Waking up with a creaky back is more common than you'd think - recent research reveals that nearly one in three people experience back and neck pain after a night's sleep, while most feel stiff or achey.

A poll of more than 2,400 people for the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) found 30% believe sleep triggers back and neck pain and 42% had been kept awake by the pain.

Some 83% said they feel stiff or ache when they get up in the morning.

The BCA is urging people to check their mattress is still supportive enough but also says they should try out pillows before they buy.

The survey found 33% of people change their mattress only once a decade despite recommendations to buy a new one every seven years.

A fifth (21%) admit changing their mattress less than once a decade and 10% had never changed it at all.

Some 64% of people also confessed they had not tested a pillow before buying it.

The BCA says people should change their mattress if they regularly wake up stiff or aching, have a better night's sleep somewhere else, the mattress is misshapen or sagging, it creaks when people move, or if individual springs can be felt.

How often you should change a mattress depends on lots of factors including your weight and how well you have cared for your mattress.

However, as soon as a mattress stops supporting your back it's vital you get a new one.

A mistake that people often make when choosing a new mattress is thinking the firmer the better. This is not always true - one bed does not fit all.

We spend a third of our lives in bed so it's important to spend time choosing your new mattress and, remember; if you're planning on sharing your bed with your partner, take them with you to test it.

Sleep Position

I always advise my patients to lie on their side with their knees together to avoid back pain. You can lie on your back but you must put a pillow or two under your knees to keep them bent. This flattens out your low back and makes sleeping more comfortable. Please, please do not sleep on your front unless you like waking up in pain and spending £1000's at the Chiropractors!

MG

It is not uncommon for patients with muscle pain to end up in a chiropractic clinic, either by referral from another clinician or by self-referral. There are many conditions including trauma that are associated with inflammation of muscles. Even healthy people who overdo it with strenuous exercise can suffer temporary inflammatory changes in their muscles.

Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. They are prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, they have been linked to a variety of muscle-related side effects termed statin myopathy. This side effect is reported to be as high as 15 percent in patients using all types of statins, with even higher rates of incidence associated with higher dosages and when combining different cholesterol-lowering medications with statins.

Clinical findings include muscle pain and weakness, mainly in the lower limb, but also generalised overall muscle pain and weakness. Life-threatening muscle breakdown, known as rhabdomyolysis, and kidney failure can also occur, although rare.

The typical patient with a statin myopathy is usually older, and complains of pain and stiffness in the muscles of their thighs and buttocks. Historically, they have been taking a statin for less than a few months to control elevated cholesterol levels. Most patients will develop muscle symptoms within the first few weeks of taking the statin.

Often patients with arthritic conditions have difficulty differentiating the symptoms of arthritis with the onset of the myopathy. Patients may report muscle weakness in the locations of pain. Blood testing for the muscle enzyme CPK may be mildly elevated. Most patients are informed about the possibility of muscle injury with statins, but this side effect does not appear to be stressed enough and the patient may not be able to correlate the symptom with the medication because they have a number of conditions that cause similar symptoms.

It should be noted that the risk of muscle damage is multiplied 5-25 times by using a combination of a statin and another cholesterol-lowering drug, rather than just using the statin alone. In fact, the manufacturers of statins recommend that "any patient taking a statin should be advised to report promptly any unexplained muscle pain, tenderness or weakness ... When a muscle disease is suggested, the statin drug should be stopped."

Statin drugs cause three types of muscle conditions. The first type is the most common and consists of mild muscle aching, "myalgia, which is generally reversible within weeks of discontinuing the drug. The second type consists of muscle pain and minor muscle weakness associated with mild muscle inflammation, observable on MRI as edema. The muscle enzyme CPK is generally mildly elevated. This condition also generally reverses, but it may take several months to resolve.

The third type of muscle condition caused by statins is severe muscle inflammation and damage. It must be said that this is rare. There is general overall muscle pain involving all parts of the body, with associated severe muscle weakness. Even the cardiac muscles can be involved, though rarely. The CPK enzyme is markedly elevated, indicating that the muscles are severely damaged. Release of proteins from the damaged muscle cells collecting in the blood can damage the kidneys. This condition can lead to kidney failure and require dialysis.

If you are in any doubt, please speak to your Chiropractor, GP or cardiologist.

MG

Older men can help prevent the risk of a stroke by long walks, research suggests.

Scientists found that walking at least one to two hours a day was associated with reduced stroke risk.

But strenuous "power walks" were not required. Length of time spent walking had a bigger impact than the speed of walking.

Findings from the study of 3,435 healthy men aged 60 to 80 appear in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

Participants were questioned about the distance they walked each week and their usual walking pace.

The research showed that men who walked for eight to 14 hours each week were a third less likely to suffer a stroke than those who spent no more than three hours walking.

For men walking more than 22 hours a week, the risk was two thirds lower.

"If you took 1,000 men who usually walk 8-14 hours per week and followed them for 10 years, on average they would have 55 strokes, compared with 80 for the group who only walk zero to three hours per week," said lead researcher Dr Barbara Jefferis, from University College London. "The total time spent walking was more consistently protective against stroke than walking pace; overall it seemed that accumulating more time walking was most beneficial.

"Our findings suggest that regular walking each week could be an important part of stroke prevention strategies in older people."

Each year in the UK around 152,000 people suffer strokes, which can be fatal or disabling.

Dr Shannon Amoils, from the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the study, said: "Whatever your age it's important to stay active every day. This research suggests a daily walk could help to reduce stroke risk and is further evidence that regular exercise - even a daily stroll in the park - can be an effective way to keep healthy."


Not exactly rocket science but more common sense really. Exercise is good!


MG

Unless you're a work-at-home member of the labour force (which has its own health risks, by the way), most of us commute from home to work and back again at least five days a week. From a health perspective, research suggests commuting is bad news, and it goes beyond the stress associated with those bumper-to-bumper, road-rage meltdowns you find yourself experiencing ... but somehow think you can handle day after day, week after week, year after year.

According to several recent studies, commuting – particularly longer times spent commuting – has a negative impact on weight, blood pressure, sleep quality / amount and heart disease. One study suggested the longer the commute, the higher the commuter's body-mass index, waist circumference, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, and metabolic risk factors. Another study found that high blood pressure, stress and heart disease were more likely in people who commuted more than 30 miles a day. And in a third study, researchers concluded: "Commuting long distances negatively impacts one's ability to capture adequate sleep."

The Telecommuting Age isn't necessarily solving the commuting health crisis, either; after all, even as more people work from home, the population at large continues to do more driving and less transportation by other means (bikes, foot, etc.). More time in cars, less time exercising - another recipe for health disaster.

The solution, if there is one, is to find ways to make your commutes as short, stress-free and infrequent as possible. Here are a few suggestions:

• Map it out: If there are multiple routes to your job, try some trial and error to determine which one gets you to and from work in the shortest – and least painful – amount of time.
• Try 40 in 4: If your employer allows, ask about a possible four-day, 10-hour-a-day workweek option. You'll find that the 10 hours aren't a major drain, and you'll appreciate the extra day away from work – and out of the traffic jams.
• Carpool: Yes, you're still spending time in a car, but at least you aren't always the one driving (and dealing with other drivers); and you're also not alone with your traffic frustrations, all of which contribute to stress.
• Schedule it & stick to it: A likely explanation for why longer commutes lead to higher weight, etc., is not only that commuters sit in a car too long, but also that by the time they get home, they have little time – or perhaps interest – in exercising. Schedule in exercise before or after work and stick to the routine. It will help counter some of the effects of your commute, including stress.

For many people, commuting is a reality, and depending on the job opportunity and living situation, they can't change the distance to and from work. But that doesn't mean you're destined to a life in the slow lane and its debilitating health effects. 

MG

A new study performed by the University of Colorado Boulder and published April 2013 in the European Journal of Neuroscience, shows that even when you dislike exercise, or you’re forced to engage in it by a doctor or fitness instructor that you will still reap the amazing benefits. Many past studies have shown that people who engage in regular exercise are protected against stress related disorders, but scientists wanted to know if the same results were present when the perception of control was removed. Why this study was needed I have no idea, but it’s nice to have additional scientific proof as to the benefits of exercise. In the study performed by researches to attain these results, it was noted that the sedentary rats, the rats who sat on the sofa and watched TV or surfed the web all day, froze when faced with stress. The longer they remained frozen by fear, the more residual anxiety they experienced. Those rats who ran on mechanised wheels, on a regular, predetermined schedule for a period of 6 weeks, never experienced the “deer in headlights” syndrome and managed their exposure to stress much better. What does the study prove? Well, if you are a healthy person who is exposed to high amounts of stress in your daily life, or you are prone to anxiety and depression as with those who battle Fibromyaglia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Ankylosing Spondylitis and many other invisible chronic illnesses, you will find that you are better equipped to manage daily stress and symptoms such as anxiety and depression with regular & consistent forms of exercise. So Let’s Get Moving & keep it moving for a minimum of 6 weeks!! 

Remember, exercise offers amazing healing benefits. A good workout improves our mental attitude, strengthens our cardiovascular systems, reduces stress, improves our overall quality of life and helps to slow down the effects of aging. Sometimes the last thing we want to do when we’re in pain pain, tired or overwhelmed is to MOVE, but we have to keep going!

MG