Carpal Tunnel or Pronator Teres Syndrome?

Written By: Dr. Evan Steinke, B.Sc., DC

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a well-known condition that can cause wrist and hand pain. It is notorious for causing pain and/or numbness along with the hand among office workers, gardeners, and anyone performing repetitive tasks. It is caused by the squeezing of the median nerve as it passes through a narrow tunnel at the wrist. However, despite how prevalent CTS is it is not the only location the median nerve can become compressed.

Pronator Teres Syndrome (PTS) is a lesser-known form of median nerve compression and may mimic, and even be misdiagnosed, as CTS. The condition is named after the muscle that causes it, the pronator teres. This is a relatively small forearm muscle located at the inner elbow and is responsible for turning our forearm palm side up (known as pronation). What makes this muscle interesting is that in most people there are two heads to the muscle and the median nerve passes directly between the two. As a result, muscle tension or injury can lead to compression of the median nerve. Compression at the elbow will result in downstream effects such as pain, pins and needles sensation, numbness or muscle weakness in the hand, again mimicking the effects of CTS. Interestingly, around 1 in 7 people are missing the second head of the pronator teres muscle which is thought to reduce the risk of developing this condition.

Patients suffering from PTS may have increased forearm irritation when activating the pronator muscle and may also experience upper forearm pain. However, differentiating the conditions can be nuanced so checking with your doctor and having a detailed physical exam can help differentiate the two. While a physical exam is often sufficient in severe cases your doctor may recommend that additional nerve tests be ordered.

Management of PTS often includes the following:

Muscle release techniques: These techniques aim to help ease pain and release muscle tension to free up the median nerve.

Exercises and Stretches: A variety of programs can be performed at home that aim to improve flexibility and decrease muscle tension.

Activity Modification: Depending on your occupation and home needs your doctor may modify your daily routines and activities to reduce the use and stress on the pronator teres muscle.

Rest: Inflammation and swelling around an injured muscle can add pressure to the nerve. Allowing the muscle to rest and the body to clear the inflammation will aid in recovery.

Ice/heat: In cases of trauma or acute injury, the use of ice and/or heat can help reduce pain and bring blood to the area.

Ultimately both CTS and PTS are caused by the compression of the median nerve just at different locations. A thorough examination is vital in differentiating the two conditions and for appropriate treatment to be applied.

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms be sure to book in at Active Sports Therapy, for a personal assessment and treatment plan. Dr. Evan Steinke, BSc. DC works at AST Westman

Frozen Shoulder Explained

Written By: Dr Evan Steinke, DC

Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is characterized by pain and a progressive loss of motion in your shoulder joint. You may have experienced this as beginning with shoulder pain from an unknown cause that made your sleep difficult and became increasingly painful over the coming weeks. Frozen shoulder is caused by inflammation of the shoulder joint resulting in adhesions and stiffening of the surrounding structures. As a result, the shoulder begins to become painful and lose its mobility. This is more commonly seen in people over the age of 40 and is slightly more common among women with both diabetes and thyroid disease being known risk factors.

Frozen shoulder is known to have a particularly long recovery time without treatment of 18-24 months. Due to the long duration of the condition is often divided into three phases.

Phase 1 – Freezing: Pain in the shoulder as it begins to tighten over several months. It may be particularly noticeable at night and progress to being painful at rest.

Phase 2 – Frozen: The structures around the shoulder are now adhered to each other and mobility is limited in most or all directions, however, pain may begin to diminish in this phase. This phase can last for up to a year.

Phase 3 – Thawing: The structures around the shoulder begin to loosen and allow for a gradual return of shoulder mobility over 6+ months.

Your doctor will be able to determine which phase you are in with a physical examination, there is no need for x-rays or other forms of imaging. Management of frozen shoulder depends on the phase you are currently in but will often include a wide range of physical therapy approaches aiming to improve your range of motion and providing relief. These can include the following:

Muscle release techniques: These techniques aim to help ease pain in the surrounding shoulder muscles and reduce muscle tension to allow for improved movement.

Exercises and Stretches: A variety of programs can be performed at home that aim to improve muscle strength, improve flexibility, and provide improved joint stability.

Mobilization: Working with the shoulder joint directly your therapist will help mobilize the joint to improve range of motion.

Activity Modification: Depending on your specific needs your doctor may also make modifications to your daily routines and activities to ease the load and stress on your shoulder joint.

In severe cases that do not respond to conservative care your therapist will be able to evaluate and direct you for a shoulder injection or discuss other options for your particular situation.

If any of these symptoms sound familiar call Active Sports Therapy at 4032781405 to book your shoulder assessment today.

Active Release Techniques - A Very Successful Type of Hands-On Treatment

By: Active Sports Therapy

ART stands for Active Release Techniques.  It is a highly successful hands-on treatment method that addresses problems in the soft tissues of the body, including the muscles, ligaments, fascia, and nerves.  ART treatment has great success in dealing with soft tissue injuries because it is specifically designed to locate and treat scar tissue adhesions that accumulate in the muscles and surrounding soft tissues.

You can think of an ART treatment as a type of active massage. The practitioner will first shorten the muscle, tendon, or ligament, and then apply a very specific pressure with their hand as you actively stretch and lengthen the tissues.  As the tissue lengthens the practitioner is able to assess the texture and tension of the muscle to determine if the tissue is healthy or contains scar tissue that needs further treatment. When scar tissue adhesions are felt the amount and direction of tension can be modified to treat the problematic area. In this sense, each treatment is also an assessment of the health of the area as we are able to feel specifically where the problem is occurring.

An additional benefit of ART is it allows us to further assess and correct problems not only at the site of pain itself, but also in other areas of the kinetic chain, which are associated with movement compensations and are often contributing factors to the problem. This ensures that all the soft tissues that have become dysfunctional and are contributing to the specific injury are addressed, even if they have not yet all developed pain.

One of the best things about ART is how fast it can get results. In our experience, there are many types of injuries that respond very well to ART treatment, especially when combined with the appropriate home stretching and strengthening exercises. Although each case is unique and there are several factors that will determine the length of time required to fully resolve each condition, we usually find a significant improvement can be gained in just 4-6 treatments.

Here’s a list of common problems that our chiropractors are equipped to treat using Active Release Techniques. You may be surprised to learn that our chiropractors can treat more than just your back!

Achilles Tendonitis, Ankle Injuries,Back Pain / Injuries, Bicipital Tendonitis, Bursitis. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Compartment Syndrome, Foot Pain and Injury, Frozen Shoulder, Gait Imbalances, Golf Injuries, Golfer’s Elbow (Tendonitis), Hand Injuries, Headaches, Hip Pain, Hyperflexion Injuries, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, Impingement Syndrome, Joint Dysfunction, Knee and Leg Pain, Knee Meniscal Injuries, Muscle Pulls or Strains, Muscle Weakness, Myofascitis, Neck Pain, Nerve Entrapment, Syndromes, Repetitive Strain Injuries, Plantar Fasciitis, Post – Surgical, Restrictions, Running Injuries, Rib Pain, Rotator Cuff Syndrome, Shin Splints, Scar Tissue Formation, Sciatica, Swimmer’s Shoulder, Shoulder Pain, Sports Injuries, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Tendonitis / Tendonosis, Tennis Elbow,Weight Lifting Injuries, Throwing Injuries, TMJ, Whiplash.

Book an appointment today with one of our ART trained Chiropractors. 

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  

Injury Prevention During Race Season.

By: Active Sports Therapy

Spring and Summer are a fantastic time to get the competitive juices flowing by signing up for various races and challenges in and around the city. Maybe it’s your first 5k, your second marathon of the summer or a community triathlon, either way, you’ll want to be ready for it.

In addition to the obvious…which is training properly for the event, we’ve compiled a list of a few more things that can help.

Gait Analysis: Have your gait looked at to determine if there are any corrective measures you can take. Orthotics can be a game-changer for many a runner especially if you have excess pronation, suffer from plantar fasciitis or in general, just have poor foot biomechanics.

See a Running Expert: Calgary is home to a very strong running community so you’ll definitely be able to find someone who can analyze your form and help you make injury-preventing corrections. One great example is Solo Sport Systems in Calgary.

Listen to Your Body: Not just in running, but in everyday life. This is advice we always give to our patients for injury prevention. If there’s pain, don’t dismiss it. We recommend you take quick action to nip the problem in the bud by seeing your practitioner as soon as possible before the pain bumps you out of the race completely.

Just RICE it!: Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. As soon as the injury happens RICE it for 10-15 minutes, several times a day. In addition to this, be sure to protect the area with crutches, rest, and avoidance of activities that cause pain in the area.

Stay Positive: Sounds simple enough right? This can be a challenge for many, especially if you've been taken away from an activity that you love. Focus on some brain conditioning during this time to help you achieve the best possible recovery by remaining optimistic and confident in your ability to recover.

See a Chiropractor: A chiropractic adjustment can help ensure there is the proper alignment of your spine and pelvis leading up to the big race. Active Release Therapy can also play a role in loosening up tight muscles by breaking up restrictive adhesions, allowing your movement to be more fluid and pain-free.

Visit an MAT Specialist: MAT stands for Muscle Activation Technique. This technique can assess and correct muscular imbalances, and instability of joints, and help correct any difficulties with a range of motion allowing your muscles to move, fire, and function at their very best.

Book in for Chiropractic, Active Release Therapy, a foot analysis to see if Orthotics are right for you, or MAT right here at Active Sports Therapy.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Top 4 Most Common Golf Injuries

By: Active Sports Therapy

As golfing is a seasonal sport, people often jump into it quickly and with high frequency. Since 18 holes are the most common way to play, overuse injuries can occur. If you develop an injury, it can result in a frustrating experience out on the links as injuries affect your swing, and ultimately, your game.

The most common injuries include:

Golfers Elbow - Will cause pain and inflammation in the tendons that connect the forearm to the elbow. The pain may radiate into the forearm.

Wrist Pain - Can occur and is usually related to the wrist flexor or extensor tendons. Impingement syndrome and tendonitis can also occur.

Shoulder Pain – The lead shoulder is most often the one to be injured in a golfer with the rotator cuff is the most likely to become injured and it is often related to the style and form of the golfer's backswing.

Back Pain- In the upper, mid, or most commonly, the lower back can occur. Golf involves twisting, bending, and reaching down to get the ball out of the cup, all of which can add up to back pain for some.

Tips for Prevention

Swing Mechanics. Even the best golfers are taking 70-90 swings and putts per game. Considering that you can see how easily an overuse injury can occur. Learning proper posture from a golf pro might give you the corrections you need to prevent injury.

Avoid trying to hit the ball too hard. This is common for ‘new golfers’ as they opt for power over the form. Again, a lesson or two might teach you the proper pace required for a mechanically correct swing.

Be sure to use proper mechanics when lifting or carrying your bag, even if it’s just taking them out of the trunk of your car.

Just because golf isn’t a fast, contact sport, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to stretch it out a bit before you play. Stretch your shoulders, chest, triceps, back, and lower body.

Here is a great resource from Golf Digest

How Can your Chiropractor Help with These Injuries?

ART stands for Active Release Techniques.  It is a new and highly successful hands-on treatment method to address problems in the soft tissues of the body, including the muscles, ligaments, fascia, and nerves.  ART treatment is highly successful in dealing with overuse injuries because it is specifically designed to locate and treat scar tissue adhesions that accumulate in the muscles and surrounding soft tissues.

By locating and treating the soft-tissue adhesions with ART, it allows the practitioner to, 1) break up restrictive adhesions, 2) reinstate normal tissue flexibility and movement, and 3) more completely restore flexibility, balance, and stability to the injured area and the entire kinetic chain.

This style of treatment can be applied to all of your common golf injuries. We can also help you to learn how to prevent further damage through exercises and stretches. Our physiotherapy area has specialized equipment to help speed healing with laser therapy and Game Ready ice machines. We can assign the proper stabilizing brace or suggest supplements if needed.

Book in today at www.activesportstherapy.ca and we’ll help you Get Back to Your Game!

Golf

What Is Muscle Activations Technique (M.A.T.)

Written by: Sarah Kuindersma, M.A.T. Specialist

Muscles power everything that we do. From getting out of bed to walking our pets, to doing house chores. All things we want to continue to do even as we age. Our muscle function is impacted by a number of different things. The common denominator is when too much stress is placed, thereby negatively impacting our body’s ability to contract and use our muscles efficiently. Examples: Diseases (ALS), illness. aging, over/underuse, injuries, surgeries, dehydration, etc.

When this communication from the brain to our muscles gets impaired how do we correct it?

This is where Muscle Activation Techniques or M.A.T. comes in.

What are Muscle Activation Techniques?

I prefer to say it in reverse. M.A.T. are techniques used to activate muscles. The key to muscle function is its ability to contract and generate force. If your brain is effectively communicating to all your muscles to do a job the task feels easy.

Picture the last time you moved. Moving a house alone or with a few friends is a daunting task, but if you had 50 movers the task would feel easy. Let’s replace moving a house with moving your body. There are about 600 muscles in the human body, imagine going from 600 workers to 300 workers. Daily tasks would feel daunting. M.A.T. techniques too.

activate muscles do just that, it activates or recruits muscles to perform their specific task making moving your body feel easy.

M.A.T. works in 3 simple steps

Step 1: Assess your current movement, the first step is to assess where the limitations are. M.A.T. practitioners do this by watching you move in a variety of different ways. Making notes of any ranges that seem impaired. 

Step 2: Activating the muscles, when there is a limit in range, it signifies at least one or more muscles that perform that action aren’t receiving the signal from the brain to contract. M.A.T. can restore this communication by manually placing pressure at the muscle attachment sites. The practitioner will repeat this process for every muscle involved with the limited movement pattern. Sometimes specific exercises are given to help coordinate the movement pattern again.

Step 3: Re-evaluate, after working on the muscles, it’s time to go back a re-assess what the limited movement pattern looks like now.

Video explaining what M.A.T. is: https://youtu.be/0-Km1EWiSrw

Who would benefit from M.A.T.?

Our goal is to help you get back to your healthy, active lifestyle while remaining pain-free. The better you move the better you feel.

If you are someone wanting to improve their performance – Not just with sports but this applies to musicians and artists too. No matter what you enjoy doing, if you spend a significant time repeating an action it will have a cost at your body’s expense. You’ll need to restore your muscle function, otherwise, it could lead to imbalances and vulnerability to injuries.

If you are someone wanting to age gracefully and with mobility – I hear this all too commonly, individuals blame their age for how they feel or move or are unable to do (insert comment here, ex. Climb a mountain). The fact our age does have an effect on our bodies, however, we usually are saying it is our age causing our bodies mobility issues, pain and stiffness, with M.A.T. you can build a strong and stable foundation to get you back to what moves you.

If you’re someone who has tried everything – M.A.T. can’t cure everything, but you’ve eliminated a lot of different reasons why your body isn’t working optimally so the chances it’s just a matter of getting the muscles working more efficiently is a lot more likely.

Want to experience how M.A.T. can make a difference in your life?

Call 4032781405 and book with Sarah Kuindersma at Active Sports Therapy today.

https://www.activesportstherapy.ca 

Welcome to March National Nutrition Month!

Written by Kira Greasley: BA, CHNC

As a Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant I believe that every month should be nutrition month. Luckily the month of March provides us greater opportunities to educate people on how life changing eating well can be. It does not need to be expensive or complicated, but if you are struggling with knowing what is best to maintain optimal nutritional health we are here to help!

Nutrition can be a very complex and often polarizing subject, with so much information coming at us daily. However, with knowledge and focused attention, the journey towards better eating can become easier.

Here are 4 reasons as to why eating whole foods is worth the effort:

  1. Food is not only fuel for the body, our body uses food as information that communicates directly to our bodies, brain & DNA.
  2. The food we put in our bodies nurtures our gut bacteria (microbiome), allowing it to do what it  does best, which is keeping our bodies and brains healthy. Did you know that 70% of your immune system resides in your gut microbiome. This gut microbiome is responsible for your metabolism, hormonal systems, brain and levels of inflammation.
  3. Not all inflammation is bad, by nature inflammation is a protective function of our body.  However, troubles occurs when inflammation goes into overdrive and becomes chronic. Chronic inflammation is directly related to a poor diet, poor sleep, lack of exercise and chronic stress. When left unchecked, it begins to damage the body. 
  4. Did you know that sugar feeds inflammation and can decrease our immune system by 60% for up to 5 hours! In addition to sugar, other unnatural food products such as refined carbs, and vegetable oils, contribute to the cells in the body sending out SOS signals and creating free radicals. If these SOS signals and free radicals are left to their own devices, they can kill cells from the inside out. Think of free radicals like a bull in a china shop. 

From just these 4 reasons, we can see that what kind of food we put in our body is critical to our entire body functioning as it was meant to. There are many ways to minimize chronic inflammation by simply making adjustments to one's food choices. If you are interested in learning more, book in with Kira Greasley at Active Sports Therapy today, simply call she will create customized meal plans to help assist you in your journey towards better health. 

“Your fork sets you on a path that leads you to a disease or back to health”

- Dr. David Perlmutter

Follow Active Sports Therapy on Instagram and Facebook throughout the month of March to learn simple and cost effective ways to fuel your body the way it was meant to be fuelled. 

Natural Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Shockwave Therapy - For Fast Pain Relief and Mobility Restoration

Active Sports Therapy is excited to introduce Shockwave therapy. Shockwave has proven to be helpful for many chronic conditions.

Who can benefit from Shockwave therapy?

Patients with chronic pain who have been treated unsuccessfully with other forms of therapy may benefit from Shockwave. Conditions such as shoulder pain, tennis elbow, heel spurs, hip pain, knee pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, calcification, or chronic tendinopathy treated by Shockwave have reported up to an 80% success rate.

What is Shockwave Therapy?

Shockwave therapy produces acoustic waves with high energy peaks that interact with tissue, causing effects such as accelerated tissue repair and cell growth, analgesia or pain relief, and mobility restoration. New blood vessel formation is caused by the therapy through creating capillary micro-ruptures in tendon and bone, thus triggering repair processes. With Shockwave therapy, reversal of chronic inflammation, stimulation of collagen production and the breaking up of calcium build up can be achieved.

Shockwave Therapy FAQ's

Does the treatment hurt?

There might be a slight feeling of discomfort during the treatment, however, treatments are short and last only about five minutes. As well, the intensity of the Shockwave can be adjusted to make the patient more comfortable.

How many treatments will I need?

The number of treatments will vary depending on each person, but the effects of each treatment are cumulative. Most people will not need more that 4-6 treatments per area. Many people will notice an improvement after their first treatment.

How often will the treatments occur?

Most patients will be treated 1 to 2 times per week depending on their response to the treatment and their tolerance for the treatment.

Will there be additional pain after a treatment?

Most patients experience immediate pain relief following a treatment, however within 2-4 hours after the treatment, there may be some soreness in the area.

Are there any restrictions after treatment?

It is recommended that a patient refrain from physical activity, particularly any activity that would heavily rely upon the treated area for 48 hours post each treatment.

Please give us a call at 403-278-1405 or email us at mail@activesportstherapy.ca to book a consult or treatment.

References: BTL's Shockwave Therapy Complete Edition

The Humble Yet Important Wrist.

By Sarah Kuindersma, M.A.T Muscle Activation Techniques, PTS,

Our hands are in high demand and often taken for granted. We type, we text, we lift, and grip throughout the day, without taking a moment to appreciate the humble wrist. This humble wrist makes most of our day-to-day activities possible. It is important that we make sure that our wrists and elbows have adequate strength and mobility, similar to other parts of our bodies such as knees and shoulders. Without this strength and mobility we are vulnerable to stiff wrists or worse nagging pain with simple activities.   

The wrist is an elaborate structure which allows for the broad range of movements it can perform. To avoid pain and recover quickly from a wrist injury, focus on developing strength in your wrists while maintaining excellent range of motion. How does one do this? 

This is where we are here to help, below are a few exercises that can help improve wrist mobility, release tension quickly, and build grip strength to keep your wrists healthy and pain free. 

Wrist Mobility Drills 

The following is an easy 5 minute routine you can do at your desk for your wrist.  

  1. Fist revs: visualize revving your motor bike. Have your elbows bent forearms parallel to the floor. Make a fist, and slowly pull the wrists up hold for a second before curling the wrists down. Perform 8-10 times  
  2. Fist extension to finger extension: start in the same position, with your fists closed, pull the fists up hold while you extend the fingers up to the ceiling, hold for a second make a fist and return the start. Perform 8-10 times  
  3. Wrist Flexion Pulls: Start in the same position, this time have your fingers straight, point your hand to the floor, from here curl your fingers into a fist. Use your opposite hand to gently pull. Hold for 2-3 seconds before releasing and repeating. Perform 4-5 reps/side  
  4. Hammer Curls: Start in the same position, this time turn your wrists made into fists to face each other. Slowly pull the thumbs towards you then push them away. Perform 4-5 reps. After you can then curl the fists in towards each other and then away. Perform 4-5 reps.  
  5. Open Palm Wrist Circles: hold onto one wrist, open your hand and start to make a full circle at the wrist. Perform 3-4 circles one way then rev direction and repeat.  
  6. Prayer hands: Place your hands in the praying position, then slowly lower the hands pressed into each other. Hold the stretch for 2-3 seconds repeat 4 times then repeat with the hands flipped in a rev pray. This time you are slowly raising the wrists up to feel a stretch.  
  7. Clench and release: squeeze your fist tight hold 2-3 seconds then shake the hands out. Repeat 4-5 times.

Watch these exercises for a visual reference:

Experiencing wrist pain ? Try these exercises - YouTube 

*Disclaimer: Always consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program. If you experience any numbness, tingling or reproduction of your symptoms, please contact your doctor or physiotherapist .  

Median Nerve Floss  

If you are experiencing numbness down the hand, it could be due to pressure on the median nerve, usually due to repetitive usage of the wrist. 

The following exercise is a nerve mobilization exercise to help decrease inflammation and pain by alleviating the pressure on the never. You can do this seated or standing.  

  1. Bring one arm up like you are going to flex your bicep. Relax the bicep and turn the palm of your hand towards your ear.  
  2. Imagine there is a string attached from your middle finger to the top of your ear. As you straighten your elbow your ear moves down to your shoulder.  
  3. To start keep your hand in line with your wrist, to advance this exercise you can pull your fingers and palm back like your spiderman about to shoot a web.  

Watch Median Nerve Floss : January 20, 2022 - YouTube

Relieving Wrist Pain with Muscle Activation Techniques  

Wanting to alleviate wrist pain in a different way? Have you tried M.A.T. Muscle Activation Techniques?

M.A.T. assess your movement mechanics to identify potential faulty movement mechanics leading to chronic strain creating the pain. M.A.T. then activates the muscles or rather creates a repatterning of movement patterns so your wrist can better handle the force applied to it through everyday movements and exercises.  

Call to book in with our in house M.A.T. Specialist Sarah Kuindersma today, at Active Sports Therapy 403-278-1405

Prefer to book online? Take advantage of our online booking system at www.activesportstherapy.ca.


Want to learn more about M. A. T. ? Watch this video   

Wrist Pain

Natural Things You Can Do to Calm Your Nervous System

Written by: Dr. Fiona Lovely, Chiropractor

Practitioner of Functional Neurology and Functional Medicine at AST

We live in a world where we are bombarded with information, in multiple ways, every second of every day.  Many people aren’t aware just how stressful to our brain and nerve systems this bombardment can be.  Frankly, we have yet to adapt to this unique kind of stress and it can leave us feeling depleted and overstimulated.

Email.  Social media.  Text messages. And the occasional relic - voicemail. Screens of all sorts are pervasive. While we revel in being connected, we must recognize that it means our brain needs to process this information. So, when you hear how you must reduce stress in order to be healthy, know that screen use is a big part of modern-day stress. This is on top of job, family, mental health, money, relationship etc.

The fight-flight-freeze part of our nerve system - the sympathetic division, is the part that senses stress. We can feel wired, exhausted and struggle to get a good night’s sleep. We might never feel well rested. We lose productivity during the day and feel disconnected from ourselves and others.

It isn’t all bad news - there are some quick fixes for this hyper-vigilance and unwell feeling that stress can cause. 

  1. Limit your screen time. Your phone likely has a timer which can tell you just how many hours a week you are spending looking at it. That can be a real eye opener! What would you be able to accomplish if you limited that time to an hour a day? All in - messaging, calls, emails, social media.
  2. Get a restful sleep. No blue-light (anything with a screen) for at least an hour before bedtime. Pick a regular bedtime and stick to it, even on the weekend. A helpful guideline: the more hours of sleep you get before midnight, the more rested you will be. You can also take Magnesium Glycinate at bedtime to help you relax, but of course, check with your doctor before starting anything new.
  3. Studies show the brain does best with 20 minutes per day of activity. One easy way to incorporate this is to do high intensity bursts of activity for 2-4 minutes, then lower rates of movement to recover. Repeat the process until you've reached the goal. This increases the release of the chemicals which encourage and strengthen connection between neurons as well as the endorphin release - the chemicals which make you feel relaxed and happy.
  4. Meditate. This doesn’t need to be fancy - listening to relaxing music or taking 5 deep breaths is considered meditative. Pause, in quiet, allows a network in our brains which needs space to work through things and store memories, to go to work. This is called the Default Network Mode and it’s critical to our brain health and overall well-being and calm.
  5. Acknowledge trauma and get help. There is much ado at the moment about the role of past trauma and how it continues to affect the stress response systems of the brain. Trauma can be defined as any experience which made you feel unsafe and to which you developed adaptations to make you feel safe. Under this definition, we can see that all of us have experienced trauma. This lingers in your system and amps the nervous system into a perpetual state of fight-flight or freeze. Reach out and talk to a mental health professional if you think you could use help in this area. A skilled practitioner - chiropractor, registered massage therapist, or physiotherapist can help you move through the physical effects of the trauma in a safe environment too.

Calm is not just a state of mind but a physical place too. Work to change a few things in your current lifestyle to invite in peace. Your brain will thank you for it!

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]