Thoughtful Thursday - October 15th
Clinic Updates
A few murmurs coming through about the current state of play. Would like to assure everybody we believe that we will continue to be deemed as an essential service, as we were earlier in the year. This would mean we can remain open to help you all and do our part to ease any potential burdens on the NHS as we did then. Potential of this happening is one of the reasons we have continued to limit clinic numbers to ensure it would be easy to carry on (sorry… it is also why some of our practitioners are booked out for weeks in advance!).
In terms of people missing:
Putney – Bryan is off for a breather from tomorrow and will be back Tuesday 27th. He is pretty much full that week, so definitely call us ASAP if you would like to see him.
Tooting – Michael is pinching a long weekend so Zara will be in to help you all on Saturday AND Sunday this week – you are all very spoiled!
Tooting – Matilda & Megan (aka M&M) have been doing a fab job while Kate V and Pearl have been chilling this week. Again, members of the other clinics are picking up the phone to help you this week so don’t freak if you have some random take the call!
Fulham – Sammy is pinching a long weekend so is off on Friday 30th just for the day.
Podcast(s) of the Week
Attention all ski bunnies: Friday’s Instagram live chat is not to be missed! Craig will be talking to Warren Smith of the Warren Smith Ski Academy at 10:30am here. Warren is one of Britain’s leading professional free skiers and an internationally qualified performance coach and instructor, and they’ll be discussing topics such as “will we have a ski season” (yes), “what will it look like” (?) and the Holy Trinity of skiing: equipment (shout-out to our mates at Profeet!), ski technique and body performance. Warren will also share his experience of how chiropractic has helped his performance on the slopes. If you have any questions for Warren, feel free to ask them here or just pop in a comment during the live chat.
Earlier this week, Craig also had a fascinating talk with Harry Rowland, a former pro rugby player and fitness professional who’s turned his attention to the wonders of functional range conditioning. Harry explained in depth how mobility training can help virtually anyone – no level of fitness or flexibility is required to partake in or benefit from FRC. If you missed it, you can have a watch on our IGTV, or listen to it as a podcast here. And if, like us, you found it really interesting and would like to learn more, keep on reading…
Don’t forget, you can also catch our podcast on other platforms such as Spotify, Apple and Google, too.
Shameless Plug(s) of the Week
During our Insta live chat with Harry Rowland, he emphasised the importance of moving your body at regular intervals in order to keep it mobile. It’s something that we strongly believe in, too, but many misinterpret the idea of “moving” to mean “exercising”. Harry simplifies this idea by defining “moving” as not staying in one fixed position for an extended period of time.
A great example he gives is to sit on the floor with your legs at 90° angles – as it’s not as comfortable as sitting cross-legged, after a while you’ll be encouraged to shift your weight, lean back on your hands or switch your legs to the opposite side, thus keeping you moving without even realising it. (This position is also a great hip opener as it works on both internal and external rotations of the joints.)
Harry also advocates implementing a simple daily movement routine, that he likens to “brushing your teeth for your joints”, called CARs (controlled articular rotations). These easy exercises take 10-15 minutes to perform, won’t make you sweat, don’t require any equipment and are a great way to start your day. If you’d like to add them into your routine, simply follow this link and Harry will send you his free CARs video with all the essential exercises.
For those requiring a little more help, or wanting to focus on a particular area, you might like to check out his new Honest Mobility Membership, which he touched upon during the live chat. This online membership features a full library of mobility exercises and classes, which are organised by body part (so you can work on those problem parts) and updated regularly (fresh content!). There are also tips on nutrition, sleep and building good habits, and a few bad jokes thrown in to keep things entertaining! If you’re keen to test it out, you can try it for free for 7 days before subscribing (£12.99 a month).
In the meantime, here’s a lovely little starting point: a super easy sequence to improve your spinal mobility that Harry filmed at the beginning of lockdown (he would like to mention the production quality of his new videos has improved greatly since this was filmed!). So if you’ve been sitting at your desk or on the sofa for a while, take this as your cue to get some movement into your body to complement your chiro care and let us know how you get on!
Ask the Team
Michael Lezuo DC answers your question…
If I have a flare-up, what can I do to alleviate any symptoms until I can receive care?
Keep moving – even just walking – as it prevents the muscles from going back into spasm. Apply an ice pack to the area where it is sore. Wrap it in a tea towel and put it on for a few minutes, then keep it off for about 20-30 minutes before reapplying.
You can also try some turmeric (either as tablet, or as a powder or fresh root added to a curry, tea, smoothie etc.). Turmeric has a lot of anti-inflammatory properties and can help your body heal faster.
Given the external noise, we will keep you posted on how things look for us being available to help you as/when they develop. Will keep you up-to-date in our Monday and Thursday emails and on our our social media, or you can do this CRAZY thing by using your phone – as an actual phone – and call us to say hi to keep up in real time.
Speak soon (maybe?),
Drew