle groups under strain.

Tip Four: Your keyboard should be directly in front of you and have the monitor square on so you don’t have to turn your head to look at it. Your screen should be at arms length away from your face with the top of the screen horizontal to your line of sight. If using a laptop, try placing it on a forward-sloping surface to raise the screen. A copy holder should be used for holding documents.

Tip Five: Never, ever, ever jam your phone between shoulder and ear. I f you spend a long time on the phone each day and have to use the computer at the same time, invest in a headset.

Tip Six: Many headaches are caused by dehydration. Keep a pint glass of water by your desk and keep your hydration levels high.

Setting Goals For 2011

2011-01-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

I spent a whole morning with a very dear friend on Saturday at Polesden Lacey House. We sat in the restaurant for nearly 3 hours talking through our goals for 2011. Part of this is a reflection on last year. Now I know I often say you cannot drive forwards looking in the rear view mirror and I agree with this on a day to day basis. However, I do think a review of where you have come from and what you have learned about yourself is a useful thing to do once in a while. It is also brilliant to have a ‘buddy’ who is on your side and will challenge you to think more carefully or deeply about something. Looking back over the year I came to realise how much stronger I have grown mentally and also how excited I get by change. This creates in me an energy flow that I support further by creating more balance in my life than perhaps I have done before in my life.

This is a good starting point for creating my vision for this year, both professionally and personally.

So now the first excitement of the New Year is out of the way, you should review 2010 and see what you achieved and what you have learned about yourself. Then think about what you want this year to be for you. What goals do you want to reach? Then take action!

A goal without action is but a dream!

Goal setting is always part of my work before we do any hypnotherapy. Whether it’s for stopping smoking, losing weight, increasing confidence or a whole year plan on the Wheel of Life it’s easier with someone on your team. Call 0118 978 2409 to book your Free Chat today and have a clear road map ahead.

2 More Christmas Stress Busters- Eating Frogs and Rewarding Yourself

2010-12-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Eat the frog first! This well known expression, to me anyway makes a massive difference to all poor time planners. Whatever you do not want to do or are avoiding doing, do it first because if have to eat a frog, he won’t get any prettier looking at him! So if you know you must do those exercises, get out of bed and do them, then you can feel virtuous for the rest of the day. Or at least until lunchtime when you are supposed to do them again.
Reward yourself frequently. It’s amazing how little things can help so much. A short walk round the garden with a cup of coffee or 10 minutes with your magazine and a cup of tea can create a natural change of pace that will help the brain to rest and refocus. I personally set the oven alarm so that as I work at the computer I know that when this goes off I get up and stretch and then have a 10 minute break with a book in another room.
Book a relaxing de-stressing treatment at the clinic-aromatherapy or reflexology.

http://www.warrclinic.co.uk/index.php?p=30/79/0

Have great day

4 Top Tips to Avoid Christmas Stress

2010-12-01T03:54:00.000-08:00

I am highly disorganised this time of year. Thoughts start to spin in my head but over the years I have found a few simple ways to deal with those thought so that I feel productive and not panicked.

Short and simple they do work.

Brain Dump everything you have to do onto a large sheet of paper. This can be done for the week or the day.
Now be utterly ruthless and ask which tasks are an absolute must and which are really not urgent, not important and if they never get done it really won’t matter or can be crossed off for some other time. E.g. cleaning under the beds because your mother WILL look.
Then set your goals for the week or the day. Your absolute musts that will make a significant difference to your stress levels. E.g. Writing Christmas cards so that you can catch the second class mail and your overseas ones will arrive before January 15^th. Placing the delivery order with Waitrose etc so that you won’t have to join the last minute scrum and also buy ‘stuff’ you don’t really want.
Ideally spend about 10 minutes planning the most important things you need to get done tomorrow before you finish your day. This might be at work or perhaps 10 minutes before you start to prepare supper. It is amazing what a difference this can make to your evening and day knowing that you have already got tomorrow worked out.

A couple more soon. Have great day.

Back Pain- How it is Caused and Exercises to Prevent

2010-10-29T03:08:00.000-07:00

Back pain awareness week has just finished and was important to highlight back pain as a problem within our society, one which can touch each of us on a daily basis.

There are many structures within the spine which may emit pain. The Disc is the most commonly affected, it is the central shock absorption structure and enables the spine to bend smoothly. The problem comes when the disc is static for long periods or abnormally loaded during movement. It requires a fine interaction of movement and the flowing of fluid in and out keeping the cells hydrated and healthy.

The Disc is loaded with fluid it is sensitive to pressure changes so it is vital we bend properly and in a controlled manner. During static postures the disc can be subjected to the starvation of fluid carrying nutrients and oxygen and therefore the cells will become dysfunctional. This can accelerate degeneration and further make the structure susceptible to injury.

The joints either side of the disc, the facet joints, are responsible for allowing each vertebrae to sit on top of one another. The joints follow the same basic properties as any other joint in the body. They have cartilage to protect bone surfaces and enable movement, fluid to nourish the cartilage and a membrane to encapsulate the area. Like any other joint in the body it can become stiff is its not moved.

The spine has a primary role of housing the spinal cord as it descends through the body to supply respective muscles, joints, organs etc. with a nerve impulse and reciprocally carry information on a return journey to the brain.

Looking after your spine is a way to enhance to general well being. Maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise will ensure you muscles are adequately conditioned to deal with the stresses and strains of daily living. Diet will provide the body with appropriate nutrients to nourish cells and keep them healthy.

Sounds a lot? Ok, then let’s start a little smaller. Here are some very simple stretches with the aim of enhancing flexibility and therefore reducing the chances of getting back pain.

1: Flexion Lie on your back with your knees to chest- clasp arms round

2: Rotation Lie on back with both knees bent. Cross one leg over the other and then gently rotate spine to other side. Repeat on other leg.

3: Extension Put hand on buttocks and gently lean backwards

4: Flexion (also called angry Cat!) On all fours with arms below shoulder baldes gently arch the back.

The names of each exercise relate to the direction of movement the spine is subjected to.

They are easy and require no special equipment. They should be done GENTLY, SLOWLY, and IN A CONTROLLED MANNER.

Do not rush exercises and always make sure you are in complete control of the manoeuvre.

Aim to perform these exercises twice a day repeating each 5 times and holding the stretch for 10 seconds at a time.

If you have an existing problem or you are not sure if these exercises are for you then consult one of our physiotherapists in person or by telephone. In general they are safe, however you should discontinue use if encountering pain.

Written by Adrian Wagstaff Chartered Physiotherapist at The Warr Physiotherapy Clinic Wokingham
http://www.warrclinic.co.uk/