Osteoporosis is a common skeletal condition, particularly affecting women over the age of 55, in which bones become brittle and weak making a person more susceptible to bone fractures. It occurs when bones lose minerals, such as calcium, a lot quicker than what the body can replace them and this causes the bones to lose their thickness (density or mass) and overall strength. Osteoporosis means ‘porous bones’ or ‘bones with holes’. If you compare a healthy bone to an osteoporotic bone, you will see numerous holes and large spaces within the bone as opposed to the bone being very dense and compact, as seen in the image below. This is what causes the bones to become so fragile and prone to breaking. Any bone can be affected, but bones of the spine, hip, and wrist are the most commonly affected sites.








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Osteoporosis affects approximately 1 million Australians - eight out of ten being women. Some risk factors include;

• Cigarette smoking
• Family history of osteoporosis
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Menopause (when oestrogen levels decrease, bones lose calcium at a much faster rate)
• Low testosterone (testosterone keep bones strong and testosterone levels fall in men as they age)
• Low calcium intake
• Low vitamin D levels

Great news is that osteoporosis is largely preventable. Although some risk factors can’t be changed, men and women can take numerous steps to ensure adequate bone health and decrease the likelihood of developing osteoporosis.

• Regular weight-bearing and strength building exercises
• Eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of calcium rich foods
• Get healthy levels of vitamin D (vitamin D helps absorb calcium). The sun is the best natural source of vitamin D but you need to balance sun exposure with skin cancer risks. Daily exercise also assists with the body’s ability to produce vitamin D
• Avoid smoking and limit alcohol and caffeine intake.

How can your Chiropractor help?
It is important to note that Chiropractic cannot treat or cure osteoporosis, but, your Chiropractor will work with you and alongside your team of health professionals to help you manage adequate joint, spinal, and muscle function - allowing the musculoskeletal and nervous systems to function at their best. This will help improve your overall strength, balance, and proprioception, and therefore decrease the likelihood of falls and bone fractures. Fractures can lead to chronic pain, disability, and a loss of independence - so managing bone and overall body health and awareness to avoid fractures is a priority. Your Chiropractor will do a combination of soft tissue therapy, mobilisations, and weight-bearing/proprioception exercises to help promote mobility, stability, and strength. They will work alongside other health professionals to ensure you are getting adequate care and have all of the tools and knowledge you require to help you live a healthy and pain free life, managing this condition as best as possible. Osteoporosis is not a painful condition until a fracture does occur but if you do experience and chronic pain post fracture, or any pain or discomfort associated with any biomechanical changes your body may experience, your Chiropractor can help ease any aches and pains to ensure you can keep moving, exercising, and functioning to the best of your ability.

Do you have foot or lower limb pain?
Pain is an important stimulus. It is the body’s way of telling us that something is not quite right. In terms of the feet and lower limbs, this can be from stressed ligaments and tendons to potential stress fractures of bones. Orthotics may assist in treating:

• Heel and arch pain.
• Toe pain.
• Achilles and muscle pain.
• Ankle pain.
• Shin and calf pain.
• Knee pain.
• Hip pain.
• Lower back pain.

Are you noticing unusual wear patterns on your footwear?
Wear patterns on shoes can tell a story. They can also give clues as to how the foot is functioning and can indicate sites of abnormality that may been to be corrected. All footwear will wear out over time with use and regularly replaced, however understanding what wear patterns can mean can identify what the feet are doing when you are walking. The particular areas of interest for podiatrists can be separated into the rearfoot, midfoot and forefoot.

Excessive wear on the outside of the heel may be indicative of a foot that tends to ‘roll out’ more when initially coming into contact with the ground. This can be a precursor to injuries to the outside of the ankle (rolling your ankle). Excessive wear on the inside of the heel may indicate a foot that pronates a lot more and may be in need of more supportive footwear to counteract it.
If a shoe undergoes a lot of pressure through the middle of the foot such as seen with flatter feet, the cushioning and support along the middle of the shoe will compress a lot quicker. This would render the shoe next to useless in providing support. Finally, by observing pressure points on the underside of the shoe at the area of the toes, we can identify if there is too much pressure going through the front of the foot. Ideally, pressure should be evenly distributed along the 5 metatarsal heads but the majority would be handled by the big toe. Deviations from this may indicate structural and/or functional problems with the forefoot.

All of the above points can be assisted by using an orthotic since the devices will maintain the foot in the neutral position and resist excessive forces which would be responsible for the observed wear patterns.
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Dr Anel Kapur delievers an outstanding clinical podiatric care to all clients. He has earnt himself an exceptional reputation among his clients for his attention to detail, gentle approach and depth of knowledge.
Dr Anel Kapur is available for appointments Monday and Saturday.
Bookings are available online or contact receptions on 9542 3330 

​As you can see disc injury and subsequent diagnosis can become quite involved. I must admit this is a highly minimised version of what I would like to discuss. In a future post I will discuss the symptoms at greater depth and the various management options available. In my humble opinion the single most important step is achieving an accurate diagnosis. This will inform the most well directed treatment strategy and prevent inappropriate treatment. This process can be very drawn out for some patients and indeed many people never receive an accurate diagnosis.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me on chris@healthassociates.com.au or comments are welcomed here.  

Please remember this information is educational only and does not serve to provide clinical advice to any individual. Please always seek the advice of a registered health professional.

Dr Chris Bowles
After suffering a spinal injury that resulted in the fusion of 3 vertabra and ended his rugby career Dr Chris dedicated his professional career to helping ease pain and suffering and creating an environment that keeps people doing the things they love. 
Dr Chris is available for consultations on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Dr Melanie Xabregas is an experienced and passionate chiropractor with a special interest in helping children experience optimal performance and longeviety in dance and gymnastics. She brings a gentle, caring and friendly approach to her examination and treatment. Learn more about Dr Melanie
Available for consultations Tuesday & Friday between 2pm - 6pm ​

Summer is here!!

And with the hotter, longer days, most people take the opportunity to bring their feet out of exile and enjoy the sunshine, the feeling of sand and water in between their toes. This all seems all well and good but with so many advertisements broadcasting well maintained, ‘summer ready’ feet, most people end up asking themselves “Are my feet actually ready for summer?” The truth to that question may be a difficult dawning of reality when people realise that their heels are callouses, cracked or the skin on their feet is dry.

I often see people who come to me for both treatment on their hard and dry feet as well as for advice on what can be done at home to keep them happy and healthy. In order to be able to understand how you can get your feet looking their best it is important to understand some things that may be causing your feet to develop dryness and hard callouses.

• Walking around barefoot on hard surfaces.
  • Stresses the soft tissues of the underside of the feet. The constant pressure along at these structures will result in hardening of not just the skin but also of the structures themselves.
• Insufficient moisturising of the feet
  • Often the feet are neglected when applying moisturisers, however when you consider how much work they do, it is easy to see why they would need it.
• Wearing tight fitting or improper footwear.
  • Constant use of heels or unsupportive shoes can expose the feet to pressures which may result in a similar effect on then as if you were walking on tiles barefoot.
• General neglect
  • In some cases, the feet are the last things people think about. The reality however, is that they put up with a lot on a daily basis and require regular TLC. Neglecting callouses for example, can lead to cracks to form in the skin which can become deep enough to become not only painful but also infected.

It does become very worthwhile to see a podiatrist for help in removing any callouses, reducing splits in the skin and for advice on shoes and moisturising creams suitable for your skin type. Podiatrists are able to determine how much hard skin would need to be removed safely whilst also buffing the skin to make it silky smooth to touch and eye catching to witness in a pair of sandals. Outside of seeking professional guidance, there is a number of things that people can do at home to keep their feet looking good.Foot soaks

• A daily foot soak using warm water and salts may not only ease tight foot muscles but can also control the presence of bacteria and fungus. Using warm water will also cause the skin to become softer over time.
• As an addition, try adding marbles in the bottom of the soaking dish/basin and you will have an instant foot massage and soaking machine in your own home.

Filing down of hard skin

• I will often encourage people to regularly use a foot dresser, pedi-egg, pumice stone or even buffing wheels (such as the Scholl wheel) to keep their callouses under control between appointments. The important part to note it callous is a protective mechanism of the body and removing too much too quickly will leave the skin raw and exposed, meaning painful feet. Less is definitely more!
• Filing your feet in the shower or immediately afterwards is preferred as the skin will be softer and more easily treated.
• NEVER ATTEMPT TO USE BLADES OR RAZORS TO REMOVE HARD SKIN. YOU WILL DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.

  Moisturising of the feet regularly    

• Different skins will respond differently to all the creams available. It is important to seek a podiatrists guidance for what will work best for you. In most cases however, simple Sorbolene, Vitamin E or PawPaw creams are good to use. A nice dollop of cream should be applied after a shower or foot soak focusing on the heel borders and underneath the balls of the feet.
• Moisturing the skin will reduce dryness and also improve the skin's ability to resist callouses being formed.
• If your heels are cracked, the skin will need to be treated professionally for best results, however Eulactol Heel Balm creams work really well at reducing these cracks.​

 Avoid walking barefoot on hard surfaces or wearing inappropriate footwear

• Reducing the amount of punishing forces acting on the feet goes a long way to reducing the hardness and dryness that may result.

There is no magic bullet for maintaining healthy feet and in reality it requires work. However, with commitment and the right advice everyone can have feet they will be happy to show off this summer.

Dr Anel Kapur delievers an outstanding clinical podiatric care to all clients. He has earnt himself an exceptional reputation among his clients for his attention to detail, gentle approach and depth of knowledge.
Dr Anel Kapur is available for appointments Monday and Saturday.
Bookings are available online or contact receptions on 9542 3330