SPINAL HEALTH CHECKS

Free fitness spinal health checks at Soaring Health

As an athlete or fitness enthusiast, you probably dedicate considerable effort to preventing injury and optimising performance. You attend to your nutrition. You make sure your exercise form is correct. You carefully schedule recovery and rest to allow your body to heal. But what about your spine? At Soaring Health, we believe that regular spinal assessment is an integral part of maintaining optimal function, movement and performance for athletes at all levels, from gym-goers to running enthusiasts and sportspeople. Why? Spinal assessment can help fitness enthusiasts and athletes to prevent pain, injury and movement limitations and optimise performance. As part of our commitment to helping athletes to realise their potential (our renowned sports division was born from our successful work with elite Australian sports teams), we are proud to introduce the free spinal health checks program at our Thomastown and Craigieburn clinics.

How does the spine affect health and fitness?

When it comes to maintaining an optimal fitness or sports regimen, recovery and healing are key. What few athletes consider, however, is that a healthy spine is a crucial link in facilitating healing and optimal function and movement. Decreased spinal function can undermine the body’s own healing mechanisms, which can mean compromised recovery from injury and increased injury susceptibility. What’s more, as the critical link between your brain and the rest of your body, with effects on the entire central nervous system, a healthy spine can be a factor in various fitness elements from balance to coordination. On the flip side, such areas may be compromised (possibly without you knowing until you notice diminished performance or function) by gradual, invisible spine changes such as loss of correct balance and posture, which impairs nervous system function and can eventually present as pain, pressure or muscle spasms.

Prevention is better than cure

Often, the reason we learn of an injury, condition or dysfunction is pain or limitations to performance or movement. We notice that our fitness performance or results have diminished. Maybe we also struggle to execute certain daily living tasks we usually perform easily. Unfortunately, by the time dysfunction is evident, a condition, injury or illness has often progressed. We may have unknowingly experienced gradual deterioration of spinal balance or be suffering from conditions such as increased curvature, muscle weakness or spinal degeneration. A spinal health check can detect these adverse changes before they cause dysfunction, illness or injury. Just like preventative healthcare screening such as skin cancer checks, this test may be an investment in your long-term wellness and fitness. (If you don’t think you need it, now is the perfect time to book.) We believe it’s preferable to keep you well in the first place or treat an emerging problem early rather than ‘fix’ serious dysfunction later.

Why chiropractic?

Many people assume symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, stiffness and numbness are due to stress, dehydration, nutrient deficiencies or viruses. And while they certainly can result from other causes, it’s more common than you might think for such symptoms to indicate adverse changes related to the spine. Chiropractic (from the Greek words for ‘hands’ and ‘practice’) is a holistic, hands-on, drug-free healthcare discipline that comprehensively assesses and treats conditions and disorders of the musculoskeletal system with an emphasis on the contribution of the nervous system.

What does a spinal health assessment involve?

This comprehensive assessment measures:

Posture
Balance
Orthopaedic assessment
Range of motion and flexibility
Tenderness in spinal bones, joints, muscles and other soft tissues
Neurological testing
Overall health and wellbeing, medical history and lifestyle factors

What to expect

Your spinal health check with a Soaring Health chiropractor will take about 30 minutes. While this is purely an assessment and no treatment will be provided, you will leave our clinic with a clear picture of your spinal health and how it relates to any symptoms or health conditions you may have, your fitness and exercise or sports capacities and performance and your overall wellbeing. Based on your assessment, your practitioner will provide clear, easy-to-understand information and insights that empower you to take control of your body and lifestyle for optimal health, wellbeing and fitness. If your assessment suggests that you may benefit from chiropractic treatment, you will also be equipped with a detailed recommendation and clear expectations about predicted progress and outcomes. We pride ourselves not only on exceptional treatment, but on a transparent, collaborative approach between practitioner and client. We look forward to seeing you soon. Are you looking for ways to prevent injury time-outs and optimise recovery and performance? Schedule your free spinal health check now. Simply click the button below to book.