Fall leaves are pretty but they can be a pain to clean up. Which means many Doylestown area residents will spend time raking leaves this weekend (and over the next few weeks.)
Fall yard work like leaf raking is great exercise and it’s nice to enjoy the crisp air of the season, yet, it can also lead to back pain and injury. After all, raking uses different muscles than you’re probably used to using. Worse, thousands of people wrench their back doing every fall because of yard work.
4 Ways You Can Protect Your Back While Raking Leaves
In Bucks County, like much of the country, leaf raking is a seasonal chore that can leave you sore and achy. Worse, it can cause back pain and injury if you aren’t careful.
In fact, according to Penn Medicine, approximately 76,000 Americans are hurt every year from leaf raking and other yard work. As you probably know, it only takes one misstep to hurt yourself and weekend yard work warriors are most at risk.
Here’s how you can protect yourself.
1- Warm up and Cool Down – Simple stretches may not seem like they do a lot but they are useful.
Side stretches, trunk rotations, and bending to the ground to touch your toes (or your version of touching your toes – it’s ok if you don’t get all the way down) will help prepare your muscles.
2- Batch It – It’s better for your body if you do a little a time rather than do it all at once.
If you can get out a few times a week and rake the leaves in 20-30-minute intervals you’re doing your body good and less likely to overexert yourself. If you do choose to do marathon sessions, take breaks and you feel short of breath or a tightness in your chest, take a rest and let your heart rate slow down.
3-Use Good Form – Use your whole body and not just your upper body while raking. This will reduce the pain in your shoulders, neck, and back.
Also, rake towards you rather than away from you as that helps protect your back muscles. Remember to bend your knees when you pick up things and finally, don’t overfill leaf bags until they’re so heavy you can hardly move them.
4- Wear Supportive Shoes – You’ve heard it before but it’s true, supportive footwear can help you maintain your balance and give your back support. Hiking boots or good sneakers will help keep your feet stable — less chance for a slip and fall!
With a little preparation, raking leaves and other yard work can be a great chance for some fresh air and a dose of healthy (and injury-free) exercise. Then you can feel great, have a leaf-free yard and still be able to enjoy the fall activities in Bucks County!
However, if you do hurt yourself, you know where to find us!
Here in Bucks County, Pa. it seems like the winter predictions for a cold and snowy one are coming true.
“Bomb-cyclones,” blizzards, or just plain old snow has most of us shoveling snow and trying to maintain balance on icy sidewalks.
Not only is it cold, but winter activities like snow shoveling can put a strain on the body. Every year, we see patients who’ve “thrown their back out” due to snow shoveling or a slip n’ fall.
It’s not surprising really, snow shoveling can be difficult and unseen ice is hazardous. One way you can protect your back from such winter hazards is to take precautions. Alternatively, leave the snow removal down to the professionals.
Protect Your Back from Winter Injuries
1—Warm Up
Chances are, you’ve heard this before, but you don’t probably don’t do it. The fact is, shoveling snow is cardio.
If it’s a heavy snow, it’s dense and wet and it won’t take long before you’re drenched in sweat and your heart is thumping.
Pay attention to your body, take breaks as you need to and do some stretching before you start. One stretch that’s useful to do both before and after shoveling is to hold the shovel in both hands and lift it over your head. Then, do a few gentle twists to the right and the left. This will help loosen your back and help prevent strained muscles.
2—Shovel in Increments
There’s a reason seasoned Northerner’s shovel snow throughout the storm rather than letting it build up. It’s far easier to shovel 1-2 inches than a foot and this is especially true if it’s the wet stuff.
Bundle up and go out there before too much has fallen. Try to use the push technique, rather than lifting. Simply push the snow to the side rather than lifting it.
3—Use Your Legs to Lift
When the snow piles up and you have no choice but to lift it, remember to bend your knees and use your legs. Too many people hurt their backs by not doing do this but you don’t have to be one of them.
If you’d like more information on ergonomic shovels and techniques for snow removal, take a look at this post from spine-health.com
4—Use Salt, Sand, or Kitty Litter for Traction
You know that outdoor sidewalks, steps, and porches can be icy. Be sure to prime them with salt, sand, or kitty litter for traction prior to the snow falling and during. If you have areas that tend to stay icy longer than others because they’re in the shade, use ice melting products and if you can, avoid the area until it’s melted.
5—Heat Therapy
After you’ve shoveled, try relaxing in an Epsom salt bath and/or use a heating pad on your lower back to soothe it.
If you DO have an emergency, call the office at 267-247-7000. We accept walk-ins and (crawl-ins) and will get you back on your feet as soon as possible.
With the opioid crisis threatening millions of lives, you may wonder about alternative pain relief. While drugs like can definitely help, certain drugs may have longer term side effects that can have a detrimental effect.
The fact is, legal painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl may be ok in small doses but when prescribed for chronic pain, far too many people are becoming dependent on them.
“Of the 20.5 million Americans 12 or older that had a substance use disorder in 2015, 2 million had a substance use disorder involving prescription pain relievers and 591,000 had a substance use disorder involving heroin.”
It’s clear that people need additional options for treatment. Preferably natural solutions like acupuncture, chiropractic care, and massage therapy.”
For many of us in the Doylestown area, we associate opioid crisis with the tragic heroin problem. Those are heartbreaking stories.
However, as you can see from the above report if 2 million people have a problem with prescription pain relievers, that can also cause heartbreak.
We think it’s time to reevaluate our options.
In fact, the Center for Disease Control “reports, “Deaths from prescription opioids — drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone — have more than quadrupled since 1999,” rising right along with the numbers of prescriptions. 2
The problem with opioids is that many people start taking them for mild to moderate pain, only to develop a tolerance, which means you need to take more to get the same relief. If people are taking more opioid to feel the full effects, then that means they have become addicted. This would not happen if the current rate of opioid sales in your state is low. It’s important to control your pain, but not to the extent that you start to become addicted. Seek help if you think you are experiencing something similar. Physical dependence can also develop, leading to symptoms of withdrawal if you try to cut back or quit the drugs cold turkey. ” (Source: Mercola). When you read something like this, it comes as no surprise that mtd drug tests are being put into place, in order to detect the drug takers, but to also get them help to come off it effectively.
Fortunately, the traditional medical establishment is starting to recognize the limitations of conventional thinking. Over the years, lobbying chiropractic groups have gotten the attention of Congress.
As a result, Medicaid has extended coverage to chiropractic care in some states and the Food and Drug Administration has issued a statement that healthcare providers should broaden their approach to pain relief.
From a recent FDA report, “Healthcare providers “should be knowledgeable about the range of available therapies, when they may be helpful, and when they should be used as part of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management.”
We think this makes sense. After all, why not use multiple approaches? For example, if you have a painful accident, prescription drugs can relieve the acute pain and may be the best choice for a limited time.
However, if you’re suffering from chronic pain, natural pain relief like massage therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture can provide pain relief now while finding a long-term solution to your pain.
Thank you so much for voting us Best of Bucks in 2019! It’s a true honor.
Our patients voted McQuaite Chiropractic as “Best of Bucks” for 7 years in a row! We’re thrilled!
We’re delighted to help you relieve back and neck pain, headaches, asthma, scoliosis, and generally helping you feel your best.
For fun, we decided to ask some of you what makes you choose McQuaite Chiropractic for your chiropractic care and here’s what you said.
Want to add your reasons why? There’s room for you in the comments!
Here are 7 Reasons Why You Voted for Us: (Based on Testimonials)
1—Friendly, attentive staff – We believe in great customer service and our friendly staff is part of providing you with a great experience. We’re glad you noticed!
2—Flexible Schedule – It’s important for you to come in when it’s convenient for you and when you’re in pain. That’s why we make every effort to accommodate you and yes, we even take walk-ins.
For instance, there was that one time when a patient called early in the morning after hurting his back. While there’s never a good time for pain, he was on his way to a wedding. We were able to get him in and relieve his back pain in just a few minutes so he could be on his way and have a great weekend.
3— Effective, All-Natural Pain Relief – The great thing about chiropractic care is that it can treat and heal the problem rather than simply masking the problem like drugs do. Plus, there are no harmful side effects like many medications. Chiropractic care is safe, healthy, and all-natural.
4 – Free Consultation – Our motto is, “Old Fashioned care and concern in a modern world.” That means, we want you to feel better AND feel heard. We offer a free consultation to discuss your health concerns and answer any questions you may have about your healthcare.
We want you to feel comfortable so please, schedule a time to come in and ask. There’s no commitment on your part.
5- Thorough Exam – We want to get to the source of your pain and get you feeling better as soon as possible. To do that, you and Dr. Jeff will go over your medical history and run X-rays to see what’s going on inside. After all, health starts on the inside!
6—State-of-the-art Equipment — Like our digital x-ray machine which reduces your exposure to radiation by 75%. Plus, since they process faster than traditional X-rays, it helps you get back to your life quicker.
“To see is to know, and we won’t guess about your health.” The digital x-ray machine gives a clear view of your spine. Sometimes, the pain points are obvious with an x-ray. Many of our patients are amazed.
7– Great Massage Therapist – Regular chiropractic care readjusts your bones, muscles, and ligaments in their rightful places which relieve stress, massage therapy also relieves muscle stress. One supports the other to help you say, “…Ah…” with relief.
Thank you for voting us Best of Bucks Chiropractor 2019!
The best medical care starts with understanding a complete picture of your health. Here at McQuaite Chiropractic, we’ve always started with x-rays so that we can get as accurate a view as possible.
We say, “To see is to know, and we won’t guess about your health.” “We utilize x-rays to get a functional view of your spine and helps us rule out more serious conditions, which assists us in developing the most effective treatment plan for you.”
As you probably know, X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation that uses a process of radiation and light to display your bones. They also require a development process that delays the start of your treatment plan which means, you can be in pain longer.
The Advantage of Digital X-Ray
Digital X-ray (also known as radiography) has advantages over the traditional X-ray process. It’s faster since it doesn’t require chemical processing and it reduces radiation by 75%. Additionally, images can be enlarged, darkened, or lightened on demand. This makes for easier viewing which leads to a faster diagnosis for you as the patient.
Most patients are amazed to see their digital images and the images are so clear, they can see for themselves the source of their problem(s) and degeneration. Digital films can even showcase potential problems like structural issues so that we can treat them before they get worse…all without drugs or surgery.
These factors all work together to improve the level and the quality of care for you as the patient.
Another advantage of digital X-rays is that storage is simpler. There are no large floppy X-Rays to be misplaced or lost. Now, your files are digitally stored and can be easily transferred to another doctor if there’s a need for another opinion.
With digital X-rays, we can quickly assess your health and determine an appropriate treatment plan. Additionally, treatment can begin the same day so that you’ll feel better as soon as possible.
Here at McQuaite Chiropractic, we’re thrilled to offer our patients the state of the art advantage of digital X-ray. It’s just part of the reason why we’ve been voted “Best of Bucks” for 5 years in a row.
