Men’s Health Week is a reminder that your health matters, body and mind
At Vibe Natural Health, we’re here to support men in taking charge of their wellbeing, whether that means getting on top of physical health concerns or checking in about what’s going on mentally or emotionally. Men’s Health Week is also about looking out for the people we care about.Let’s encourage the men in our lives to take their health seriously, both physical and mental. If you know a mate, partner, brother or dad who has been avoiding a check-up or just hasn’t seemed like themselves lately, reach out. Whether it’s about stress, sleep, pain or general health, reminding them that help is available and it’s okay to speak up can make a real difference. A simple conversation could be the first step toward better health. Why men’s health needs attention How we can help Our Bulk Billing Nurse Practitioner is experienced in men’s health and can guide you through: • Heart health checks – blood pressure, cholesterol, lifestyle coaching • Prostate health consultations – PSA tests and symptom reviews • Mental health support – anxiety, low mood, sleep issues • Weight and nutrition advice – realistic plans that fit busy lives • Chronic disease management – diabetes, asthma, arthritis, and more All appointments are Bulk Billed if you’re eligible for Medicare, so there’s no out-of-pocket cost. Easy, flexible care • Face-to-face appointments at our Brisbane clinic • Telehealth appointments Australia-wide • After-hours sessions for those who can’t attend during the day We also provide comprehensive Bulk Billing GP services, including after-hours GP appointments. The clinic stays open Monday and Wednesday until 9 pm and Saturday until 5 pm to fit your schedule. Want to learn more? Here are some trusted resources for information and support: • Healthy Male – Evidence-based advice on physical and mental health • Movember Foundation – Tools, campaigns, and stats to raise awareness • Beyond Blue – Support for men managing mental health, stress, and depression • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Reliable national data on men’s health trends Start the conversation. Whether it’s for yourself or someone you care about, now’s a good time to act. We’re here to listen and help. Book Now
How remedial massage helps relieve insomnia
There are not many things in life that can refresh and rejuvenate your body like a good night’s sleep. But if that’s the thing you aren’t getting – even when you know it’s what you need – it can start to be a real drag…and not just at night time. You may start to feel that drag all through the day interfering with your life, your work, family and friends. Everybody deserves a good night’s sleep. Sleep is a basic human need. I think of insomnia like driving your car every day without ever changing the oil, putting air in your tires, or getting any other maintenance done. Sooner or later, you’re going to break down. One of the things I have noticed as a massage therapist is, clients often sleep better and longer after a massage, than without one. This is due to the many benefit a massage can have on the body besides simple relaxation. Massage can help improve muscle tension, reduce anxiety and depression, improve circulation of blood and lymph, and reduce stress hormones. When designing a massage that will work best for you, I focus on all these benefits to improve your quality of sleep. At the beginning of my studies, I met a woman who had suffered with an aggressive form of insomnia. On average she would sleep for 90 minutes a night. She felt she had tried everything, from changing her diet to seeing many health professionals. But nothing really changed. I sat down with her and let her talk about what she was experiencing, and this helped me to create a treatment that could possibly work for her. I spent the next 60 minutes, working on her traps and neck muscles. I worked on reducing the tightness in all the muscles, creating improved blood flow to the brain. Next, I worked with facial massage, releasing the temples and the jaw muscles. Releasing tension in these muscles can work wonders for better sleep. Grinding or clenching your jaw will cause stress to build up on the neck and facial muscles, making sleep harder to achieve. Finally, I firmly massaged her scalp, this not only feels amazing but has a huge benefit on blood flow, and helps prevent migraines, headaches and back pain. Relieving tension in the upper back, neck and head detoxifies the body and can help improve lymphatic drainage and blood flow to the neck which helps the body get rid of waste products. A few days later she called me because she not only felt amazing after her massage, but she had gained an extra few hours of sleep on top of her regular 90 minutes. Which is awesome! So, after that initial massage, I saw her at least once a week, to continue with her treatment and improve her sleep quality. After a month of massage, she had gained over six extra hours of sleep on top of her first 90 minutes of sleep. To be able to help someone who suffered from such an aggressive form of insomnia regain hours of shut eye at night was an incredible feeling and like they say, a night without sleep is like a cupcake without frosting, gross! It’s safe to say without a good night sleep, even the best of us turn into grumpy two-year-old’s, am I right?
Endometriosis
What is Endometriosis? Endometriosis is a condition that affects up to one in ten women. It is a condition in which endometrial like tissue (the endometrium lines the uterus and sheds monthly), grows outside of the uterus. It can grow in the pelvic cavity, the pelvic wall, on the ovaries, the bowel, bladder and the ligaments and fascia that support the uterus and pelvic organs. In some it may even grow in distal sites around the body. The cause of endometriosis is still unknown however there are many theories and known aggravating factors. It is considered a chronic multifactorial condition. Genetics, diet, lifestyle, hormones such as oestrogen, stress and the gut and/or vaginal microbiome all facilitate a person’s predisposition to endometriosis. About Endometriosis One theory is that the cells lining the uterus experience changes that convert them to endometrial cells or that the endometrial cells are spread throughout the pelvis via blood and lymphatic systems or via retrograde menstruation, meaning menstruation occurs in the opposite direction as to what it should. Like the endometrial lining of the uterus the endometriosis deposits respond to the normal reproductive hormonal cycle causing the deposits to respond to specific hormones at certain times by growing. Endometriosis is also now understood to have an inflammatory and altered immune function component. When women menstruate, there is a release of prostaglandins, an inflammatory response that can cause pain. Whilst the endometriosis responds to the hormonal changes in a woman’s body it is the ongoing inflammation that causes the pain that is so strongly associated with endometriosis. Read more HERE about how Vibe Natural Health practitioners can help people suffering from Endometriosis pain The deposits of endometriosis throughout the pelvic cavity can swell, grow and irritate the surrounding structures as well as those that it is adhered too. This can then cause adhesions and scarring. Not only does this increase pain it also prevents our pelvic organs from moving in the natural way they are designed too. Just like your lungs breath or your stomach digests food to pass to your intestine, our bowel, bladder and reproductive organs have an innate motility. They move autonomically, as well as being suspended in the pelvis by supporting ligaments which can pull them in certain directions. If these areas have adhesions and scarring, this can prevent the natural movement that is meant to occur, causing venous and lymphatic congestion due to lack of movement and even disrupt our bowel or bladder motions. Also impacting this and potentially increasing pain is the nerve supply to these organs that comes from the spinal nerves and via the Vagus nerve. If there is dysfunction at the origin of these nerves, this may create what we call facilitation and aggravate the nerve and thus the organ it supplies. This is a two-way street, dysfunction at the organ can cause irritation of the nerve and its corresponding spinal levels, this is known as a somato-visceral or viscero-somatic reflex. What are the symptoms of Endometriosis? The primary symptoms of endometriosis are pain, painful sex, ovulation, bowel or bladder motions, low back pain or chronic ongoing pain. It is important to note that the level of endometriosis deposited throughout does not directly correlate to the number of symptoms a woman may experience. Many woman are asymptomatic, however many of these woman are diagnosed due to fertility issues. How can Osteopathy help with your Endometriosis Pain? There is so much that osteopathy and nutrition can do to help manage symptoms and support quality of life. Both modalities aim to downregulate inflammation, this may be through diet and supplementation as well as enabling the pelvis and body to function and move better. Depending on a person’s current lifestyle and diet many changes may need to be made, such as adopting an anti-inflammatory diet, gluten free and dairy free diet and limiting alcohol; doing these things decreases the production of prostaglandins which cause inflammation and pain. Certain supplements such as n-acetyl cysteine, alpha-lipoic acid, bromelain and calcium-d-glucurate have shown promising results in clinical trials to manage pain, decrease inflammation and increase chances of conception. Osteopathically we look structurally at the biomechanics of the body as a whole, from the way your feet support you to how you carry your head. Everything is connected. The aim is to support ease of motion and help the body find the path of least resistance. We work on treating the pelvis directly and ensuring there is flexibility and stability at the hips, the sacroiliac joint and lower back. Osteopaths are also able to work on the pelvic organs via what is known as visceral technique. This enables us to treat the ligaments such as the round or uterosacral ligament (supporting structures of the uterus), to move more freely and improve that innate motion of these organs, as well as increasing lymphatic drainage and minimising pelvic congestion which is known to cause pain. Whilst there is no known cure for endometriosis yet having a team of people to help you who can collaborate and best support your needs is essential. Having an understanding, skilled gynaecologist and surgeon if surgery is required, as well as someone to support your physical and emotional needs through a condition which can cause many people lots of pain, it’s important to know there are a variety of treatments available to you. BOOK AN APPOINTMENT with an Osteopath at Vibe Natural Health below
