Having worked as a chiropractic assistant for some time, I realised that there were many people suffering with pain right here in County Durham and the surrounding areas.
What surprised me the most, was the amount of time people had been suffering with pain or ill health, but continued to ignore the symptoms sometimes for up to as long as 10 years. I began to question that fact. Why do we British just shut up and put up with, and ignore the symptoms until we are at breaking point either physically or mentally and the end result could be absenteeism from work? We all know how important it is for our sense of worth and wellbeing to have work in our lives, so why do we reach breaking point before seeking help? Is it because we British are programmed to crack on regardless and hope the problem disappears, or is it that we are just so busy working 5 or 6 days a week that we rarely have time to think about our own bodies, and listen to the warning signals? Is it because we are afraid to ask for help, or we don’t know where to go for help, or is it simply that we always put ourselves last? There could be a million answers to the reason, but it became very clear to me that as musculoskeletal specialists we needed to help in some way. Instead of rehabilitating people back in to the workplace following absenteeism, it would make good sense to try to educate people on the prevention of illness rather than rehabilitation.
The most important resource in the workplace is the employees, so surely employers would want to invest in their health and wellbeing and in return decrease absenteeism. With this thought in mind I believed that we as a practice could give back to our local community if we offered our services. We are very proud to work in Durham and be part of the North East workforce and let’s be honest here, the people of County Durham have kept us in business for well over 20 years. Without musculoskeletal issues we wouldn’t be in Business would we? With over 20 years of experience who better to help educate on musculoskeletal issues than us?
So armed with an abundance of enthusiasm to help local business’s I set off on a mission to find out who would like our support. I believed that everyone would appreciate our help, because after all we were offering a free service to educate people on the importance of looking after their spine and not ignoring the warning signals which often present themselves as aches, niggles or pain. A fantastic opportunity to talk to the expert on a one to one basis, an opportunity to actually stop and question what is going on with their body, an opportunity to reflect and understand, and maybe an opportunity to seek help and take action, to prevent real illness, rather than rehabilitate at a later time during absenteeism.
It wasn’t long before I was privilaged to be invited into business’s and our community support began to grow.
Prior to our spinal screening process staff were asked to complete a health check form, to give us an idea of the symptoms they were experiencing. It may not have surprised the experienced chiropractors, but it certainly surprised me to learn that many people had suffered musculoskeletal issues for well over 10 years. How did they cope with it? Simply by taking stronger pain killers regardless of the side effects this may cause. I am so glad that I decided to go out and shout about the alternative options and help people towards improved health in a more natural way.
I have been inspired to learn just how many business’s are now taking their employees welfare to heart etc. Many have enrolled their personnel into private health care schemes as an investment into their health as a quest to reduce absenteeism, whilst many have opted for making schemes available for their personnel to enrol at their own cost. Some companies have really gone to town and offer massage, pilates, yoga, and chiropody etc in a quest to keep ill health at bay.
It is always a pleasure to be invited along to a workplace wellbeing event to offer tips and guidance and sometimes I am able to take in massage therapists and chiropractors to offer further services.
We have been invited along to the Better Health at work Awards networking sessions to present on how we can help. Paul Kjos Doctor of Chiropractic will be presenting at these sessions during the month of March 2018. He will be talking about what actually happens to our bodies over a period of time and how this can impact when sitting for long periods in an incorrect position.
Anyone wishing to know more about what we can offer just drop us an e mail and we will be happy to discuss.
info@durhamchiropractic.co.uk