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10 Tips for Maintaining Your Good Health in 2023
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Did you make any New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of the month? As we work our way through the often long and dreary month of January, we thought it would be a good time to review some goals for the year.
Here are our top 10 chiropractor-approved resolutions to help you stay healthy for the rest of the year:
1. Get A Good Night’s Sleep
Sleep is important to overall health. Both body and mind rest and refresh while you sleep. If you have difficulty sleeping, consult your chiropractor for help and solutions. Here are some tips to help you get a good night’s rest.
2. Warm Up
Before jumping in the pool, hitting the field or picking up a golf club, take 20 minutes to warm up. Your warm-up should include deep-breathing exercises, gentle stretching and range of motion exercises to loosen and warm your muscles and joints.
3. Cool Down
Cooling down after a workout is just as important as warming up. Take 20 minutes for a brisk walk or slow jog and stretch out your muscles and joints before heading for the change room or the car.
4. Practice Perfect Posture
Good posture not only makes you look better, but it also delivers increased energy, better breathing, and improved circulation. Good posture is actually an investment in your appearance AND your health. The secret to good posture is maintaining the spine’s natural curves. If your spine is misaligned, it can result in strain and pain.
5. Choose a Good Office Chair
Do you sit most of the day? While sitting seems restful, staying in any one position for too long can cause strain and injury to your muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments.
A good office chair helps a lot. The right chair should:
- Adjust to suit your size or task
- Adapt to support your spine in various working positions
- Have a backrest that supports your lower back
- Have a front edge that curves downward to promote proper posture
One last tip: Vary your sitting positions throughout the days to prevent injury and strain.
6. Prevent Neck Pain
Your neck is part of your spine, which runs from the base of your skull to the bottom of your back. Neck pain is a common problem with many possible causes. Poor posture, hunching over a computer, arthritis, whiplash, and muscle strain from simple things like reading in bed or grinding your teeth can all trigger neck pain.
Keeping your back safe and strong also protects your neck. Here are some tips to help you prevent neck pain.
7. Manage your Headaches
Tension headaches are common but they are not well understood. Most people describe having a band of pressure around their head that can last from 30 minutes to a week. Tension headaches can be related to muscles tightening in the back of the neck and improper alignment of the joints of the spine.
Record when your headaches occur and what you were doing before they started. Try to recognize the factors that cause or aggravate your headaches. Be sure to tell your chiropractor if you’ve noticed any changes in your usual headaches, such as frequency, duration or intensity, or if your headaches begin to worry you.
8. Prevent Falls
Anyone can fall, but the risk of slips and trips increases as you get older. Every year, one in three Canadians over 65 will fall – often with serious consequences.
Hip, wrist and pelvic fractures are common in this age group and can take a toll on independence and quality of life. Here’s a great list of tips to help you prevent falls.
9. Nourish Yourself
Meal timing is an important factor in maintaining energy levels. Skipping meals can cause blood sugar swings, often resulting in fatigue. People often skip meals and then wonder why they are tired in the afternoon.
To manage energy levels and prevent fatigue, you should eat at least three nutritious meals each day with the last meal well before bedtime.
10. Visit Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage for year-round wellness
Working with a chiropractor and registered massage therapist will help you stay on track with your goals and pamper your spine.
The wellness team at Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage provides patients with more than just chiropractic and massage therapy services, but also the know-how to build better personal wellness habits so you can be at your best for work or play, every day.
To book an appointment or learn more about the chiropractic and therapeutic massage therapy services available at our clinic, call 905-427-3202.
With content from the Canadian Chiropractic Association
Why Your Muscles Feel Sore After a Workout
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If getting in shape or intensifying your exercise routine was one of your goals since gyms reopened earlier this year, you’ve likely spent your fair share of time working out these past few months.
Have you ever wondered why your muscles feel so sore after a workout?
One reason may be delayed onset muscle soreness, otherwise known as DOMS.
Occurring anywhere between 24 to 48 hours after you try a new activity or exercise, or increase your workout intensity, DOMS can reduce your range of motion and muscle strength. This muscle soreness is a sign that your muscles are adapting to new loads.
The lactic acid myth
You may have heard that delayed onset muscle soreness is caused by a buildup of lactic acid. But lactic acid only lasts in your muscles one to two hours after a workout.
Resistance training causes micro-tears of muscle fibres, drawing increased blood flow and inflammation to the area, even leading to mild swelling, which stimulates the pain receptors in the muscle tissue and makes them more sensitive to movement.
The muscle damage is temporary. As muscle rebuilds itself, it gets stronger and can handle heavier loads.
How to reduce the discomfort of muscle soreness
Although DOMS is a natural process that indicates your body is getting stronger, there are ways you can reduce your level of discomfort.
- More exercise may be the best way to ease the soreness. Do a gentle workout such as light cardio, stretching or yoga a day or two after an intense workout. Pick up the intensity once the pain is gone.
- Introduce new exercises over a period of one to two weeks to give your body time to adapt.
- Try longer warmups before your resistance training.
- Take an Epsom salt bath. Epsom salts are made from magnesium, which helps relax muscles and improve circulation.
- Mix up your routine. If you do leg exercises one day, work your arms and core the next. This gives each muscle group time to recover.
- Stay hydrated and choose your foods wisely. Remember to drink plenty of water and replenish your electrolytes with a balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables. Leafy greens and bananas are two excellent options.
How to tell if it’s more serious
There are a few indicators that your pain can be something more serious than DOMS:
- The pain does not diminish after three days.
- The pain is so severe that you cannot carry on with daily tasks.
- The pain is so severe that your legs give out.
- You experience major swelling, redness, discolouration, or intense cramping.
- The pain is very sharp – this could suggest a sprain/strain.
If you are concerned about any of the above, your chiropractor can conduct a thorough assessment and offer non-pharmacological pain management strategies, stretches, or manual treatments. You will be referred to the appropriate medical professional if the cause of pain is out of the scope of chiropractic care.
The chiropractic and massage therapy team at Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage helps patients build better pathways to overall wellness, as well as relief from back pain and muscle aches. Poor habits and injury can lead to pain that can restrict your ability to work or enjoy your leisure time.
We provide you with more than just chiropractic and massage services, but also the know-how to build better personal wellness habits so that you can be at your best for work or play, every day. Contact our clinic today at 905-427-3202.
With content from the Canadian Chiropractic Association
Are You Stretching Before You Hit the Course?
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Don’t let your eagerness to get to the first tee keep you from warming up before each game. Forgetting to warm up can cause unnecessary injuries and more time spent in the clubhouse than on the course.
Take five minutes before you start to do these easy golf stretches so you can stay in the game all season long.
SIDE-BENDING STRETCH
• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend to one side without rotating until you feel a stretch in the side of your back.
QUADRICEPS STRETCH
• Keep your thighs together, and your knee pointing toward the ground.
• Pull your abdominal muscles in and maintain a straight back.
HAMSTRING STRETCH
• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Reach your hands towards the sky.
• Then, bending at the waist, reach toward your toes.
KNEE-TO-CHEST STRETCH
• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Using both hands, pull one knee into your chest.
• Repeat with the other knee.
FOREARM STRETCH
• With your arm straight out in front of you and palm facing down, gently pull your fingers back with the other hand.
• Next, with your arm straight out in front of you and palm facing upwards, gently pull your fingers back with the other hand.
• Do not let shoulder rise up.
SHOULDER STRETCH
• Hold the shaft of a club behind your back.
• Gently pull the club up with your top hand until you feel a slight stretch in the shoulder of your lower arm.
• Next, gently pull the club down with your bottom hand until you feel a stretch in the top shoulder and arm.
SQUAT
• Start from a standing position with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Squat down, trying to keep your heels flat on the ground.
BACK-OF-THE-SHOULDER STRETCH
• Place your left hand on your right shoulder.
• Gently pull your left elbow across your body toward your right shoulder.
Have you been suffering from back or neck pain from all your time on the golf course? You’re not alone. At Pickering Village Chiropractic and Massage, we provide our patients with more than just chiropractic and massage therapy services. We also have the know-how to build better personal wellness habits so you can be at your best for work or play, every day.
To book an appointment or learn more about the chiropractic and therapeutic massage therapy services available at our clinic, call 905-427-3202.
Don’t “Fall Back” Into Bad Habits This Winter
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It’s the weekend we all dread! Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday morning at 2 a.m. ET.
As we fall back an hour and approach the winter solstice, with shorter days and colder temperatures, it’s tempting to stay indoors and do things that bring us comfort, like read books and watch movies. Unfortunately, these activities often leave us sedentary.
The importance of staying active
When we are not as active as we are in the summer, it affects the balance of chemicals produced in the body that impacts how we feel pain and pleasure: our endorphins.
Endorphins are produced by the body to respond to things like stress, fear, or discomfort. They interact with the parts of your brain responsible for your emotional responses and sensitivity to pain. Endorphins are responsible for your feelings of pleasure and are involved in your built-in reward system linked to eating, drinking, sexual activity, and maternal behaviour.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to help boost the level of endorphins in your body. One of those things is exercise.
Exercise encourages the body to produce more endorphins.
For example, sometimes runners experience a “runner’s high” level of vitality after a workout. The same experience can be had for anyone after an extended period of physical exercise. There are other benefits to working your body physically: exercise can give you more energy throughout the day, allowing you to sleep better at night and feel more relaxed. It also helps the brain repair and recover, reduces inflammation in the body, and helps you feel calm and have an overall sense of well-being.
The good news is that you can replicate these positive sensations by taking steps to add a bit more exercise into your day. Any activity leaving you out of breath for bouts of 10 minutes or more throughout the week can help you fend off the winter blues.
Other ways to boost endorphins
It’s not just exercise that helps your body boost endorphins: regular meditation, yoga, and tai chi help to decrease stress hormones and increase endorphins. Not only that, simple pleasures such as love, laughter, sunshine, and chocolate all increase endorphins as well.
Take care of yourself during the cold-weather months.
There are lots of ways to make the short winter days a little brighter. The wellness team at Pickering Village Chiropractic and Massage encourages you to make your physical and mental health a priority.
We provide our patients with more than just chiropractic and massage therapy services, but also the know-how to build better personal wellness habits so you can be at your best for work or play, every day.
To book an appointment or learn more about the chiropractic and therapeutic massage therapy services available at our clinic, call 905-427-3202.
With content from the Canadian Chiropractic Association.
Suffering from Lower Back Pain? Give Yoga a Try!
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If you suffer from lower back pain, the relief you’ve been looking for may be a little farther than the medicine cabinet but as close as your local community centre or yoga studio.
With so many of us spending an increasing amount of time hunched over a computer keyboard, it’s not surprising that our back often suffers. While it may be difficult to fight the urge to reach for a quick-fix in the form of pain-numbing pills, medication only offers short-term relief without solving the problem.
Aside from headaches, low back pain is one of the most common complaints of Canadians today. In addition to stress-related causes, this pain may also be due to overuse or injuries such as those occurring after rigorous physical activity, or a mild-to-serious car accident.
Together with chiropractic, yoga offers another way to prevent low back pain by strengthening your core muscles.
Yoga consists of an extensive set of exercises (or poses) designed to promote muscle strength, flexibility and proper breathing. It has been studied as a treatment for lower back pain; carpal tunnel syndrome; osteoarthritis of the hands; depression; asthma; hypertension; and many more conditions.
There are various poses which can help relieve low back pain, and even just a few minutes of yoga on a regular basis can reduce pain and strengthen your core abdominal muscles.
As well as strengthening core muscles, yoga is also helpful if there are psychological factors involved in your back pain. The act of doing these poses promotes relaxation and calmness, which relieves the mental stress and anxiety that might have eventually lead to more back pain.
In addition to the mind-body connection, yoga also focuses on the spine.
In accordance with Dr. Noble and Dr. Fera’s chiropractic principles, many of the body’s aches and pains can be attributed to the misalignment of vertebrae. Yoga is a proven natural way to decrease your back pain, strengthen your core, and improve your overall sense of well-being. Doing yoga properly and having regular chiropractic care ensures a reduction of pain and treatment.
Yoga can be an effective and gentle tool to help manage your low back pain. Its many benefits include relief from pain, stress and anxiety – it’s also fun and challenging!
Yoga can help you reduce muscle tension, increase flexibility and strength while improving your balance. Warm up before trying yoga, as you want to help your back pain, not make it worse.
Here is a list of yoga poses that are great for beginners and can be done at home! Always listen to your body and do not continue a pose if it is painful. If you’re unsure if yoga is right for you or feel pain once you try it, talk to your chiropractor.
Downward Dog strengthens the shoulders, core, back and legs while promoting back flexibility.
Warrior Pose helps separate hip and leg movement from pelvic and low back mobility.
Cobra Pose helps strengthen your shoulders and back while promoting flexibility in the upper back.
Pyramid Pose strengthens your legs and spine and teaches body awareness on how to hinge and move from the hip joint.
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The wellness team at Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage encourages you to improve your overall health by making exercise a part of your daily routine. If you want to learn more about managing your health with exercise, contact our clinic today at 905-427-3202.