Tag: Featured

Tips on How to Beat the Pain Caused By Your Favourite Digital Devices

Text-Neck-Back-to-School-Infographic-Aug16

Did you know that bending your head to look at your phone can put up to 60 pounds of pressure on your spine? A 2014 study in Surgical Technology International showed that even a 15-degree head tilt adds 27 pounds of pressure. As we use our phones and laptops more and more, that stress adds up!

Hand-held devices aren’t going anywhere soon — they’re useful and convenient. As you tap and swipe, follow these tips to avoid the aches and pains that come with the digital age.

Take a break

Holding up your phone or tablet for extended periods of time can strain the muscles in your shoulders, arms and fingers. Let your arms rest at your sides every so often.

The 20-20-20 rule

Give your eyes a break! Every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to look about 20 feet ahead (or as far as possible).

Change positions

Next time you’re thinking of pulling an all-nighter, try to avoid sitting for longer than 30 minutes at a time. Get up and walk around!

Aim higher

Raise your phone up closer to eye level to reduce strain on your neck. When watching lectures on your tablet or laptop, be sure to prop it up against something so your shoulders and arms can relax.

Stretch it out

Slowly turn your head towards your left shoulder, hold for five seconds and repeat on your right side. You can also download Straighten Up Canada! — a free app developed by Canada’s chiropractors with videos of stretches you can do to help your posture in just three minutes!

The only thing that’s more important than “perfect” posture is movement. If you still have pain and discomfort after trying these tips, visit a chiropractor to develop a plan to keep you pain-free in the classroom or in the office

 Courtesy of the Ontario Chiropractic Association

The Function of a Running Shoe

The function of a running shoe is to protect the foot from the stress of running, ambulance while permitting you to achieve your maximum potential. Selecting the right shoe for your foot can be confusing without the proper knowledge.

People with low arches, called pronators, will need a shoe that provides stability. A shoe with good cushioning is important for people with high arches, called supinators.

There are three main features that you need to consider when selecting a running shoe: shape, construction, and midsole.

Shape

To determine the shape of the shoe, look at the sole. Draw a straight line from the middle of the heel to the top of the shoe. In a curve-shaped shoe, most comfortable for supinators, the line will pass through the outer half of the toes. A straight-shaped shoe will have a line that passes through the middle of the toes. These shoes are built to give pronators added stability.

Construction

Take out the insole and look at what type of stitching is used on the bottom. In board construction shoes, built specifically for pronators, the bottom of the shoe will not have any visible stitching. Combination shoes, appropriate for mild pronators or supinators, will have stitching that begins halfway. On slip-constructed shoes, you will see stitching running the entire length of the shoe providing the flexibility supinators need.

Midsole

Most of the cushioning and stability of a running shoe is determined by the midsole. A dual-density midsole provides shock absorption as well as some stability, perfect for pronators. Single density midsoles offer good cushioning but are not great at providing stability, making them better for supinators.

Keep in mind that a chiropractor can help you prevent running-related problems by assessing your gait, as well as the mobility of the joints in your feet, legs, pelvis and spine.

Credit to the Ontario Chiropractic Association

5 Common Triggers for Back Pain

The Five Most Common Triggers for Back Pain

 

Back pain and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions affect a staggering number of people in Canada and around the world, cure so many that it can be considered an epidemic.

In Canada alone, remedy these statistics from a 2009 report published by the Work Foundation are attention getting:

  • 1 in 8 Canadians report having chronic back problems
  • 12% of Canadians report pain or discomfort that prevents activity
  • 31% of Canadians report activity limitations because of pain and discomfort
  • 12% of Canadians missed work because of an episode of back pain
  • MSK pain is the second most common reason for Canadians to visit a GP
  • 25% of Canadians visited an MD because of an MSK condition
  • 5 out of 10 Canadians experienced back pain in the past 6 months
  • 11 million Canadians suffer from an MSK condition
  • By 2031, sales an expected 15 million Canadians will suffer from MSK conditions

If you have never experienced an episode of low back pain, odds are that, at some point, either you or someone you know will suffer from an MSK condition. Further, if you have experienced back pain in the past, it is likely that you will suffer from another episode within a couple of years. While this doesn’t necessarily mean there is a serious underlying pathology, you may want to seek prompt assessment and treatment. Recurring episodes of back pain may be attributable to mechanical dysfunctions that can be managed with conservative care and even exercise.

Who is most likely to suffer back pain?

Various studies from around the world show that, while back pain can affect anyone, there are five triggers that are commonly associated with back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions. These include:

  1. Heavy Lifting
  2. Sedentary Lifestyle
  3. Aging
  4. Poor Diet
  5. Smoking

We can’t always control environmental factors or work demands, but we can make lifestyle changes that can have a huge impact on healing and prevention, such as quitting smoking, integrating regular exercise and movement into our daily routines, and eating healthy foods to help prevent inflammation.

In the coming weeks, this series will examine some of the daily habits and lifestyle factors that contribute to back pain and other MSK conditions, including smoking, sedentarism and general inflammation. We will also provide easy and practical tips to help you improve your musculoskeletal health and quality of life.

Courtesy of the Canadian Chiropractic Association

Direct Billing for Extended Healthcare Benefits

Dr. Tran and the Achieve Wellness Centre are now offering Direct Billing to your Extended Healthcare Benefits insurance company.

Direct Billing to your insurance company eliminates any insurance claim paperwork as we submit the paperwork on your behalf and it also reduces your out-of-pocket expense.

The Direct Billing service is available to:

  • Blue Shield
  • Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan
  • CINUP
  • Cowan Insurance Group (managed by Express Scripts Canada)
  • Desjardins Insurance
  • Great-West Life
  • Green Shield Canada
  • GroupHealth
  • GroupSource
  • Industrial Alliance
  • Johnson Inc.
  • Johnston Group
  • Manion
  • Manulife Financial
  • Maximum Benefit
  • Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada
  • Sun Life Financial

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a precise peripheral nerve stimulation technique, advice in which fine solid needles (acupuncture needles) are inserted into anatomically defined neurofunctional sites,and stimulated manually or with electricity for the therapeutic purpose of modulating abnormal activity of the nervous system and/or the endocrine, exocrine and immune systems, in pain syndromes, functional problems, and any diseases in which these modulatory mechanisms are available. Neuromodulation occurs through neurological and neurohumoral mechanisms at multiple levels, namely: peripheral nerves, spinal cord, brain stem, brain and cerebellum.

Dr. Tran uses acupuncture that is mechanism-based, not disease-based. Therapeutic goals and treatment targets are selected based on the identified neurological dysfunctions contributing to the clinical presentation of the symptoms. Sometimes acupuncture treatments result in transient amelioration or disappearance of the symptoms, and other times results in permanent resolution of the dysfunction, especially when dysregulation of the nervous system was the underlying pathophysiological mechanism.

Active Release Techniques ®

What is Active Release Techniques (ART) to Individuals, Athletes, and Patients?

ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles.

 

How do overuse conditions occur?
Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:
  • acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc),
  • accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
  • not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia).

 

Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.
What is an ART treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.

 

These treatment protocols - over 500 specific moves - are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.

 

What is the history of Active Release Techniques?
ART has been developed, refined, and patented by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. Dr. Leahy noticed that his patients' symptoms seemed to be related to changes in their soft tissue that could be felt by hand. By observing how muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves responded to different types of work, Dr. Leahy was able to consistently resolve over 90% of his patients' problems. He now teaches and certifies health care providers all over the world to use ART.