The British Chiropractic Association – Straighten Up UK

At the end of January I attended an event in Covent Garden hosted by Publicasity together with the The British Chiropractic Association.

As a Nanny looking after various aged children for the last 12 years I have had back pain for a while now which has gotten worse since having Emmy – there is no going home for a rest when you have your own child, no saying I can’t pick you up as I’m sore darling and no saying I can’t sleep in your bed baby when she has a raging temperature and just wants to be held. 

Paul also suffers with his back amongst other pains due to his Fibromyalgia so he came along with me to meet with the Chiropractors Louise Hampton and Tim Hutchful, Emmy also came along to be the life and sole of the party (well she is a diva after all).  We met Emma from Me the man and the baby (and her adorable son) at Covent Garden Station and headed off to the event, well after pottering around Covent Garden for a while waiting for Emma’s train to get in, Paul was in charge of getting us there as my sense of direction is rubbish and I have a feeling Emma’s may possibly be the same as mine.

When we arrived there were quite a few other fellow bloggers there who I recognised and some I’m afraid to say I didn’t (I’m sorry I will learn all your names soon – I’m a newbie so bear with me), I did recognise Sharon (i-heart-motherhood), kate (wit wit woo) – well she is impossible to miss with that lovely red hair, Mari (maris world) and the lovely Jo (mum-friendly) who turns out is very good friends with an online friend of mine so we plan on a get together very soon. After consuming a LOT of lovely nibbles and Emmy taking a liking to Skittles and Emma’s son we were able to chat with the Chiropractors who gave us some very helpful tips on helping our backs, positioning, stretches and exercises.
One thing which I hadn’t really thought of before was that if your Bra isn’t fitted correctly then that can give you back pain – now I’ve never been correctly fitted for a Bra, well I have however once I get home I realise that No they really don’t fit too well, the trouble is different shops clothes and underwear seem to fit differently so even when I have been ‘fitted’ I buy a Bra from another shop and that doesn’t fit. I am one of the ladies who fall into the ‘top heavy’ category, many would say that I’m lucky but they are usually men esp my hubby and don’t have the back pain associated with Big Boobies.  Tim Hutchful says “Bras are like suspension bridges, you need a well engineered bra so your shoulders don’t take all of the strain and end up doing all of the work; spreading the load is important.  Bras that don’t fit will affect the shoulders and chest and may cause back pain as you get older.  It is so important to make sure a bra gives you enough support as possible.” 

Another thing I hadn’t thought about was Emmy’s changing bag which doubles up as my handbag, snackbag and general dumping ground.  I honestly do not know how it gains so much rubbish in it, but does seem to get heavier and heavier daily only getting a clear out when I change to a new bag.  We were advised that “heavy big bags can cause neck and shoulder strain as well as the long term affects on posture” – Whoops!! Maybe it’s about time for me to find a new changing bag.

A great piece of advise I came away with is when bending down to pick up something, lift one leg as it aids balance.  I have been doing this and it is much easier.  You can practice balancing too but standing on one leg when brushing your teeth, washing up or preparing vegetables – it doesn’t need to take up any extra time.

I found this event very helpful and would like to thank Aaron at Publicasity, Louise and Tim from The British Chiropractic Association.  All the leaflets I was given at the event can be found here.

If you would like to find out more about how to help your back and posture please visit www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk or you an visit Louise’s blog healthybacks.wordpress.com.

Here is a video for you all to watch, Tim Hutchful gives you so simple excercises you can do at home: