Chiropractic case studies

The New Scientist says:

"Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking"

(‘Cognitive reactions to smoking relapse’, New Scientist, Vol 135)

Are you struggling to quit smoking?

If you are hypnosis could be the answer. Did you know that many smokers have been helped to quit with a single session of hypnotherapy?

This month at C1 the focus is on stopping smoking. As the resident Hypnotherapist I have worked with numerous clients who wanted to stop smoking, many of whom had tried previously and failed or who had struggled enormously when they attempted to kick the habit using other means.

Without an understanding of how hypnosis works and what goes on in the brain when we are "addicted" to something, it can be very difficult to imagine that a two hour session can rid you of a potentially long standing habit. However, in reality the process is relatively simple and effective. Many people have given up smoking with ease, for example some people stop smoking with no problem at all when they fall pregnant or get ill. These are the ones we don't tend to hear about but understanding how they are able to do this is key to the process used in hypnotherapy.

Mindset plays a big part in our experience of addictions and giving them up. Most of us can relate to truly deciding to do something like get fit or lose weight and experiencing how much easier it is to then do this once we have "made up our mind". This use of mindset and powerful suggestion therapy makes for a potent weapon in the battle against the cigarette.

To stop smoking a single two hour session is required.

If you would like to find out more about how hypnosis can help you to stop smoking, please get in touch.

In the words of The New Scientist:

"Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking"

(‘Cognitive reactions to smoking relapse’, New Scientist, Vol 135)

C1's Clinical Hypnotherpist, Zofie Kucia,  says:

Sleep Problems

Cause:

Sleep disturbances such as an inability to fall asleep or waking during the night can be caused by either stress or a lifestyle with too much going on.  What can happen is that as a result of a particularly stressful period such as a divorce, trouble at work, bereavement or similar we enter into a heightened state of anxiety and during this time, although we “consciously” understand that we are not in danger our subconscious doesn’t understand this.  Put simply, because it does not make sense to sleep when we are in danger we will either struggle to get to sleep or we might manage to fall asleep (often because exhaustion overrides the anxiety) and then wake during the night.  Because of how REM sleep and slow wave sleep interact out sleep can be interrupted as the body struggles to maintain the correct proportions of dreaming sleep and slow wave.

Simply doing too much can also lead to sleep disturbances.  Our body works in line with natural rhythms and if we completely override these by being on the go all the time and taking no breaks it can then be hard to relax and fall asleep when we want to.  We lie in bed, desperate to get to sleep but with a mind that is racing.  Typically the “law of reversed effect” will then kick in; this states that: “the harder you try the harder it becomes”, and this further perpetuates the problem.

Once a sleep problem has been established it then adds to our stress and we feed into a vicious cycle.  Many of us will then start to worry about it, focus on it and talk about it; this too unfortunately only serves to worsen the problem.  Because our subconscious cannot tell the difference between reality and our thoughts, every time we think about the fact that we cannot sleep we strengthen the association and eventually the behavioural template can become pretty entrenched.

The Solution:

Believe it or not, the actual process of dealing with a poor sleep pattern in simple.  In essence, we want to reverse the cycle that caused it!  So, firstly we need to create an environment which is conducive to a good sleep pattern.  Such an environment is a low stress one (OR, if there is moderate stress it is essential to employ healthy means of managing this) and also a daily schedule which includes some breaks- even if they are short!

Secondly, it is essential to stop focussing on the sleep issue; of course this is easier said than done but it is doable with some practice and dedication.  It is also important to start to stop engaging in any habits you might have understandably developed as a result of the sleep challenges.  An example might be going to bed slightly later; typically this involves relaxing more about the whole issue.

This is backed up with deep relaxation during sessions, which is enormously helpful in terms of reversing the cycle and letting both your body and your subconscious know that “everything is ok”.  In addition to this I focus on powerful suggestion work, essentially reprogramming your subconscious so that it gets the message that from now on you can sleep “normally”.

Case History of Stress-related Sleep Disorder:

A typical example of a client I helped to start to sleep properly again is client A.  She came to see me as she would sometimes wake during the night and at other times had difficulty getting off to sleep.  Her mother had died in difficult circumstances about a year earlier and this had caused her much distress.  She had a busy, stressful job.  Client A took away the relaxation CD along with her “homework” of focussing away from the sleep issue and learning to use her imagination in a positive manner.  Over the course of several weeks she listened to the CD which got her off to sleep most nights, her nightmares began to cease and she felt calmer at work.  At first she found it a challenge to think more positively but after a while it seemed much more natural.  She started to go back to the gym and yoga classes and felt much calmer through doing this.  Using some CBT techniques she was able to deal with difficult people at work much more calmly; she also learned that nightmares can serve a useful purpose and not to dwell on these.  Over approximately ten weeks her sleep settled back to normal and one of the things that helped her enormously was learning that the mindset of “I need eight hours sleep a night” was putting pressure on her and serving to perpetuate her problem;  she started to see that this might not necessarily be a helpful belief to have.  As a “side effect” of therapy she gave up smoking and reported feeling much calmer and happier.

Case History of a busy lady with insomnia:

Client B presented with a severe problem in getting to sleep which had been troubling her for some time.  She ran her own company with sole responsibility for the organisation.  When we first met she told me that everything was fine in her life, the only problem was that she couldn’t sleep; if only she could sleep, everything else would be fine.  She had not been on holiday or had a proper break from work for around a year, had a very hectic lifestyle of work and play and was a perfectionist.  I gave her a CD along with my usual explanation of the causes of sleep problems.  At first it was difficult for her to see that it would be essential for her to get her life in order to sort out the sleep problem instead of wanting the sleep to magically fix which would then sort her life out.  After some sessions focused predominantly on relaxation, client B began to come up with some solutions that would help her.  She made some changes at work, made inroads into her perfectionist tendencies and booked two holidays! 

Following on from this she found it easier to focus away from the sleep issue and relax more.  The combination of changes both lifted her mood and enabled her to start to sleep properly once more.  During therapy she stopped taking her prescribed sleeping tablets.   She also learned that once her life was in balance her sleep could then balance itself- and not vice versa!

 

Zoë Corbyn of the Times writes:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=405427

Can you belive it?

The impeccable Dr Simon Singh (see Kerching for Singh) has slightly bogus looking funding for his SAS and an association with an organisation rife with poor science by the sounds of things. How depressing.

We'll work up some more posts on the problems casued by leg-length inequality (LLI) but I wanted to create a shopping list of the causes of leg-length inequality and came up with the following:

Anatomical:
1. Fracture or disease loss of bone. The classic one.
2. Genetic conditions.
3. Nutritional deficiency leading to leg-length loss.

Functional:
1. Sacroiliac joint dysfunctions leading to pelvic obliquity – and I think the most common, at least in my clinic.
2. The iliosacral joint is restricted on the superior or inferior transverse, or the sagittal axes. This may result from many causes including joint, muscle, osseous or compensatory considerations.
3. Hip joint dysfunction causing compensatory alterations by the joint and muscles that move the joint.
4. I am told that a growth in muscle mass itself. The vastus lateralis muscle appears to push the iliotibial band laterally leading to femoral angle compensations to maintain a line of progression during the gait cycle. This is often misdiagnosed as I-T band syndrome and subsequently treated incorrectly.
5. And the internal rotators of the lower limb being chronically short or in a state of contracture though I hate this sort of diagnosis as there’s never a decent answer to the why?
6. Likewise, short hamstring muscles as these are short because of the leg-length inequality.
7. And apparently, failure or incorrect loading of the Back Force Transmission System (the longitudinal-muscle-tendon-fascia sling and the oblique dorsal muscle-fascia-tendon sling). See the proceedings of the first and second Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back Pain.
8. And one I found last week with a patient who has uber lax ligaments and has developed one hyperflexed knee leading to a subsequent low hip on that side.
9. etc.
But the bottom line is look for common things first, identify if they are leg issues or pelvic issues and the and only then start to panic if you can find nothing. However, after a cup of tea and once the ‘why’ is identified you can then start to get things moving.

Any others?

Posted by Rupert Clements of C1 Chiropractic Health Centre.

Sciatica needs chiropractic care, and possibly some other options, to reduce pain in your back and legs.

 

Right, that’s it, I don’t want to hear the cry of: “I have sciatica” ever again unless it has been diagnosed by someone who as a clue.  I’m fed up with having to disabuse patients of this rotten diagnosis; it’s not far off “I have lumbago”.  As a chiropractor here in Bristol, we often have patients coming in for treatment with low-back pain (LBP) and pain running down the back of their legs.  Quite often this has nothing to do with the sciatic nerve and is still called sciatica. 

 

The anatomy:  The sciatic nerve is the longest and widest single nerve in your body.  It branches off at the base of the spine and runs down each side of your pelvic area, supplying nerve impulses to your gluteal region (butt), legs and feet.

 

The pain:  If you've ever experienced sciatica, you know how debilitating this pain can be.  I've seen patients, who could barely walk, couldn't bend over or even stand.  With good care you will be back to your normal self within 2-3 weeks.

 

The solution:  Chiropractic

 

oh, and try:  massage therapy.  I have patients who I see in my clinic that need gentle massage for their sciatic pain.  We use various forms of massage to relax patient's muscles, improve blood flow, and most important, the release of endorphins in the body that act as natural pain relievers.

 

Last but not least, a highly effective technique for treatment that is being used more and more is acupuncture.  A qualified and trained acupuncturist such as our great Zak can provide relief from back pain by simply using thin needles inserted in the area where you feel discomfort

 

There is no guarantee that this or any other combination of treatments will totally eliminate sciatica from reoccurring but if you follow the advice of your chiropractor and seek help early, you should prevent this from happening again in the future.

 

For more information on treatments and alternatives to protect your back, go to www.c1healthcentre.co.uk or contact me personally.

 

Rupert