Posts

Chiropractic and Medicare

/in /by

MCAs you are most likely aware, Chiropractic can be calmed under Private health insurance, but you may not be aware of a Medicare service that has been available since 2004. The Medicare Allied health initiative provides for Medicare benefits to be paid for allied health and dental care services provided to people with chronic conditions and complex care needs. They will allow for up to five visits under this initiative.

Under the initiative, people with chronic conditions and complex care needs firstly need to be managed by their GP who would set up a Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) plan. This care plan can include 1 or more allied health professionals to assist in the treatment plan. These can include Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Exercise Physiology, Occupational Therapy, Mental health services, Psychology, Speech Pathology and Dental. Medicare will pay a large percentage

If you would like Chiropractic care and this is something that you may be eligible for, all you need to do is speak to your GP, who will set up an EPC, which includes myself as your Chiropractor. Your GP will give you a copy of this EPC with a referral to me, which you need to bring to your next Chiropractic consultation. I will sign it to agree to the care plan and send it back to your GP. For the next 6 visits, you pay your invoice as per usual, then take your receipt to Medicare to claim. Medicare will cover the majority of the bill.

Neck and shoulder pain.

/in /by

acup-shoulder-painMany of us live with permanently stiff shoulders or a neck that seizes up from time to time. Our modern lifestyle is a major culprit, with computer work (especially on laptops) putting a lot of strain on the neck and shoulders. Out-of-control stress levels don’t help either. One of the worst environments for neck and shoulder pain is a high-pressure work environment with badly set-up computers and cold air flowing down on you from air conditioning. With this sort of combination of stress, poor ergonomics and the tendency to tense up the shoulder muscles in response to cold, it’s not surprising that so many people suffer from stiff neck and shoulders.

Other things that can trigger neck and shoulder pain are prolonged driving, freehand writing or drawing, occupations involving a lot of repetitive use of the arms (hairdressing comes to mind), and playing some musical instruments.

So what can be done? Obviously it’s important to address anything in your lifestyle that might be contributing, which could involve a rethink of your work or leisure patterns. I’ve included a list of other tips at the end.

But what if your shoulders and neck are still sore after doing everything you can to relax them? This is where acupuncture comes in.

Japanese acupuncture uses several needling techniques to melt tension in the neck and shoulders. Another technique that is great for neck and shoulder pain is moxibustion – the use of a warming herb on the tight, painful areas. Cupping is also very useful. But much of the treatment is done away from the local painful region– as it is just as important to treat the constitutional pattern that Oriental medicine sees as causing disruption to the flow of energy, as we see this as underlying the neck and shoulder pain. This ensures that treatments will have a lasting effect.

We usually see an improvement within 4-6 weekly treatments, and when this happens we scale back the frequency of sessions as your body “relearns” this state of reduced tension. Eventually most people will just need the occasional top-up session every few months or so during periods of particularly intense activity or stress.

Tips for relieving neck and shoulder stiffness:

  • Make sure your desk is properly set up. Many offices these days have ergonomic guidelines and it’s also possible to have an expert review your set-up.
  • Give your neck and shoulders a break by taking lots of breaks from computer work, or other intense activities like writing freehand, drawing, music practice or driving. Aim to have a break where you get up, walk around and stretch after every 20 min of typing etc.
  • If at all possible, avoid sitting in air-conditioning, or wear a scarf (or a top with a collar that covers your neck).
  • Warmth helps most people with this sort of pain, so try hot showers or heat packs.
  • Try to build some type of relaxation into your day, like meditation, yoga or Tai-Chi. Another really useful strategy is to focus on becoming aware of shoulder tension as it builds up and repeatedly and deliberately relax and drop your shoulders. Tricky to do at first, but it gets easier with time.
  • It is also often possible to strengthen other muscles in the upper body so that your traps don’t take all the strain. If you go to a gym, ask one of the trainers to show you how to strengthen these muscles.