We are looking for an additional radiographer to join our team at Cliffs for a few hours a week on Friday mornings and some Wednesday evenings.
If you are interested then please check out the job description. If you know of anyone who may be interested, we’d appreciate it if you could please forward this to them.
Click on the link below for the Job Description:
Part Time Radiographer Needed
We’re pleased to welcome our latest recruit to our team at Cliffs. Emma Chaplin has joined our therapy team as a masseuse.
She has already had her hands on patients and they came out smiling:)
Emma’s personal passion for health and fitness led her to pursue a career as a massage therapist.
Emma says “When the chance arose to become part of the Cliffs Chiropractic team I was overjoyed. Having the opportunity to work within highly this respected award winning clinic, alongside like-minded professionals and provide treatment that compliments the healing process is fantastic! Each day I am able to make a difference to how people feel is a fulfilling and rewarding experience.”
You can read more about Emma on our Meet The Team page.
Emma is looking forward to meeting you and helping enhance your life.
You excitedly plan for your summer holiday for months on end and within a week or two it’s all over. Yep, the holiday-blues can hit you harder than those post-cocktail hangovers. Fortunately, our Southend chiropractor has some great tips on regaining your summer smile following your trip:
Think about something that interests you, and take the plunge and get started. You may have a surprising talent or you may discover that you don’t enjoy it after all. But the fun is in trying.
Enrolling in a class or workshop is a great way to distract you from the holiday blues and add some excitement to your life. Knowledge is invigorating!
It’s really difficult to feel good on a bad diet. Remember that the choices you make for your body will have a direct impact on how you feel emotionally. If you’re feeling blue following your holiday, dump your bad habits and turn to healthy food and regular exercise. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you start feeling happier.
Stay happy, stay healthy!
While back pain is very common for adults, children and teenagers are much more resilient and flexible. However, according to our Southend chiropractor, due predominantly to lifestyle choices, children and teenagers are increasingly falling victim to back pain. This is why at Cliffs our chiropractors are encouraging good spine health and proper posture from a young age.
Because younger children are less likely to put their spine under the same severe stresses as older children and adults, any back problems are usually short lived. Also, younger children tend to self-limit their activities and choose not to repeat painful actions. This helps in their recovery if an episode of back pain does occur.
With this in mind, any persistent back pain in a young child should be taken very seriously.
Some teens are very active and are often involved in sports or other strenuous hobbies. As with any physical activity, there is always the possibility for a back injury to occur. This risk is even higher for teens who are involved in contact sports, such as rugby, football and martial arts.
On the other end of the scale, there’s the fact that most teenagers these days spend a whopping amount of time hunched over a Smartphone, tablet or computer. Frequent inactivity and poor posture are leading causes of back problems amongst younger generations, especially teenagers. As a parent, you should always treat any kind of back injury in your teenager as a serious concern and seek an accurate diagnosis from a healthcare professional.
There is also a variety of non-physical issues which may cause back pain to develop during the teenager years. The pressures of school and growing up can be overwhelming and may lead to anxiety-induced back pain in a number of young people. Emotional stress can also worsen any existing back pain symptoms.
This type of pain affects many young people, but often the true cause is misdiagnosed.
It is never too early to teach your children the importance of looking after their spines and our chiropractors at Cliffs in Southend really do encourage you to do this. Please visit our ‘Back Story‘ page for more information on proactive ways to keep your children’s backs safe.
Most of us like to dress our feet in stylish sandals during the summer, but did you know that wearing flimsy footwear can lead to or worsen back pain? According to our Cliffs chiropractor in Southend, shoes play an important part in the health of your spine.
They need to be supportive – even when the sun is out! If your feet are wobbling, slipping, and sloshing around, the extra movement travels all the way up your leg and into your spine. Think of a flip-flop – that’s exactly what they make your feet do: flip and flop!
A good shoe supports and controls the heel with a strap or a cup. With a heel that is stabilised, you provide a solid foundation for your entire spine.
The bottom line? Before you grab the trendiest pair of sandals off the shelf this summer, spare a thought for your poor spine first!
‘Stand up straight’, ‘take exercise’, ‘eat healthy non-processed food’ are a big turn off, but ‘looking good’ can be a far more persuasive argument these days.
When Arif launched the Back Story campaign – using some strange, but very important exercises, like the ‘chin tuck’ (that’s it in this picture!) in May, he was delighted to be able to do this to Year 12s at St Thomas More High School. Earlier this month, Arif was back again hosting a round table discussion with a group of 17 year olds who came up with their own idea of how best to spread the word for healthier living.
The aim of the round table discussion was to work out how we can communicate the healthier living message to young people more effectively. The group of 17 year olds included Brogan, Conor, Eloise, George, Oscar and Samantha and after a lively debate on why good posture, diet, exercise and fresh air is important, Conor had the great idea of creating ambassadors to give the Back Story more relevance.
So, as he’s been volunteered, Samantha agreed too. Once they’ve been to the Cliffs Chiropractic Clinic in Southend and seen first-hand how chiropractic can prevent or improve conditions, they’ll turn this into a presentation that they’ll be making to their peers at school.
We’ll report back after the first presentation. There will also be accompanying videos too, so watch this space!
Prescription drugs have many side effects and at Cliffs Chiropractic we know that medication from your GP or consultant can save your life or improve it, but it can also come with unwanted side effects. It’s important to remember that drugs are not necessarily safe and to be aware of the side-effects.
Your medical history is important to us and we need to know all the medication you are taking. Make sure you let your chiropractor know about the drugs you are on – read on to find out how we can help you.
Record numbers of people are suffering or dying as a result of prescription drug side effects. All medications, both over-the-counter and prescription, have some kind of undesirable and sometimes dangerous after effects, from muscle aches to death.
Prescription pills are Britain’s third biggest killer with psychiatric drugs reckoned to be the third biggest killer after heart disease and cancer. For instance, antipsychotics, commonly given to dementia patients to keep them quiet, raise the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Psychiatric drugs also make falls more likely, and breaking a hip can shorten life significantly, while some antidepressants are linked to a potentially deadly irregular heartbeat. More than one million people in the UK are addicted to sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs, according to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Involuntary Tranquiliser Addiction, even though for years official advice has been to not prescribe them for longer than four weeks.
At Cliffs Chiropractic we have recently had a big increase in patients suffering from the side effects of their drugs, they had symptoms such as heart arrhythmia, gastric reflux, nausea, headaches and they were all being given further drugs and even a pacemaker to cover up the symptoms.
The answer is not to stop taking your drugs, they may be very necessary. However, if you are experiencing symptoms do look up yourself if they could be a side effect of a drug you are taking. Read the leaflet that comes in the packet or Google it. GP’s are busy people and cannot remember the side effects of all drugs so take control yourself. Go and ask your GP and remind him about the possible effects of what you are taking.
Ask your chiropractor for advice he will be able to guide you and help you with a natural solution to the side effect. There are plenty of natural alternatives that are safe and may help relieve your symptoms.
Possibly the most common side effects of any prescription drug are gastric issues, such as nausea, constipation and diarrhoea, because most drugs go through the digestive system to be absorbed. Other common after effects include drowsiness, pain, dizziness and skin reactions.
There may be a simple solution such as always eating with your medication or sipping chamomile tea afterwards or taking a ginger capsule for nausea. Other solutions could include drinking more water to stay hydrated, eating more often and smaller meals.
Melanie Soomro says, “As a Medical Herbalist I can successfully treat many of these conditions naturally and my aim is always to reduce prescription drugs as much as possible (in conjunction with your GP). As the liver is the centre of detoxification for the body including dealing with the end products of drugs often a simple liver cleanse can do away with the side effects of these drugs. It is our aim to help the body function at its optimum and with the right herbs, supplements and lifestyle advice we can minimise the use of drugs”
If you would like advice please talk to Arif or Paz at your next appointment or book an appointment to see Melanie for an assessment and get your body functioning optimally.
Most of us look forward to welcoming some warm weather during the summer holidays whether it’s at home in the UK or overseas on holidays, but when it’s too hot for too long, there can be health risks for us and our kids. Sure, you’d rather see your children running along the sand than cooped up playing video games, but the great outdoors may pose a danger if a heatwave hits.
The main risks that come with a heatwave are:
A heatwave can affect anyone, but the most vulnerable people are:
While you can’t control the weather, you can control how it affects you and your family with these great tips from our Southend chiropractor:
We hope you’ve found these tips helpful. After all, safety puts the “fun” in “sun”!
Taking a refreshing dip in the pool is a great way to cool off from the scorching summer heat, but it can also be beneficial to your back.
Swimming is an enjoyable form of low-impact aerobic conditioning and it’s gentle on your back and spine. Unlike other forms of exercise, the buoyancy of the water supports your body’s weight as you swim and reduces the stress on your joints and spine.
But what are the best swimming strokes if you suffer from back pain?
According to our Southend chiropractor, anyone with back pain should look at ways to avoid sheer forces on the spine. For example, using a mask or snorkel will eliminate the need to arch your lower back while coming up for air or when rotating your head to breathe. Alternatively, working with a coach or trainer can teach you how to keep your shoulders in line with your hips while swimming.
Swimming can be an extremely effective way to manage your back pain. But it’s important to speak to your healthcare provider before “jumping in at the deep end” this summer.
If you live with chronic pain, you’ll be all too aware of the impact it can have on your daily life. But what if you could train your brain to reduce your symptoms? Is it even possible to “think” your pain away? It can be, according to our Southend chiropractor.
Take a look at the following pain-management techniques that have worked for many people living with chronic pain:
This effective technique involves focusing your mind on something specific and ignoring other stimuli in the process. This may be listening to a piece of music and only focusing on the beat of the drum, for example.
However you choose to do it, it’s important that you find a way to make the activity compelling enough to allow your brain enough power to negate your pain.
Learning to expect a feeling of pleasure may help to reduce pain. Many patients living with daily pain come to accept their symptoms as part of their lives. Imagine a day where you feel no pain whatsoever. Train your brain to expect a pain-free future, even when you are in pain.
Imagery can be one of the most effective ways to use your brain to reduce your pain! If your pain presents as a burning sensation, consider looking at pictures of snow and ice. If you suffer from joint pain and stiffness, looking at a video of a flexible dancer may help to focus your brain away from your ailments.
Remember that your eyes, mind and body work in sync with one another; and what you see can cause many significant physiological responses. Ever started itching at the mere sight or mention of head lice or fleas? That’s your body reacting with your mind!
Where you direct your attention can be very powerful in helping to relieve pain.
Give these ideas a try and speak to a healthcare professional about other pain control techniques. Training your brain to cope with your pain just come as a breakthrough in your management of your condition. After all, what have you got to lose by trying?
