A gentleman called the clinic the other day with growing concerns about his wife and asked us: “Why does my wife keep falling over?” He continued to tell us that his wife, Sally, 71, has good health, but she’s been having difficulty controlling her balance lately. With each fall she loses confidence – so much that she’s scared to leave the house without him, or their daughter. Losing your balance is a scary thing. And it’s something we hear people worrying about all the time. It’s not uncommon that as we get older we begin to feel unsteady on our feet. People have told us that when they’re out doing their grocery shopping, they have to rely on the shopping cart. Other times they lean on a loved one to help them get around safely… Fear of falling spoils their confidence to leave the house alone, or even move around the house independently. It’s a worrying thing that happens. Most of the time, people don’t understand why it’s happening to them all of a sudden. So why is it that falls are one of the main causes of accidents and injuries in people aged 65+? Here’s just some of the reasons why falling can become more of an issue as we get older… Poor eyesight and difficulties with hearing properly are one of the most common changes that comes with ageing. Any issues with hearing and eyesight will make you feel unsteady. Let me explain… The inner ear has five, hair-like sensors… Read More

If you or a loved one suffer from chronic pain – so bad that you struggle to do simple things like turning your head to look over your shoulder or sleep at night without pain, then reading this report may be the most important thing you do this year. It may unlock the agonizing mystery of your neck pain and show you a way to get back to the life you deserve… A life where you can sleep at night without tossing and turning, hoping to find one position where your neck pain stops. Where you can read a book before bed… or newspaper on a morning…without the fear of more neck pain. A life where you can wake up in the morning and not suffer from headaches or migraines… One where you can plan family time with your kids or grand kids, without worrying over if your neck pain will strike!…Basically, a life without chronic or severe neck pain! Finally one of the nation’s leading neck experts, Jennifer Penrose, a specialist from Lacey recently released a new report. The “Neck Pain Consumer Awareness Report” reveals the best kept secret in Lacey. How to actually get to the bottom of your Neck Pain without talking to your insurance. Even how to do it without regular trips to see the chiropractor, or needing a referral from your doctor. This report reveals how weekly, (and costly) visits to a chiropractor are NOT always needed. It also addresses how pain medications and muscle… Read More

So far in this series, we’ve covered all things neck pain, shoulder pain and even headaches. I just want to quickly recap what we’ve looked at, for those who might have missed one or two. First we looked at why everyday activities can cause neck pain and what you can do to change that. Then we looked at how sleeping can cause neck and shoulder pain. It can be eased by sleeping with only one pillow, trying different sleeping positions that are comfortable and supportive. We then switched gears a little to look at headaches, and how most people think that they can be caused by something they’ve eaten. It’s more often down to neck and shoulder tension causing a headache. Try things like relaxing in a warm bath to help ease the tension, or talking to a member of our team. Shoulder pain then became topic and I gave you some simple exercises that you can do from your desk to help ease it. Finally, last week we looked at how stress can actually be a big cause for headaches. Try finding ways to relax can be really beneficial, including trying Yoga. This week I want to switch back to shoulder pain. It can sometimes be hard to see what you are doing wrong in your lifestyle because, well, it’s your lifestyle. Your daily routine is so well known to you that it can become second nature to read before bed, look on your tablet or going for that game of golf on a… Read More

Headaches are a pain. We all get them now and again, but for some of us, they’re more of a regular occurrence than others… And at the clinic it’s incredible just how many people we see, tell us that they’ve suffered from headaches. They just consider them to be a regular part of life they end up dealing with. That’s why things like ibuprofen and other types of painkillers are such big sellers. But drugs can only relieve the symptoms temporarily by masking the pain. Many times, the recurring headaches may actually be the result of something else! Take a look at this email I received from a new patient last week as an example: “Hi Jennifer, after reading your neck pain and headaches booklet, I wanted to send you an email to see if you could help me! I’m 48 years old and the last 6 months I’ve been suffering from some of the worst headaches I’ve ever had. I sit in front of a computer daily for at least 8 hours in a job that is stressful most of the time. Recently I visited the doctor who gave me pills to take the pain away, but the pain still exists. All I feel is constant tightness in my head. I don’t know what to do, or what the cause could be, it feels like pounding at the front of my head. Do you have any ideas? Thanks Jennifer.” – Alison, 48, Lacey. Of course, I have several ideas of what could be causing Alison’s headaches! In my years of experience it’s often the case that if… Read More

Sometimes, it can often surprise us how the smallest things in life can actually affect our health. Small things like wearing that heavy bag on the same shoulder every day, or that terrible posture you’ve learnt at work, but so desperately want to get rid of. That’s right everyone… it all adds up and can even be causing your shoulder pain. Today I’ll be going over the importance of exercising in the workplace and how it can help your shoulder pain. The reason why I’m writing about the workplace is because not many people realize how much time you spend at work. For example, the average full time worker spends on average every year,1,650 hours at work. That’s equivalent to 68 days or 9 weeks of day-in-day-out work! Now, imagine if you had an office job, or if you DO, think of all those hours you actually spend sat down, not moving and potentially developing poor posture. It’s no wonder you have shoulder pain! That is why it’s important to exercise at work and to keep moving as much as possible. Having only 5 weeks away from work can take it’s toll on your body. This truly shows how long you are at work for and how it can affect your health. With that in mind, here’s a few of my tips that are handy to use to ease that shoulder pain… Yoga before and after work is a MUST to stretch away those potential aches and pains in… Read More

Let’s talk about headaches and migraines. Ranging from a mid-afternoon head pounding ache, to an agonizing pain that leaves you sensitive to light. Headaches are something most, if not all of us, have experienced at some point in our life. For some, headaches are a bigger problem and can even affect everyday life, just like Lauren who is a patient of mine – here’s what she wrote in an email to me before she came to see us: “Hi Jennifer, I’m 56 and have been suffering from migraines ever since I was a teenager and I’ve never been able to get to the root of the problem. Usually in the past I put my migraines down to stress or a lack of sleep. Then I thought it might be something that I’m eating instead. I took away all of the foods that are said to set off headaches like cheese and chocolate…but nothing really changed. I don’t know if this is true, but I heard that tension in your shoulders can bring headaches on? Then I thought you’d be the best person to ask. Is this right or am I being silly? Do I get headaches because of something I eat? I’m tired of getting migraines when I least expect them! It’s awful when they strike in the middle of shopping.” – Lauren, 56,Olympia, WA Let me tell you now, Lauren certainly was right about tension in your neck and shoulders being related to this common problem! I can imagine you… Read More

Let’s talk about one of the most common causes of neck and shoulder pain – sleeping! Not just sleeping, but the way we sleep (and even what we do before we sleep). Have you ever woken up in the morning with a stiff and slightly painful neck? Often it’s just an annoying ache that eases off shortly after you’ve got out of bed, but after days of waking up feeling like this, it can become a lot more painful. It’s something that we don’t usually think about, but one of the most important things to consider is the effect that sleeping can have upon our neck and shoulders. Let me explain: An increase in neck or shoulder pain is a common problem that many people experience as a direct result of resting for 8 hours or more in an awkward position, either an old mattress which needs replacing, or on the wrong types of pillows. Why? Having your neck twisted or bent in a position for long periods of time isn’t good for the body. After a while your body becomes so used to being in a certain position when you go to sleep (the position you’ve been sleeping in for most of your life!) – night after night, so no wonder the neck becomes painful. But it’s not only down to the way we sleep… Another thing I see a lot of people do before they turn in for the night is they watch TV or read. But the thing is, while doing these… Read More

If you just nodded your head  “yes please” then let me introduce you to a plant based compound called “AgeLoc Youth”. Yes, “AgeLoc Youth” sounds like it is trying to lock you into your younger years! Sign me up! As my grandmother says “Don’t get old Jennifer. These golden years are not so golden!” So I’m following her advice with the latest science (without synthetic chemicals or pharmaceuticals) I can find and share it with you. As a physical therapist I’m definitely helping my patients improve their physical function so they can travel, visit grandkids, and live life with less pain and ability to keep up! But how is that meaningful if your cholesterol is high and plaque is building up on the walls of your arteries waiting for a heart attack, or you lose your cognitive abilities, or you lose your vision (covered last week!)? Quality of life includes all of those things! First of all, let’s talk about cognition. “AgeLoc Youth” vs placebo given to healthy subjects age 40-65 with normal cognitive function for 6 weeks showed radically improved brain MRI images! Improve cognitive performances on memory tests were also demonstrated by the AgeLoc Youth group. This is exciting news for those of us that want to keep our mind sharp using a plant based compound! Regarding the brain MRI results, Dr. Louis Cady, Psychiatrist, stated: “Of particular interest to me is increased activity in the inferior orbital pre-frontal cortex – which is the executive… Read More

I’ve had a lot of questions about knee pain coming in recently, and as we’ve started this series on knee pain, I wanted to tell you about this question I got last week, which is a common problem I see people come into the clinic for. Got this question emailed to me last week by a “confused” reader of my newspaper articles suffering with knee pain… “Hey Jennifer, I’ve been suffering with knee pain in my right knee now for a few weeks. What I can’t put my finger on is what I did to make it start in the first place, and even more confusing is that it’s most painful when walking down the stairs, and only comes on 10 minutes into a run. Sometimes it aches, sometimes it feels tender and dull, but I don’t understand why I could run fine before and now I can’t without having to stop after 10 minutes. Can you help?” – Michelle, 47. There’s a good chance that what’s happening to Michelle is the same that’s happening to most people this time of year. It’s no surprise seeing as we’re now heading into the colder months. This time of year we see more people than ever in the clinic suffering with painful knees, the reason why? Because it’s around this time of year that people decide… Read More