Chiropractic care is a form of alternative medicine that focuses on the relationship between the body's structure, particularly the spine, and its function. Chiropractors believe that the spine, which houses the nervous system, is a critical component of the body's overall health and wellness. 
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Chiropractic care involves a variety of techniques, including manual adjustments, physical therapy, and rehabilitation exercises, to relieve pain and improve the body's function. It is a non-invasive, natural, and effective way to treat lower back pain, as well as a range of other conditions, such as neck pain, headaches, and sciatica. ​

As the fall semester is almost over, and the holiday season is just around the corner, it’s a perfect time to review your child’s habits and see if there are any necessary tweaks before the winter semester starts in January. For students of all ages this means early morning routines, managing heavy backpacks, paying attention to posture while reading, and setting aside enough time to sleep properly. And let’s not forget about teachers, who have an arduous schedule that is also mentally and physically demanding. As the calendar year comes to an end and the kids get ready for final exams, we’ve prepared a list of tips to stay healthy during this stressful study season.

​1. Sitting Posture

During the school season, students will have increased time sitting at a desk. Is posture while sitting considered an important factor? Of course it is! Without proper posture, lower back pain, plus neck and shoulder tension, are more a matter of when than if.  These are the key points:
 
A. To make sure a person is sitting upright, it is important to be mindful that the spine is resting against the back of the chair. If the chair has a head-rest, keeping the head touching it will ensure the head and neck is in line with the spine.  

B. While seated, the knees and elbows should be bent at a 90 degree angle.  Both feet should be able to rest flat on the floor. If the chair height does not allow for this, a small foot-rest should be used.  

C. If sitting in front of a computer, make sure the chair is brought close enough to the desk so that the student does not have to reach forward to operate the mouse and keyboard, and the eyes are not straining to read the text on the screen. Position the screen right in front of the chair so that the head does not have to turn to read the computer screen.

What about teachers?

For teachers who have an extremely busy schedule, the tips above should also be used, as it will help keep them in better shape to deal with the stress of managing the demands of 20, 30, or even 40 kids in their classrooms. With all the standing, bending, stooping, sitting, and sometimes running – it’s easy to see why many experience pain in their feet, legs, knees, shoulders, and back. Regular chiropractic care can not only help reduce the symptoms in all of these areas, but with proper alignment, which is essential for a healthy body, they will be best prepared to deal with anything the school year can throw at them.

If you have any questions or would like more information on how to keep yours or your child’s back healthy during the school season, call our clinic at 778-622-3663 to book a chiropractic appointment. Students and teachers alike will all benefit from preventative chiropractic care.
 
Remember to have fun and make the most of the school year!

​1. Camping

​Cooking meals outside and sleeping under the stars -- camping is an activity that ensures you make the most out of being outdoors! If you’re not an avid camper, the change in sleeping environment could have a negative effect on your body. To help prevent aches and pains that might be associated with sleeping on an air-mattress or cot, try bringing something along that your body is familiar with, like your own pillow. This little piece of comfort could make all the difference.

​2. Golfing

​Golfing is a wonderful sport that can be enjoyed on your own or with a group of friends. It provides great mental stimulation while also incorporating cardiovascular exercise, strength, as well as balance and coordination. There are many ways in which you can minimize stress on your body while you’re enjoying the game:

• Consider using a pushcart to transport your clubs instead of carrying your golf bag. Taking the extra weight off your spine will decompress the discs and joints of your lower back, allowing more freedom in your swing.
• If walking aggravates your feet, knees, or hips, use a motorized golf cart instead. We all know how distracting those nagging pains can be, both during and after the round.
• Always remember the golden rule for golf -- you don’t have to swing hard to hit the ball far! This is the one thing that causes more injuries than anything else in golf, and it doesn’t help your score to try to hit it harder either.

​3. Kayaking

​Living in beautiful British Columbia means there are many areas to explore the environment with a kayak. It’s a sport that provides excellent exercise while searching for hidden gems along the shoreline. It’s important to remember just like any other sport that conditioning will help to minimize the possibility of injury. Consider coming in for a chiropractic check-up, to make sure everything is working properly before you start to add on the miles in the kayak and consult with your physio or personal trainer to stretch and strengthen the most important muscles. Some key muscle groups to focus on would be your core, shoulders, arms, and hips. 

4. Tennis

Tennis is a fantastic way to have fun, while also getting a good workout! Given the number of times you perform quick starts and stops, plus lateral movements, it’s important to have proper footwear that doesn’t easily roll - to avoid spraining your ankle. Also, for many amateurs, tennis is very forehand dominant. As a result, this can put a lot of strain on the shoulders, creating an imbalance in certain muscle groups. It’s important to stretch and open up the chest and shoulders and focus on strengthening the external rotators. Ask your health practitioner to demonstrate the necessary exercises for you. For the lower body, playing tennis involves lots of lunging. Therefore, stretching and strengthening the hip flexors, quads, and glutes will be essential to avoid stress and strain injuries in these areas.

 
5. Hiking

What better way to explore the great outdoors and capture the amazing views than hiking? Make sure to choose an appropriate hike that is best suited for your fitness level and of those in your group. It’s easy to become distracted by the beautiful scenery, so remember to be mindful that you are trekking on uneven ground -- pay attention to where you put your next step to avoid falling, tripping, or twisting your ankle.

If you know you’re going to be participating in challenging and/or new activities this summer, call our clinic at 604-742-0111 to book a chiropractic appointment to make sure your body is in balance before you do. The saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” holds much wisdom. 

If you’ve injured yourself while enjoying the outdoors, don’t just leave it alone and think, “Maybe it’ll just go away.” A good rule of thumb is if pain lasts longer than two or three days, this means you’ve probably injured something. Make an appointment to get it treated right away. The sooner, the better.
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Take extra care during the summer months, enjoying the great outdoors. And be sure to make good choices -- you don’t want to ruin the rest of your summer with an injury that could have been avoided.

Often, when we bring understanding to the pain we are feeling, this alone can make it easier to handle.  When we understand how stress and tension from life can result in stress and tension in the body, there is an answer where before there was just a question.  

That’s why at Back2Health the mind-body connection is such an important part of our treatment plans to alleviate the pain that’s preventing you from living your best life. We bring understanding, then realign your nervous system and spine through key modalities to relieve the tension, pressure and imbalance you feel in your body:

1. Our Chiropractic care releases joint tension and restores mobility and function
2. Our Trigenics practice releases muscle tension and improves strength and flexibility
3. Our Deep Tissue Laser Therapy releases swelling and sensitivity, reduces pain and accelerates healing.

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Book with Back2Health Chiropractic and Laser Therapy

As the rainy season fades away, warmer weather and sunny days have arrived, and so have the cherry blossoms! Here in Vancouver, we are rewarded with the beautiful sights of pink and white blooms from the bursting cherry trees all around our city. As you walk amongst the blossoms enjoying the sights and smells, it may inspire you to spend more time outside and do a bit of gardening.

Gardening can be a very satisfying activity and is a great form of exercise. While you are outside planting bulbs, pulling weeds, and mowing the lawn, it is important to remember to pay attention to your joints and muscles as this hobby comes with increased risk of aches and pains if your body is not ready for this activity. We have put together 10 tips to help you get the most out of gardening, while keeping your body safe from injury. 

1. Warm Up
In our previous blog post, we discussed the importance of warming up before exercising. Like any other exercise, gardening requires preparing your body by raising your body temperature and increasing blood flow to your muscles. While gardening, here are some important muscle groups to focus on:

• Back
• Upper legs
• Shoulders
• Wrists

​2. Breathe
While your hands are hard at work, take in some deep breaths to provide energy to your muscles.
 
3. Avoid Carrying Heavy Items
Carrying large bags of mulch or soil and heavy pots should be avoided. Consider using a wheeled cart or wheelbarrows to transfer heavy items from one end of the garden to the other. When lifting the items onto the cart remember to lift with your legs, making sure to bend at the knees or ask a friend or family member to help move heavy items.

​4. Use the Right Tools
Consider using tools with good grips and cushioning and ensure they are the right size to avoid fatigue or injury. Ensuring you are using the right tools will prevent from straining.
 
5. Avoid Bending
While pulling weeds or planting, instead of bending try kneeling and using knee pads or a stool to make the process easier on your body.
 
​6. Vary Your Tasks
To ensure you are not holding the same position for long periods of time, change your tasks.
 
7. Take Breaks
It is easy to lose track of time when you are so focused at the task at hand, but it is important to listen to your body’s cues. Take frequent breaks to give your joints and muscles time to rest. Set a timer for every 20 minutes to help yourself remember to take those breaks by standing up, stretching, and walking around to avoid overdoing it.
 
8. Drink Water
When you are physically active your body sweats as it tries to return to its optimal temperature. As sweat evaporates from your skin, it removes heat from the body, but you also lose body fluid and drinking water will help replace the fluids you lose when you sweat. This will help reduce the risk of heat stress and sustain normal body function.
 
9. Wear Sun Protection
The effects of harmful UV rays can be considerable, so it is important to remember to protect yourself from the sun. Consider wearing a hat with a wide brim and apply sunscreen.
 
10. Listen to Your Body
If your body is sending you messages through subtle aches and pains, do not push through and ignore it. Listen to your body and take a break, change positions, or change your task.
 
While you are outside enjoying the outdoors and helping your garden flourish, remember to be aware of your posture. If you feel muscle aches and pains after your time spent in the garden, call our clinic at 604-742-0111 to book a chiropractic appointment and/or laser therapy session.
 
To help you return to optimal health, we are offering you 50% off your first chiropractic appointment with Dr. Guenette and/or laser therapy session! This offer is valid until May 31, 2021. When you call to book your appointment, just mention that you found this promotion on our blog. 

If you already have aches and pains from working at home (or even in the office) then you may already be suffering from a musculoskeletal injury. If that is the case then it is recommended you meet with your Chiropractor who can treat the source of the issue, correct your posture and demonstrate proper alignment while sitting for extended periods at home. 

​Other therapies a chiropractor may recommend to treat your aches and pains from work injuries include:

• Pressure Point Massage: Traditional Chinese Medicine discovered that the human body has an interconnected web of energy that connects the different areas of your body. When you apply pressure to one area, a totally separate area of the body might also find relief.
  
  For example: there is a pressure point in the web between your thumb and first finger that when pressure is applied there, you may experience relief from shoulder pain. For lower back pain from sitting at your home office desk all day, related pressure points can be found on your waist and midway up your calf muscle. 

 

• Trigenics: In this new neuromuscular technique, the therapist uses an advanced muscle testing technique to locate areas of neuromuscular weakness or imbalance in your body. A combination of muscle manipulations and focused breathing and movements can be used to help restore the energetic balance in your body. It’s often recommended to help enhance the work of your chiropractor.
  
  Not only can this therapy help you heal from typical desk-worker injury and strain, but it can also help give you a much-needed boost of energy too!
• Laser Therapy: Sometimes the pain goes deeper than massage can reach. This is when we might recommend laser therapy. It allows us to reach inflamed tissues deeper under your skin so you can get relief from pain in your shoulder, elbows, joints, neck, or upper back.
  
  
  
• Acupuncture: Some work-from-home aches and pains can be corrected through Acupuncture. In this ancient Chinese practice, fine needles are placed in your skin at specific points to bring relief through realigning your “qi” (or your life spirit). It’s also an effective therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome.

If you still have pain, or low energy after working at a desk all day, then book your first appointment with any one of our practitioners to get a personalized assessment from Back 2 Health Chiropractic and Laser Clinic. We offer several different therapies that can bring you relief and get you back to work without back and neck pain. ​

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to treating pain in your body. Often, an integrated approach using some of the therapies mentioned in this article will provide you with the best results. Back2Health Chiropractic and Laser Clinic can create a customized treatment plan for you that will maximize the synergistic effects of each of these therapies. 

Your first step to living a pain-free life is to want it! What is your motivation for wanting to improve your life this year? 

• Is it so you can play with your kids again without wincing in pain? 

 

• Is it so you can get back doing your favourite sports or outdoor activities? 

 

• Is it so you can carry out your everyday tasks without fear of discomfort slowing you down?

Consider your “why” for wanting to get rid of your pain, then come discuss it with our integrative healthcare team. We’ll review your health history and assess your body to determine a treatment plan that is realistic to help you achieve your goals this year.

Your plan may include chiropractic, laser therapy, and/or acupuncture. Book your assessment today and let’s help you live a pain-free life in 2021!

Have you ever had an injury that seemed to take forever to heal? If administered as soon as possible after an initial injury (assuming there are no other medical complications from the injury), laser therapy can shorten your healing time. When you can manage inflammation, you can accelerate your healing process. ​

If you’ve been living with chronic pain and inflammation as a daily discomfort for some time now,  then laser therapy can actually give you some relief from your chronic pains. It promotes better circulation to damaged tissues and is a powerful treatment option when you want or need to avoid pharmaceutical medications. ​

Remember the last time you went for a long run or overexerted yourself too much at the gym and were sore and achy the next day? This is known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). If you’re in professional sports, or even just want a good workout without the debilitating muscle pain post-exercise, then laser therapy after your physical activity can help minimize that soreness. ​

Most runners at one point or another will experience plantar fasciitis -- heel pain caused by inflammation, irritation, or tearing of the plantar fascia, a collection of soft tissues that run along the bottom of the feet.

This foot pain in runners comes from:

• Long periods on your feet, whether at work or running.
• Unsupportive, ill-fitting, or worn out footwear.
• Having feet that roll in (over-pronate) excessively when you walk or run.
• Tight calf muscles or stiff Achilles tendons.

​Symptoms include sharp, stabbing pain at the bottom of your feet when you wake up and take your first few steps. The pain usually improves as you get moving throughout the day, but can worsen after more intense physical activity like climbing stairs or going on runs.

There are a number of things runners can do to avoid these injuries (or prevent them from reoccurring). The best preventative tips may include:

• Purchasing high quality shoes.
• Using protective gear such as knee or ankle braces (especially to prevent re-injury).
• Running on smooth, flat surfaces.
• Easing into new workout routines and gradually adding more distance or greater intensity to the training sessions.
• Stretching the most important running muscles before and after training sessions.
• Regular foam rolling of tight, sore muscles.

In addition, runners wanting to avoid injuries should consider chiropractic care as a viable option for injury prevention. Chiropractors assess your body for imbalances, and use treatment methods that can help to accelerate the rehabilitation of the injuries mentioned above.​

​Regularly visiting a chiropractor can assist you in three important ways: ​