How-To Guide for Self Care

We’ve all heard the elusive phrase, “take care of yourself” before. It’s the maddening statement that people often direct towards moms, that implies the simplicity is obvious. We know to put our own oxygen masks on before helping others when on the plane. We know that it’s “difficult to pour from an empty glass”. We also know that like many pieces of legitimate advice, it’s so much easier said than done.

As a chiropractor, I work with people daily to try and help give tangible support to reach this goal. Chiropractors are known to encourage people to take care of themselves.  The question is HOW?

Other than getting regular chiropractic care and massage therapy to ensure that your body is in good working condition, here are five key steps to taking care of yourself at home.

1. Get adequate sleep - most people need between 6-9 hours of sleep per night. People try to function on 3-4 hours of sleep, but this inhibits tissue repair and depletes the immune system among other things.

2. Stay active - take a walk instead of a drive to the mail box, or park further away from stores to get a few dozen extra steps in. Build in activities that get you out in the sun for 15-30 minutes minimum per day. Both vitamin D and exercise help to improve your mood.

3. Eat good food/take your vitamins- Nutrients, whether in food, liquid or powder/pill form, are the building blocks for your body. These essential vitamins, minerals and supplements are necessary to support your immune system during times of stress.

4. Eat enough of the right food –It’s important to make sure that your caloric intake is sufficient to support your activity levels. Eating a good breakfast, high in good fats and protein is important to set yourself up for the day. Getting cravings, feeling famished or finding reduced energy levels, are all signs that you are either not getting the right food or the right amount.

5. Take time to smell the roses – Even if the roses are just a scented candle, take a moment. Just a moment. For you. When you are stressed out, your body is in fight or flight mode and this has many negative health side effects. Stress can lead to high blood pressure, headaches, muscles tightness and pain, stomach upset, fatigue, chest pain, sleep problems and much more. Find out what helps you cope with your stress and stay loyal to making sure that you stay a priority. Spending time in nature, relaxed conversation, massage, chiropractic care, meditation and down-time can all help reduce that stress.

Do what you can to resolve the situation, set a timeline or accomplish what can be done today and make a to-do list for what is waiting for tomorrow. And don’t forget to breathe.

Get (The Whole Family) Moving!

Kids are generally very active from birth as their bodies and minds are rapidly growing and developing. They struggle to learn to crawl then walk then run in the first year of their lives. They love to explore, play and build things in their toddler years, while their brain and nervous system further develops. The development and learning abilities of a young child are endless and vigorous physical activity fuels this development.

Young children in our western society have so much electronic influence that at a very young age, media such as video games, television, handheld electronics and other things take the place of physical activity. Studies have shown that kids of 3-4 years of age get 84% of their recommended physical activity. This number drops dramatically to only 7% for the age group between 5 and 11 years old then drops even lower to only 4% for 12 to 17 year olds. This results in child obesity and health problems for children due to a lack of activity and exercise. It is recommended that children get 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, while teens should be getting an hour per day.

It is no surprise that this trend is following kids right into adulthood. Adults are recommended to get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week and currently only 15% of the population reach this minimum standard. This can lead to significant health issues, such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, loss of bone density, and colon cancer. We want the best for our kids and the best way to help with their success in the future is to start now.

Make a commitment as parents to reduce the screen time of your kids. Find physical activities that your kids enjoy doing or chores that need to get done. This could include a wide range of activities ranging from walking, soccer, bike rides, skateboarding, bowling, swimming, skiing, skating, hockey, dancing, hiking, mountain climbing, baseball, playing at the park, weight training, vacuuming, washing the floor, washing the car and the list goes on. 

Keep your kids active and in shape. Maintaining the proper alignment of their spine is important as well to ensure maximum enjoyment of their physical activities. Call us today to keep your kids on the path to great health.

Five Stretches to Get Yourself Moving in the Office

Stretching is beneficial to keep your muscles moving throughout the day. Many of us have office jobs and find ourselves sitting from 8-10 hours per day at work. This can cause muscle tightness and joint stiffness. In addition to seeing your massage therapist and chiropractor, here are some great stretches that you can do at your desk to keep yourself moving throughout the day!
 

1. Neck and Shoulders.

Hunching over keyboards strains the neck and causes our shoulders to drift up and forward. Every 45 minutes to an hour, give yourself a 30 second break, stretch both arms out, thumbs up, and tilt your head from side to side slowly. This pulls the shoulders back in a nice stretch and gives your neck a break from that forward pull.

2. Hip Flexors & Iliopsoas.

If you are spending the majority of your day sitting, these muscles are at risk of tightening up and causing pain. An easy way to get these muscles moving again is to take periodic breaks, by standing! While standing, doing very gentle lunges next to your desk or down the hallway can get these muscles moving again.

3. Abdominals & Obliques.

These muscles also tighten up if you spend the majority of your day sitting. Reach your arms above you and lean slightly back so your chest and throat point towards the sky. If you have difficulty balancing, keep your gaze forward or down to the floor. Tilt slightly to the right and slightly to the left to get more of a stretch in the oblique muscles. Hold this stretch for about 15 seconds and you’ll notice a change in the stomach muscles. Make sure you keep breathing!

4. Lower Back & Lats.

Sitting for too long rounds out your spine in the low back, which can cause muscle tightness and joint strain. The muscles surrounding the lumbar spine get particularly weak while the hamstrings can go slack. While sitting at your desk, give yourself a little bit of room from the edge of the desk and then reach forward and slightly to the side. Repeat on the other side. This gentle stretch can relax those muscles that have been overworked throughout the day.

5. Whole Back/Spine, Glutes & Hamstrings.

Even if you are sitting the whole day, a nice stretch to do while at your desk is the Figure 4 stretch. Bend one knee and lay your ankle over your opposite knee. Sit up straight and very gently lean forward. You should feel a nice stretch in your low back and glutes. Hold for about 15 seconds and then switch sides. This can help loosen up muscles that have tightened up during the day.

Are My Kids Healthy?

 

A common question I get in my office is “are my kids healthy?” This is an incredibly important, yet loaded question. Every parent wants their child to have the best shot at life and health, as we know, is critical. The measure of health is different for everyone, but professionally and personally I believe that health is not merely the absence of disease.

Setting up your kids, your teens and yourself towards health means more than simply treating symptoms and conditions. Instead, we aim for health. Recently however, I have seen an influx of unhealthy kids, most frequently teenagers. Whether it be from lack of exercise, poor diet or simply excessive stress levels, teenagers tend to be the worst perpetrators when it comes to unhealthy behaviours.

So what do we do?

We watch our babies, toddlers and young children closely to make sure they are getting play time, exercise, and proper nutrition. We often tend to take a more hands off approach as the kids approach teen years because this can lead to lessons in both independence and responsibility.  However, we can’t just expect them to intuitively know what good choices really are. Even though a 15-year old can make their own lunch, are they packing the right food? Even though your 16-year old can drive themselves to soccer practice, are they getting enough daily exercise? In order to confidently answer these questions, we have to make sure they have the right information and be led by a positive example.

Nutrition, exercise and stress are the three indicators of health that we are considering today. Understanding that starting to teach kids these values as young as possible

Teaching kids and teens proper nutrition is incredibly difficult. Teens will often look for easy access food, usually in the form of high processed junk food and sugar. This includes fast food, pop, chips, chocolate bars, candy,  and energy drinks. (See my post here on the dangers of energy drinks for teens http://drmarleelameris.blogspot.ca/2014/09/truth-behind-energy-drinks.html ). These foods are not only bad for digestion, cellular repair and neurological development, they can even stress the immune system. The kids need less sugary, caffeinated drinks and instead need to increase their intake of water. Coupled with lack of sleep, high levels of stress, rapid growth spurts and drastic hormonal changes, improper nutrition can lead to unhealthy kids.

Exercise is another hard fought battle amongst teenagers in particular. Regular exercise and movement is crucial for cardiac function, motor skills training and neurological development. It is recommended that kids get 30 minutes of exercise daily and teenagers get one hour of moderate exercise daily. This pales in comparison to how much activity our kids are actually getting, particularly if the students aren’t in sports or don’t participate in gym class. Paired with the increasing number of screen time hours and poor nutrition, a lack of exercise is the leading cause of obesity and unhealthy behaviours in our kids. We also need to lead by example though. We need to not only encourage this positive behaviour but participate as well.

Stress is the third unhealthy behaviour that is rampant among kids and teenagers. With increased levels of anxiety and depression amongst kids nowadays, teaching stress relief and coping mechanisms are more crucial than ever. We need to empower our kids, particularly our teens, to take responsibility for their stress levels and to come up with healthy coping mechanisms. Whether it be exercise, meditation, talk therapy, massage, deep breathing or even just taking a break, dealing with stress in a healthy manner is a crucial life skill to teach our teens. This also prevents the inclination to turn towards more dangerous, unhealthy behaviours, such as drinking or drugs, to deal with situations. Also, proper sleep and limited screen time will help reduce the physical and mental stress that tends to plague kids nowadays.

Teenagers need our guidance and support even more at this stage in development. By teaching and enforcing positive habits and behaviours, we are able to set up our kids for the best possible future, in which they play an active role in positive decision making. 

The Importance of Crawling

Babies learn to move around and investigate their environment as part of their natural developmental process. Natural curiosity and a need to explore will result in more effective ways of getting around. At about 6 to 8 months a baby will learn to balance on their hands and knees and will gradually learn how to move forwards and backwards by pushing off with their hands and knees. Crawling usually happens at around 9 or 10 months, but some babies never crawl and find other methods to move around such as bottom shuffling or sliding on their tummies. Although this looks really cute, it is not good for their development.

As a baby crawls he is learning to move around the environment on his own and therefore has a sense of independence. The baby can decide where he goes and he will start to develop decision-making skills based on movement, which include motor planning. His muscles are being strengthened in preparation for walking and he is using the limbs on either side of the body to develop bilateral co-ordination. Crawling is seen as an important developmental milestone in terms of brain development.

Crawling has many benefits, as it is part of the natural developmental progress to standing, walking and running. A baby needs to learn to lift its body off the floor whilst on all fours and maintain that position. Most babies who have had plenty of tummy time will find crawling to be a natural progression because they are used to being on their tummy and have pushed up with their arms may times in preparation for movement. This helps to align the spine and develop the muscles of the back, hips and shoulder girdle in preparation for standing. 

 

Crawling is also beneficial for social, emotional, motor, cognitive, and sensory factors. Crawling helps to develop balance, strengthen muscle tone and develop eye-hand co-ordination. This is necessary for future reading writing and physical activities. Bilateral integration is improved through crawling as both hands, legs, eyes and ears are required to work in synchronization, increasing left and right brain co-ordination. The crawling movement is repetitive and this stimulates brain activity to develop cognitive processes such as concentration, memory, comprehension and attention. 

   

Crawling stimulates the inner ear of the vestibular system whilst the baby moves forwards (or backwards) and moves his head. This will help improve balance. Crawling will also give the baby sensory stimulation through his hands and knees as he weight bears through them. This is essential for gross and fine muscle development.

 

Not all movement 'styles' or variations on crawling give the same developmental benefits as the 'traditional' cross crawl movement pattern. Normal crawling uses both arms and legs alternatively to move in a forward direction. This is essential for the proper neurological development of the child and needs to be encouraged.  There may be underlying physical or neurological reasons why a baby will not be able to crawl “properly”, or it may simply be due to environmental or motivational factors.

Overall, crawling helps with physical development of gross and fine motor skills, balance and hand-eye coordination. It also helps the child develop spatial understanding, binocular vision and left and right brain coordination. Additionally, it can also help with self-confidence and decision-making skills, which are crucial for a developing child. 

   

How To Check Your Child’s Posture

Checking your child’s posture is one of the simplest, yet most important things you as a parent can do to ensure the present and future health of your children. This is an easy assessment that you can do on your child.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to check your child’s posture:

1.     Get your child to stand and face you, get them to close their eyes and walk in place then stop, shake their arms and open their eyes looking straight ahead at you.

2.     Look at their hips- are they directly over the middle of their feet? Are their feet both equally pointing forward or toeing in or toeing out? Are the hips rotated to the right? To the left? Are they tipping to one side?

3.     Look at their chest- is it straight over the middle of the pelvis (hips)

4.     Now look at the shoulders, is one lower than the other? Are they hunched forward? Does one arm hang lower?

5.     Finally, look at their head.  Draw a mental line from the midpoint between the eyes to the center of the upper lip. Is it straight up and down or tilted? Is the head tilted to one side or the other? Is the face rotated to the left or right? Does one eye look lower than the other?

6.     Ask your child to turn around so that you can see their spine- is it straight? Is there a sideways curve to one side or the other? Is one hip higher than the other; is the pelvis twisted or twisted in any direction?

7.     Now ask your child to turn so their side is facing you. Are the ear, shoulder and hip in a straight line to the ground? Is the head forward, or buttocks out backward?

8.     There are three spinal curves when looking from the side. Is there a very deep curve in the lower back (aka sway back)? Does the abdomen protrude? Does the top of the pelvis look like it’s rocked forward? Is the middle and upper back excessively rounded, or very flat? Are the shoulders rounded or hunched? Does the head appear too far forward on their shoulders? Does the curve in the neck appear nonexistent, or excessive?

Whether the poor posture comes from excessive screen time, heavy backpacks, sitting in school all day, lack of activity, pain or weak core muscles, something needs to be done to correct it.

Chiropractors that see many children can examine your child’s posture as well as use several posture analysis tools to determine what is happening with your child. If you performed this postural analysis on your child and found one or more issues, it is recommended that you get your child checked out at the chiropractor.

Chiropractic care can help with a multitude of postural issues and can prevent issues from happening in the future. Call and book an assessment today!

Chiropractic and Sleep Issues

Sleep problems can be defined in 3 different ways:  insomnia, disturbed sleep, and restless sleep.  Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep.  Disturbed sleep is the inability to stay asleep for a full night’s rest.  Restless sleep is when you can fall asleep and stay asleep, but the quality of sleep isn't good.  The end result of any of these types of sleep problems is that you wake up tired, or even exhausted.

 

Poor sleep, especially if it’s chronic can manifest in many ways:

• slower healing from injuries or disease
• inefficient or ineffective functioning throughout the day
• impaired social relations
• increased pain sensitivity
• weakened immunity
• reduced mental acuity; poor memory
• irrational logic or behavior
• clumsiness, poorer coordination
• irritability and hypersensitivity

Sleep issues rarely occur independently as they are usually secondary to other, perhaps greater, issues.  Sleep issues can have physical, mental or chemical causes.  The causes can also be subdivided into external or internal factors.

Physical causes of sleep problems are those that affect the body in terms of discomfort or pain. 

Physical Causes- External:

• poor sleeping conditions (bed, pillow)
• irritating lights, noises, odours
• bedmates moving around

 

Physical Causes- Internal:

• pain inside the body (backache, shoulder pain)
• organ dysfunction (waking to urinate, sleep apnea)

When your mind can’t relax enough to fall asleep or to get enough deep sleep, this is characterized as a mental cause of sleep problems.

Mental Causes- External:

• disturbed body clock from shift work, irregular sleep schedules
• ignoring sleep cues by watching TV, using the computer, etc

Mental Causes- Internal:

• stress, worry, thinking too much
• over excitement, over fatigue
• depression, mental disorders
• dreaming too much, or nightmares

Sometimes the hardest causes to pinpoint are those that are chemical in nature. 

Chemical Causes- External:

• medications and foods, stimulants
• chemical irritants, off-gassing

Chemical Causes- Internal:

• chemical imbalance from hormonal changes, disease processes

When it comes to sleep issues, chiropractors can help in a multitude of ways. We listen to patients to see if the case history can uncover the underlying cause of the sleep issues, and whether it is physical, mental or chemical.  If there are simple changes a patient can do to discontinue the cause of the sleep issues, we will bring these up.  Most commonly it is addressing habits like sleep routines, sleep location, diet, and exercise.

Then we would perform a chiropractic examination and perform spinal adjustments if necessary. Some of these stressors can become embedded in the spine and create problems in the body’s ability to take care of itself.  These problems can manifest as pain, dysfunction, tightness, hypersensitivity and impaired healing.  The goal of chiropractic adjustments is to help the body function the best it can, to improve the internal condition of the body, and to improve the resilience of the body (and mind) to external stressors. Some patients need to consult with other health professionals to overcome or manage challenges affecting their sleep, such as acupuncturists, counsellors, medical doctors, or massage therapists.  Other patients need the support of family, friends, or social services.

For those who are suffering from sleep problems, there is hope.  It may take more than one type of health professional to get to the root of the problem and change it, and it may take some time and effort, but better sleep is possible.  If what you've tried isn't helping, be open to other options out there.