We hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and New Year holidays, we're back in the clinic and available for Chiropractic bookings. Brooke remains full with Applied Kinesiology appointments till March but we are always happy to add to her wait list in case of cancellations. We've opened up a few extra Saturday spots over the summer as well. Otherwise we're back to normal and look forward to seeing you soon!

Is the continued availability and affordability of a wide range of natural health products important to you?   Sign our petition  to urge the New Zealand Government to make important changes to new natural health laws, to ensure your favourite products and brands remain accessible and affordable.   What’s the Therapeutic Products Bill?     The Therapeutic Products Bill is a new law that will change the way natural health products are regulated in New Zealand.   Our view is that it will significantly reduce access to natural health and increase costs by requiring the individual assessment and approval of all widely available products and innovative ingredients, including those that have been used safely here for decades.   Over 16,000 Kiwis have already voiced their concerns, with 97% of the public submissions on the Bill opposed to it. We share your concerns, so we’re calling on the Government to make changes.     Sign and share our petition today , to help ensure that natural health remains accessible and affordable under New Zealand’s new laws.

Sauna use has a long history in many cultures but isn't so common here in NZ. Our recent introduction was at the excellant He Puna Taimoana New Brighton Hot Pools  where our interest was piqued enough to build our own, coupled with increasing evidence of health benefits that can sync well with Chiropractic care and philosophy.

As described in a 2018 research review, regular infrared and/or Finnish sauna bathing has the potential to provide many beneficial health effects, especially for those with cardiovascular-related and rheumatological disease, as well as athletes seeking improved exercise performance. The mechanisms for these effects may include increased bioavailability of NO (nitric oxide) to vascular endothelium, heat shock protein-mediated metabolic activation, immune and hormonal pathway alterations, enhanced excretions of toxicants through increased sweating, and other hormetic stress responses. 

In addition to the above physiological gains, the electronics/screen-free time either alone or with family or friends is precious enough. We highly recommend having some sauna time and treating yourself!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5941775/#:~:text=Facilities%20offering%20sauna%20bathin....

The New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association (NZCA) has developed a new public website (chiropracticnz.org) to provide up to date information on the research supporting the role of one of the world’s fastest growing healthcare sectors [1].

 

In 2019 the NZCA, the country’s peak body for chiropractors commissioned research amongst the general population and health professionals to better understand how chiropractic care is perceived.

 

NZCA spokesperson Dr Jenna Duehr, chiropractor explains: `The survey found that overall chiropractors are seen by the general public as being professional and knowledgeable. Chiropractors are regarded as being effective for back pain and there is awareness that chiropractic is partly funded by ACC. But over two thirds of New Zealanders surveyed said they were unfamiliar with chiropractic care citing perceptions of high cost, lack of scientific evidence, and safety barriers to visiting a chiropractor. Since then we’ve worked very hard to present the growing body of evidence supporting the role of chiropractic in a way that is entertaining and easily accessible to New Zealanders.’

 

The growing body of evidence includes the 2021 Nobel prize in Medicine or Physiology given to researchers for work which sheds new light on how hands on therapy, such as chiropractic, improves pain and other conditions by converting physical sensations into electrical messages in the nervous system [2].

 

Dr Jenna Duehr, chiropractor explains: `US researchers Professor David Julius and Professor Ardem Patapoutian have shown how our bodies convert physical sensations into electrical messages in the nervous system. They have identified the different type of receptors that are activated in response to mechanical force or touch. These touch and temperature sensors have since been shown to have a wide role in the body and in some diseases, such as chronic pain, how our body regulates its core temperature and multiple roles from urinating to blood pressure.’

 

According to the NZCA, a plethora of new research findings are reinforcing the importance of exercise and spinal function in protecting health longer term. A paper in the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA) warns that a growing worldwide epidemic of physical inactivity is accelerating the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases among aging populations [3] and finds that `extended human health spans and lifespans are both a cause and an effect of habitual physical activity, helping explain why the lack of lifelong physical activity in humans can increase disease risk and reduce longevity’. 

 

The NZCA survey found that seven in ten New Zealand health professionals who had recommended chiropractic care in the previous year would consider referring in the future.

 

The survey showed that key factors in the appreciation of chiropractic include

•    Good previous results

•    Knowledgeable, highly trained practitioners

•    Holistic approach

•    Understands the whole body

•    Back is responsible for other issues

•    Pain management

•    An alternative approach

•    For complementary care

 

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Chiropractic Care estimated at US$36.9 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$52 Billion by 2027. Led by countries such as Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$6.8 Billion by the year 2027. 

Chiropractors are regulated primary health care professionals registered under the HPCA Act with close to 700 annual practicing certificate holders working in solo, group, and multidisciplinary clinics around New Zealand. New Zealand chiropractors have significant training (a minimum 5-year tertiary degree) and a highly skilled ​scope of practice and clinical expertise.

New Zealand’s chiropractors are taking the lead to inform and inspire people to improve their health and prevent pain and disability by educating the public to have a greater understanding of the relationship between their spine and nervous system and how this affects their function and overall well-being.

Working from home during the pandemic has generated an upsurge in compromised spines, warns the New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association (NZCA), the country’s peak body for chiropractors. The NZCA says the increasing problems were made worse by restricted access to chiropractic care caused by the unnecessary extension of Covid-19 mandates for private health professionals.

 

Marking World Spine Day, held on 16th October each year, the NZCA says it is vital to raise awareness of the permeative and diverse nature of spinal pain and disability as part of the global burden of disease and address the need for access to evidence-based spinal healthcare and rehabilitation. The theme of this year’s World Spine Day is ‘Every Spine Counts.’

 

NZCA members are reporting a particular rise in spinal problems, especially among young New Zealanders, which is borne out by British research [1]  which shows that two-thirds of people aged 18 to 29 suffered new episodes of back pain during the pandemic brought on by enforced remote working.

 

According to NZCA spokesperson Dr Jenna Duehr, chiropractor: `We are seeing similar problems to the UK post pandemic. Around a third of people have problems with the lower back, which is often caused by poor posture.’

 

Dr Duehr points out that office furniture is often designed to help people with their posture and reduce pressure on the lower part of the spine. But she notes: `This survey reports that one in five young adults work from bed when at home, one in six sit on the sofa and around one in 100 do so from the floor. We know that many people don’t have access to a table at the right height and a properly supportive chair at home. They are compromising their spines by forcing them to endure really bad posture and this is storing up trouble for their future spinal health.’

 

The scrapping of Covid-19 restrictions has meant that many people now work partly from home in a hybrid, which was unusual before the pandemic, but is now part of the work-life balance.

 

Dr Duehr adds: `The prolonged enforcement of mandates for chiropractors also means that we have a backlog of cases and our members are still working their way through those. Every spine does count and good spinal health has been shown to reduce stress and boost energy so we can live our lives to the full, without pains and aches holding us back.'

 

The Straighten Up NZ site https://www.straightenup.org.nz/ has a range of exercises, which can be done at home. Dr Duehr also recommends boosting vitamin D levels by getting outside, supporting the immune system with quality vitamin C and zinc supplements, maintaining good hydration, staying positive and by exercising so that the heart rate is raised and endorphins are generated.

 

World Spine Day is the largest interprofessional global public health event dedicated to promoting spinal health and well-being and occurs during Global Chiropractic Health Month. It also celebrates the work of chiropractors, who adopt evidence-based, people-centered, interprofessional and collaborative approaches to healthcare that optimise health and well-being globally.

 

Chiropractors are regulated primary health care professionals registered under the HPCA Act with close to 700 annual practicing certificate holders working in solo, group, and multidisciplinary clinics around New Zealand. New Zealand chiropractors have significant training (a minimum 5-year tertiary degree) and a broad yet highly skilled scope of practice and clinical expertise.

 

New Zealand’s chiropractors are taking the lead to inform and inspire people to improve their health and prevent pain and disability by educating the public to have a greater understanding of the relationship between their spine and nervous system and how this affects their function and overall well-being.

We now provide sizing and 10% discount for the Vivobarefoot shoe range. Choose your preferred style at  https://www.soledistribution.co.nz/  and we can do the rest.

The New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association (NZCA) is again calling for the government to end COVID-19 mandates for private primary healthcare practices, as the continuing restrictions are unjust and unsubstantiated now that the Omicron variant is at large in the community.

The NZCA executive has repeatedly written to the Ministry of Health, the Chief of Allied Health, as well as issued multiple press releases this year as further data has emerged regarding the transmission and the ability to contract new variants across all populations.

The peak body for chiropractic in New Zealand says that private primary health providers, such as chiropractors, rely on face-to-face consultations and fee-based income to survive. Prolonged restrictions on the delivery of healthcare are critically affecting the viability of many small businesses and leaving thousands of New Zealanders without an option for healthcare in their communities.

NZCA spokesperson Dr Cassandra Fairest, chiropractor, says ‘We have a significant number of chiropractors affected by the mandate. This is putting unnecessary stress on the health system and disrupting the provision of healthcare in our communities. The hospitals are overrun and have enormous wait times. We need all available allied healthcare professionals caring for people and keeping them out of the hospital system’.
The ongoing healthcare COVID-19 vaccination mandate is affecting numerous healthcare professions, leading to significant shortages to a healthcare workforce that was already stretched.

This issue was highlighted in the NZIER-commissioned (New Zealand Institute of Economic Research) Allied Health Aotearoa New Zealand 2019 “Hidden in Plain Sight'' report ( https://www.nzchiropractors.org/chiropractic-links/hidden-in-plain-sight/ ) about the over-reliance on GP’s, nurses and the secondary health system and the under-utilisation of services such as chiropractors and allied health professions who could alleviate pressure at the bottom of the cliff by providing the fence at the top.

Allied health practitioners represent a ready-workforce able to support a shift to more effective and more proactive prevention, person-centred care, and collaborative, interdisciplinary team-based approaches that are most appropriate for people with complex health issues including long-term conditions.

With experience working in multi-disciplinary teams and across the secondary and primary care sectors, many allied health practitioners are also uniquely experienced in supporting patient transitions between settings of care, a critical strength that can support greater coordination and continuity in patient journeys.

Dr Cassandra Fairest says: ‘Chiropractors are highly trained healthcare professionals and are able to undertake infection prevention and control strategies. We have relatively short appointment times, easy contact traceability and the ability to screen our patients for infection risk. Certainly, we pose no greater risk of infection transmission than teachers or hairdressers who have had their mandates lifted. We see that the ACT and National parties, nurses and midwives are also all calling for an end to these mandates, and we fully support this.’

Chiropractors are regulated primary health care professionals registered under the HPCA Act with close to 700 annual practising certificate holders practising in solo, group, and multidisciplinary clinics around New Zealand. New Zealand chiropractors have significant training (a minimum 5-year tertiary degree) and a broad yet highly skilled ​scope of practice and clinical expertise. They provide care for the public in a wide range of health concerns, including spinal problems, posture, certain neurological issues and chronic pain. Importantly, particularly with the heightened levels of mental health concerns being seen this year, chiropractors help many people with anxiety, sleeping difficulties and stress related disorders through their ability to assist the nervous system.
New Zealand’s chiropractors are taking the lead to inform and inspire people to improve their health and prevent pain and disability by educating the public to have a greater understanding of the relationship between their spine and nervous system and how this affects their function and overall well-being.

Research Shows Exercise This Winter Will Help You Fight Covid