As a parent, is there anything better than the giggle of your child as you chase them across the living room, grabbing them up as their feet sling widely into the air? Those days are long behind me as my son is now a practicing civil engineer in the USA, but I remember them well. I recently heard a clever witticism about raising young children, “the days drag on forever, but the years fly by.” So true, right? I miss those times with my boy.
But what if these joyful moments, for you and your child, become limited by a physical ailment? And what if the physical ailment, let’s call it back pain, is something that is very fixable? For many parents in Singapore, a city that thrives on productivity and efficiency, this is not just a minor inconvenience—it's a huge red flag that requires, no, demands, your immediate attention. Because the years fly by faster than you think.
Listen to the Signals That Your Body Is Sending You
Back pain is more than just an ailment- it's your body's way of saying, “hey… there is a problem here that needs your attention.” When back pain begins to affect your family time, it's a clear sign that the issue can no longer be brushed aside. And if it's affecting your family time, it's likely also affecting your work.
As chiropractors, we take a very detailed history. We want to know the root cause of your pain. Some of the questions we ask are to discern what makes the pain better and what makes the pain worse. I asked this of a patient of mine this past week who was in his late 30s - way too young to be experience so much back and neck pain. When replying in regard to what makes the pain worse, he said that playing with his young son and picking him up made the pain worse. I could see his frustration, almost heartbreak, when he said this. This is when you know it is time to take action, not just for your well-being, but for the quality of life you share with the ones you love.
Why is this a red flag? Because pain, especially when it becomes chronic, can have a profound impact on your mental and emotional health. It can strain relationships, dampen your spirits, and diminish your ability to be present and engaged with your children. It can transform the simplest of activities—like lifting your child or bending down to tie their shoelaces- into back stabbing, take-your-breath-away pain. It causes suffering. And yet it’s entirely treatable.
Repetitive Use Trauma - The Human Body Was Not Designed to Hover Over a Desk
I'm not a Singaporean, but I'm well aware of this city's pressure to produce - to be productive. It's a lot to live up to. It's long hours at the computer and continuous follow-up after hours and even into the weekends.
The type of posture that is required for 8-10 hours per day is not remotely what the human body was designed to do. The human brain can adapt in a heartbeat. If you lose your eye-sight, your other senses spring into action almost over-night. That's your dynamic brain at work.
Another example is your child's ability to understand and master technology that seemed to take us years to fully understand. I got my first email address when I was in university. I was scared to use it because I thought I was going to break something. Kids now grow up with this type of technology and can master new technologies in a single day. This their dynamic brain at work. It can evolve in a single generation.
However, our physicality and physiology takes thousands of years to evolve. In the course of human history, it was essentially just yesterday that we developed the capacity to stand upright. Yet here we are in the 21st century, hunched over a laptop computer, then riding home on the MRT with our head buried in our phones, neck in the shape of a 7. This type of posture is not what bodies are built for. This is why we leave the office in pain, why we go to bed in pain and why we wake up in pain.
Repetitive-Use Trauma is not like getting banged up in a car accident or a fall down the stairs, but over months and years it can lead to the same irregularities and misalignments in the neck and spine as a traumatic, pain-inducing accident.
Why Chiropractic Care Is So Well Received in Singapore
In Singapore, a city that is arguably one of the most progressive urban environments in the world, the grind is real. You have all the good that the city has to offer, but there is also the bad - the long hours, the congested MRT commutes, the urban grind. So why let the bad get worse?
Chiropractic care represents a beacon of hope. If you’re the one rubbing your sore neck every night on the MRT, it's time to listen up. Chiropractors in Singapore are more than just back-crackers. It's a healthcare option that combines the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with the diagnostic precision of Western Allopathic Medicine, offering a holistic approach that is a perfect fit for a city like Singapore - a city that acts as a bridge between the traditions of the past and the advancements of the future.
Chiropractors understand that the pillar of your health and longevity is your spine - and the nerves that exit from it. These nerves communicate with every muscle in your body and every organ system in your body.
The Pain-Inflammation Negative Feedback Loop
The inflammation to pain negative feedback look is the ugly cycle that builds slowly, but ultimately is the cause of chronic pain. As inflammation begins to accumulate in the spine, often times the result of the removal of proper bio-mechanics from long hours slumped over your desk, this leads to pain. Pain then causes an influx of greater blood supply to flush out the inflammation that is causing pain which in turn leads to more inflammation and more pain. This can be a very difficult cycle to break.
Do You Want 5G or Are You Content With 3G?
Pain and inflammation disrupt the nerves ability to communicate with the rest of your body, which in turn disrupts your activities of daily living. It disrupts your ability to do your job. And for my patient, it also disrupts his ability to play and interact with his child. If there is a fixable condition that is disrupting important aspects of your life, it doesn't make you tough or a better employee to bite your lip and carry on, it makes you… well, a little foolish.
Through chiropractic care, myself and the other chiropractors in my office aim to restore proper alignment, which then restores proper biomechanics to the spine, thus removing inflammation, which then eliminates pain. But it's not just about the spine—chiropractic care encompasses the entire musculoskeletal system, ensuring that your body functions ideally from top to bottom. A properly aligned spine with all the necessary bio-mechanics clicking on all cylinders is the difference between cumbersome 3G communication and ultra-high-speed 5G.
This all adds up to greater productivity at the office, but more importantly, the ability to run and play with your young children when you arrive home.
Chiropractic Care Merges the Old and the New to Effectively Treat Back Pain
At Total Health Chiropractic Singapore, we take tremendous pride in blending the old and the new. Chiropractors may use different terminology but we have the same goals of TCM. We respect the ancient principles of TCM, the flow of Qi (energy) and the importance of balance and harmony within the body.
Where we differ from TCM is in our diagnostic tools. We are educated on contemporary methods of diagnosing pain and disease similar to that of MDs. We are trained to read X-ray and MRI. We know the origins and insertion of every single muscle in the body and the bones that they attach to. This is how we find the root cause of your pain. We want to pinpoint the structural abnormalities and misalignments so that we can fix them and free you from discomfort and pain.
We are more than a temporary fix. We create a unique treatment plan that addresses your unique needs. This can include exercise, lifestyle advice, and preventive strategies to keep you healthy and free of pain.
Pain Does Not Have to Be a Byproduct of Aging
If you are miserable at work, limited in your ability to play with your child, or if you think you might be headed in that direction, it’s time to take action. Pain does NOT have to be a by-product of aging. As chiropractors, this is what we do - on a daily basis. We bring pain relief, alignment and balance back to your body. This is the quality of life that you and your family deserve.
Take the first step to happier and healthier you, by clicking the link here to schedule an appointment with one of our chiropractors. It will make your family happier as well.