Returning To A Normal Life

 

For many of us, the past few months have been spent in the comfort of our homes. Away from work, friends and family, at a much slower pace than before. But, with restrictions beginning to tentatively lift, some people may be feeling a little anxious about returning to normal life.

Lockdown has been difficult on our bodies, both physically and mentally. That's why at Family First Chiropractic, are doing everything possible to support people who are struggling. This is the time to focus on our health and come out of lockdown fitter than before. Here are some tips on how to navigate through this season of change:

Maintain new-found good habits

We all had the opportunity to break the cycle, adopt new habits, behaviors, learn a new skill or take up a hobby during lockdown. As we start to return to normal, life will get busy again. Then again taking care of your health is usually the bottom of the priority list. Lets try to maintain some of the positive habits from lockdown, whether that's exercising or cooking healthy meals at home, keep your health priority, and you will reap the rewards in the long-term. 

Listening to and honoring your body

Prioritize what's best for your body. Embrace rest days and gentle movement. Keep going on walks, take breaks from work to stretch for 10 minutes and try to end most nights with a gentle yoga flow. It's important to listen to your body and give it what it needs. Your body will thank you for it, especially when the world returns to its usual hustle and bustle. 

Meeting family and friends

Meeting loved ones we haven’t seen for weeks, except virtually, is likely to be the first thing many of us will want to do. Make the most of this opportunity to spend more time than ever with friends and family, and value it. Continue to love, appreciate and embrace the great outdoors, meet up for walks and bike rides.

Getting life back on track

Getting our lives back on track after lockdown will be both exciting and daunting for many of us. While we will find ourselves needing to embrace new ways of living and working, it’s important to stay positive and view the lifting of lockdown as one step on the road back to how we wish to live.

Remember, for you to be your best self with your family, friends and work during a time like this, you need to take care of number one. It's difficult to embrace lockdown restrictions being lifted if you are tired, in pain or unable to focus. 

At Family First our aim is to make a meaningful and lasting impact on your health and quality of life by relieving you of pain and enabling you to live your life to it’s fullest. We believe in natural healing and the body's ability to heal itself. By gently realigning your spine over time and thereby reconnecting and maintaining the integrity of your nervous system, healing takes place. 

Our goal is to get you feeling and moving better as quickly as possible, by fixing whatever is causing your pain, so that you can get back to doing the things you want or need to do.

Relieve pain. Live life to the full. 

Dr. Elton Clemence is a Chiropractor at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, located at 142 Erickson Dr, Red Deer AB. www.family1stchiro.ca 403-3473261 to book an appointment.

Heat vs. Ice

 

Heat vs. ice: which works best for treating injuries?

Heat vs. Ice … It may sound like the title of an upcoming blockbuster movie, but it’s a question most active people have mulled over during their life after they’ve sustained an injury. Like most dilemmas, there isn’t really an easy answer to this question. Whether to treat an injury with a hot pad or an ice pack depends largely on the situation.
 

Ice

How cooling an injury works

Applying ice or a cold pack works by reducing blood flow and pain sensation to a particular area. Cooling an injured area, especially a tendon or joint, can reduce inflammation and swelling that causes pain.

When is it best to apply ice to my injury?

Ice is meant to calm down damaged surface tissues that are inflamed, red, hot and swollen. Think of icing as a way to simply dull the pain, and reduce inflammation, nothing more or nothing less. Ice therapy is most beneficial in the first 24-72 hours of sustaining an injury.

After you’ve sustained your injury, you should aim to apply ice to the inflamed area as soon as possible.

Use cold therapy for short periods of time, several times a day.

It’s important not to treat an area with ice for too long. Ten to fifteen minutes is fine, but no more than 20 minutes of cold therapy should be used at a time.

Also, don’t cool an area to the point where you are shivering. If you are already shivering, you should discontinue applying ice until you warm up. The brain interprets an excess of cold as a threat and when the brain thinks there’s something wrong going on it may actually amp up your area of pain as a defense mechanism.
 

How to apply cooling therapy

Before you apply ice or a cooling pack to the injured area, always make sure there is some sort of barrier between the ice and your skin. Whether it be a Ziploc bag or a washcloth, it’s imperative that the barrier exists. Applying ice directly on the skin can cause damage to the skin and tissues. 

Heat

How applying heat to an injury works

Heat therapy works by improving circulation and blood flow to a particular area. Heating an affected area can soothe discomfort, increase muscle flexibility and help heal damaged tissue.

When is it best to apply heat to my injury?

Heat therapy is most effective for sore muscles, chronic pain and repetitive stress injuries. A comfortable, not scalding, heat can take the edge off symptoms like muscle aching and stiffness.  Heat can be most beneficial 36-72 hours after the injury is sustained.

How to apply heat therapy

When applying heat therapy to a small, afflicted area you could use small heated gel packs or a hot water bottle.

There are certain cases where heat therapy should not be used. If the area is bruised or swollen, it may be better to use an ice pack. Heat therapy also shouldn’t be applied to an area with an open wound.

Heat therapy, unlike cold therapy, is most beneficial when used for long periods of time.

Minor stiffness can benefit with only 15 to 20 minutes of heat therapy. Moderate to severe pain can benefit from longer sessions of heat therapy lasting between 30 minutes and two hours.

Common Myths About Chiropractic Treatment.

 Common Myths About Chiropractic Treatment:

Many Canadians have questions about the role that chiropractors play in the healthcare team, and what benefits chiropractic care has on their health. We will go through some common myths in this regard.

1. Once you see a chiropractor you have to keep going back This is false. When seeking care from a chiropractor, we will perform an assessment including a history and physical examination to determine the cause of the pain or dysfunction. From these observations, a diagnosis will be made and the treatment plan developed in collaboration with the patient – according to their needs and goals. The treatment plan will recommend a number of initial visits to remedy the patient’s symptoms/ pain and scheduled re-evaluations as necessary.. Depending on the patient and the condition, the recommended course of care may vary. Ultimately, the decision to continue care is yours. As a patient, if you have questions or concerns about care, you should feel comfortable to ask the chiropractor for more information on the recommendations made and address any concerns. The care plan should be part of a shared decision-making between the patient and practitioner.

2. Chiropractors are not ‘real’ doctors

Chiropractors are regulated in all 10 Canadian provinces, and are designated to use the title “doctor” similar to physicians, optometrists and dentists after completing the extensive Doctor of Chiropractic degree program. Those professions who are recognized to use the “doctor” title have extensive training in their area of expertise that allows them to be diagnosticians – to provide a diagnosis.

3. A medical doctor must refer you to a chiropractor In all provinces in Canada, chiropractors are primary contact providers, which means you can access them directly. Due to the extensive training of chiropractors as diagnosticians, chiropractors will perform a comprehensive assessment to help determine a diagnosis or clinical impressions. Depending on the outcome, the chiropractor can discuss a course of care or refer to another healthcare professional, as needed.

4. There is no evidence to support the effectiveness of chiropractic care Chiropractic treatment is at times questioned on its effectiveness. Yet, the chiropractic profession and others have invested significant resources to build a robust body of evidence studying the impact of manual therapies on musculoskeletal conditions. Spinal and joint manipulation has been shown to be effective treatment for acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, like back pain. In fact, spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is recommended as first line intervention for back pain in numerous clinical practice guidelines including the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force,, the American College of Physicians and American Pain Society, as well as Britain’s National Institute of Health and Care Excellence. Utilizing chiropractic treatment as opposed to medications like opioids for pain can be beneficial.

5. Chiropractors can only treat back pain Chiropractors are musculoskeletal experts and are trained in assessing, diagnosing, treating and preventing biomechanical disorders that originate from the muscular, skeletal and nervous system. In addition to the evidence that supports chiropractic care in managing musculoskeletal complaints of the spine, there is also evidence that it supports chiropractic management of the extremities, headaches and even TMJ pain. Chiropractors are also able to provide lifestyle counselling about nutrition, fitness and ergonomics among others that may be useful in managing or preventing a variety of health conditions. The health of your musculoskeletal system doesn’t just start with a healthy spine, you need to be fully aware of your health to maintain a well-rounded healthy lifestyle!

6. Adjustments are painful

In general, adjustments or joint manipulations do not hurt. In fact, many patients report immediate pain relief after chiropractic treatment.. Patients may be nervous about the ‘cracking’ or popping sound that may occur during an adjustment. The sound results from the release of gas from the joint – this is a normal part of the adjustment and is perfectly safe.

Asking questions about your health and treatment options is very important. You are a partner in your care and your participation is critical to helping us provide the best care to meet your health goals.

If someone you know needs chiropractic care for pain relief or just to function better, pass this along to them.

Don’t put things off until they worsen. Take care of your body now and discover how chiropractic can help you.

Dr. Stephen Kelly

Family First Chiropractic 403-347-3261

Cupping Therapy

                Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine. It has been used all the way back to when the natives used the horns from the animals they hunted and use it on their own injuries with the use of the flame and pull out the toxins and eliminate pain. Now a days what a therapist would use are silicon cups and still give the same effect.

                What's nice about the silicon is that they come in a variety of sizes and provide an opposite stimulation than a typical massage. As opposed to the"pushing' down of the muscle, Cupping actually does the opposite. It is lifting up the muscle and connective tissue, fascia that surrounds the muscle. A therapist can move the cups around enhancing circulation, relieve congestion with someone suffering from colds, relieve pain and pulls out toxins that linger in your body's tissues. They do leave markings on the body but only last up to 6 days or so. Cupping is safe and has been very helpful with better range of motion in the joints and proper alignment to the body. Try cupping today!

Guy Lacoursiere, RMT, offers Cupping Therapy at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, located at 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer. Call 403-347-3261 to book your Cupping therapy today!

Arthritis and Joint Pain

350 million people worldwide are affected by arthritis. Painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints are common side effects. Arthritis can affects both young and elderly people. The most common form, osteoarthritis also known as degenerative joint disease. Osteoarthritis is usually caused by repetitive joint trauma and more common in the elderly. Other forms such as Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis are a form of an autoimmune disease found in the younger population ranging from 30-60yrs of age.

How can you manage arthritis?

 

Weight bearing exercise can help reduce the pain and stiffness of arthritis because it maintains mobility and keeps muscles strong enough to support joints. A balanced diet and a healthy weight are also vital, as well as is learning proper biomechanics. Helps patients avoid putting too much pressure on them. And when used alongside conventional medicines, complementary therapies such as chiropractic can be enormously beneficial in relieving the pain of arthritis. Whatever type of arthritis you're dealing with, you might well be relying on pain relief medication to function from day to day. But long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs) are worth noting. Studies show side effects can range from Kidney damage, Liver damage and heart disease.

 

Chiropractic: holistic pain relief

 

     With regular Chiropractic treatment, you can take the edge off your pain, and increase mobility making life more manageability. Increased joint mobility, enables patients to enjoy their favourite activities with less restriction. In fact, according to William Lauretti, DC, professor at New York Chiropractic College, chiropractic patients with arthritis often improve without the need for pain medications.

One study, conducted in 2013 and published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, the official journal of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International, actually found that 12 chiropractic treatments in combination with a patient education program were more effective for hip osteoarthritis than a daily stretching program or patient education alone. And in 2010, a British analysis of nearly 100 studies found that chiropractic manipulation was helpful for a variety of conditions, including knee osteoarthritis.

How does chiropractic work to ease arthritis?

 

If the structure of a joint is not right, it’s unable to work as it is supposed to. This is where chiropractic shines by maximising the function of an arthritic joint. The resulting in decreased pain and better ability to cope in everyday activities.

At Family First, your chiropractor will take a detailed medical history, including a physical examination of every joint and X-rays if necessary. In this way, we will develop a treatment approach that is specific to your issues, always taking the time and care to listen to your concerns and how your arthritis is affecting your life.

Other treatment protocols such as ultrasound or muscle stim. In addition to chiropractic care can also be used to manage joint inflammation and mobility.

The help of a personalised treatment plan that includes lifestyle changes, you can find freedom from pain and retain more mobility and independence. Elderly people can perform their daily activity, younger people can stay active at work, meet the physical demands of looking after young children, and of course have the energy and ability to enjoy their hobbies.

If you have any questions feel free to email Dr. Elton Clemence at the clinic at www.family1stchiro.ca or call us at 403-3473261 for consultation and to set up a time to have your spine and nervous system checked.