One of the best ways for you to find out who you can trust when you are searching for a new supplier or contractor, is to look at their Google reviews. Personal recommendation is tremendously valuable and could mean you saving a lot of time and money, but most of us don’t necessarily have someone to ask just when we need it. Google reviews, however, are available at any time and really are like a recommendation from a distant friend.
Leaving Google reviews is thus mutually beneficial to all and helps all of us to avoid those who need to be avoided.
Our clinic is thus no different to any other small business in the importance of having Google reviews and we are blessed with having reached 99 so far, of which nearly all are 5 star. For those of you who have already taken the time to leave a review, we are extremely grateful. We are also immensely proud of the consistently high rating you give us. It’s something we work hard on and never stop trying to improve.
The next review could be yours and it will always be that magical 100, a significant milestone. If you want to be that person, then now is the time to leave your review as it’s clearly not going to be available for long.
We will make sure that whoever it is will be personally recognised.
The majority of patients who come to my clinic and even those who I have personally treated, are totally confused about what GunnIMS is and also how it differs from acupuncture. The general assumption is that GunnIMS uses needles, so it must be acupuncture, right?
Wrong!
What is the Difference Between Acupuncture and GunnIMS?
Acupuncture is an Eastern technique, originally developed between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago, without the benefits of modern anatomical knowledge we have today. Chinese Medicine is based on the assumption that energy, or Chi, flows around the body along defined meridian lines. The belief then is that by inserting needles into these meridian lines, it will affect the chi to bring the body back into balance. As a general rule the chi flows in fascia below the skin level, which is not too deep in the body. Typically needles would be inserted into the fascia and left in place for up to 30 minutes. Western acupuncture is a subset of Eastern acupuncture and follows similar principles.
It’s about as relevant as saying surgeons and cake makers both use knives
GunnIMS was developed much more recently, over the last 40 years, by Professor Gunn, a Vancouver based Doctor, using western knowledge of the anatomy and uses needles as a micro surgical tool, cutting deeply and directly into muscles which are not reacting properly to nerve signals and causing excess pressure on nerves, leading to long term, or chronic pain. It thus bears almost no resemblance to acupuncture other than the fact that both techniques use a needle. It’s about as relevant as saying surgeons and cake makers both use knives.
Who can benefit from GunnIMS?
Many people who have, or are suffering long term, unresolved spinal pain, can be helped much more by GunnIMS than any other technique currently available. In fact, GunnIMS is unsurpassed in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic muscular-related nerve (neuropathic) problems.
I’ll explain that with an analogy. Think of your car: if your headlight bulb keeps blowing because of a faulty wire in the fuse box, then you need to fix the fuse box, not keep replacing the headlight bulb. This seems obvious.
The way that human anatomy is formed in the womb means that the limbs can be considered an extension of the spine. So, specific parts of the body are controlled by specific nerves, their roots emerging at the spine. Just as in the car analogy, you could have pain in your foot because of a nerve problem in your back, or an elbow problem because of a nerve problem in the neck.
This is why people who suffer pain in the leg or foot get no relief from endless treatments on their leg or foot. Keep changing the light bulb and it won’t fix the problem.
To make matters worse, even our latest technology is unable to see pain caused by muscle spasm, so quite often patients who have suffered years of severe and constant pain, become depressed when they are told their scans are normal and thus nothing can be wrong.
This Is Simply Not True
It’s perhaps no surprise then that I’ve lost track of the number of times patients have arrived having suffered long term pain which they have been told was permanent and nothing could be done and just get on with it. Even worse, they have had many, many treatments on the symptom area, rather than the root cause of the problem in the spine.
Didn’t we just agree it was obvious to fix the fuse box? Clearly it’s not so obvious if you don’t have the right tool in the toolbox.
My Journey
As a child I grew up seeing my mother suffer years of horrific back pain and the best our western medicine could offer was pain killers, rest and exercises. Simply put, western medicine failed to kill her pain. I was driven to do something about it, but when I qualified as a Physiotherapist, I realised that this was still the same western medicine and I was no more able to help people with spinal pain than I had been as a child.
I’ve searched long and hard for a solution to severe and chronic spinal pain and now I have total belief that the results I can achieve with GunnIMS far exceed anything else that western medicine can offer. The results speak for themselves and that’s probably why patients travel thousands of miles for treatment which could eliminate the need for surgery and or prevent a lifelong dependency on toxic drugs.
GunnIMS In Sport
Chronic, complex sports injuries are often not resolved by conventional physiotherapy techniques. In part this is because many sports injuries have a neuropathic origin. GunnIMS works by treating the root cause of the problem.
Athletes have been shown to recover far more quickly from their injuries when GunnIMS has been used in their treatment, and some national teams and Olympic squads require GunnIMS practitioners to be part of their core therapy team.
Dry Needling
As a result of GunnIMS increasing in popularity, the term GunnIMS has largely been superseded by the more generic term Dry Needling. While I have no problem in using the term Dry Needling, I think it is always polite and proper to recognise that Professor Chan Gunn’s pioneering work is the basis of all dry needling today.
If you or someone you know is suffering from long term, severe and unresolved pain, then we can probably help, even when you have been told nothing can be done.
Call Now 01889 88144. Erica & Jean will be happy to help
Very few people are completely symmetrical and this can have an effect on the way they stand and move. They may also have additional problems including particularly high or low arches in the feet, different leg lengths or an injury. In some cases, people adapt to abnormalities without any problems; however, for others, the joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons are put under extra stress when they move, causing pain and accelerating the onset and severity of osteoarthritis.
Put together these problems can stop you being as active as you would like and even stop you from continuing with favourite pastimes.
When we stand, walk or run our body has to cope with and compensate for bad postural habits. It is these compensations that put structures such as muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons under undue strain when they begin functioning in an abnormal or compromised manner. Over time the structures become inflamed or injured.
Biomechanical Assessment
A biomechanical assessment is an investigation into the way you move. Although the focus is primarily lower body, the assessment will look at the whole body and assess how other parts of your body, for example your shoulders and neck, can also be affected and in pain.
A biomechanical assessment can be very beneficial if you are experiencing pain in your feet, lower limbs or back, particularly if no cause has been established. A biomechanical assessment is often very helpful in understanding and directing treatment at the cause of the problem.
The assessment process can take up to 60 minutes; you will need to wear shorts so that we can see your knees and legs as you move and it is helpful if you to bring a footwear so we can assess wear patterns. The examination is normally divided into two parts:
Part I. Static Assessment
A static assessment; which can consist of looking at inequalities or asymmetric conditions, various measurements might be taken while you stand up and possibly lie down. This part of the assessment will also include a computerised analysis of the pressure distribution under your feet (digital gait analysis).
Part II Dynamic Assessment
At Nicky Snazell’s we include a dynamic assessment as this is critical to develop an accurate analysis and it will highlight problems not evident from a static assessment alone. We will ask you to walk on a treadmill so we can analyse your gait, i.e., the way you move, how you swing your arms and even how you hold your head.
How Can We Help
Once we’ve identified the factors that are contributing to your pain, we can offer treatment and advice to counter these, including:
- Hands on Physiotherapy
- Exercises to improve strength, flexibility, balance and co-ordination
- Or, if required, orthotics, which are bespoke and made to measure insoles
Orthotics
Orthotic devices at the Nicky Snazell Clinic are made to measure by specialist technicians. They are professionally designed and bespoke to fit you, helping to provide stability and cushioning for your feet. These can help to:
- Improve the way you move day to day and thus help to take stress off injured areas of the body, for example;
- Plantar fasciitis
- Osteoarthritis of lower limb joints
- Achilles tendonitis / tendinopathies
- Hammer toes
- Bunions
- Backache
- Neck ache
- Metatarsalgia - Give support to your feet, avoiding overload to joints in the legs, feet and ankles
- Treat or adjust foot disorders, aligning the feet and lower limbs when you walk or run
- Help to equalise possible leg length discrepancies
- Relieve pain in your feet, legs, hips, back and your upper body.
- Can help to reduce the risk of further injuries
- Allow you to return to or continue participating in sport.
Orthotics are specifically designed for you. You need to give time for your body to adjust to your new posture and you should gradually increase the length of time wearing them. It’s perfectly normal for your leg muscles to ache for around a week after fitting. You should eventually use them in all your footwear.
If you are feeling discomfort when you are walking or running, then it may be that a biomechanical assessment would be appropriate. This is something we would need to determine during an initial session. We offer the biomechanical assessment for the price of a massage.
Call Now 01889 881488. Erica & Jean will be happy to help
It’s best to explain this with the help of an analogy. When you buy a brand-new car, it comes with a warranty. There’s a reason for this. The manufacturer is basically guaranteeing that provided you look after your car as specified, you are going to be very unlucky if anything goes wrong under the warranty period. Once past this honeymoon period, you know that you must carry out regular preventative maintenance at set intervals, in order to continue with many more miles of trouble-free motoring.
Eventually you will get to that time when things start to wear out and go wrong. Some parts will corrode, weaken and eventually fail. How fast your car gets to the junk yard depends very much on how well you looked after it and the difference can be many years.
Just as with a car, how many problems you will have and how long your body will last depends very much on how well it is maintained and that’s where we can help you. The thing is, with a car, when you send it to rust in peace, you can just buy another one. You can’t do that with your body.
Wellness – A Better Way
Nicky has devoted her life to finding better knowledge on how to help people get better results from their treatment and to live a longer, healthier life. In her books she developed the concept of a Human Garage and also the importance of overall health, or Wellness, which she defined in her 4 Keys model.
She has built a powerful team of highly experienced therapists and together they offer you the expertise of looking not only at the problems caused by a recent injury or of a longer-term chronic condition, but also look at your health keys to get even better long-term results.
Wellness encompasses all of you, your fuel (diet & nutrition), your servicing (exercise & fitness), how hard you press your right foot (stress) and your environment (lifestyle). The intent of Wellness is to achieve better long-term health for you.
If you feel you have Wellness factors that are negatively impacting your ability to heal, or you want to find out more about living a longer healthier life, then we can help.
If you are feeling excess rust and are in need of a bit of WD40 or maybe your suspension has collapsed, we can help.
Call Now 01889 881488. Erica & Jean will be happy to help
Osteoarthritis affects millions and is responsible for debilitating, non-stop pain. It can have huge negative impact on mobility and quality of life and is responsible for 95% of knee and hip replacement surgery.
If you are already suffering osteoarthritis pain and want treatment to reduce the pain and improve your mobility, or feel you need a diagnosis now and want to learn ways to reduce the impact of osteoarthritis, then read on.
Osteoarthritis (OA), which the most common type of arthritis, is wear and tear in the smooth cartilage protecting the bones in joints. This eventually leads to bone erosion, bone spurs and unsightly bony end thickening. The joint juice (synovial fluid), swells and becomes inflamed and sticky. The attacked bone haemorrhages precious calcium. The result tends to be pain and stiffness, worsening as the severity increases.
Indicators of OA are painful joints and especially more pain and stiffness when you wake or start moving. By 50 years old 8 out of 10 of us have OA and by 60, 9 out of 10. Left untreated, OA can have a massive negative impact on your quality of life. Left untreated, it may need surgery. In fact, 95% of surgery on knees and hips is OA related. The amount of pain felt does not always match the amount of wear and tear
How Do You Find Out If You Have Osteoarthritis?
Provisional Diagnosis is by a taking a detailed history, your story and that of your close relatives, as OA so often runs in families. While this article is about OA, however, you may well have a combination of all sorts, for example, osteoporosis, rheumatoid and ligament strain. We explore how the severity of your muscle weakness, stiffness and joint pain affects your lifestyle. We ask you to partly undress and undergo functional movements to assess for joint range, flexibility, strength, pain and swelling and to allow the severity of the OA to be graded. Confirmation of the precise diagnosis and grading is only possible by adding X-ray or MRI scanning and bloods.
Could You Have Osteoarthritis Even Though You Don’t Hurt Much?
Perhaps surprisingly, the amount of pain felt does not always match the amount of wear and tear. Hence you need to be examined by experts. Cartilage itself has no pain receptors, so it can’t send a pain signal to the brain. Modern research also shows little correlation of wear and tear to pain severity. Hence pain alone cannot be used to determine the need for highly invasive joint surgery.
Pain signals are sent to a nociceptive part of the brain (the part which processes pain from tissue damage) and the pain starts shouting out, in a way that is a million times more distracting than your conscious thoughts. Moreover, after just 3 months the pain moves into the emotional centre and hardwires himself into your mood and previously innocuous lifestyle activities. What this means is that your brain memorises and associates the pain with an activity that should normally be enjoyable. The pain becomes chronic pain.
Can We Help You With Osteoarthritis and Chronic Pain?
The good news is mindfulness physiotherapy can massively reduce chronic pain. We advocate working towards optimum health with our 4 Keys approach. Nicky’s favourite treatment combination of modalities are:
- Wellness physiotherapy with a good exercise prescription and mindfulness
- dietary advice and supplementation
- acupuncture to give some immediate pain relief
- in less severe cases, shockwave for stiffness
If you are suffering long term pain and think it might be due to osteoarthritis, then it makes a lot of sense to call us to get you properly diagnosed and start treatment to reduce that pain and improve your mobility as quickly as possible.
CALL 01889 881488 NOW!
Jean, Erica or Charlotte will be happy to help.
Patients are often asking me if they are double jointed. (The medical term is hypermobile and is a condition where joints are allowed to move further than in a normal joint) Many have a vague idea that they may be hypermobile and wonder if it is, or could end up being, a serious disability.
Perhaps surprisingly, you can be very slightly or far too flexible, you can even be hypermobile, but not have hypermobility syndrome. I know that sounds confusing. Hypermobility syndrome is a condition that affects the joints, making them unusually flexible. Left untreated, it can mean you may struggle with day-to-day activities. Typical examples are frequently being more prone to strains and sprains. Hypermobility syndrome can also lead to back pain and achy joints.
If you are worried you may be hypermobile, then we can test you for this condition at the clinic or you can see your GP, who uses a questionnaire called the Beighton score to establish if you are just flexible or have hypermobility syndrome. One of the key indicators is having four hypermobile joints with pain lasting more than three months. Your GP will also look at soft tissue damage and associated pain lasting more than three months.
Hypermobility runs in families so is often a hereditary problem. One of the main causes is thought to be genetically determined changes to a type of protein called collagen.
Physiotherapy treatment can help you manage this condition and help you avoid any unnecessary suffering.
If you would like to quickly score yourself:
- With your knees straight, can you reach the floor with your palms flat on the floor? If yes, one point.
- Can you take your elbows 10 degrees or more past straight? If yes, add one point for each elbow.
- Can you take your knees 10 degrees or more past straight? If yes, add one point for each knee.
- With your wrist bent at 90 degrees (palm towards inner forearm), can you push your thumbs back beyond 90 degrees? i.e., Thumb more towards forearm? If yes, one point for each thumb.
- Can you push your little fingers back beyond 90 degrees? If yes, one point for each hand.
Now add your score up out of 9. If your total is 5 or over, you are considered hypermobile and should make an appointment with us for treatment and advice.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes
Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes are a group of 13 classifications and are generally characterised by joint hypermobility. These syndromes are the most common form of connective tissue disorders, which can affect the skin and practically all major systems and organs.
If you are concerned that you may be double jointed, give us a call – we can help
Call Now 01889 881488. Erica & Jean will be happy to help
Junk Food? Only If You Want To Feed Your Pain
Most of us eat too much of the food that enhances pain, and too little of the food that reduces pain. Our cells depend on food and water for creating energy, healing and cleansing, but because of the poor food we eat, much of which is highly processed and loaded with additives, we have persistent inflammation, contributing to musculoskeletal pain, arthritis, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, cancer… you name it.
Refined grains, omega 6 fats, too much sugar, and too much dairy – especially milk – all stress the system. Pain caused by too much inflammation damages nerves beyond any injury, and also causes tissue pain in the tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Our ancestors were hunters and gatherers, where the soil was rich in nutrients and had not yet been made toxic with chemicals. They ate fresh meat, berries, roots (therefore, a lot of healthy omega 3 oils), plus fruit and vegetables high in antioxidants. They had no processed foods, no wheat, no trans fats, no excess sugar, no omega 6 and no processed dairy. This healthy diet helped to control chronic inflammation, something which plagues our modern day western lifestyle.
To be healthy, we need healthy food and because we are not getting enough, we make too much fibrin, causing too much scar tissue in our tendons, skin, and joints. This then causes arthritis, fibromyalgia, artery narrowing, and poor healing all round.
All this unhealthy, sugary food is prone to cause us to over eat and this in turn means we get too heavy for our height.
Fatter, faster than any other country
We are becoming increasingly obese and so are our children. We are a fat nation, growing fatter, faster than any country in the world, and because of this, we find ourselves in a major health crisis. It’s normal to want our children to do better than us, but sadly letting our children get fat is doing quite the opposite.
The next generation is not going to live as long as us
It’s not just food which affects the quality of our lives. There are other factors like stress, mindset, lifestyle and exercise and we can help you with all of these. Diet, however, is in your control. Even if you eat a little of the healthier foods, pulling some fresh vegetables out of your garden from well fertilised soil, it is a small start.
By looking beyond the short term gain of the lack of effort in preparing junk food, and instead focus on the long term gains of preparing and eating healthy food, you will be taking an important step to a less painful, less obese and longer life. Not only that, you get the added benefit of a much broader world of gastronomic delights.
If doing this for yourself doesn’t give you enough motivation, at least do it for your children, so they at least may have the chance to live as long as you and have a much better quality of life.
If you need some help with your current health, then call us.
Call Now 01889 881488. Erica & Jean will be happy to help
“A non-surgical, non-invasive alternative for pain relief
and musculoskeletal repair.”
Shockwave therapy is a modern and highly effective treatment option in orthopaedic and rehabilitation medicine. The term shockwave refers to mechanical pressure pulses that expands as a wave in the body.
Radial shockwave was extensively used in mainland Europe for many years before being introduced to the UK. Due to this, radial shockwave is still not commonly available here, but its acceptance is growing, in part helped by gaining NICE approval for some conditions. Our clinic was at the forefront of radial shockwave introduction, following training for Nicky & Alan by an Orthopaedic Consultant who runs a major shockwave clinic in Luxembourg.
Extensive research around the world is continuing to push the boundaries at a rapid pace and many new applications are constantly being developed, so expect more updates in the future.
How does it work?
The shockwave is created by firing a high energy projectile into the back of a transmitter, the front of which is in contact with the patient’s body. The projectile is fired repeatedly at a frequency and energy level to suit the particular condition being treated.
The transmitter sends a high energy acoustic wave into the body.
The energy promotes regeneration and reparative processes of the bones, tendons and other soft tissues. Shockwaves are characterised by large changes in pressure.
Shockwave is particularly effective in the treatment of:
- Plantar fasciitis | Policeman’s foot
- Tendon calcification
- Adhesive Capsulitis | Frozen shoulder
- Achilles tendonitis
- Lumbar spasm
- Shin splints
- Piriformis syndrome
- Tennis / Golfer’s elbow
- Iliotibial Band Syndrome
- Osteoarthritic joint mobility
Many patients have come to us with osteoarthritic joints and have felt an immediate improvement in joint flexibility. For those who choose not to undergo joint replacement surgery, shockwave offers a maintenance alternative.
No Extra Charge
Typically, radial shockwave is charged at premium prices, sometimes running to hundreds of pounds per session, in part due to the relative newness of the technology in the UK and also due to the high price of the technology.
At our clinic there is no extra charge for using radial shockwave.
If you have a problem that radial shockwave could help with, then please call.
Call Now 01889 881488. Erica & Jean will be happy to help
I want you to imagine that you’re at a party with all your friends. Out of all of these people, how many do you think will still be alive at retirement age? How many will be flat broke? How many will be wealthy enough to help others? If we look at American statistics (which will be similar to our own in the UK), the answers to these questions may surprise you.
Out of 100 people at retirement age, only one would be wealthy. Four would be financially secure. Five would still have to work in order to afford their lifestyle. Fifty-four would be completely broke and thirty-six would be dead.
From Private Care Homes
We get patients to Nicky Snazell Clinic from Hammerwich, Burntwood, and around the Stafford area. Being fit for your care home will ensure that you enjoy it to the fullest and, as such, benefit from a longer and more active retirement.
Only 5% would be able to live healthy lives
Now, imagine you’re again looking around at your friends at the party. Only 5% of these people will be able to support themselves enough to live healthily at retirement age. This is why we need a life plan, and this is why we really need to think about where our lives are going. With that in mind, how old do you think your kids will live to? And does it matter where in the world they live?
Unfortunately, according to a CIA report, the average life expectancy of children who are born now is not as good as you might think. Broken down by country, people born in Monaco today will have the longest life expectancy of 89.6years. Here in the UK, it is 9.2 years less at 80.4. Right at the bottom of the table, we have South Africa with a life expectancy of just 41.0 years.
Health Is A Choice
Life Expectancy Is A Choice
This sounds shocking, but it is something that – here in the UK – we have the power to change ourselves, by transforming the way we think, what we eat, how we move, and what kind of lifestyle we choose to have. That’s right – it’s a choice.
We can choose to prove those UK figures wrong and live longer, healthier lives, or we can choose to do nothing, and watch as our life spans get shorter and shorter. It’s a decision we can actively make for ourselves, and it’s a decision that we shouldn’t have to spend too long contemplating. If we want to have longer lives, we have to start changing now.
Traffic Light Approach to Health
At my clinic, I ask my patients to fill in a questionnaire about their current health and their answers are incredibly useful in letting me see where they need to improve their mindset, their nutrition, their fitness and their lifestyle. This is no different to ancient doctors/shamans, who would listen and pray or teach meditation, teach movement, good healthy eating with clean water, and make sure the home and social network was healthy.
I call it the traffic light approach to health because we analyse these areas by seeing if the patient is green (good), amber (room for improvement) or red (poor).
These are your fitness keys, and they will tell you where you need to improve.
With this in mind, I have developed four questionnaires – one for each key and these are explained in detail in my first book, The 4 Keys To Health. If you want to get the most out of your health, then absorb the knowledge and implement some of my suggested changes into your life. You should soon start to see your traffic light scores changing from red or amber to green on all counts. When this happens, you are likely to be at your optimal health for your age, which means you’ll be giving yourself the best possible chance if a disease or injury should occur.
If you would like to find out more about your own fitness keys and get a plan for improvement, then call to see Nicky.
Call Now 01889 881488. Erica & Jean will be happy to help
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that work together to provide dynamic stability of the shoulder joint, helping to control the joint during rotation:
- Supraspinatus
- Infraspinatus
- Subscapularis
- Teres Minor
The Supraspinatus is a small muscle which you can feel above the bony ridge on the back of your shoulder blade (scapula). It attaches to the top of the arm bone (humerus), just below the shoulder joint. The task of this muscle is to move the arm sideways away from the body for the first 15 degrees. After that other muscles take over most of the load.
The Infraspinatus is a thick triangular muscle, which occupies the chief part of the sculptured dent in the back of the shoulder blade, below the bony ridge. As one of the four muscles of the rotator cuff, the main function of the infraspinatus is to turn the arm out as in the back hand in tennis, and stabilise the shoulder joint.
The Subscapularis is a large triangular muscle at the front of the shoulder blade, between the shoulder blade and the rib cage. It attaches to the top of the arm bone (humerus) and into the front of the shoulder capsule. Its role is to turn the arm in.
The Teres Minor muscle sits below the Infraspinatus. It is quite a small rounded muscle and its primary task is to stop the arm moving up when it is moved out sideways (abducted). It also helps the Infraspinatus turn the arm out.
TREATMENTS FOR ROTATOR CUFF TENDINITIS
Rotator cuff tendinitis describes the inflammatory response of one or more of the four rotator cuff tendons, due to impingement or overuse, and leading to more and more micro-trauma that can then lead to a tendon rupture.
The inflamed thickening of the tendons often causes the rotator cuff tendons to become trapped under the acromion (the bony projection of the shoulder blade over the shoulder joint) – like a carpet stuck under a door – causing sub-acromial impingement. Failure to heal then leads to further damage. Early treatment of tendinitis, therefore, is vital in order to prevent the development of more chronic and serious conditions.
Treatment can include: first and foremost scapula re-education exercises, postural exercises to lessen the impingement, gentle shoulder mobilisations and massage, aided by local electrotherapy, such as laser, pulsed shortwave, shockwave and deep oscillation. Specific rehab exercises can help guide you back to full fitness.
If you have shoulder pain or restricted movement, we can help.
Call Now 01889 881488. Erica & Jean will be happy to help