<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">Date: Thursday, 10th December 2015</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">Press Release: NZ Chiropractors Association</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #99cc00;">Warm Up Before Tackling Those Christmas Decorations And Summer DIY Projects Advise New Zealand Chiropractors</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1912" alt="christmas" src="http://northshorechiro.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/christmas-244x300.jpg" width="244" height="300"></p>
<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">The New Zealand Chiropractors' Association is recommending Kiwis limber up before undertaking any strenuous activity around the home to prevent injury or worse.</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">According to Dr. Hayden Thomas, chiropractor and spokesperson for the New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association: ‘At this time of year we see an increase in people seeking care for conditions brought on by sudden bursts of new activity after winter deconditioning, which essentially means they are out of shape. Injuries are really common, especially among people who have tried to do too much or attempt new activities without enough preparation. We know from ACC that 12 people die every week and many more are injured in accidents at home. Last year ACC received claims for more than 3000 accidents on Christmas Day and 3,500 injuries on Boxing Day, which together cost nearly $5 million <span style="color: #99cc00;">(1)</span>. We’re hopeful that with a little preparation and some fine tuning of people’s neuromusculoskeletal systems by their family chiropractor, we can reduce those numbers this year.’</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">Groundbreaking New Zealand research has shown that chiropractic care can help improve muscle strength and control, and assist with balance and coordination which may also help prevent strains, falls and other injuries <span style="color: #99cc00;">(2,3)</span>.</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">US research shows that more than one quarter (26%) of homeowners who have completed a DIY project reported injuries to themselves or someone else in their household during a home maintenance project, according to a survey by the National Safety Council <span style="color: #99cc00;">(4)</span>.</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">`We think that figure may be slighter higher in New Zealand,’ says Dr Thomas, `due to our can-do, number eight wire mentality and love of DIY. ‘Over winter many people stop exercising as much. This can result in joint stiffness, loss of muscle strength, muscle memory and control. We want to encourage people to be active, however care should be taken to prepare for any sort of strenuous or new activity, not just sports, to reduce injury risk and to warm up and cool down appropriately. We advise people to develop and maintain a regular varied physical exercise programme, in conjunction with advice from their chiropractor, that is individually tailored to their needs.’</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;"> 'Your body needs regular movement to stimulate growth and repair, starting at a cellular level and on up' says Dr Thomas. 'Inactivity affects all body systems but the good news is it's never too late to start moving. Straighten Up New Zealand (www.straightenup.org.nz) is an easy and enjoyable every day programme to improve spinal health and posture. Consisting of a set of simple exercises and taking just three minutes to complete, Straighten Up New Zealand will help improve posture, stabilise core muscle groups, enhance health and prevent spinal disability. Just be sure to work within your limits and build up activity slowly and sensibly to enjoy the holiday season and summer'.</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #99cc00;">Some Quick Facts</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">- One in two (50%) who were personally injured taking on a home improvement project got hurt doing basic garden maintenance
- Nearly one in four (24%) were put on the injured list while painting the inside of theirÂ&nbsp;homes
- And nearly one in five (17%) blame routine home maintenance projects for their injuries</span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #99cc00;">References:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">1 </span> <a title="Christmas injuries cost millions" href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/262617/christmas-injuries-cost-millions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color: #99cc00;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/christmas-injuries-cost-millions</span></span></a>
<span style="color: #d1d1d1;">2 Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics March/April 2012, Holt et al <em>The Effects of Manual Therapy on Balance and Falls: A Systematic Review</em>
3 Haavik H, Murphy B. <em>The role of spinal manipulation in addressing disordered sensorimotor integration andÂ&nbsp;altered motor control.</em> J Electromyogr Kinesiol (2012), doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2012.02.012
4 </span><a title="DIY projects result in injury" href="http://www.abriza.com/one-quarter-of-diy-projects-result-in-an-injury/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color: #99cc00;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">http://www.abriza.com/one-quarter-of-diy-projects-result-in-an-injury/</span></span></a></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">For further information on the New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association visit <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://chiropractic.org.nz/"> <span style="color: #99cc00; text-decoration: underline;">www.chiropractic.org.nz</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #99cc00;">Or you may contact:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">Dr Wayne Smith, Chiropractor 09 489 7031 or wayne@northshorechiro.kiwi</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 50px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #d1d1d1;">Dr Gian Mansell, Chiropractor 09 442 4310 or gian@northshorechiro.kiwi</span></p>
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