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Reduce Your Foot and Back Pain with Custom Orthotics

If you regularly experience foot pain, you’ve probably sought several ways to find relief. Different shoes, perhaps, or over-the-counter pain relief medications. You may have even considered using the foot analysis machine in your local drug store or Costco.

It’s so easy, after all … just step on the foot outlines on the in-store machine and it will analyze your feet! Then, instantly recommend the perfect orthotic for you … from a limited selection of ready-to-take-home products. Ta-dah! Instant relief!

Sound too good to be true?

If you suffer from foot, leg, knee or lower back pain, you know that a quick fix is rarely the answer.

At Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage, we use GaitScan™ technology from The Orthotic Group to assess and analyze your gait and how it affects other parts of your body. Dr. Noble or Dr. Fera will review your GaitScan™ report and prescribe a custom-made orthotic that can help relieve your pain by realigning and stabilizing the bones in your feet and restoring your natural walking pattern.

What are custom orthotics?

Custom orthotics are devices worn in your shoes that provide correction to your feet, helping them to function more efficiently and alleviate pain. Poor foot function and alignment may be the cause of your foot, hip, knee and back pain.

How does GaitScan™ work?

1. After removing your shoes and socks, you walk across the GaitScan™ pressure plate where thousands of tiny sensors capture the distribution of each foot over time.
2. GaitScan™ maps your foot pressure and the computer displays two- and three-dimensional representations of the pressure under your feet. From this, we can see where your feet receive too much or too little pressure.
3. The information is then summarized into a report which we will evaluate. The findings help us determine whether the pain you are experiencing is related to impaired foot function.
4. We review the GaitScan™ report with you and discuss whether orthotics are required.
5. If it is determined that you will benefit from orthotics, your information is sent to The Orthotic Group laboratory where your custom-made orthotics will be manufactured

What symptoms can custom orthotics help to relieve?

• Localized foot pain
• Bunions, hammertoes
• Pain in your arch/heel
• Leg or knee pain
• Hip or lower back pain

How can custom orthotics help me?

Think of custom orthotics as working on your feet similar to the way that glasses work on your eyes.

Custom foot orthotics reduce stress and strain on your body by bringing your feet back into proper alignment. The plastic body of the custom orthotic helps to re-align the foot by redirecting and reducing certain motion that takes place during the gait cycle.

Custom orthotics fit into your shoes as comfortably as an insole and — unlike the insoles you purchase at your local store — they have the advantage of having been made from precise imprints of your feet.

Are custom orthotics right for you?

Custom orthotics are not just for people who suffer from foot pain. Custom orthotics can also help those who suffer from back pain, pain in their hips or knees, and people dealing with arthritis-related pain. They are tailored to each individual and are typically designed to ensure that the bones, ligaments and tendons in your feet and lower legs are aligned and positioned properly. This helps to ease pain and stress on your feet and can improve the functioning of the muscles over time.

To book your custom orthotic consultation, contact us at the Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage Therapy clinic at 905-427-3202.

Prevention: Making Lifestyle Changes

As we age, our risk for hypertension rises. By age 75, about 41 percent of men and 54 percent of woman have high blood pressure. That’s why preventing the disease is so important.

The first step is to follow a healthy diet. For years doctors have been telling patients to eat more fruits and vegetables and cut back on fats. But controversy has always surrounded the potential effects of dietary salt on blood pressure control.  Now several new studies find that eating less salt can lead to substantial drops in blood pressure, while too much salt can put people at increased risk for death.

In a study published earlier this year in the New England Journal of Medicine, people with high blood pressure who ate a daily diet containing 1,500mg. of sodium had an average systolic pressure reading 11.5 mm Hg lower than participants eating a typical U.S. diet, containing 3,300 mg. of salt. In patients without high blood pressure was 7.1mm Hg.

“The magnitude of the effect was quite astounding,” says Dr. Eva Obarzanek, project office of the DASH-Sodium study for the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Md. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. “We know that lowering salt prevents the development of hypertension in people who are at risk. If you have a lifelong exposure to high salt, we’re expecting that will [result in] hypertension.”

Obarzanek admits it is hard to eat a low-salt diet because of the food choices available today. But she says maintaining the current recommended maximum level of 2,400 mg. of salt a day – which equals about one teaspoon – is possible. People can lower their salt intake by following a diet similar to the DASH diet, which is low in saturated fats and cholesterol and emphasizes fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods. Obarzanek says people should avoid highly processed and highly salted foods. Read labels, choose foods with no salt added, and don’t add salt when cooking. “It takes a while,” she says, “to…adapt your taste buds and move on.”

Other lifestyle factors make a difference as well. Obarzanek says be sure to get plenty of physical activity, limit alcohol intake (one drink a day if you’re a female, two if you’re a male), dont smoke, m aintain an ideal body weight, reduce stress and tension. “It’s a massive disease,’ she says. “You want to prevent it.”
-Debbie Geiger

The Magnificent Human Body!

Stress Relief in 2.7 Minutes

Yes, It’s possible to relax in three minutes or less.

A study from the State University of new York at Buffalo shows these simple methods can ease tension (almost) instantly:
Breathe Deeply. In the study, conducted by Bong Hee Sung, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, people took a test that increased their stress levels. Afterward, they followed a tape of breathing exercises. The result: Blood pressure was lowered in 2.7 minutes!
Go Classical. After doing a second stress-elevating task, the group listened to classical music. In 2.9 minutes, blood pressure was back to normal.
Tune in to Nature. The third part of the experiment involved a stress-inducing test, followed by a tape of nature sounds, such as waves rolling and rain falling. After three minutes, people were calm. Sung notes that when the stressful task was not followed by any treatment, blood pressure remained elevated about 25 percent longer than it did after relaxation therapy.

Nature sounds and classical tunes are as close as your nearest CD player. But what’s the key to deep breathing? Nothing that you can’t try right now. Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, filling your stomach and chest with air. Hold the air inside for three counts. Slowly exhale – firmly, but not abruptly – through your mouth. Repeat until you feel calm and focused.

Sung says, “I’ve had people calling who want a copy of the ‘magical breathing tape’. I tell them, ‘It’s not magic. You don’t need tapes. You just need to stay focused on your breathing.’ “

— Julia Savacool

Sweetheart Appreciation Week – February 8 – 13, 2016

Happy New Year from Village Chiropractic!

Chiropractic Doesn’t Cure. You Do

The Nervous System controls every cell in your body. Nerve impulses flow from the brain, down the spinal cord, and to every organ and tissue. Impulses sent back to the brain confirm that the body is working as it should. The moving bones of the spine can interfere with this exchange. Choked or irritated nerves can degrade or distort these messages.

This is called Subluxation.

Without proper nervous system control, ill health results. Chiropractic care helps restore the integrity of the nervous system.

This has helped people with a wide variety of health issues, without drugs. For over 100 years.

Your Greatest Wealth, is your Health. 

Dr. John Noble and Dr. Mark Fera are regulated primary health care providers serving Durham Region and beyond. Their training enables them to assess, diagnose and treat disorders of the spine, nervous system and joints and can be seen without a referral from another health care provider.
To book an appointment, call us today at 905-427-3202.

Repetitive Strain Injury from the OCA

Does your job find you sitting most of the day?

Types of Care and the Chiropractic Lifestyle

Which type of care fits your goals?

There are THREE types or stages of chiropractic care. Initial Intensive Care is for pain symptom management; Rehabilitative or Corrective Care is for improved function and spinal changes; Wellness or Elective Care is for non-symptomatic or preventative care measures. How long you decide to benefit from chiropractic care is always up to you.

In the beginning, visits may be frequent. 

Most patients start with Initial Intensive Care. The first thing most new patients want is to feel better. So, in the beginning, visits are usually frequent. Your chiropractic adjustments may be combined with other procedures to help relieve your symptoms. Depending upon your age, condition, and lifestyle, repeated visits over weeks or months may be needed to reduce your symptoms. Visit frequency is reduced as patients respond to decreased symptoms and improved spinal function.

A chiropractic lifestyle, combined with other healthy habits is part of wellness approach to health. 

With your ache or pain reduced, the goal of Rehabilitative Care is for more complete healing to occur. Underlying muscle and soft tissue damage can remain, even after you feel better. At this stage, visit frequency is often reduced. Like corrective lenses for the eyes, Rehabilitative or Corrective Care helps normalize spinal function.

You may be urged to supplement your care with exercises, dietary changes, or other self-care procedures. Without complete healing, discontinuing care now can set the stage for a relapse. 

After the recovery of your original problem, regular chiropractic “check-ups” can help preserve your progress. Periodic visits can help catch little problems before they become major concerns. Like regular dental check-ups, Maintenance or Elective Care can help prevent spinal decay and promote optimal health. Wellness-minded adults and their children choose this type of care to look and feel their best. Like other preventative measures, a chiropractic lifestyle can save time and money by helping you stay well.