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Welcome to our 50th newsletter edition!
As October is osteoporosis awareness month, we revisit this topic with tips for physical activity and some exercises that are suitable to do with osteoporosis.
We also briefly touch on the topic of menopause as they are often connected. There are some specialist websites and educators in this field and we have referred you to Dr Louise Newson and the splendid work she is doing.
We have our 'how to spend 15 minutes' to benefit your health and wellbeing feature, with suggestions from chiropractor James.
He has also written an interesting article on the tools chiropractors use for treatment - it's not just hands!
In this edition we have the final part of the 15th Anniversary of Durham House article from owner Galin, looking at years 10 to 15.
In our mind health article we look at the psychological importance of allowing ourselves to rest.
We also bring back one of our popular winter soup recipes.
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I can't believe this is our 50th newsletter! It has evolved and grown considerably in that time to something that reflects the ethos of Durham House which is to educate, examine and diagnose with the highest standard of care and professionalism, providing successful chiropractic and therapy treatment and rehabilitation advice appropriate for your lifestyle.
It's October, the weather has turned colder and we are into the last quarter of this very challenging year. It would be easy to look ahead to November and December and only think of the darker nights and the potential for miserable weather continuing.
However, both months are associated with giving and blessings and so I encourage you to find your joy. In its broadest sense, joy means having feelings of great pleasure and happiness. It's been thought to boost our immune systems, fight stress and pain and improve our chance of living a longer life.
In some ways I'll be pleased to see the end of this year for all its ups and downs and the strain it has exerted. But riding this emotional roller coaster has taught me so much about my business, the dedicated team, my personal ability to keep going and the loyalty and support of our patients. I am grateful and look forward with hopeful positivity.
Recently we said goodbye to receptionist Cathi Wye who left to pursue other ventures. We wish her well in her endeavours and thank her for the support she gave the business during the last 12 months.
We also want to wish good luck to Felicity James as she leaves this week to start her maternity leave. She expects to return mid February. In the meantime we await the exciting news of babies arrival.
I am passionate about giving back and so for many years Durham House has supported 2 children's charities:
Glad's House www.gladshouse.com - a Kenya based charity committed to empowering homeless children and young people to take responsibility for their own lives, to realise their full potential and to protect them. They work with those who society forgets, to give them hope and a positive future.
And The Source www.thesourceforyou.co.uk who support and empower young people aged 14-25 living in Aldershot and the neighbouring towns to transform their lives through face to face, over the telephone and online personalised programmes of 1:1 and group support that build self esteem, emotional intelligence and resilience.
In addition, we encourage the work of Fleet Phoenix with their Christmas toy appeal and will communicate more on this through our Facebook and social media sites in due course.
Pre COVID we ran a very successful workshop on our featured topic osteoporosis. Looking forward, my plan is to offer up other educational workshops on common health related topics to provide our community with the information they may need to help them help themselves. Watch out for a back pain workshop in the new year and other topics to be announced soon.
We are returning to promotion events so look out for us and come and say hello at upcoming Christmas markets and festivals.
It has been an eventful 15th year so far. I really hope there are no more stressful surprises to come but, if there are, I know I have the personal resilience and support of a great team to help guide the business through.
As always, none of this would be possible without the loyalty and support of our patients.
So thank you and I hope you find your moments of joy too.
Galin
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What's on at Durham House
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The Clinics
Chiropractic and massage therapy treatments continue in both clinics and do so with COVID safety and well-being in mind. As the work that we do is close contact, we will continue, until further notice, with the safety measures that we currently have in place with regards to masks, PPE and distancing in accordance with our professional associations' guidelines.
Massage Therapy
Our online booking system is open and you are able to book directly with the therapists. We have a number of practitioners qualified to work with pregnancy, deep oscillation therapy and MLD, as well as Scarwork, deep tissue work and gentle massage. Whatever your needs, we are sure we have a practitioner for you.
The Studio
The Studio is fully open and we continue to offer Flexicore, Pilates, Yoga and Barre classes with COVID secure measures and in line with government recommendations. The numbers are still limited for your comfort and several of the classes are oversubscribed at the moment, so please make sure you book ahead to avoid disappointment.
As a reminder of the types of classes we offer, please click on the link below. Please note that if you had passes that expired, we can refresh those but reserve the right to only continue to do this through to the end of the year. Please email our Studio Coordinator Sarah at thestudio@durhamhousechiropractic.co.uk if you have queries about your account.
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Celebrating 15 Years - Part 3
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Celebrating 15 years - final chapter
2021 commemorates the 15th year that Durham House has been in business.
In this series of 3 articles, I'm taking some time to reflect on where it started, the journey to where we are right now and where we are heading to next.
Years 10-15
The branding years to present
After celebrating our 10 year anniversary, it was apparent that Durham House was no longer a basic lifestyle business that I could run from my phone and living room. It had grown to a small organisation with over 30 colleagues and I needed additional help.
I initially invested in external organisations to help support me with employment activities, finance, social media and websites. We set about tidying up our processes and putting more structure in place.
It was at this time I decided to rebrand and make a decision as to how I wished Durham House to be perceived. We changed the logo from being the traditional house drawing to a more contemporary logo that could eventually allow us to simply be called Durham House, the idea being that our badge would be familiar in our local areas.
We set up websites, updated our stationery and our first newsletter was launched in February 2018 show casing our new branding and logo. Since then we have developed uniform and branded products and it's becoming more recognisable which I'm proud of.
 
Now I have an internal team of support for the business with an Operations Manager responsible for managing the day to day running of Durham House, a Studio Coordinator who oversees our bespoke rehabilitation studio and also organises our promotions, social media and sponsorships, as well as professional, highly qualified chiropractors, therapists and reception staff.
We have Facebook and Instagram accounts and post regularly to these sites.
Instagram:
@thestudiodurhamhouse
Facebook:
@durhamhousechiropractic
@thestudiodurhamhouse
In the next newsletter edition in January we will close out the 15 year journey and face forward to the future.
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Did you know we have a specific massage therapy web page? You can find information on the different therapies we offer.
http://www.durham-house-massage-therapy.co.uk or you can click on the link below to go straight to the site.
Why not treat yourself to a treatment or even buy as a gift - gift vouchers are available to purchase in both clinics.
For more information call:
Farnham: 01252 725 669
Fleet: 01252 622 050
or email
farnham@durhamhousechiropractic.co.uk
fleet@durhamhousechiropractic.co.uk
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Porous bones
Osteoporosis is often referred to as the ‘silent disease’ because, although almost 3 million people in the UK are estimated to have osteoporosis, worryingly few people know they have it until they break a bone. There are more than 300,000 fractures every year due to osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a progressive condition that leads to more fragile bones as you get older. Fragile bones are more likely to break easily and bones in your wrist, hip and spine are particularly vulnerable.
Bone is a living tissue and new bone replaces old bone throughout life. But, in later life, the cells that build new bone can’t work as quickly as the cells that remove old bone. This leads to an overall loss of bone tissue, which makes bones weaker and more fragile.
For women, the hormone oestrogen helps protect bone strength. The reduction in oestrogen in the years following menopause causes a rapid bone loss, which can lead to osteoporosis.
About 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men over 50 will break a bone (fracture) because of osteoporosis so it's important to keep your bones healthy.
Check out our article for more information on this condition.
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Menopause
Menopause is when you stop having periods. The ovaries stop producing eggs and, as a result, levels of hormones called oestrogen and progesterone fall.
Oestrogen and progesterone work together to regulate the menstrual cycle and production of eggs. Oestrogen also plays an important role throughout a woman’s body, including bones, memory, mood and even hair and skin.
During perimenopause and menopause, hormone levels fluctuate greatly and this imbalance can result in a range of symptoms from hot flushes to aches, pains and mood changes.
There are four key stages to be aware of:
Pre menopause: the time in your life before any menopausal symptoms occur.
Perimenopause: when you experience menopausal symptoms due to hormone changes but still have your period.
Menopause: when you have not had a period for 12 consecutive months.
Post menopause: the rest of your life having not had a period for 12 consecutive months.
The average age of the menopause is 51 although symptoms of the perimenopause can often start at around 45 years of age. If the menopause occurs when a woman is under 45 then it's called an early menopause. If it occurs before the age of 40, it's classed as premature ovarian insufficiency (POI).
Certain circumstances can trigger an early menopause or POI. These include surgery involving the ovaries, having radiotherapy to the pelvic area as a treatment for cancer or certain types of chemotherapy drugs to treat cancer.
Louise Newson is a GP and menopause specialist and holds an Advanced Menopause Specialist certificate with FSRH and the BMS. She is passionate about improving education about perimenopause and menopause and also improving awareness of the safe prescribing of HRT to healthcare professionals. She has written many articles and editorials and in 2019 launched her first book, Menopause Manual with Haynes Publishing, which went on to be an Amazon bestseller.
She continues to develop a menopause information website www.menopausedoctor.co.uk which is a great source of free information on all areas of this subject. You can click on the links below to go to her site or to check out one of her information pamphlets on menopause and healthy bones.
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Mental Health and Well-being
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Taking a break
Do you ever worry that if you let yourself rest, everything you’ve worked for will slip away?
Whether it's in terms of exercise, work, social media or our real social lives, backing off for a bit can trigger FOMO (fear of missing out) and some very uncomfortable judgments about ourselves. The spiral can start quickly. If I don't do this exercise class, am I a bad student? If I don't go to that party, am I a bad friend? If I'm not staying late at work or expanding my business, do I lack motivation?
The fact that we feel this way is no accident. From childhood, we are inculcated with the belief that if we step back or stop pushing for just a moment, we’ll lose our jobs, our relationships, our fitness and, most importantly, our sense of control. Our culture, focused as it is on productivity and external measures of 'success' is not one that outwardly rewards resting or recognising personal limits.
Think about it - our global financial system relies on constantly increasing output, yet our energies and abilities are finite. Throw in wildly out of control expectations about how much we should socialise, whether and how we should raise children, the time we should spend on sports and hobbies and it's no surprise that we feel so overwhelmed.
Yet since we are taught to tie our self worth to our external achievements, the idea of backing down from chasing them, even momentarily, can feel like giving up. In exercise terms, we may fear losing our personal bests but it’s tied to so much more, our sense of self maybe or our place in the community. Many of us yearn for a break but worry about the judgment of others or fear dire consequences, or we feel we need a good 'excuse' to let ourselves rest.
For those of us who are self-employed, stepping back from the hustle and grind can feel especially precarious. Will our reputations suffer? Will we ever be able to earn money again? The result is that we work too much, push ourselves too hard and eventually suffer burnout. Just like in our exercise plans in fact, where failing to take a break can lead to injuries or illness that force us to take one. When we don't ever let ourselves relax, that pressure and risk of hurting ourselves mentally or physically just keeps building.
Taking a break actually refreshes our relationships, renews our motivation for our work and helps our bodies heal. After all it’s only when we’ve cleared some space in our minds that we can really look inward. And guess what? You don't need to 'earn' a break. It's not something that requires getting that promotion, earning a new degree or mastering a new yoga pose. You are inherently worthy of rest.
As we head into autumn, school starts again and life can get busier, it can feel hard to avoid letting even more obligations and commitments, real or imagined, pile up. So this week, take some time to think about the areas of life that feel overwhelming right now. Can you take a break or step back? Maybe that looks like physical rest or maybe taking a day to do absolutely nothing. Whatever it looks like to you, know that this rest is, in fact, essential.
Alexandra Crow
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Exercise with osteoporosis
UK Chief Medical Officer physical activity guidelines recommend that, to maintain or improve physical and mental health, adults and older adults should aim to accumulate 150 minutes a week (20 minutes a day) of moderate intensity physical activity (i.e. that makes the person feel warmer and slightly out of breath), engage in muscle strengthening activities at least 2 days a week and avoid prolonged periods of sitting.
The guidelines also recommend that older adults at risk of falls engage in balance training activities at least 2 days a week.
Here at Durham House we can help you find the most beneficial combination of exercise for you, bearing in mind that personal preference and enjoyment are important for successful participation.
Check out our top tips for specific recommendations for activity and exercise with osteoporosis.
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Elliot talks about osteoporosis and demonstrates some exercises
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Offer for October
For bookings please contact Sue directly on 07876 353 423.
Sue Masters MFHT
Certified Reflexologist and
Holistic Therapist
www.suemasters.co.uk
Instagram:
sue_masters_holistic_beauty
Facebook:
@suemastersholisticandbeauty
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This quarter's recipe is an immune boosting soup, ideal for when there are loads of nasty bugs around and many people are fighting off coughs, colds and flu.
Cook up a big pot of this soup to help fight the bugs on various levels - it's ‘potent but delicious’! Don’t be afraid of the amount of garlic and ginger - the carrots and butternut squash really balance those flavours and you are left with a hearty, warm and immune nourishing soup.
The immune system is hugely complex and needs almost 20 different nutrients to work properly, which is why a varied diet is so important. One of the most important nutrients for immunity is vitamin A which is found in orange and yellow vegetables and fruits. Another good way of boosting levels is through beta-carotene which the body converts to vitamin A. Beta-carotene is found in dark green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli.
Onions and garlic contain many immune boosting properties and are also thought to have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties which are invaluable when we are exposed to microbes that can cause illness.
Ginger has been used for thousands of years as a cold and flu remedy across Asia because of its anti-inflammatory properties. It also calms and supports digestion, is a natural expectorant and has great immune modulating properties.
Most importantly, this soup really is delicious and warming so give it a try when you’re not feeling your best.
Jacqui Mayes
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