The program features tip sheets that outline proper warmup exercises, stretches, lifting techniques and injury prevention strategies in a simple, easy-to-follow format.  Visit http://www.chiropractic.on.ca/Resources.aspx

QUICK TIPS:  Get in the groove with the right tools and moves.

The right moves.

Alternate your tasks.  Take turns alternating between heavy chores such as digging and light, less physically demanding tasks such as planting.
Do the scissors when you rake.   Raking can put significant strain on your back and arms. So take extra care with this activity. Stand with one leg forward and one leg back when you rake. Switch legs and hands every few minutes. Pause every few minutes to rest and stretch.
Change hands often.   Changing hands frequently when you rake, hoe, or dig prevents muscle strain on one side of the body. Stand as straight as possible with your head upright.
Knee to plant and weed.   Constant bending can put strain on your back, neck, and leg muscles and joints, so kneeling is recommended. Use kneepads or a kneeling mat with handles to minimize the amount of bending required, and to make kneeling more comfortable.
Change positions frequently.   Once you begin, make a point of changing position every 10 to 15 minutes. Move from kneeling to standing, from digging to planting.
Pace yourself.   A minimum of 3 brief breaks each hour is recommended. Take a few moments to move around, stretch your muscles, have a drink, or simply sit and enjoy the work you have done. Spread the work over several days. You will still achieve the same great results and your back will really thank you for it!

RELIEF WITH TRIGGER POINT THERAPY

When stressed or injured muscles form trigger points, like knots in a shoe lace it causes pain and tightness.

WHAT IS TRIGGER POINT RELEASE?

Erasing Trigger Points can be done by applying pressure directly at the site of the Trigger Point for a short period of time, usually, several seconds. This breaks up the muscle fibers within the adhesion and releases the toxins that have built up. Once the muscle fibers are broken up, they begin to repair and eventually they return to their natural state.  The associated muscles and joints are then moved through their normal range of motion.  This technique is known as contract/relax and will keep muscles elongated and free of stress and pain!

Akari Yokokawa, RMT/CDT (Lymphedema Therapist)

Scar Healing and Manual Lymph Drainage

Lymphatic system is the body’s wonder, and it plays important roles in healing.

Lymphatic system is responsible to collect waste products, debris, dead cells etc that are produced after cell activities and damages, and transports essential substances such as fat soluble vitamins, fatty acids, proteins, immune cells, and enzymes. When tissues are damaged, the area becomes swollen, and there the lymph (fluid) accumulates and its contents do their jobs.

At the side of the damage, the area becomes swollen because of the cell membrane’s reaction to the damage. Pain causing substances are released, immune cells and cell-building cells (Fibroblasts) gather. Damaged or dead tissue will be cleaned away by lymph (fluid), here the healing process starts. These are all body’s natural reactions and necessary for the healing process to move on to the next stage, however, too much swelling could affect negatively to tissue repair. When there’s excessive fluid between the tissues, the substance exchange speed slows down, the tissues can’t receive nutrients and oxygen sufficiently, and waste products and carbon dioxide will not be taken away from the area. Also, too much fluid will affect immune cells and fibroblast activities. In most cases the swelling gradually subsides,  as healing progresses, the Fibroblasts fill in the gaps (it could be from a microscopic damage to visible surgical incisions) between alive tissues with collagen fibres. When you look this scar closer, the collagen lies there in disorganized manner, that we call it “scar”. When this scar tissue becomes coarser, it is called Keloid Formation.  This often limits movement or causes pull sensation, and affects overall performance of the person in the long term.

How can we minimize the scar formation?

Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) is one of the options.

MLD is a pain-free gentle manipulation of skin, the skin is stretched in the certain directions with specific pressure to increase Lymphatic flow.

When MLD is performed for scars, it will speed up the healing process as it decreases swelling in the area and provides tissues and cells a better environment for healing and tissue repair. This is achieved by minimizing the space between the tissues and maximizing the nutrition exchanges. With the increased lymphatic flow, the dead cells and debris will be flushed away much quicker, pain causing substances will also be carried away from the area much faster, and the repetitive gentle manipulation will decreases or blocks the pain signals to travel to brain, thus MLD naturally controls pain. With the constant and sufficient lymphatic flow, the collagen fibers lay much more organized manner in the scar, and micro circulation takes place in the collagen fibres. This makes the scar much more flexible and tensile, and scar blends in to the neighbouring tissue very well. Overall scar formation is well controlled and less troublesome. The person gains more freedom.

The beauty of MLD for scar healing is that treatment can be done any time of the scar healing.

It is best to have MLD sessions even before you have a scar (i.e..planned surgery) and receive MLD sessions as soon as you had a scar, then continue sessions. However, it is not always predictable, and old scars can benefit from MLD if session is scheduled constantly!

Some indications are,,, sprains, strains, bruises, broken bones, tattoo removal, oncoming surgeries, scar contractures, keloid scars, hard-to-heal acnes, stretch marks, burns, etc.

For more information about MLD treatment for scar healing, please visit www.careforlymph.com or contact akariyokokawa@gmail.com

How can your company benefit from a talk?  Please email chiro@rubinatahir.com for more information!

Benjamin Paley  www.benjaminpaley.com

Summer Fitness and Bootcamp Classes

It’s May already and summer’s right around the corner.  Summer brings some of our favorite memories including beaches and weekends at the cottage. It also brings some of our most traumatic moments, like trying fit into that bathing suit that you haven’t worn for 8 months.  But there’s no reason to fret about getting into your bathing suit this summer.  Sign up for bootcamp classes and get fit in time for the summer.

5 Ways Bootcamp Can Help You Get In Shape for the Summer!

1.    Get Outdoors

It’s hard to force yourself to go to a dimly lit, stuffy gym when it’s 23 degrees and sunny outside.  Bootcamps take advantage of the warm weather and move your workout outside without missing a beat.  Using your own body weight and a few pieces of fitness equipment, bootcamp gives you a challenging workout in an outdoor setting.  There’s no reason you can’t get your dose of sunshine and vitamin D and your workout at the same time.

2.    Get the Extra Push You Need

When you walk on the treadmill while reading a magazine at the same time, you may be catching up on the latest celebrity gossip, but you won’t be getting the results you want from your workout.  Bootcamps are designed to be challenging enough to provide results.  At bootcamp, you’ll be sweating, burning heaps of calories, and toning all those trouble areas.  Let’s face it; great results require great workouts.

3.    Make Some Friends

It’s amazing how difficult exercises can bring people together.  Bootcamp forces you to work together with the other participants to complete the exercises and get fit together.  Even if you’re tired or out of breath, you’ll never be the only one.  You’ll bond with other participants over push-ups, crunches, and burpees!  Don’t know what a burpee is?  Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MGljX4bbps

4.    Keep Yourself Accountable in a Group Class Setting

When you’re the only one pushing yourself  to workout—it’s easy to rationalize skipping a workout in favor of a refreshing drink on a patio or a scoop of ice cream.  But when your friends and instructor are counting on you to show up to class, you have the motivation (and peer pressure) you need to choose the workout over the patio.

5.    Get Your Own Personal Cheerleader

A lot of people think a bootcamp instructor will be as hard on you as an army sergeant.  The truth is, no one wants you to succeed more than your instructor.              Your instructor is there to be your cheerleader.  They’ll be there challenging you, and cheering you on every step of the way.

In conclusion, bootcamp can get you outdoors and help you get fit and get the results you want in a friendly, supportive group environment.  Try one out this summer!

Guest Blog

By Kate Whimster, ND

www.wavelengthwellness.com

“One man’s food is another man’s poison.” This saying has never been more true!
What is blood type?
There are four basic blood types: A, B, AB, and O. Each individual carries two alleles (one from each parent) that together determine blood type. Types A and B are dominant, while type O is recessive. Therefore, type O people carry two identical O alleles, while type A and B people can either carry two identical alleles (either both A or both B) or one dominant allele (A or B) and one recessive allele (O). Type AB people carry two dominant alleles (one of each of A and B), creating the fourth blood type.
There is also another commonly used blood typing system based on Rhesus factor. In this system an individual is either Rhesus positive or negative. Rhesus positive is dominant and Rhesus negative is recessive.
These blood types determine antigens (substances that serve as identifiers and stimulate production of antibodies) on your cells. Blood typing is used in transfusion medicine to determine which blood is safe to give each individual. Blood type O negative, being recessive, is the “universal donor,” meaning this type can be given to anyone without causing an immune reaction (antibody production). Blood type AB positive, being dominant, is the “universal receiver,” meaning this type can be given any type of blood without experiencing an immune reaction.

What does blood type have to do with food?
Blood type goes far beyond your blood to impact disease and nutrition. Your blood type antigens are not just in your blood, they are everywhere in your body, particularly the surfaces that interact with your environment. These include your digestive tract all the way from your mouth to your large intestine as well as your nasal passages and lungs. Because these blood type antigens are everywhere, they influence on how your body interacts with the food you eat via several mechanisms:
• Lectins
• Protective barriers in your body, including lining of your gut
• Bacterial environment, including relevance to choice of probiotics
• Stomach acid production
• Intestinal alkaline phosphatase and processing of fats in your diet
• Secretion of digestive enzymes and other substances
Blood type also influences other processes in your body and how you get sick:
• Stress and response to exercise
• Blood clotting
• Disease risk (cancer, inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid, reproductive disorders, etc)
• Susceptibility to infection by bacteria, viruses, yeast, etc
Why should I eat right for my type?
“Your blood type is the key that unlocks the door to the mysteries of health, disease, longevity, physical vitality, and emotional strength. Your blood type determines your susceptibility to illness, which foods you should eat, and how you should exercise. It is a factor in your energy levels, in the efficiency with which you ‘burn’ calories, in your emotional response to stress, and perhaps even your personality.”
You literally “are what you eat” since all your cells, proteins, hormones, and neurotransmitters are constructed from what you put into your body. Therefore, what you eat is also your most powerful tool for preventing and healing illness. Eating right for your blood type is designed to optimize your digestive and immune health now to alleviate health issues as well as prevent future disease by protecting you against your unique susceptibilities. When you know your blood type, you are empowered to create an environment that is optimal for your type, including diet, exercise, and lifestyle.
A few of the major benefits to the Blood Type Diet:
• Improve immune function, avoiding common infections
• Lose weight by improving metabolism, increasing nutrient intake, and reducing toxic burden on your body
• Prevent chronic disease, such as cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease, diabetes, etc
• Slow down the aging process by improving overall health
The majority of people come to the Blood Type Diet hoping to lose weight. While this is indeed a major focus of this system, the greater goal is improved physiological function when an individual eats the foods that are the best fuel for his or her system. The natural result of this improved function is weight loss, but also improvement in other health concerns (such as digestive disturbance, allergies, hormonal imbalance, pain and inflammation, mood regulation) and prevention of chronic illness (such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes).

For more information email Kate: kwhimster@wavelengthwellness.com

Achieving Wellness Lecture Series

Topic overview:

1. Achieving Wellness lecture series: What is your mood?
“Beating the blues” Do you feel burnt out? Tired? Stressed? Find out what you can do to boost your mood and energy.

2. Achieving Wellness lecture series: Eat more, Weigh less?!
Does it sound too good to be true? Simple solutions and small changes can help you drop 5lbs. Learn about stabilizing your blood sugar levels, reducing cravings, portion sizes, increasing your metabolism and ultimately eating more and losing weight.

3. Achieving Wellness lecture series: Night Sweats, Mood Swings, Hot Flashes, Oh, My!
Some heat is welcomed this time of year but not to the point where you are sweating for a minute and freezing the next. Find out how to balance your hormones and move through the next phase in your life without bothersome symptoms.

4. Achieving Wellness lecture series: Detoxification and You
Detox is a buzz word in today’s society. It can be healthy but it can also be harmful. Learn about common conditions that can be helped by a gentle detox program. Fill out a questionnaire to assess your body’s need for a detox and common detox strategies.

5. Achieving Wellness lecture series: Ergonomics
We spend a major part of our lives at work. So let’s get comfortable and make work our second home in a good way!! We will explore exercises you can do at your desk, on your break, with a co-worker or with a big group. Learn tricks to overcome the demands of a typical work day. Learn how to make your desk space friendly for your body. Keep the right foods on your desk.

6. Achieving Wellness lecture series: Heart Health
Show your heart some love! What are some easy tricks to keep that heart healthy?? We explore that in this series. We concentrate on moving you from a potentially high risk group to a low risk group in no time!

7. Achieving Wellness lecture series DE-STRESS!!
A Favourite! We guide participants through a meditation activity. Learn about laughing therapy. Explore foods and other techniques that WORK to beat your stress levels.

8. Achieving Wellness lecture series: Bone Health
What are bones and why are they important? Learn all the tricks to keep your bones healthy and strong. Osteoporosis prevention and the 3 key element to a workout that will build bones.

9. Achieving Wellness lecture series: Catching your “Z’s”
Lack of sleep is a BIG problem. Learn realistic ways to get the sleep you need.

10. Achieving Wellness Lecture series: What is Integrative Health?
Learn about the many options we have today that take a whole body approach to wellness. Chiropractic, massage, shiatsu, acupuncture and naturopathy.

11. Achieving Wellness Lecture series: Healthy feet!
Our feet represent our foundation and taking care of them can help alleviate and prevent other joint problems. Learn about proper gait and orthotics.

12. Achieving Wellness Lecture series: Aches and Pains
Muscle and joint pain can prevent us from doing a lot of tasks throughout the day. The presentation focuses on muscle and joint relief and strategies for prevention.

Does this sound like you? This description is more common than you think. In many cases the causes of these symptoms reside in the neck and upper back regions along with the surrounding shoulder muscles.  When we ignore our symptoms thinking they will get better on their own, the irritation and inflammation continues to grow, causing the pain to become worse. And, as the pain becomes worse, the arm and shoulder motion becomes less and less.

What should you do to help this injury heal?  The most effective treatments will focus on alleviating pain in the joint, muscles and tendons.  A shoulder exam will help the practitioner identify specifically which muscles have been irritated.  Your individual treatment plan will focus on these areas.  You will be given range of motion exercises in the first part of your rehabilitation.  These are important to do daily to maintain full range of movement of the shoulder joint.  Icing at home for 15min helps to control inflammation.  Chiropractic soft tissue therapy helps to calm the irritated muscles and break up trigger points or “knots” in the muscles which cause pain and limit our movements.  Finally shoulder, mid back and neck adjustments will correct mis-alignments and joint restrictions. What exactly is an adjustment?? An adjustment involves the use of the chiropractor’s hands to apply a force to a specific joint of the spine or extremities. This adjustment helps to restore proper motion to the joint and to optimize function. This helps to eliminate nerve irritation and the body will be better able to heal itself.
You don’t have to live with pain! Treatment plans can keep you pain free and active.

A body in motion tends to stay in motion. It’s certainly a statement worth heeding when it comes to osteoarthritis (OA). You might think OA is inevitable as you grow older. But it’s not. Joints contain fluid that lubricates them and makes it easier for them to move. Exercise and chiropractic adjustments increases joint fluidity the same way keeping the right amount of oil in your car helps the engine run smoothly. A simple start is to get WALKING! DID YOU KNOW?…Walkers have less incidence of heart disease, stress, diabetes, pain, osteoporosis, and other diseases. You can monitor your progress by wearing a pedometer each day. In order to keep joints healthy, you need to build up to walking 10, 000 steps per day. Regular chiropractic care can ease your joints back into motion and help you take advantage of the upcoming warm weather. An adjustment involves the use of the chiropractor’s hands to apply a force to a specific joint of the spine or extremities. This adjustment helps to restore proper motion to the joint and to optimize function. This helps to eliminate nerve irritation and the body will be better able to heal itself. By maximizing your range of motion you will be ready to enjoy all of your favourite activities this spring and summer. If you would like more information come in and see me for your free 15 min consultation. Don’t let pain keep you from doing the things you love!