Thoughtful Thursday - March 3rd

We are back again to bring some joy and updates in our little safe place, avoiding all the madness externally. This month is effectively our Cheese-iest edition yet: Ami-Bree (Brie? 🤭) has basically taken over this month (via Drew) and is talking all things mums and bubs in The Pod (yes, it is back!) and has a pretty cool health talk on proactive tips for new parents. Let’s dive in…

Clinic Updates
While mandates for masks have been removed in most situations, we are still awaiting guidance from our regulatory boards as to how this affects us as a medical facility. So for now, we will continue the wearing of them to ensure everyone feels comfortable attending the clinic. We would find it very cool if you continued to do so as well.

Our ‘Woking Holiday Programme’ is about to kick off. We will be rotating our assistants through different clinics to freshen them up, to meet some new people, and to ensure we are running things as best we can to make your experience consistently amazing, no matter which clinic you attend. Have even heard a rumour Pearl may be working from Fulham later in the month… (Happy birthday for last Tuesday!)

Holidays
Tooting: Sydney is off from March 9th and back on Sunday 13th.
Fulham: Georgie is off from March 9th and back Sunday 13th. Mike is off March 18th and back on the 22nd.
Marylebone: Katie is looking likely to be back at the beginning of April. Stay in touch with Tom, Lucy and Ramiz for updates. Luke and Filippo would be happy to care for you while she is off.
Putney: Craig is pinching a couple of weeks off for half term from the 22nd and will be back on April 4th. We are trying to convince him to do a couple of hours every Monday as well as his current Wednesday, please feel free to badger him when you are in!
Massage: Alex from Kew is off from the 16th and back on the 22nd. The rest of the crew are all in as usual.

Putney hellos and goodbyes
Grant and Gareth are leaving for an extended period from the end of March, so both can take a break and recharge after the last couple of years. Grant is off on a bit of a world tour starting off in Sri Lanka, and Gareth is taking a trek along the Appalachian Trail. We will keep you posted on when to expect them back in clinic towards the end of the summer.

However, give a big welcome to Matt Murray who will be here to look after you all (along with the rest of the team) until Grant and Gareth return. An experienced family practitioner, we can’t wait to have him join the crew. We are really excited to be having two generations of the legendary Murray chiro family working out of our clinic (the other being his father, Don!).

The Pod
The Pod, proudly brought to you by Ground Coffee Society, is BACK!

Craig has come full circle and has had another catch-up with his very first guest, Ami-Bree from the Putney clinic.

Craig picks Ami’s brain about all things chiro for newborns, plus hints and tips for home. Check it out on our website, Spotify, Apple and Google.

Shameless Plug
Which ties nicely into this month’s plug – it is a bit last-minute but should be quite valuable for all new parents. Ami is holding a talk on proactive things you can do to ensure your little one’s head develops as it should. Over to you, Ami!

Positional plagiocephaly or flat head syndrome affects approximately one in five babies! This is a common occurrence and yet it isn’t really talked about, nor is any importance placed on prevention.

So much can be done to minimise flattening, if only parents had access to the information. The ‘wait and see’ approach can be a tricky one, as early intervention is 🔑.

Now, I am probably a little biased when it comes to this, as I see a higher percentage of the babies who waited, and how their flat heads have progressed… on the other hand, I try to educate parents of ALL the newborns that I see on what to look out for, as well as proactive tools to help avoid this. I guess I see both ends of the spectrum!

Irrespective of the flatness, what is most important is FUNCTION.

We want baby to be able to move symmetrically, hit their milestones in order (and without compensation), and to have good movement throughout their spine (upper neck and the associated muscles are particularly important, especially as they are usually the underlying cause of the flattening).

To help you, I am hosting an educational webinar on flat head syndrome or plagiocephaly. Because, when we have more information, we can make proactive choices.

Date: Friday March 4th (virtual)
Time: 11am
Cost: £25

You can find more details on my Instagram feed, and you can purchase tickets here.

(I believe a recording will also be available after the event, so if you can’t watch it live you can catch-up later.)

Also, an update for last month’s plug featuring Lisa chopping off her hair for The Little Princess Trust: we are pleased to let you know she has hit her fundraising target and is now sporting a very short, blunt bob courtesy of James at Kink London – check out how it all went down! Thank you so much to everyone who threw a few pennies at this great cause.

You were all a tad too generous IMO, as hitting her target means I now have to (begrudgingly!) chop my beard off. It is still on my face and will come off later in the week (we will make sure of it – Ed.). The donation page is still open until Sunday if anyone else would like to contribute to a great cause.

That was a lot! Will leave you in peace now and see you for the pre-Easter edition in April.

Cheers,
Drew