​Most of us know vitamin D is vital for strong and healthy bones, helping with calcium absorption in the intestine. However, scientists have found other interesting association between low vitamin D blood serum level and some health conditions,that may even have an impact to your children!
 
Vitamin D supports a healthy immune system, reduces inflammation and helps with calcium absorption. Gathering information from different research studies, low vitamin D level is a risk factor for osteoporosis, rickets disease in children and osteomalacia in adults, bone fractures in elderly, cancer, depression, intentional self harm and suicide attempt. (1, 2)
 
Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency has been suggested to favor a poorer outcome of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19).(3) A study from Italy published in 2021 found people admitted to hospital with moderate to severe respiratory symptoms had lower vitamin D in their blood serum compared to people who only have mild symptoms.(3)
 
Healthy Bones Australia recommends a vitamin D level of at least 50 nmol/L at the end of winter and during summer higher levels are common in the range of 60-70 nmol/L. We can get vitamin D from diet, or through UVB in direct sunlight when skin is exposed. To reach a recommended level of vitamin D, we need an average of 6-8 mins of sunlight daily(in NSW) during summer months and 5 times longer in winter months!(4) It should be noted that glasses blocks out UVB from the sunlight, together with the increase time spent indoor during winter months, vitamin D level can really fluctuate from season to season. In this case, consider consuming cod liver oil, more mushrooms, oily fishes such as salmon and mackerel to ensure vitamin D level is adequate.
 
If you want to know more about how to keep your immune system strong and healthy this winter, talk to one of our chiropractors and see how we may be able to help manage your concerns!

​Have you ever been diagnosed with a ‘pinched nerve’? This diagnosis is often accompanied by sharp, shooting pains into the arms or legs, usually without any injury to the body part involved. A common example of this is ‘sciatica’ where affected individuals will often complain of a sharp shooting pain down the back of their leg, often into the foot. In chiropractic, we refer to this travelling pain as ‘radicular’ pain.
 
Radicular pain, by definition, is pain that travels away from the source of the problem along the affected spinal nerve root. This is why pain is often felt outside of the region of injury in a seemingly random area. A ‘spinal nerve root’ refers to the part of the nervous system where different nerves start to deviate from the spinal cord and supply different parts of the body. These nerves can play a part in motor function (movement), sensory input, or (when the nerve root is aggravated) it can send pain signals along that nerve to whichever part of the body it supplies. As an example, an issue with the spinal nerve root in the neck may present with radicular pain into the arm, while a similar issue in the lumbar spine may present with radicular pain in the leg.
 
When a nerve becomes ‘aggravated’ it means that there is some kind of irritating stimulus that is impairing the function of that nerve. Different stimuli may include chemical irritation, such as inflammation, or mechanical irritation, including issues such as spinal cord compression, vertebral degeneration, or a herniated disc. As well as pain radiating from the spinal nerve root, one may also experience neurological symptoms which may present as delayed reflexes, numbness, and/or weakness in the limbs and muscles. These neurological issues are referred to as ‘radiculopathies’.
 
If you are experiencing radicular pain, or potentially a radiculopathy, your chiropractor will be able to identify this by conducting a thorough history, physical exam, and possibly radiographic imaging. By determining what is causing the issue, your chiropractor can formulate a care plan to help you based on your specific problem. Studies have shown that chiropractic adjustments can help to relieve symptoms of nerve root irritation; including both pain and neurological symptoms.
 
Patel, E. A., & Perloff, M. D. (2018). Radicular Pain Syndromes: Cervical, Lumbar, and Spinal Stenosis. Seminars in neurology, 38(6), 634–639. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1673680
 
 Christensen, K., & Buswell, K. (2008). Chiropractic outcomes managing radiculopathy in a hospital setting: a retrospective review of 162 patients. Journal Of Chiropractic Medicine, 7(3), 115-125. doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2008.05.001