Typically, a migraine is pulsating or throbbing sensation of severe intensity, often on one side. It is usually associated with nausea and/or vomiting and can be accompanied by light and sound sensitivity.

It is understood that migraines are caused by abnormal activity in the brain and can be triggered by:

1. Hormonal change, for example, some women will experience symptoms at different stages of the menstruation cycle.
2. Emotional stress such as anxiety, depression or even excitement.
3. Physical causes such as poor posture, neck and shoulder tension, insufficient sleep etc.
4. Dietary triggers such as allergies, caffeine, alcohol. Dehydration and irregular mealtimes have also been linked.
5. Environmental triggers such as flickering screens, loud noises or strong smell.

Tips for Migraine Sufferers:

1. Keep a migraine diary. One of the major issues for migraine sufferers is trying to establish which of these triggers cause their migraines. A diary containing information such as when the migraine occurs, dietary and fluid intake for the previous 24 hours, mental state, stage of menstrual cycle (for women), activities and sleep for previous 24 hours etc, will help to establish any patterns and regular triggers.
2. Be aware of warning signs. Often there are warning signs such as unexplained mood change or tiredness, neck stiffness and nausea. If these early symptoms are identified and responded to, it may prevent a full-blown attack.
3. Reduce general stress levels. There has been much research on the impact stress has on a wide range of health issues. Mindfulness, meditation, getting out in nature, scheduling down time and prioritising self-care may help.
4. Make healthy lifestyle choices. Keeping hydrated, making sure you are getting enough sleep, being conscious of what you are ingesting, and exercising regularly may reduce symptomology.
5. Are your migraines impacted by your posture, neck tension, stress or rounded shoulder? We regularly work on improving posture and reducing stress in your neck and upper body. Make an appointment to see your OT or chiro asap!

Living with migraines can be a huge challenge but knowing how to manage migraine pain with lifestyle and behavioural measures, as well as medication, can be the most effective way to handle migraines.

The post Tips for Migraines appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

Fun fact, an average desk worker will spend almost 1700 hours a year in front of a computer screen. That’s a long time staring at a glowing rectangle. Apart from getting up, stretching or walking every 30 minutes to an hour, it’s important to make sure your posture has the support it needs from your office chair. Although comfort can be subjective, the best office chairs for your posture share the same attributes. To avoid back pain or back problems in the workplace, read on to find out what the best office chairs have in common.

Lumbar Support

Your lumbar spine is otherwise known as your lower spine. Naturally our lower spines have a curve in them. When seated for long periods of time, without lower back support, it is common for us to round our lower backs and straighten this curve. This can strain the lumbar spine, creating discomfort and possible back issues.

To avoid this from happening, investing in an ergonomic office chair is essential. An ergonomic office chair will offer an adjustable lumbar support which you can position to adequately support your lumbar curve.

Removable/Adjustable Armrest

Arm rests should be adjusted to make sure they do not interfere with access to the desk. Arm rests can block your ability to get in close to the edge of the desk, causing you to over stretch to reach your keyboard.  Drop the arm rests to a level that does not disrupt your ergonomic set up, or remove them all together.

Adjustable Height 

A chair that has an adjustable feature for its height is important to ensure you are seated correctly. You must ensure your feet are planted flat onto the ground, your lower back is placed firmly on the back of the chair and your arms and thighs are horizontal to the height of the desk.

Adjustable Backrest

Look for an office chair with a back rest that is adjustable in both height and angle. These features will not only help support the natural curves of your spine, but will also help you maintain good working posture while you are at your desk!

Seat Depth

The depth of the seat of your office chair is an important feature to support good working posture.  Sit right back in your chair so your back is supported by the back rest and lumbar support. Your feet should be placed comfortably and firmly on the ground, and the back of your knees should have a few inches of space clearance from the seat edge (at least 2 finger space).

Finding a chair that allows you to adjust the seat a forwards or backwards tilt, will also help significantly.

Swivel Component

Finally, make sure your desk chair has a swivel component. This will allow you to swivel around so you can properly align yourself to your tasks without straining.

To ensure you are doing what you can for the health and function of your spine, invest in an ergonomic office chair.

For any other information or inquiries regarding back/spinal pain or if you would like to book an appointment with the team at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Occupational Therapy Wembley, Perth Western Australia call (08) 9382 3466.

Alternatively, you can contact us via our contact form here.

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1) Meditation

A discipline that involves turning the mind and attention inward and focussing on a single thought, feeling, image or object. Regular mediation has long been associated with reducing stress and improving health and well-being. The following article is a great practical guide to introducing meditation to your life. http://www.abc.net.au/health/library/stories/2012/10/25/3617513.htm

2) Mindfulness

A type of meditation – this is the practise of bringing one’s attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis. So often we are caught up in thinking about the hundred things we have to do or worrying about the future, we are unable to process the present moment. The following site gives some great easy exercises to improving your mindfulness.

http://www.livingwell.org.au/mindfulness-exercises-3/

3) Exercise

Regular exercise produces positive endorphins and increases your overall health and sense of well-being. Whether it’s walking, running, swimming, cycling (just ask our Ride to Conquer Cancer ambassador Jacque Beros), yoga, pilates, sport or group fitness it will improve your physical and mental health. If you would like some assistance or inspiration with your exercise programme have a chat to your practitioner.

4) Sleep

Sleep and stress are often linked with one obviously effecting the other. Increased stress levels can lead to poorer sleeping habits which decreases coping mechanisms to deal with stress and so the cycle continues. The following article has some great information to help your sleeping patterns.

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/getting-better-sleep.htm

If you would like some assistance managing your stress please talk to your practitioner who may be able to help or recommend someone who can.

If you would like to book an appointment with the team at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Occupational therapy Wembley, Perth Western Australia call (08) 9382 3466.

Alternatively, you can contact us via our contact form here.

The post How To Manage Stress Levels and What You Can Do To Reduce Them appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

It’s no secret that people don’t seek medical or health advice unless they have a reason. For instance, you may only think to book an appointment with your Chiropractor or Soft Tissue Occupational Therapist courtesy of a niggling pain in your back.

But what are the benefits of a regular preventative maintenance appointment, as opposed to a knee jerk reaction to pain?

Here is why we believe in ongoing treatment to ensure you’re feeling 100% all the time. 

1. Repetitive Lifestyle Habits

Whilst your chiropractor or soft tissue Occupational therapist will try to educate you on the movements and activities that could be contributing to your pain, it can be hard to avoid some triggers. Especially if they are part of your daily lifestyle. For example, do you work at a desk? If you haven’t set up your desk correctly or don’t find the time to step away from the computer to perform a series of stretches (which you can check out here) you may find yourself back in your practitioner’s office. https://www.langerhealth.com.au/ny-resolutions-for-your-spine/

Do you stress easily? Daily stress and anxiety can contribute to back pain because when we stress we release stress hormones. These can cause your muscles to contract and tighten – similar to a “fight or flight” trigger to a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, if you are not actually running away from a threat, this reaction can be detrimental to your body. Back pain, tension, and stiffness are all common symptoms of stress- and anxiety-caused muscle tension. Unless you have the cure to stress (and if you do tell us please!!) a regular appointment with your chiropractor of soft tissue therapist can be extremely beneficial!

2. Being proactive about pain treatment is much better than being reactive!

This is one of the reasons why we believe regular appointments are beneficial, regardless of whether or not you feel pain. If you leave your appointment right up until the point of serious pain, you may find you’ll need to book multiple appointments a week to help improve your physical state.

It’s important to remember that problems take time to build up and therefore take time to fix! You may have developed your pain due to years of desk work or stress, all of which can’t be undone in one chiropractic or soft tissue therapy session! 

3. Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Occupational Therapy Care is tailored to the patient.

It’s important to remember that here at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy Perth, there is no one size fits all solution to your health. Every patient is advised on the best treatment plan relating to their situation. Whilst multiple appointments may be booked at the beginning of your treatment plan, it’s important to note that missing appointments can break the continuum of care, prolonging your results.

4. Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Occupational Therapy Care can help boost your immune system!

Studies have shown that a regular appointment with your practitioner can help boost polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and monocytes – white blood cells associated with a healthy immune system. Something to think about as we head into flu season!!

5. Chiropractic care can help to improve cognitive functionality

Brain mapping studies have shown that a patient’s cognitive function can improve post chiropractic treatment due to the function of the spine and its potential to impact the brain.

“Previous research has shown that spinal adjustments have a positive impact on improving sensory and motor functions when it comes to fall prevention, better joint position sense in both the upper limb and lower limb, improved muscle strength in the lower limb and better pelvic floor control.” “Manipulation of dysfunctional spinal joints affects sensorimotor integration in the pre-frontal cortex: A brain source localization study,” Neural Plasticity, Volume 2016 (2016).

6. Enhance your sporting performance!!

Regular appointments optimises musculo-skeletal function which reduces the likelihood of injury and enhances your sporting performance

If you would like to book an appointment with the team at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Occupational therapy Wembley, Perth Western Australia call (08) 9382 3466.

Alternatively, you can contact us via our contact form here.

The post Why do you need to book regular appointments with your Chiro and/or Soft Tissue Occupational Therapist? appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

These days we are spoilt for choice when it comes to exercise. From reformer pilates to intense HIIT workouts or the latest cycle classes, it can be a minefield trying to work out the best “workout” for you. And while we would most probably like to try a whole bunch of classes, it can get expensive signing up to multiple gym memberships in Perth.

The most common question you find yourself asking is “what is the best exercise class to reduce body fat.”

Aside from doing 200 burpees everyday (which has been proven to be one of the highest calorie burning exercises!) let’s look at what the experts are recommending.

1. Aerobic Exercise

What classifies as aerobic exercise? It’s termed “aerobic” as this form of exercise requires increased oxygen consumption and is known to increase your heart rate to deliver more oxygen-carrying blood from your lungs to your muscles.

Exercise such as;

• Running
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Dancing,

is classified as Aerobic exercise.

If performed at a high intensity, you can burn more calories in an aerobic exercise than you would when lifting weights. But just before you announce you’ll never pick up a dumbbell again, read on.

2. Weight Training

As mentioned above, cardio has been known to increase your body’s ability to burn fat, more so than lifting weights. However, it can be argued that weight training helps us to build our muscle fibres, which in turn burn more calories at rest than other tissues.

Experts believe that incorporating weight lifting into your weekly exercise regime will help to increase your resting metabolism.

In layman’s terms, weight training will help you to burn more calories when you’re sitting at your desk reading blogs like this!!

According to PubMed Central a highly-respected database from the National Institute of Health, studies that followed both men and women over the course of 24 weeks of weight training highlighted a 9% increase in the resting metabolism of the men. The women were saw an increase of almost 4%.

Before you race off to lift the heaviest object closest to you, check out our recent blog here for “how to avoid muscle strain at the gym.” https://www.langerhealth.com.au/how-to-avoid-muscle-strain-at-the-gym/

3. HIIT Training

HIIT training, which is short for High Intensity Interval Training has grown in popularity due to its efficiency. Who doesn’t like the sound of a 10-30 minute workout? Research has shown that when performed correctly, you can burn up to 30% more fat with a HIIT workout.

The key is to exert yourself with every exercise, it’s a hard and fast workout that puts a certain level of stress on the body. It’s this stress to forces change ie. fat loss. However, studies show that whilst short term stress helps to increase cortisol, which helps the body to grow stronger, long term stress can have negative benefits. Therefore, no more than 2 x HIIT workouts a week are recommended.

“Research shows that 30-40 minutes of training with your heart rate above 90 percent is a suggested maximum cumulative time per week, in order to prevent symptoms of overreaching.” Jinger Gottschall, Associate Professor at Pennsylvania State University

4. Abs are made in the kitchen, and at the gym…

Finally, there’s that age old saying, “Abs are made in the kitchen.” No amount of exercise is conducive to a poor diet. If you are reversing your hard efforts by chowing down on high sugar snacks, chances are your fat loss journey will take a lot longer.

Experts believe that a combination of all of the above is essential to successful long term fat loss and your overall health and wellbeing. This is why franchises such as F45 that combine weights, HIIT and cardio have grown exponentially.

Next time you are browsing the local gyms and fitness classes of Perth, keep the above in mind and work towards a happy medium! And remember…

“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…”Theodore Roosevelt

The post What is the best way to exercise to reduce body fat? appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

Here at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy, authentic and genuine customer service is of utmost importance. Our qualified team is made up of credited, professional and caring chiropractors and occupational therapists. With this in mind, we would like to introduce you to one of our valued team members.

Join us in getting to know Occupational Therapist Roisin Sullivon. 

If you would like to book an appointment with Roisin or any of the team at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue therapy Wembley, call Ph: 9382 3466

Alternatively, you can contact us via our contact form here.

The post Meet The Team at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

The post What is forward Head Posture? appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

At Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy Subiaco, we may be biased but we think we have one of the best practitioner teams! That being said, we want to share each team members profile with you so you can get to know them a little better.

We also give you permission to bring up any interview points in your consultation with them!

Starting off with Jonathon Langer!! AKA Bigsy (yes, you may call him that).

As you know Jonathon is a talented Chiropractor with a Masters in Chiropractic! He also has a postgraduate studies in paediatric and sports chiropractic- two fields he is especially passionate about!!

Find out below, in his own writing, what his secret talent is and his favourite part of his job.

If you would like to book an appointment with Jonathon or any of the team at Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue therapy Wembley, call Ph: 9382 3466

Alternatively, you can contact us via our contact form here.

The post Meet Jonathon Langer Perth Chiropractor appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

A 35km walk to raise much needed funds for cancer research. All proceeds will benefit the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.

Walking 35 kilometres is tough. Seeing loved ones suffer is tough. Cancer is really tough. But we’re tougher. We will walk in unity and send a message to the cancers that rob us of our daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts and friends that we’re coming for you and we’re tougher together.

The post Hawaiian Walk for Women’s Cancer appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.

New Year, new you right? Every year Jan/Feb shows a spike in gym memberships as people take the first steps to for-filling their new year’s resolutions. Stats show that up to 80% of the gym memberships that bloomed in Jan/Feb will be cancelled 5 months into the year!! For those champions who push through the 5-month mark on to a fitter and better you, here’s a futuristic pat on the back!!

We’d like to share with you how to avoid muscle strain at the gym so that you have no excuses when it comes to making the most out of your gym membership. After all, one of your new year goals was to be more financially savvy, right?

There are a few easy steps to take to help avoid muscle strain at the gym. Did you know that for a mild strain it can take up to 6 weeks to heal? Also, if you are an office worker, sitting at a desk for eight hours a day can cause all sorts of joint and muscle issues. Rushing into a hard and fast workout at the gym can put strain on those muscles encouraging injury.

Here are some tips to help avoid muscle strain or a gym injury in 2019.

1. Warm up and stretch. Okay smarty pants, this has been drilled into you since you were told to wait 20 minutes after eating before swimming. But what many people don’t realise, is how important it is to stretch before and AFTER a workout, to help avoid injury. Also, do you know how long you should be holding each stretch?
Step one is warming up. Warming up increases your heart rate and the amount of blood and oxygen flowing to your muscles. Keep in mind stretching ‘cold muscles’ can also lead to injury. Following the warm up, ensure you hold each stretch for 30 seconds to help lengthen your muscles. Try not to bounce the stretch and it should never hurt. The most important part is to breathe through the stretches to continue to introduce oxygen to your muscles.

What’s your poison? HIIT? Yoga? F45? Pilates? If you aren’t sure of what stretches you need to be doing prior to class, ask your Chiropractor or Occupational therapist for the most accurate advice!

2. Do you have the correct technique at the gym? If you work out with a trainer, that’s great. You can learn from an expert how to help avoid muscle strain with correct form. However, for those of you that go to the gym alone, it’s important to understand that technique is everything. Not only does good technique at the gym ensure you are training the correct muscles, it helps to ensure you are protecting your back, neck, shoulders and other parts of the body when lifting weight.

One of the most common causes of injury at the gym is lifting weights that are too heavy. Obstructing your ability to maintain good form. If you are unable to use a full range of motion when lifting a weight, it’s suggested to grab a lighter weight. Remember, if your technique wavers, you place vulnerable parts of your body, in a danger zone, prone to various injuries. 

3. Finally, it is important to take care of yourself outside the gym to help avoid injury. Rest days are important to allow your muscles to recover. Drinking plenty of water is essential, along with maintaining the relevant supplements recommended for your body. Drinking enough fluids is important to prevent dehydration and keep your body functioning properly. Did you know that muscle tissue is made up of about 75 percent water? Even minor dehydration can affect your gym performance and increase your risk of injuries.

Remember, Chiropractors and Occupational Therapists frequently see patients who have regrets after a strenuous workout.  Regular appointments with your practitioner will not only help to ensure your posture is in order. They can advise of stretches, movements and techniques to help prevent gym injury.

The post How to Avoid Muscle Strain at the Gym appeared first on Langer Chiropractic and Soft Tissue Therapy.