Momentum Health and Chiro

Momentum Health and Chiro Your whole health is our priority! We are an established multidisciplinary health clinic!
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11/08/2026

“The ONE exercise that will fix your lower back pain...” 👀..Except there isn’t one.

Sorry to disappoint, but there is no single exercise that’s going to magically fix everyone’s back pain.
The reality? Every person is different.

Your diagnosis is different. Your underlying causes are different. Your movement patterns, strength, lifestyle, work demands, sport, training history and goals are all different.

So how can one exercise possibly be the answer for everyone?
The truth is, claiming there’s one exercise that “fixes” back pain is usually a hook. It’s designed to grab your attention, generate views and make you believe recovery is simpler than it really is.

If it really were that easy, healthcare practitioners wouldn’t have jobs and social media influencers would be the experts we all turned to for injury management.
Real recovery doesn’t come from copying a random hip mobility drill you saw while scrolling Instagram.

It comes from understanding:
• Why your pain developed.
• What tissues are involved
• What factors are keeping it there or making it return
• What your body and health need
• And creating a plan that’s specific to YOU.

Recovery isn’t about finding a magic exercise. It’s about the right exercises and the right treatment, for each person.

That’s why we get frustrated seeing endless “fix your back pain with this one exercise” posts. They can be misleading and often leave people feeling even more confused when they don’t work! Sure for some you may feel better, but 9/10 your pain won’t be fixed, you may do it incorrectly and it may actually cause more harm than good.

Truth is - injuries take time, hard work and a good understanding of how to implement change!

02/08/2026

Following on from our last post... let’s answer the next big question.

What’s the best way to train your calves for running?

The research is clear—if your goal is to improve running performance and reduce injury risk, the best approach is to combine heavy strength training with plyometric training. We’re sorry, but the high rep body weight load may not be your best bang for your buck. But remember- if that is all you have- it is still better than nothing!!

So what’s ideal;

1. Lift Heavy

Heavy calf strengthening improves force production, running economy and Achilles tendon capacity.

Aim for:

2 strength sessions per week
3–5 sets
4–6 reps
Progressively increase the load over time

* please note: ⬇️
If you’re new to strength training, gradually build up the load over several weeks. You don’t need to start lifting near your maximum on day one, or this will result in an injury.

2. Train Both Calf Muscles
Include both straight-knee and bent-knee calf raises.

> Straight-knee exercises place greater emphasis on the gastrocnemius.
> Bent-knee exercises don’t isolate the soleus, but they do bias its contribution—important because the soleus is the highest force-producing muscle during running.

3. Add Plyometrics

Exercises like skipping, pogo jumps and hopping drills improve your calf and Achilles tendon’s ability to store and release energy, helping improve running efficiency and prepare your body for the demands of running.

Give these principles a try, implement them into your training program, and your future runs—and your performance—will thank you.

28/07/2026

Are you strength training your calves enough??

Okay, if you’re racing this weekend, it’s probably a little late to build calf strength now... (so please don’t try to start 🤦🏼‍♀️)

But, if you plan on continuing your running journey after race day, make calf strengthening a priority in your training program.

Here’s why...

Research consistently shows your calf muscles—the gastrocnemius and soleus—are the highest force-producing muscle group during steady-state running.

Not your glutes.
Not your quads.
Not your hamstrings.

Your calves.

Here’s what the research shows us;

🦵 Soleus: 4,000–6,500 Newtons of force (approximately 6–8 × your body weight) every stride.

🦵 Gastrocnemius: 2,000–4,000 Newtons of force (approximately 3–5 × your body weight) every stride.

The soleus generates more force than any other muscle in the lower limb during running, making it one of the biggest contributors to both performance and injury resilience.

So why is it so important?

Your calf complex does far more than simply push you forward.

✔️ Controls your landing and forward tibial movement.
✔️ Absorbs enormous amounts of load with every step.
✔️ Stores elastic energy through the Achilles tendon like a spring.
✔️ Releases that energy to propel you into your next stride.
✔️ Improves running economy by reducing the amount of energy your body needs to run at a given pace.

Yet despite producing the highest forces in the entire lower limb, calf strength is still one of the most overlooked areas of a runner’s strength program.

So, how often should you be adding calf strength?

Ideally at least 2 strength sessions per week. Research consistently shows this is enough to improve strength, running economy and tissue capacity, while fitting alongside most running programs. This aims to hit that sweet spot for adequate preparation, while avoiding over- training.

Stay tuned, for what the research says are the best exercises, whether to prioritise heavy strength, lighter endurance or plyometric focus.

A huge congratulations to Dr. Brooke on an incredible performance at last week’s Townsville Masters Swim Carnival! 🏊‍♀️💙...
23/07/2026

A huge congratulations to Dr. Brooke on an incredible performance at last week’s Townsville Masters Swim Carnival! 🏊‍♀️💙

Brooke dominated the pool, taking out 1st place in every pool event she entered, including the 800m, 400m, 200m, 100m, 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 50m backstroke. She also powered through the 1.5km open water swim to finish 2nd overall.

Amazing work Brooke- you smashed it!! 👏🏼

15/07/2026

Do deadlifts hurt your lower back?

You’re not alone.

Many people avoid deadlifts because they’ve flared up their back at some point. But here’s the thing... the deadlift isn’t the problem. More often, it’s how we think about the movement and ultimately execute it.

So before you keep reading, answer this:

Is a deadlift a PUSH or a PULL exercise?

Most people with lower back pain after deadlifting will say it’s a pull.

But what if that way of thinking is actually causing you to overload your back?

A deadlift is a push.

The goal isn’t to pull the bar up with your back. It’s to push the floor away with your legs, while maintaining a strong, stable torso.

That one mindset shift can completely change how you perform the lift.

So... what’s your answer? Push or pull? Let us know below ⬇️

03/07/2026

Have you been taught to squat by sticking your butt back?

It’s probably one of the most common squat cues we hear from our patients. 🤦🏼‍♀️

For some people, it’s a great way to teach a hip hinge. But for others—especially women—it can actually create the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve.

We often see people immediately move into an excessive anterior pelvic tilt (arching through the lower back) as soon as they hear “stick your butt back.” This creates a dissociation between your ribs/ diaphragm and your pelvis (less stability). Instead of hinging through the hips, they end up moving through their lumbar spine.

We see a lot of lower back pain that develops or flares up from gym training and lifting—movements that should be making us stronger, not contributing to pain.

That’s why we often remove this cue altogether. Instead, we use different coaching strategies that encourage good core stability while teaching the movement to come from the hips, not the lower back.

One of our favourite cues is:

“Tuck your ribs down.” OR
“Ribs to spine.”

This encourages and teaches one of the fundamental principles of lifting—stacking your ribs over your pelvis. By creating this stacked position, you will be able to generate better core stiffness and intra-abdominal pressure, and ideally reduce unnecessary overload on the muscles of your lower back. It also allows you to transfer force more efficiently through your legs, meaning you can often lift heavier!! How good!!

Now, we understand that lower back pain can be complex, so we never stop at just one thing. We always assess other areas that may be contributing, such as hip mobility, foot stability, ankle mobility, and your thoracic spine.

But one thing we always want to do is watch you move—especially if squatting or lifting is something that aggravates your pain.

30/06/2026

Remember this patient? 👆

During her upper limb assessment, one simple movement directed us where to start.

One of the key muscles we assessed and targeted was the serratus anterior.

The serratus anterior is a small but incredibly important muscle that helps:
✔️ Keep the shoulder blade stable against the rib cage.
✔️ Upwardly rotate the scapula to allow efficient overhead movement, helping reduce unnecessary stress on the rotator cuff and excessive compensation from the neck and upper trapezius.
✔️ Protract the shoulder blade during reaching and pushing movements.

When this muscle isn’t functioning well—whether it’s strength, timing or motor control—we can sometimes see altered shoulder blade mechanics that may contribute to shoulder, neck or upper back symptoms in some people.

That’s why rehab isn’t always about prescribing the same band exercises for everyone. We have a wide range of rehabilitation options designed to retrain the serratus anterior, from isolated activation exercises through to more functional movement patterns that integrate the muscle into everyday tasks like reaching, pushing and overhead lifting.

Our goal: uncover the contributing factors to your presenting pain, address and rebuild those areas and help you perform and live at your best!

🚨NEW PRODUCTAre you feeling inflamed, achy or sore in the joints? But you don’t want to keep popping Nurofen and you wan...
25/06/2026

🚨NEW PRODUCT

Are you feeling inflamed, achy or sore in the joints? But you don’t want to keep popping Nurofen and you want to protect your gut?

We have added new Curcumin Advanced +

What is it?
Curcumin is a potent natural anti-inflammatory compound- but on its own it is poorly absorbed by the body. So research has found that pairing it with black pepper (piperine) can enhance absorption by up to 2,000%.

What does it do?
It helps with inflammation, joint pain, headaches, and reduces free radicals through support of antioxidants.
Think chronic pain, arthritis, knee swelling, post- gym recovery and optimal performance - this is for you!

We may suggest pairing this with our manual care, and our rehab to optimise your results. This will assist with the underlying inflammation that lingers with certain injuries or conditions- and even better- it’s good for your gut!!

23/06/2026

This patient came in with ongoing shoulder, neck and shoulder blade pain that had been bothering her for years. Over time, overhead lifting and work would consistently flare it up, so she started avoiding those movements altogether.

As part of our assessment, we completed a full Upper Limb Functional Assessment. While there were a few strength deficits present, the most obvious finding was poor motor control of her shoulder blade during the descent phase of shoulder flexion and abduction. As her arm came back down, her shoulder blade would noticeably wing away from her rib cage.

When we see this, it often points us towards the serratus anterior and mid-trapezius muscles, which play a major role in controlling and stabilising the shoulder blade. Poor scapular control is something we commonly see influencing conditions such as rotator cuff pain, shoulder impingement, neck pain and even rib-related pain.

As I often say to my patients, missing scapular control and good foundational movement is like building a house on sand—it eventually leads to issues and breakdown somewhere along the line.
That’s why we always check in on the shoulder blade and how it moves.

Stay tuned to see the exercises we used to help improve her scapular control and get her moving better.

15/06/2026

A little ironic, but true...

I’ve struggled with lower back pain for as long as I can remember—through my teenage years, my ice hockey career, and even now as a chiropractor.
Yes, chiropractors get back pain too. 😳

Over the years I’ve tried plenty of different treatments, and while hands-on therapy absolutely has its place (especially during a flare-up), one thing consistently stands out for me: strength training.

The stronger I am, the less frequent and less severe my back pain tends to be. Strength training has helped me build a more resilient body that can better handle the demands of daily life, work, sport, and everything in between.

It’s one of the reasons I place such a strong emphasis on movement and rehab in practice. Don’t get me wrong—every injury and every person is different, and treatment should always be individualised. But my own experience has shown me that lasting change often comes from improving your body’s capacity, not just managing symptoms.

This is my story, and it’s a big part of why I treat the way I do.

back pain

Address

Ingham Road
Hyde Park, QLD

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Thursday 8am - 8pm
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