People want to know if they should invest in their health. Is it worth spending money on chiropractic? You may have heard chiropractic is "not cheap". I wouldn't call it expensive. And I know that bargain hunting for great healthcare rarely ends well. So check out these three simple math equations to see if chiropractic is really value for money!
Flying to your favourite destinations this festive season? Although you may be making you friends envious, your body is probably thinking “No!! Not another long flight, cramped leg space, dry skin, bland food and changes in time zones!”
You may have worked your game plan - a neck pillow, ear plugs, and an eye mask. And yet those stiff shoulders and neck or back pain still haunt you. Prolonged sitting and poor posture can cause plenty of discomfort, especially when you add on the pressure, humidity and cramped conditions of an air plain. If these poor posture habits are not changed, the discomforts will soon turn into pain, ruining your holiday plans. So what can you do to prevent the unnecessary suffering? Keep our handy ABC’s with you on your coming trip!
What's the best office chair for back pain and neck aches? For something that we use every day for hours at a time, the office chair is often overlooked.
Those sitting their entire work day sitting put themselves at high-risk of back pain, neck pain and headaches, as well as chronic health conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Medical experts have started referring to long periods of inactivity and it’s negative consequences as “sitting disease”.
Here's a brief excerpt from Chapter 25 of my book, discussing the 8 essential features of the best ergonomic office chair.
Which foam roller should I buy? Are the ones with spikes better? Are those expensive brands really better?
Foam rollers are fantastic self massage tools with many benefits. (You can read about 5 lesser known benefits here.) This massage is done by using body weight to apply pressure on your back, legs, arms, and areas and is great for all sorts of muscle aches and pains. It can also be used for stretching, mobility, strengthening and proprioceptive exercises.
There are many reasons why everyone should use and will benefit from using a foam roller. For one, it's versatility - to self massage, to stretch, to enhance your endurance, to build strength, to enhance stability and balance, to make you look great, and of course, get rid of those aches and pains!! It's essentially your personal masseuse and best workout buddy! You can read all about the benefits, and all the how-to's for self massage, stretching and even strengthening in my upcoming ebook “On a Roll - Feeling Great and Getting in Shape” launching soon.
Although foam rollers are mostly used by people who do extensive workouts, or by recommendation by chiropractors, physiotherapists and personal trainers, anyone can and should use them. I encourage everyone of my clients, whether an athlete, mother, uber driver, accountant or investment banker, to use foam rollers for one simple reason: To help loosen up the body’s muscles and decrease tension accumulated by our daily postural habits. (Yes, we all have tension!)
How do foam rollers relieve tension? What are the benefits of using one? Why should we all be using them?
It’s estimated that 80% of people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives.
So here it is: The FREE, EASY, Do-It-Yourself QUICK FIX for back pain, disc herniations and pinched nerves.
We know the human body adapts to survive on a daily basis. We see this when we encounter a virus and the body adapts to shut it down. It also occurs when we have a fever and the body adapts to take care of it, thus returning the system to homeostasis. When the body is unable to adapt to both the internal and environmental conditions that affect it, it becomes easy for illness to develop and thrive. This is one reason chiropractors take a keen interest in supporting the neurological and physiological systems within the body – so that there are minimal impediments to adaptation, thus allowing the body to thrive and heal.
Do you consider yourself a performance vehicle? Or a second hand sedan?
Imagine a typical day: Not enough sleep, hectic schedules, poor posture, work stress, difficult clients, office politics, deadlines, overtime, poor food choices, not enough water, chores, looking after kids, cooking, cleaning, ironing, exercise.... which version of you would handle that better? The well-tuned F1 race car, or a second hand sedan?
Many people want to achieve weight loss, and for many reasons. Some want to be slimmer, whiles others want their image to be comparable to their friend or a celebrity. Some want to drop the weight because of health reasons, like heart disease or diabetes. Others choose to shed the pounds because they think it will solve their back pains, hip problems or knee injury. But does it really solve your aches and pains?
Heel pain is really a bother. It hurts, and makes us feel crippled. We can't walk properly and living every day with this limitation is really depressing. Luckily there is a solution. We don't have to suffer. Say Goodbye to Heel Pain! Check out all you need to know about heel pain here! Got a question? Feel free to ask
Heard about chiropractic before but never experienced it? Does chiropractic really work? Is it effective or is it a hoax? This is a MUST READ for those looking to try chiropractic!
Want to know who I am? Here's the real details. There's more to me than this brief bio: Dr Gary Tho is an Australian Chiropractor, speaker and author of “The
Pain-Free Desk Warrior, Free yourself from aches and pains”. He specialises in pain relief & peak performance.
He has been interviewed by TV7 breakfast show, 938Live radio & newspapers and magazines in South East Asia. As an ex-athlete, Dr Gary knows how debilitating pain can be. He believes we all deserve health and happiness.
Sit too long? Yes. Regardless if we exercise or not, we sit longer than any other generation. Even with our wonderful wearable tech gadgets and our gym sessions, our daily sitting habits increase our risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and death. Simply put, regular workouts, with all its health benefits, do not entirely counteract the negative effects of sitting.
Smoking Kills. Drink Driving Kills. Now a new bad boy has joined the ranks. Sitting Kills. But there's something simple we can all do to avoid it. Get your bottom up! Here's why.
It's so uncomfortable when you try to sit up straight. Am I even sitting correctly? What's the best sitting posture? The most common frustration of those stuck at their desk for more than 2 hours a day is finally answered. Here's the FIVE STEPS TO SITTING MASTERY.
Studies show that many children carry backpacks heavily loaded with more than the recommended maximum weight. This is well known among Singaporean Parents, as their children are required to bring school books to and from school and tuition. A recent study has shown that children are also likely to experience neck and shoulder pain, as well as the commonly-reported back pain.
However, pain does not always show up immediately. Many children develop other signs and symptoms before pain sets in. In practice, I hear complaints of poor posture, difficulty finding a comfortable sitting or sleeping position, difficulty concentrating, stiffness, headaches, and general non-specific unease or discomfort.
So I would like to issue a warning to parents this January – check the weight and fitting of your child’s bag before they go back to school to avoid the risk of long term spinal damage.
Children should not carry loads of more than 10 per cent of their own body weight to maintain normal postural alignment and the backpack should be no wider than their chest. Lifting a bag that is too heavy causes immediate strain on the spine and the longer a child carries the load, the more severe the damage.
I strongly suggest that students make use of school lockers, observe timetables and plan homework well in advance to reduce the need to carry large numbers of books in the one journey.
The ideal backpack should have broad, adjustable shoulder straps that distribute weight evenly across the shoulders. They should also feature waist straps (like you can find on trekking packs) that distribute weight evenly across the hips and hold the backpack firmly to the spine.
Having these features are fantastic, though I would urge parents to remind their children that how they use the backpack and features is more important. To gain maximum benefit from these features, your children must use both straps, and keep the straps tight enough that the backpack stays on the back and above the hips.
When packing your school bag, all heavy items, including text books, tablets or laptops, should be packed at the bottom of the backpack and as close to the spine as possible.
There are numerous backpacks that Dr Gary Tho recommends including the Ergobag, Satch, McNeil and the MoonRock Bag, the latest lightweight ergonomic school bag for kids. Connect with him on email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn for recommendations and any current promotions on kids ergonomic bags, bedding and chairs, desks and the like.
Dr Gary Tho is the owner of Chiropractic Works, a Family Sports and Wellness clinic in Orchard Road, Singapore. He specialises in pain relief and preventative care and believes quality life is essential for happiness, success and peak performance. For more information and advice, phone Dr Gary Tho on +65 6733 4439.
"No one has enough time - all the more reason to give up some of yours. The more we value something, such as our precious time, the more important it is to give it away.... [we] need to overcome this inward looking philosophy that keeps us small and close-minded. By looking outwards and helping others in need, we cannot help but grow as individuals." - Andrew Griffiths
