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January 2016
Happy New Year!
With all the festivities out of the way, what a great way to start a new year of health.
Schedule your monthly chiropractic and massage treatments in advanced to stay on course and get the most out of your treatments.
Regular chiropractic visits boost your immune system, help keep joints and muscles stay loose, thus reducing the probability of injuries and sickness.
According to Forbes only 8% of people achieve their resolution, so start your year right with the best New Year's resolution, YOUR HEALTH, and prove Forbes wrong.
A regular massage appointment also helps muscles stay loose, increases circulation and helps detoxify the body. Schedule your next appointment with one of our registered massage therapists. Appointments available 5 days per week, 9am- 9pm.
Changes Happening in the New Year!
Keep your eyes open for new massage hours, new staff, and new changes in the New Year!
We are also looking to hire a part time, approx. 20 hours, receptionist. No experience needed, but recommended. If you know of someone looking for a couple shifts per week, please have them bring in their resume during clinic hours or email Dr. Amanda @ dreveraert@gmail.com
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How the Cold Weather Can Have an Impact on Your Muscles and Tendons
You may find that as the weather gets colder, you may experience more aches and pains, and even feel like your muscles are stiffer. This is even more evident for workers who work outside in the winter, or individuals with certain ailments. The cold weather can increase the risk of suffering from MSK injuries and can even increase the intensity of certain MSK conditions.
How Can the Cold Weather Impact Us?
If you live with an arthritic condition you might find that your symptoms may be exacerbated by cold weather conditions, which can keep you away from doing the activities you enjoy. Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis may not react well to sudden weather or atmospheric changes, which may worsen symptoms 1.
Even without any specific conditions, most of us are very aware of how our bodies feel and move when we are cold – we may move slower and walk around when our muscles are tense and stiff. This can result in soreness that we may not experience otherwise. For those who work outside, be conscious of your working conditions. Feeling warm, safe and comfortable is important as heavy lifting and overexertion can increase risk of injury in colder temperatures 2.
Here are a few things that can be done to prevent stiffness and MSK-related injuries during the winter months 3:
- Maintain an active lifestyle – make sure you are doing some form of physical activity to exercise your muscles and joints
- Dress warmly – wear proper clothing to keep your body warm and protected from the cold
- Wear proper boots that are waterproof and warm, and have good threads to prevent falls
- Wear a warm hat (keeping your head warm reduces the amount of body heat that escapes from your head).
- Do not stay out in the cold for too long (if you work outside, move indoor during your breaks if possible).
The winter months shouldn’t keep you from doing the things you love, or keep you indoors in pain. Keep active and dress warmly, and you may be able to minimize the aches and pains of the season. Your chiropractor can also help you manage your condition-related pain during the winter months, and help you prevent MSK conditions if you work outdoors.
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How to Stay Active At Home When the Days Get Shorter
During this time of year, days are getting progressively shorter and we may start to feel a little more pressed for time. Most of us already struggle finding time to stay active, which can take a toll on our overall health and the health of our spines. Staying active and mobile is important to keeping our spine healthy, and decreasing overall tension and stress which can also help prevent MSK conditions. As little as fifteen minutes to a half hour of activity a day can help prevent MSK conditions.
When you feel short on time as the daylight shortens, here are some ways you can stay active at home.
Fit-in-15!
This is one of our favourite ways to stay active. The Fit-in-15 program was developed by Canada’s Doctors of Chiropractic, recognizing the difficulty in scheduling physical activity in your daily routine. It allows you to quickly build a 15-minute workout plan to target muscle strength, flexibility and cardiovascular health. Designed for simple, practical use, Fit-in-15 will help you stay motivated and active from home!
Schedule Your Workout
Sometimes even the perception of shorter days can leave us feeling anxious and stressed about missing out on activities you enjoy – like your workout. If you constantly feel like you are too pressed for time for physical activity, try scheduling it into your day as though it were a meeting you can’t miss. Use the Straighten Up Canada app and set reminders to complete your exercises.
Working out at Home
If you don’t feel like heading out into the cold or darkness to get your workout, try some resistance training at home or follow along to a workout video. Introduce simple, scalable and easy to do activities to your day, such as push-ups, sit-ups and lunges1. These exercises are easy to do since they rely on your own body weight and do not require the use of equipment. You may also find a variety of workout videos on YouTube or popular fitness sites if you do not have the means to purchase a program at home.
Weekly Chores
Being indoors makes it easier for us to fall complacent to sedentary activities such as watching TV or using the computer. A great way to stay regularly active at home is to commit to a schedule of daily chores broken down in 15-30 minute segments. Instead of investing hours during the weekend, consider breaking down tasks into smaller, more manageable routines that could also provide you the opportunity for daily exercise. These could include any chores or duties around the home like vacuuming, doing laundry, or mopping2. Committing to your chores on a consistent basis will keep you physically active even when the weather discourages us to venture outside.
Staying active can become a challenge as the days get shorter and the lack of exposure to daylight drains our energy. Yet, daily activity can be an important factor to re-energizing the body and the mind, while preventing MSK conditions.
For more tips on how to stay active at home during the fall and winter months, visit your local chiropractor.
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Recreational Activities for Seniors
It is important to manage your health at any age, but it is even more so when you age to keep an active lifestyle. Mobility, for example, typically declines with age which can lead to important loss of function and independence. Yet, we often take it for granted until it is too late. Regardless of the type of activity you enjoy, staying active as you age is critical to not only maintaining health but also your quality of life and independence.
In fact, it is never too late to start introducing new activities in your life. Even if mobility is currently a challenge, there are numerous ways to work around current limitations and introduce physical activity into your daily routine.
Here are some tips to consider:
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that older adults continue to be active. Here are some of the key recommendations made by the WHO1:
- Older adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity throughout the week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.
- Aerobic activity should be performed in bouts of at least a 10 minute duration.
- For additional health benefits, older adults should increase their moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes per week.
- Older adults, with poor mobility, should perform physical activity to enhance balance and prevent falls on 3 or more days per week.
- Muscle-strengthening activities, involving major muscle groups, should be done on 2 or more days per week.
- When older adults cannot do the recommended amounts of physical activity due to existing health condition(s), they should be as physically active as their abilities and conditions allow. Progressively introducing even small amounts of activity can have important and meaningful impacts.
For those who enjoy group activities, consider group classes that are specifically tailored for seniors. Commonly, these are organized and instructed by trained professionals who have an interest and knowledge in supporting healthy aging. In fact, a chiropractor can also recommend specific movements and activity to help improve your mobility and enhance the health of your MSK system.
If you would rather exercise alone and on your own schedule, you may consider the following:
- Biking indoors or outdoors (weather dependent)
- Swimming
- Cardiovascular training like walking or wheeling, or even following a low-impact fitness video at home
Whether you are a senior or you simply want to enhance your mobility, it’s important to keep moving and introduce consistent physical activity into your routine. Consult with a healthcare professional before engaging in new physical activity.
http://www.chiropractic.ca/back-care-tips/recreational-activities-for-seniors/
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The Hidden Benefits of Family Meals
Sitting down to the table for a family meal isn't what it used to be, and evidence suggests the consequences are frightening, and not just from a nutritional perspective. In fact, children are significantly more likely to engage in a variety of unhealthy behaviors when the family meal isn't a regular occurrence in their home.
Here are just some of the benefits you can provide your children by ensuring your family comes together regularly at the dinner table, according to the American College of Pediatricians:
Less Sex / Drugs / Alcohol: OK, let's start with the big ones. Children / teens who participate in regular family meals are less likely to use drugs, alcohol and nicotine, and less likely to engage in sexual activity. They're also less likely to have friends who participate in the above risky behaviors. Now aren't those great reasons to make sure the family gets together at the dinner table as often as possible?
Academics: Teens who enjoy frequent family dinners (at least thee times a week) are more likely to achieve better grades in school compared to teens who sit down for a family meal two times or less per week.
Communication: Family meals provide an opportunity for conversation / communication, enhancing language development and vocabulary, while allowing for discussion and debate, which can improve family relations and foster critical thinking / speaking skills.
Structure: Who wouldn't feel great knowing that on most days, they can come together with their family at a set place and time? Family meals give children structure, making them feel secure and safe, while allowing parents to monitor and address their children's moods in a consistent environment.
Less Stress: Research suggests frequent family meals reduce emotional stress and contribute to higher overall satisfaction with life compared to teens who experience fewer family meals.
Heard enough? In our hectic, technology-driven world, families have plenty of times to do things apart (or at least disengaged from one another). Make family meals a priority – as you can tell from the above list of benefits, it's well worth the effort. Talk to your doctor for more information.
http://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/
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