Careers that would benefit from chiropractic care: Part one

Careers that would benefit from regular chiropractic care: Part one

Working on my own home the last few weeks has enlightened me as to certain professional tradespeople who would benefit from regular chiropractic care.

I have been doing a good deal of painting, drywall installation and having electrical wiring done at my home lately and man have I been stiff and sore. The positions needed for performing some of these tasks, painting a ceiling for example leave a lot to be desired from a chiropractic perspective.

This kind of overhead activity causes extension of the neck which compresses the joints in the back of the spine. So what you say? Well prolonged extension postures will cause inflammation of the joints and subsequent local irritation of the nerves and muscles. This will produce muscle contraction reinforcing the compression of the joint and producing a vicious circle of joint irritation and muscle stiffness.

Our bodies are pretty good at hiding this from us, for a time, there may be small hints that this is occurring such as morning stiffness, more pain or stiffness as the day goes on, or headaches. At some point this will translate into pain and dysfunction. For tradespeople often not working means not getting paid.

Careers that would benefit from chiropracitc care: Part one

Other workers who do a lot of overhead work such as electricians, in addition to having potential neck issues will also need to focus on their shoulders. Shoulders or more specifically the tendons of rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder are at risk of being impinged and worn with prolonged activities, potentially resulting in a degenerative rotator cuff tear.

My rationale for writing this, is to encourage those of you who are tradespeople who do physical work daily to receive regular chiropractic care and not let the vicious cycle of joint dysfunction result in disability and time off work.

Give me a call let me keep you on the job.

Dr. Kevin Finn 905-831-3939   For other careers that would benefit from chiropractic care visit  https://yourpickeringchiropractors.ca

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Skin Cancer

This might seem like an odd posting from; one a chiropractor and two it’s January. Not the first thing that came to mind but like a lot of my blogs the idea came from a patient who was, because it was January heading south to escape the cold.

Skin cancer is a bit of an interest for me, personally as a fair haired Caucasian of middle age I have had several skin cancers removed already, secondly I teach Dermatology at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and lastly as a I chiropractor I see a lot of bare backs.

So it makes some sense that a chiropractor should be interested in those moles on your back, you have a hard time seeing them and we may see them quite regularly and are thus well positioned to detect and monitor issues you may have.

Now for a primer on skin cancer, most skin cancers thankfully are not too much of a concern and can be managed easily with liquid nitrogen or excision.

These two most common types of skin cancer are:

Basal Cell carcinoma and Squamous cell carcinoma, a couple of fancy sounding conditions you may have never heard of, but are basically abnormal cell growths in superficial skin, occur in fair-haired, light skinned, middle aged or older individuals in areas exposed to the sun, so the face, top of that bald head, arms or legs.

These are related to previous burns and cumulative sun exposure. Look for areas of redness, small sores that don’t seem to heal over a period of time longer than you’d expect for a slight scrape or cut. They may become raised and the sore remains in the middle.

The skin cancer that you most likely have heard about before is, Malignant Melanoma or just Melanoma. This is the skin cancer that typically develops from a mole, occurs in younger age groups and can occur anywhere on your body, even the soles of your feet! So not just in sun exposed areas.

When you look at a mole on your body think of ABCDE.

  • Is the mole Asymmetrical?
  • Borders are they smooth and round like a simple freckle or jagged? Are the borders distinct or do they blend into the surrounding area?
  • Colour, is the mole one colour, brown or black or is it multiple colours?
  • Diameter is the mole more than 6mm in diameter?
  • Elevation is the mole raised above the skin surface or Evolution has the mole changed recently?

 

 

 

So if you are heading south for the winter, cover up, wear your sunscreen, check yourself for any weird moles or marks several times per year. If you have a spot you’re concerned about let me know next time I see you or ask your family physician.

 

Resources

https://www.melanomanetwork.ca/

 

Dr. Kevin Finn 905-831-3939   https://yourpickeringchiropractors.ca

info@drkevinfinn.ca

twitter   @drkevinfinn

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