Five Things About……

🌶️Did you know that Chillies are good for you? 🌶️

1. Chilli Peppers help Your Immune System
Due to their high content of vitamins, specifically Vitamins A and C, Chilli peppers have long been valued as a powerful immunity booster.

2. Chilli Peppers help to ramp up your metabolism. Capsaicin is the compound that is the source of a Chilli pepper’s spiciness. It is an alkaloid compound found primarily within the seeds and veins of a pepper, and it seems to be a veritable fount of good health. It is thought that the heat you experience as you eat the Chilli can also increase your body temperature. Known in the scientific community as thermogenesis, this production of heat requires increased work from your metabolism.

3. Chilli Peppers could be enhancing your Heart Health. The benefits of capsaicin don’t end with metabolic support. This amazing compound has been shown to help in the reduction of cholesterol and triglyceride levels while reducing the risk of blood clot formation. Reducing these risk factors in your cardiovascular system translates into lowered risks of suffering a heart attack, stroke or deadly blood clot.

4. Chilli Peppers could be reducing body wide inflammation. Capsaicin seems to be a sort of Jack-of-all-trades in relation to the health of human body, supporting and maintaining the health of nearly all of our major systems. It has been shown to be a powerful anti-inflammatory, actually inhibiting the action of certain peptides in the body that cause irritation and swelling. Pain, such as arthritis, headaches, sinus pressure and muscle and joint aches, are usually caused by inflammatory responses that your body produces in an attempt to eradicate an irritant.

5. Chilli Peppers – helping to fight against Diabetes.
Research has shown that eating meals containing Chilli peppers can be highly beneficial for those suffering from diabetes. It seems that Chillies reduce the amount of insulin needed to digest food, translating into a lowered overall level of blood sugar. This reduction in insulin production also helps to reduce the strain on the liver, leading to a more fully functional enzyme cascade within the digestive system.

www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk

 

Cupping & Tui Na

Cupping can be used to find the zones causing pain and stiffness and relieve them of their stagnation. These marks are textbook for localised pain and typical of someone suffering from Fybromyalgia. They’re not too dark or densely speckled and you’ll notice not every placement produced the marking… Followed up by some Tui Na (Chinese massage) . The relief a patient feels post treatment is extraordinary! A patients words after treatment  today were “I feel so much lighter and free”
This patient used to see our Acupuncturist Laura Jones every week for 6 weeks to manage her symptoms then gradually spaced treatment out so now she is seen once a month. Acupuncture and cupping isn’t painful.

These marks will slowly fade as the body removes the waste and allow for better blood flow therefore less painYou can make an appointment to try cupping or acupuncture or both!

Free consultations available if you want to find out more before giving it a go
Www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk

 

Your body. One whole complex piece

Your body works as one whole complex piece! We have the tendancy to compartmentalise our bodies and focus on one bit at a time when there’s an issue. Often at times forgetting that emotion strongly affects physiology and that our organs feel stress too!

Where do you feel your worry? Fear? Joy? Anger? Grief? As just one example – you might feel “sick to the stomach” with worry….

Think about how you experience health and illness and view your body inside and out as a whole system

Following on  but on the same theme here’s a fun image showing the names of muscles! All of which work well as a team. You’re never really using just one! And they need smooth functioning fascia, tendons and ligaments too. Keep your system running at its best. 

Call one of our clinics or email to find out how our skilled practioners can care for your whole body. You really don’t need to suffer.

contact@cedarhallclinics.co.uk

Thurrock 01375 678877

Benfleet 01268 774249

 

Knowing Your “Empty” Warning Signs

Living with chronic health conditions can be a struggle

When treating patients with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Kidney disease or similar….I find myself always explaining the notion of knowing your “empty warning sign” or “red line”.

Often patients who suffer these complaints have to or want to keep up with day to day demands of their lives. Whether that’s work demands, house hold tasks, childcare or just staying above the water with their symptoms it can be a real struggle. During their acupuncture treatments a stage of symptom management is met usually fairly quickly and the patient feels more accessible energy and dampened negative symptoms which invigorates them to do more.

Doing more is absolutely great and I encourage it but what I see and hear in 8/10 cases is “I felt great so I caught up on X Y or Z and now I feel so very tired, I don’t know what’s happened.”

So what’s going on here?

Well what these patients hear from me next is my explanation for energy management when achieving balance for treatment progression and stability! Think of yourself as a car with a fuel gauge.  When you are working, cleaning or caring for others you are using vital energy, when we are ill we don’t have much energy spare so we tend to conserve or over use and feel drained. In this state you are often always on the “red line” and burning your reserves into fumes! So when you intially feel more energetic and able like you’ve got a quarter tank, burn it all up miss the empty warning light for the “red line” and burn straight back into fumes; starting at the point you wanted to get away from!

In order to rebuild your energy you need to know what your body uses as your warning light!!! You cannot replenish on fumes every time.  Signs from the body usually include; light headedness or dizziness, aching, burning or dry eyes, sore joints and of course feeling tired.

Many chronic suffers ignore these signs so they feel they are “fighting” their condition but really they’re fighting themselves. If you listen to your signs, sit and relax, eat something nutritious and rest your body for half an hour or so you’ll find you recover and get past your red line and rebuild your reserve rather than burning out. Listen to your body regularly and realise this is not your giving in to weakness but restoring your strength!

Laura Jones – Acupuncturist – Cedar Hall Clinics

 

Osteopathy & the Mum-to-Be

OSTEOPATHY & THE MUM-TO-BE

Being pregnant is a unique and powerful life experience. It is a time which you can, and should enjoy. During pregnancy your body undergoes immense physical, hormonal and emotional changes.

These changes occur over a relatively short space of time, and your body has to continually adapt to accommodate these changes. Up to 10 kilograms in weight of baby, placenta and fluids may be. carried, putting a fair amount of physical strain on the body. In order for you to adapt to all these changes you have to find new ways to sit, sleep & walk resulting in various aches, pains and discomfort.

Many pregnant women find osteopathy treatments very helpful throughout their pregnancy for pain reduction and preparation for labour. As well as helping to reduce back, hip or leg pain, neck and shoulder discomfort, osteopathy can also help the body prepare for labour and delivery. Many women suffer pain in the groin or lower abdomen with a feeling that ‘something is about to give’ is often diagnosed as Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) or Pelvic Girdle Dysfunction. This can make walking and even moving extremely difficult. SPD is often misdiagnosed in pregnancy and the majority of patients with these symptoms respond incredibly well to Osteopathy

Your osteopath can also:

• Give advice on exercises and stretches and breathing techniques you can do to maintain your health and wellbeing throughout your pregnancy
• Help prepare ‘the way’ for a more trouble free childbirth, by improving flexibility in the pelvis and abdomen
• Help the mother to recover after birth

After the birth you may want to have a mother and baby health check with your osteopath. For mum this will check and correct any remaining strains in the back & pelvis and also help you regain your strength and flexibility. For baby this will address any effects from the moulding process of birth.

If you would like more information our osteopaths will be happy to answer any questions. Call us on 01375 678877 or 01268 774249.

 

 

Looking After Mum

OSTEOPATHY – POST PREGNANCY

Why see an Osteopath after the birth of your child?

Pregnancy and birth places stress on a women’s body, stretching ligaments and joints. Treatment by an osteopath can help restore the body’s balance, removing tension and assisting new mothers cope with broken sleep and breastfeeding. By realigning the spine and pelvis, Osteopaths can also help restore circulation.  There is a growing trend for midwives to recommend a visit to an osteopath for both mum and new baby.

Common Post Natal complaints treated by Osteopaths are:

Coccyx and Sacro-illiac Joint pain is a result of changes in ligaments during childbirth. As the baby passes through the pelvis it causes warping and stretching of the coccyx and the sacro illiac joint which can damage the joint. This condition, if not treated, can deteriorate due to increased pressure on the joint when lifting and carrying baby post birth.

Pubic-symphisis joint pain occurs when the front of the pubic bone will open, or is stretched during childbirth. This causes sharp pain and if not treated may lead to an altered pelvis and pelvic mechanics, producing pain in the pelvis and lower back.

Back pain results from carrying heavy loads like baby capsules; and even your baby and the mandatory carry-all crammed with a child’s never ending list of  “accessories”.

Neck and shoulder pain may result from incorrect posture during breast feeding.

The sacrum, consisting of the lower vertebrae of the spine, needs to swing out of the way during the birth and may not return to a balanced position between the pelvic bones.  This may lead to lower back pain and sciatic pain, and alter the spinal curves of the upper back.

How can you help your body to recover?

• Sleep: If you are feeling tired and sleep deprived, sleep when your baby sleeps. This will assist in your recovery and ability to handle stress and remain calm.
• Drink lots of water and eat nutritious meals. This keeps your strength up, and increases the body’s ability to provide breast milk and cope with fatigue and lack of sleep.
• Do pelvic floor exercises. The sooner you do these after birth the better, as they rebalance the pelvis, and assist bladder control.
• Start light exercise. No matter how tired you feel, a little light exercise will make you feel better so push yourself to reap the benefits of movement. Try yoga, walking or swimming. These activities will improve general blood circulation, stretch the muscles and improve general well being.

ENJOY THOSE PRECIOUS MOMENTS WITH YOUR BABY

 

 

A Marathon Challenge

Top tips to help you back to running in record breaking time.

Our osteopath Lorraine offers some no nonsense, easy to follow top tips to get you back to performing at your best!

Are you training for or just completed a marathon? At this time of year our practitioner’s report seeing lots of patients complaining of running type injuries.

A little known fact is that if you raise your legs to 90 degrees following a run, the lactic acid will be felt less the following day in your legs. You should ideally rest them up a wall for a good 10 minutes.

Rehydration is very important. Ideally rehydration salts mixed with water but a good quality sports drink should be sufficient.

You don’t need vast amounts. But you do need to recover sodium levels that have been lost through perspiration.

Painful muscle cramp can be caused by dehydration. The best way to deal with it is to rest, sip a sports drink and gently try to stretch the affected muscle.

Relax for the rest of the day. It is going to take 3 days for the inflammation to reduce so maybe take turmeric supplements or even ibuprofen (if appropriate for you) to help.

Heat is not your friend. If you have a sore lower back, knee, shin or Achilles tendon there is more likely inflammation present. If you apply heat to an inflamed area it attracts more blood locally, which in turn increases inflammation.

As heat is applied pain reduces as the inflammatory markers in the blood are reduced/ diluted by the additional blood. Unfortunately this in turn brings more inflammatory markers. You take off the heat and the additional blood reduces but, the extra inflammatory markers remain.

You need ice or something cold on the sore areas. Ideally for 3-5 mins per hour and gentle movement to stop the inflammation from building up. I am not talking about a brisk walk, just a standing up every half hour or so just to mobilise around the back and hips for a couple of minutes.

Injury

There is very little an osteopath can do for the first 72 hours following an injury.

With muscle strains and ligamentous sprains our advice is RICE. That is unless it’s a significant injury. Then you should visit A&E immediately.

If you feel an injury is more than a sprain or strain you should see your GP. If you suspect fracture, dislocation or ligamentous rupture that’s a trip to the hospital.

Rest the injured part

Ice the area regularly. It’s recommended to ice an injury for 20 mins every 2 hours.

Compress the injured area. A compression bandage is ideal.

Elevate the injured area

If after 72 hours there is still pain, that’s the time to visit us at Cedar Hall Clinics in Thurrock or Benfleet in Essex. We are highly trained to give you a diagnosis, treatment (if appropriate), advice on management and a prognosis.

With regards to running again, injured or not, I’d recommend taking a little time off. At least to begin with.

Avoid any running at all for a week, maybe two, depending on how you feel. Walking is OK and is a good way to reduce the metabolic waste products from the muscles.

You can contact us on 01375 678877 or 01268 774249 we offer free assessments

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Mobility Matters

Age is not necessarily a barrier to keeping fit & active. At Cedar Hall Clinics we can help older people improve mobility, strength and fitness following surgery, injury or illness with treatments tailor made for each individual.

Our team of therapists often work together to achieve optimum recovery for each patient which may include osteopathy, physiotherapy, acupuncture and rehabilitation exercises.

We also offer home visits to those who are housebound due to pain/injury/surgery and more information can be obtained from our Reception team on 01268 774249 or 01375 678877

http://www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk

 

We Like to say Goodbye

You’re always welcome at our clinics but we are always pleased to say farewell. It means that you’ve fully recovered from your ache, pain or injury! You always have the reassurance that should ache,pain or injury strike again, for whatever reason, Cedar Hall Clinics are here to help with our team of highly skilled Osteopathy, Acupuncture, Physiotherapy & Sports Injury practitioners.

cedarhallclinics.co.uk

www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk

 

From Birth to Beyond Retirement

With many years’ experience Cedar Hall Clinics in Thurrock & Benfleet provide the highest quality osteopathy & physiotherapy healthcare for all your family and are friendly, professional and thorough. We have treated so many thousands of now fully recovered patients over the years & we want to help you break that cycle of pain. Our practitioners are all specialists in their field and will ensure you get the correct treatment to facilitate a rapid recovery.

We are committed to providing a great service right from your initial assessment through to the completion of your final treatment.

www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk