Sage Wellness

Post Concussion Syndrome – How Osteopathy Can Help

Sage — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 14:34:31 +0000

A concussion can occur from any impact or motion that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull. Mild, moderate, or severe concussion can result in changes to normal brain functioning and cause symptoms such as:

nausea
Issues with thinking and remembering
headache
blurred vision
dizziness
balance issues
fatigue
emotional upset

Those who have had a concussion are 4-6 times more likely to obtain another. Common ways of sustaining a concussion are from sports, motor vehicle accidents, and falls (not limited to). It is important to visit your doctor after a head injury for testing and diagnoses.

Post-Concussion Syndrome is when symptoms of an initial concussion injury last for weeks to months.

Symptoms typically reported are:

Head/neck pain
depression/mood changes
memory/learning/reading/decision making issues
sleep issues
anxiety
dizziness/balance problems
sensitivity to noise and light
digestive/elimination problems

What to do if you are recovering from a concussion:

Rest
Limit alcohol
Limit screen time
Avoid activities that seem mentally or physically demanding
Gradually return to normal activities (wait 1 day if symptoms arise)
Use ice on swelling

How Osteopathy can help:

Osteopathy is a manual therapy that can help create an environment for the body to heal more effectively and to speed up recovery from post-concussion syndrome symptoms. Manual Osteopath will use a mix of osteoarticular, cranial, and visceral techniques to facilitate this healing.

During the initial visit the cranium (skull), cervical spine (neck), thorax, lumbar spine and sacrum will be assessed, and the cranial-sacral (C-S) system will be evaluated.

There is an increasing amount research supporting cranial-sacral therapy, and its treatment of head injuries. C-S treats restrictions within the cerebral spinal fluid that surrounds, protects, nourishes, and cleanses the brain and spinal cord. Restrictions within the cerebral spinal system can affect its components and normal functioning of the brain and spinal cord (CNS, PNS).

If you or someone you know are dealing with frustrating symptoms, come see how Osteopathy can help!

-Carolyn Smith BHK, DOMP

Used & relatable resources:

http://www.protectthebrain.org/Brain-Injury-Research/What-is-a-Concussion-.aspx

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/tp23364spec

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5580370/?fbclid=IwAR2O_fNYuUm6yy1WsMfEj2qjvZBaUsAj2RsA7Vw-q7ODWtolfsKgEK_9dqU

https://www.massagemag.com/pain-relief-craniosacral-therapy-85363/?fbclid=IwAR2ztg2__38CAtUrznVZt1xzUvxFf6qgbmgS8btXJJsLLdVSjkjYepnl99A

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/healing-concussions-is-in-our-handsliterally_b_58bedc32e4b0abcb02ce225d?fbclid=IwAR2Y6ad8bVggZT5_frWlyD7JznLDaxIdBVar7SmXgnF-M_hY79WwPhGIB-s&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMuRRNPNTsP9ibjqDJkj5XgkDBdwdInKuyTqhWEDPSbMfaHfqLkIl5Abt8uPrTFcRlS9nJaloRv1NxOMe2bIyAeLBZSMTtVY4GqukrJDUeZt1AV8vg7gpA-18ZF6X5Es0BQ-oHYAcWiAXulNZHTd76_UeMjr2GyHiZDuuBI7jEWj

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Foam Rolling With Phoebe

Sage — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 19:48:54 +0000

I’m here to answer your questions about foam rolling: its benefits, how to use it, and when to use it!

Benefits:

Foam rolling can be a great tool to relieve tension and tightness in muscles and fascia. Applying pressure to certain tension points can break up adhesions in the muscle and can help improve blood flow to the area, creating a healing and lengthening effect to the tissue.

How to foam roll:

Foam rolling should be used on muscles, not on bones or joints. It can be used on multiple areas of the body, including the quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes and upper back muscles.

Here are a few techniques you can try at home:

Quad: Lie facing the ground with upper leg on the foam roller and gently roll up and down along the muscle

Hamstrings: sitting down, place the foam roller on the top part of your leg, lift your body up using your hands and roll along the muscle

Calves: like the hamstrings, but place the foam roller under the lower part of the legs

Glutes/piriformis (deep glute muscle): Sitting on the foam roller, cross one leg over in a figure 4 position, roll along glute on leg that is crossed. **Be careful rolling the piriformis if you suffer from nerve pain, such as sciatica and piriformis syndrome, since the sciatic nerve can run through this muscle

Upper back: Lie with your upper back on the foam roller and roll up and down along the spinal muscles

For the quads, hamstrings and calves, you can roll both at the same time or focus on one leg at a time. I recommend focusing on one at a time.

How to roll the IT band:

Many individuals roll the IT band improperly, which can cause pain or irritation. It is important to understand that the IT band is NOT a muscle, but fascia, a connective tissue with little elasticity. Most IT band pain either comes from the muscle it is attached to, the TFL muscle located on the front of your hip, or from its attachment with the hamstring and the quad. Because of this, you should be rolling at its insertion points associated with the muscle, and not directly on the IT band.

Quad insertion: like quad rolling, but lying slightly on your side
Hamstring insertion: like hamstring rolling, but again, lying slightly on your side
TFL ball rolling: in order to roll in the TFL muscle, use a ball, not a foam roller. To find out where to place the ball, find your hip bone and slide out to the side into the muscle. This should be done against a wall, because is much easier to control the pressure you are applying.

Roll for about 10x in each area, if there is an area that feels tighter, sit in that position for about 20seconds

When to foam roll:

Foam rolling needs to be accompanied by stretching and strengthening. It is a very common for people to ONLY focus on foam rolling and neglect the fact that muscles need to also be stretched and strengthened. Foam rolling can be done once a day or after intense work outs. If you are more sore after foam rolling, it is possible you are either going too aggressive or foam rolling too often and for too long.

Get your foam rollers out and loosen those muscles!

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Meet the Thorax with Carolyn, Manual Osteopath

Sage — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 13:53:45 +0000

Breathing

Sit still, take a deep breath and fill your rib cage. Now do it again and begin to notice where your air is moving. Is your rib cage expanding in the front and sides? What about the back? Are the sides equal?

If expanding your rib cage is hard for you or you lack expansion into the front, side, or back, you may have some thorax restrictions.

Understanding the thorax:

The thorax in other words, is the area involving your ribcage and everything underneath it. The thorax consists of a hard frame, soft frame, and visceral frame.

The “Hard Frame” involves the bones of the ribs, thoracic spine, and sternum; there are 150 connections involved in the hard frame in order to make it flexible!

The “Soft Frame” is made up ligaments, fasciae, and muscles that support the viscera underneath; the soft frame is suspended & supported by the hard frame

The “Visceral Frame” is made up of the heart and lungs.

Our “breathing” muscles:

Muscles allow us to breath; all muscles that are attached to the thorax have a role in respiration. For quiet breathing we rely on intercostal muscles and the diaphragm to contract and relax due to changing pressure within our lungs. For deep breathing, we begin to use bigger muscles to expand and relax our rib cage. Some of these muscles are attached up higher to our neck, some anchor the rib cage downward, and some are attached to different points in our back. In order words, the majority of our body is involved in breathing!

What happens when there is a restriction?

When we have a restriction, our thorax is able to compensate or “deal” with the issue for while. After awhile a single restriction can disturb this complex mechanical structure and start to show symptoms of breathing issues, cough or sneezing, voice changes, noisy breathing, back pain, neck stiffness, lack of energy among other things.

Possible causes of breathing issues include trauma to area, surgery, pollutants, allergies, abdominal organ issues, or emotional disturbances.

How can Osteopathy help?

Using a mix of osteoarticular (joint work), soft tissue (muscle, ligaments), and visceral techniques can address restrictions in the thorax. You might find your practitioner working the thorax, neck, or even the abdomen or low back, due to the complex connections with it’s surrounding area.

Stretching for the thorax:

#1 Sitting cross-legged on the floor, place your left hand on the floor. Reach straight up with the right arm, feeling an opening in the right side of your rib cage, breath deep. To increase an opening stretch, keeping right are arm straight, start to bend torso towards left side, hold and breath deep for 3-5 breathes.

Repeat on opposite side.

#2 lying on back with arms straight out to sides, bend your knees. Let knees fall to right side and head turn to left, feeling a stretch in left side of rib cage, breath deep for 3-5 breathes.

Repeat on opposite side.

Want to learn more? Why not book an appointment with Carolyn today!

The post Meet the Thorax with Carolyn, Manual Osteopath first appeared on Sage Wellness.

Slide Cupping with Dr. Sarah ND

Sage — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 14:22:00 +0000

Naturopathic doctors are a pretty eclectic bunch – so much so that even
our patients don’t always know everything we have to offer! This month, I
wanted to share some information about one of my favourite hands-on
treatments for muscle and joint concerns.

Cupping is an ancient form of treatment, and one frequently used by
naturopathic doctors and practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I
like to describe cupping a bit like a “reverse massage” – instead of
pushing down on tissues, a vacuum is created in the cup, which is then
placed on the skin. This causes the tissues to be pulled upward.

There are numerous techniques that are used with cupping, but my favourite
by far is sliding cupping, in which the cup is slowly moved along your
muscles. The technique can help increase circulation and lymphatic
drainage in the area (and thus speed healing), as well as help to loosen
up muscle, fascia, and scar tissue, leaving you with better mobility and
improved overall recovery. It’s great as a standalone treatment, but it
also can serve as a fantastic complement to your massage, acupuncture,
chiropractic, or infrared sauna treatments!

Book your appointment to experience Slide Cupping with Dr. Sarah Today!

The post Slide Cupping with Dr. Sarah ND first appeared on Sage Wellness.

What does self-care look like for you? With Teresa RMT

Sage — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 20:16:56 +0000

Something we all strive to find in life is balance – or so we say, but what does that even mean in today’s busy world? Seems like every time I pay attention there are newer, better ideas of things I need to be doing to help me better my life, and better myself. We have this filtered way of viewing the world through social media which has us believing we need to keep up with these impossible standards of socializing and busy-ness that have us all feeling exhausted. I have clients all of the time apologizing for not coming in sooner – and I try and remember to congratulate them for coming in no matter how long it has been! After all, with all of the demands that life has on each of us, it is something to be proud of to have prioritized one’s health.

Self-care comes in many different packages and means something different to every person. For one person it may mean making it to their yoga class 3 times each week to help them feel balanced, for another it may mean managing to get a shower every other day (if it can happen), and for another it may mean getting some treatment for that pain that has been nagging them for weeks now. We all face our own challenges to taking care of ourselves whether it be mental health challenges, time constraints, lack of support, or financial restrictions.

If there is one constant I have learned over the years with self-care it’s this – it truly is SELF-CARE. Nobody else can do it for you. Not even someone who loves you to the moon and back. It has to be done by you, for you. You cannot take care of others unless you take care of yourself first. Taking time to check in with yourself, listening to your body and your experience in the world will give you clues as to how you can add a little self-care into your life today. I have made a nice list below of ways you may want to care for yourself today…no pressure of course. ?

– take time to cook yourself something nice, and enjoy eating it
– take a nap
– spend time in nature (walking, sitting in a park, breathing in some fresh air)
– move your body (dance, breathe, run, sweat)
– read an inspirational book or article
– buy yourself some flowers – or enjoy some in nature (when they arrive again)
– book an appointment with your health care providers to take care of that nagging health concern
– call a friend and have a good chat
– try something new
– listen to an uplifting podcast
– do something creative (bake, draw, colour, paint, sing)
– come in for a massage
– listen to your favorite songs
– act in service to someone who needs it
– give someone a hug

Wanting to book an appointment for some self care at Sage? Click here.

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Introducing Muscle Energy with Phoebe our resident Athletic Therapist

Sage — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 16:43:43 +0000

Hey Everybody!

A couple weeks ago, I took a course on muscle energy of the pelvis and lumbar spine. Throughout my athletic therapy career the most common injury I’ve come across are low back injuries. In my experience, hip alignment has a huge impact on the occurrence of low back pain because it can cause different types of imbalances and weakness. Hips can come out of alignment from either your daily posture combined with a weak core/glutes, or it can happen with a sudden stress to the back. An example of daily posture could be a soccer player who only kicks with their right foot is always rotating and stressing their body in the same way, or sitting with your legs crossed in the same way. On the other hand, a sudden stress to the body could be a fall, slipping on ice, or stepping off a curb awkwardly, to name a few.

Muscle energy is a manual therapy technique that involves bringing the patient into a position of joint realignment followed by a muscle contraction. This muscle contraction helps realign the position of the joint. Therefore, if someone is presenting with an anterior rotation in their pelvis (i.e. the hip is rotating forward) it would be important to get the person in a posterior rotated position (rotated backward, such as knee to chest). I would then ask the patient to contract their hamstring by pushing down towards the ground, which would cause the hamstring to help put that anteriorly rotated hip back to its normal alignment. Keeping the hips in proper alignment is very important for the low back because if they are not aligned the body is putting more stress on the low back. It may also cause glute and inner core weakness, which could mean the individual is unable to correctly brace themselves from external forces. Realigning hips is very important in rehabilitation of the low back, however, in order to get rid of your back pain you also need to focus on home exercises. Examples include glute activations, inner core strengthening, and stretching. Pelvis alignment was a major focus during this course, however I also learned about the alignment of the sacrum and lumbar spine, and the application of MET for them!

Book your appointment with Phoebe to find out more and experience the benefits of Muscle Energy!

The post Introducing Muscle Energy with Phoebe our resident Athletic Therapist first appeared on Sage Wellness.

The Power of the Inner Core by Phoebe Mathews, Athletic Therapist

Sage — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 02:19:25 +0000

The Power of the Inner Core

Back, hip, and knee pain are so common in this day and age because many of us have major weakness in our inner core muscles. We spend so much of our time sitting that many of us have lost the ability to properly stabilize our spine and hips. The inner core is made up of 4 components; the multifidi muscles, diaphragm, pelvic floor and transverse abdominis (TA). The multifidi attach on your lumbar spine to help keep your back erect, the diaphragm is the main muscle used for breathing, and the pelvic floor is important for keeping many of your organs in your abdominal space. The TA muscle is the one I will be focusing on, since almost everyone has trouble getting them to contract properly. It is the deepest of your abdominal muscles, therefore making it the most important in stabilizing the hips and spine making it a key factor in protecting you from external forces. The TA muscles do this by helping you brace yourself for impact.

Many people know they need to have a strong core to keep up with daily activities, making most people focus on exercises such as planks, bird dogs, and sit ups, to name a few. These types of exercises are useful to help strengthen your outer core muscles. The difference is that the outer core, or as I like to call them your “6-pack” muscles, are used to help you perform simple or complex movements or exercises, such as lifting yourself up, rotating to the side, or bending from side to side; movements that are all very important in daily activities. The inner core is very crucial in performing these exercises properly, providing stability to the spine and pelvis to prevent you from injury. This being said, one of my main focus’ in rehabilitation is strengthening the inner and progressing to the outer core.

To get your inner core to activate lie on your back with your knees bent. With two fingers, find your hips bones, slide your fingers in about an inch and cough gently. With the cough, you should feel a small muscle bulging into your fingertips. That is your TA muscle! Finding it is easy, but getting it to activate (contract) is a different story. Here are a few tricks to help you contract your TAs:

Pretend you are walking into freezing cold water
Pretend you are putting on a really tight pair of jeans
For women only – try holding in your pee
Pretend there is a string running through your belly button and I’m pulling it towards the floor
Rock your pelvis backwards

Once you are able to find this contraction, hold it for 10 seconds, and repeat 10 more times. It is generally a slow progression to more complicated exercises, however, one that is definitely worth it in the end! Here is the exercise progression I recommend:

Sliding your heel down, one at a time and alternating each side
Marching – with knees bent lifting one leg off the table about 2 inches, alternating each side
Single leg raise with legs straight, alternating each side
Dead bugs – lying on your back with arms held out and legs up and bent at 90 degrees, bring one arm back and straighten opposite leg
Bird dogs – kneeling in table top position, lift one arm up and kick opposite leg back

In order to progress from one exercise to the other, you need to ensure that your hips are stable during the exercise. You can do this by keeping your hands on your hips bones during the easier exercises, or by having someone spot you to make sure you are performing the exercise correctly. So get moving and get that core nice and strong!

Want to learn more about how to strengthen your core muscles, or other problem areas? Book an appointment with Phoebe to get a personalized program!

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Visceral Manipulation – What you need to know with Carolyn Smith

Sage — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 18:00:27 +0000

Visceral Manipulation:
What you need to know

Visceral Manipulation (VM) is a manual therapy with the specific goal of encouraging normal tone and movements both within and between the internal organs, their connective tissue, and other structures of the body where normal motion has been impaired.

Why is motion of the organs so important?
The diaphragm (large breathing muscle) moves up and down 24,000 times a day; as the diaphragm moves, so does our vital internal organs. If we have a restriction in soft tissue in an organ, it affects the movement and function of that organ and possibly others.

What should I expect during a treatment?
VM techniques are gentle but powerful, focusing on the fascia that surrounds and supports the organs. Working with a practitioner, you may find yourself lying on your back or in a seated position with the practitioner standing behind you. The practitioner works directly on your skin so wearing loose, comfortable clothing is ideal. The session involves several position changes, guided by your practitioner.

Who would benefit from VM?
VM can help treat a number of ailments; often used for chronic symptoms or conditions such as:

Musculoskeletal

Low back/upper back/neck pain
Rounded shoulders
Sciatica
Pain in rib cage
headaches

Digestion

Constipation/abdominal pain/acid reflux
Hormone/night hyperthermia/low energy

“If the primary pain is in the viscera and it has not been treated, the pain resulting from it will recur until the primary issue in the organs has been resolved”- A Pathway to health

How are internal organs related to body pain?
Between every segment of the spine, there are nerve roots that leave the spinal cord and travel to body areas of skin and muscle. Internal organs are highly innervated by nerves steaming from different levels of our spine. Having a dysfunction in an organ, can in time affect those areas of the spine it is connected to.

Examples of some visceral connections
Restrictions in the Liver may result in:

Neck pain, rounded shoulders, mid-back pain, sciatica, being hot at night, depression, digestion issues, and jaundice

Restrictions in the Stomach may result in:

Left sided neck pain, left side rib and back pain, left sided headaches and sinus problems, left SI pain, heartburn, heavy appetite and quick feeling of being full

Who developed VM?
Jean-Pierre Barral DO, PT, formed the manual therapy of Visceral Manipulation based on this clinical work with thousands of clients. He spent years recording links between musculoskeletal system and viscera, through dissection and manual techniques. Jean-Pierre started teaching this therapy to US practitioners in 1985 and since then has trained a team of international practitioners who teach VM all over the world. The Barral institute is known for being the gold standard for VM education.

Resources used for this article:

“Understanding the messages of your body”- book written by Jean-Pierre Barral

“A Pathway to Health: How Visceral Manipulation can Help you”- book written by Alison Harvey

http://www.barralinstitute.com/therapies/index.php – The Barral Inst. Website

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All about that booty!

Sage — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 11:16:44 +0000

This post is brought to you by our Certified Athletic Therapist Phoebe!

Suffering from low back, hip or knee pain?

Maybe you should blame your booty!

With an increase in desk jobs, and a more sedentary lifestyle, our core and glutes have become inactive, and are less able to protect our spine and low back from external forces. There are three gluteal muscles – gluteus minimus, medius and maximus. Gluteus minimus and gluteus medius work together to abduct your leg, meaning it works to bring your leg out to the side of your body. Gluteus maximus on the other hand is the main hip extensor in your body, working to extend your leg backwards. Your glutes are the largest and strongest muscles in your body! If they aren’t activating properly, excess stress is being put on your quads, hamstrings, and low back. This doesn’t mean your glutes aren’t strong, they just don’t want to kick in when they need to because other muscles are doing the work for them. For example, if a team leader isn’t pulling their weight at work, the team can pick up the slack for a while, but eventually the system starts to break down causing issues in the workplace.

Here’s an exercise for everyone to try!

Lie on your stomach and simply try to lift up your leg. What muscle do you feel kick in first? Your hamstring, glute or low back muscles? On most individuals it’s usually hamstring or low back and then glutes last. The correct firing pattern for this exercise is glutes, hamstring then low back! So how can you fix this? It’s simple – contract your bum! If you can isolate one glute at a time, your brain will recreate the pathway from your brain to your glute max making it able to fire again. This is such a simple exercise that you can do anytime throughout the day.

So get that booty firing again!

More questions, or want to learn more? Book your appointment with Phoebe, our resident Athletic Therapist!

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Stress Induced Body Pain, Carolyn Smith

Sage — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 02:37:11 +0000

This post brought to you by our Manual Osteopath Carolyn!

Physical stress (trauma) and emotional stress can both affect the human body

Physical stress can be from a sports injury, work-place overuse, or as a result of poor postural habits. These stressors can damage tissues and heighten the pain response.

Emotional stress triggers the autonomic nervous system to switch into sympathetic (flight or fight) mode. Prolonged stress unbalances this part of our nervous system which can lead to overstimulation and a change in muscle tone. On the conscious level, this may feel like neck or back pain with no direct trauma.

I see cases where the body overstimulates the muscles of our neck, shoulders and back into being overactive. It is common to shrug our shoulders and clench our jaws when we are emotionally stressed or focused. Everyone has unique behaviours and some are more affected then others. I also see a number of injuries occurring due to poor postural patterns during everyday lives.

“over time the body is less able to compensate and symptoms begin to appear” –A Pathway to Health

Osteopathy can help with acute and chronic body pain by decreasing muscle spasms and re-balancing the functions of the body. Your manual osteopath will educate you on proper postural habits, rehabilitation methods, and offer tips on how you can improve your situation.

Learning unique ways to deal with stressors, improving posture, and changing working habits will help set yourself up for success.

To book your appointment with Carolyn today and find out how she can help guide you to a less stressed, less painful daily life, just click here!

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