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All Posts in Category: Spinal Health

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Backpack Safety!

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Everything regarding back to school is so confusing and up in the air right now. I don’t have young children so I can only imagine how all of the parents are feeling lost right now! However, if your child ends up heading back to the classroom in person, one thing you CAN control is how they pack and wear their backpack to help prevent back pain.

If a backpack is too heavy or worn improperly, there is a risk of back pain, neck pain, arm pain and headaches in your child.

The Ontario Chiropractic Association has some excellent tips on how to reduce these risks:

Picking a bag:
Choose a lightweight material like canvas or vinyl instead of a heavier material like leather.
Ensure there are wide, adjustable straps that can rest comfortably over the shoulders.
Even better if there is also a hip or waist strap to help spread the load out on your child’s body
Padding on the back can help with comfort
Lots of pockets to help distribute the weight around.
Ensure the bag is proportionate in size to your child and fits snugly around the shoulders.

Packing the bag:
THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF THE BAG SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 10-15% OF YOUR CHILD’S WEIGHT
Make sure they only have what they need for the day, nothing extra
Pack the heaviest items close to the body and odd-shaped items further away
Try packing things among the different pockets to distribute the weight out

Putting on the bag:
Put the bag on a flat surface at waist height instead of lifting from the floor
Slip on the bag one arm at a time and then tighten the straps
Try to remind your child to lift using their arms and legs, not their back

Wearing the bag:
Ensure both shoulder straps are used and adjusted for a snug fit
You should be able to slide one hand between the bag and your child’s back.
Using the waist strap can help to evenly distribute the weight even further and add extra stability.

Is your child complaining of pain? One of our excellent practitioners at Sports Specialist Rehab Centre would be happy to help them get out of pain and return to their favourite activities! Get in touch if you have any questions!

Author:
Dr. Allie Dennis, BSc Kin (Hons), DC
Chiropractor | Acupuncture Provider | Functional Range Conditioning

Reference:
Pack it light. Wear it right. Ontario Chiropractic Association. https://chiropractic.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/Pack-it-Light-Wear-it-Right-Children-One-Pager-Aug16-1.pdf

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Do I Have a Slipped Disc?

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In short, the answer is NO – our discs don’t ‘slip’.

I often get this type of question from patients with back pain and neck pain so I wanted to take some time and explain what our intervertebral discs are, whether or not they ‘slip’ and why they may sometimes contribute to pain in our back or legs.

⦁ What is an intervertebral disc?

Our spine is made up of 33 vertebrae and the majority of them are separated by intervertebral discs. These discs are made up of two components – the outer annulus fibrosis which is composed of strong connective tissue and the inner nucleus pulposis which is a softer, gel-like material. The disc allows for increased motion in our spine and helps connect each segment together.

⦁ Do discs slip?

Nope! The connective tissue attaching those discs to our vertebrae is very strong and much too stable to cause any slippage. Some things that might occur to the discs over time includes dessication (aka dehydration), bulging, herniations, and other forms of degeneration. These are all very common and the majority of adults will have findings of these things in their spine, regardless of whether or not they are experiencing pain. In fact, it has been studied quite often that degenerative findings in the intervertebral discs have little to no correlation with pain.

⦁ Can discs cause pain?

Sometimes. The most likely reason a disc will cause pain is a disc herniation. Over time, with repetitive stresses on our back the outer annulus fibrosis can begin to tear. If it tears enough, some of the inner, gel-like nucleus pulposis can herniate out of the disc and can irritate the nerve root sitting nearby. The pain can be a result of mechanical compression or chemical irritation to the nerve, or both. This can lead to symptoms along the entire course of the nerve. For example, disc herniations in your lumbar spine, or low back, may cause symptoms down your legs.


So what does this mean for the patient with back and/or leg pain?

Majority of cases of back and leg pain due to disc herniations are self-limiting and will get better on their own. Conservative care (e.g. chiropractic, physiotherapy, massage therapy) can often help you get there faster. There are very few cases where disc herniations can lead to a medical emergency – if you are unable to urinate and/or unable to control your bowel movements, go to the emergency room. Additionally, if you have rapidly worsening neurological symptoms (e.g. weakness, loss of sensation), this also needs to be checked out urgently and more invasive approaches to care may be necessary.

Dr. Allie Dennis

**This is not intended to be a replacement for medical advice. If you are suffering from any of these symptoms, please see your healthcare provider for appropriate management**

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Garden Safely This Spring!

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Spring is here! Time to get those gardens flourishing. Gardening can be very hard work with lots of kneeling, bending, twisting, lifting and carrying. It’s important to ensure we keep our bodies and spines healthy and moving well during this increase in physical activity.

The Ontario Chiropractic Association has an excellent acronym to help us remember how to stay healthy while we’re gardening!

HEALTHY BACKS

H – Have the right tools for the task at hand.

E – Ensure you drink plenty of fluids.

A – Alternative between light and heavy jobs.

L – Lift correctly.

T – Take frequent breaks.

H – Heavy loads should be shared.

Y – Your feet should be protected with thick soled supportive shoes.


B – Before you start, warm-up your muscles.

A – Avoid muscle strain, learn the right techniques.

C – Change positions frequently.

K – Kneel to plant and weed.

S – Spinal check-ups can help keep your back healthy.


If you do injure yourself while gardening, or have questions about specific techniques (lifting, bending, etc…) please go see a regulated health professional for a proper assessment, treatment and advice specific to your body. Enjoy the sun! Looking forward to seeing those May Flowers!

Author: Dr. Allie Dennis


Source: http://www.chiropractic.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/Tips-for-a-Healthy-Back-in-the-Garden-Apr17-v2.pdf

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Breathing is Important!

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How important is breathing?

The short answer is…. VERY!

I know this sounds like a silly question and silly answer – of course breathing is important, without oxygen our bodies wouldn’t survive. But I’m here to explain why breathing is not only vital to living, but is important for pain management and musculoskeletal health.

The first important piece of information is to know and understand what the diaphragm is. The diaphragm is our main breathing muscle. It sits at the bottom of our rib cage and when our brain tells us to breath in, it gets the diaphragm to contract, pulling it downwards and leading to decreased pressure in our chest cavity. This change in pressure allows air from the outside to flow into our lungs with ease. When we breath out, the diaphragm relaxes, pushing the air back out of the lungs.


https://media1.britannica.com/eb-media/36/92936-004-8881E781.jpg

I assess breathing in almost every patient I have, especially those with low back and neck pain.

In patients with low back pain, there is often a large focus on core stability and core strengthening. What you may not realize, your diaphragm is really the top part of that ‘core’ that we talk about so much. By focusing on your diaphragm while breathing and allowing it to work optimally, you are training your core. There is evidence showing faulty breathing patterns in a significant number of patients with low back pain, compared to their pain free counterparts.


http://ibphysio.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/core-muscles.jpg

In patients with neck pain, there tends to be a lot of ‘chest breathers’. Instead of using their diaphragm to control breathing, these patients often use their accessory breathing muscles in the neck that really only need to be activated when we’re exercising very hard and need to have hard, rapid breathing. So again, by focusing on your diaphragm while breathing and allowing it to work optimally, you are allowing those accessory breathing muscles in the neck to have a break so they can stop taking on another muscle’s job.


http://www.physio-pedia.com/images/e/e7/949_937_muscles-of-respiration.jpg

Finally, breathing plays an important role in pain management. When we are in pain, our sympathetic nervous system turns on (i.e. fight or flight response). This tells our brain that something bad is going on and every sensation becomes amplified. When our sympathetic nervous system is amped up, we tend to use shallow, rapid breaths; this is not the most efficient way to oxygenate our tissues. By taking some time to focus on diaphragmatic breathing, and taking slow, deep breaths, we are actually able to ‘trick’ our brain and tell it that everything is okay, by turning on our parasympathetic nervous system instead (i.e. rest and digest response). This allows for a decrease in sensitivity to painful stimuli which really just means that our brain will tell us we have less pain than we did before.


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/42/fb/98/42fb981f07b10cbb16164c8be93600d5.jpg

So in summary, BREATHE! It will help you in more ways than you even knew.


Author: Dr. Allie Dennis

Resources:
Roussel N, Nijs J, Truijen S, Vervecken L, Mottram S, Stassijns G. Altered breathing patterns during lumbopelvic motor control tests in chronic low back pain: a case-control study. European Spine Journal. 2009; 18: 1066-1073
Chaitow L. Breathing pattern disorders, motor control, and low back pain. Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 2004; 7(1): 34-41.
Cagnie B, Danneels L, Cools A, Dickx N, Cambier D. The influence of breathing type, expiration and cervical posture on the performance of cranio-cervical flexion test in healthy subjects. Manual Therapy. 2008; 13(3): 232-238.
Jerath R, Edry JW, Barnes VA, Ferath V. Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system. Medical Hypotheses. 2006; 67(3): 566-71.

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Injury With Spring Cleaning

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Spring has sprung! Currently, with all the available time at home, I know lots of people will be doing that deep spring cleaning. With any activity that you haven’t done in a while, it’s important to make sure you’re keeping excellent form and using spine-sparing techniques in an attempt to avoid injury. Here are some tips to keep you feeling good while you’re busy cleaning out that garage and vacuuming in places you forgot existed!

TAKE BREAKS
Our bodies aren’t made to go from 0 to 100 with no preparation. Many of us tend to be less active in the winter and then want to immediately jump back into our previous level of activity. It’s important that you know your body’s limits and even start out on the cautious side. Every 30 minutes, stop, stretch, take a rest, drink some water and make sure your body is ready to continue the task before moving on.

KEEP A NEUTRAL SPINE
Cleaning that bathtub? It’s important to make sure we maintain the natural curve we have in our low back when bending/reaching over. The longer you stay in a flexed position through your lumbar spine, the more susceptible your back is to pain and discomfort.

LIFT WELL
Cleaning out those old boxes from the garage? Make sure you only lift what you can handle. As above, maintain that neutral spine. Bend from your knees and hips, not your back. Keep the load close to your body to have the centre of gravity stay as close to you as possible.

GET DIRECTLY BEHIND THAT MOP OR VACUUM
It’s easy to want to do some crazy twists and turns getting into those nooks and crannies with your mop or vacuum but in order to keep your back, neck and shoulders feeling good and comfortable, being directly behind the cleaning tool is the best. Keep your hips forward and square and position yourself in a slight lunge to keep your back from aching!

If you have any other questions about keeping your body safe and comfortable during spring cleaning, you can contact Dr. Allie Dennis at the Sports Specialist Rehab Centre!


Author: Dr. Allie Dennis

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Body Saving Tips for Sitting at a Computer All Day

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Are you a desk worker like the majority of people in our modern society? Does your back or neck get sore when you’ve been stuck in your chair all day typing away? During these unprecedented times, are you spending increasing amounts of time at your desk in front of a screen? These tips are for you! Let’s get you feeling more comfortable so you’re happier at that desk.

⦁ The top of your computer screen should be at forehead level and the top of the words at eye level. This keeps your head in a straight and upright position without extra strain on your spine.
⦁ If you use a phone a lot at work, headsets are the best way to prevent neck and shoulder irritation. Cradling the phone in your neck repetitively will start to create soreness and pain.
⦁ Your keyboard should be roughly at elbow height, assuming your shoulders are down and elbows are sitting at 90 degrees. Make sure your wrists aren’t sitting in too much extension. As in the photo above, it can help to have a wrist pad to bring the wrists into a little bit of flexion.
⦁ Your feet should be flat on the ground. If they are unable to reach and be flat after adjusting your chair to the height of your desk and computer, you can put a foot rest underneath to help you out.
⦁ Your new favourite number is 90! We want your joints to be resting comfortably in a 90-degree position – ankles, knees, hips and elbows should all be at roughly 90 degrees while you are sitting.
⦁ Ideally, you will be sitting all the way to the back of the chair and have some sort of support to maintain the natural curve we all have in our lumbar spine. It is great if your upper back can be resting against the chair as well.

As important as the above tips are, the most important tip is to MOVE! MOTION IS LOTION. The above position should be your ‘reset’ position but ideally we aren’t staying in any one position for more than 10 minutes at a time. Go ahead and slouch, cross your legs, lean to one side – as long as you stay there for under 10 minutes these so-called ‘bad’ positions don’t bother me. If you can, get up once an hour and walk around the office, grab a cup of water, go to the bathroom, just get out of that seat.

Author: Dr. Allie Dennis

**Please note that this is for educational purposes only and not intended as specific medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns make sure to consult one of our knowledgeable health practitioners at the Sports Specialist Rehab Centre.

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Are you cracking my bones?

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What is that popping sound during a chiropractic adjustment?

Chiropractors get this question all the time… what’s that sound? Are you cracking my bones?

First of all – NO – we’re not cracking your bones! Here’s an explanation of that “pop” or “crack” you might hear with a chiropractic adjustment. The more technical term for this noise is a cavitation.

To start off, I need to give a small anatomy lesson. Many joints in your body, especially the ones targeted by the chiropractic adjustment, are considered synovial joints. This means there is a capsule of connective tissue surrounding the joint and synovial fluid inside to help lubricate the joint.

http://chemistry.bd.psu.edu/jircitano/gases.html

Now we have to think back to high school science class and remember Boyle’s Law which states that the volume of a given amount of gas held at constant temperature varies inversely with the applied pressure when the temperature and mass are constant. In other words, when volume goes up, pressure goes down. You might remember that in some cases, liquid is just a compressed version of a gas. Lots of pressure can change the state of matter from a gas into a liquid. Alternately, if you reduce that pressure by increasing the volume of the space the liquid is being held, the liquid can change into a gas.

That is the basics of what is going on during an adjustment. Many would say that the goal of a chiropractic adjustment is to gap the joints to increase movement in a hypomobile joint (i.e. a joint that isn’t moving as well as we would like it to). With the high-velocity, low-amplitude manipulation, the gapping of the joint creates an increase in the volume of the joint capsule, which in turn reduces the pressure and allows some of that synovial fluid to change states from a liquid into a gas.

THAT is your noise – the change in state from liquid to gas. The formation of this gas bubble in the synovial joint can cause a “pop” or “crack” sound.

Dr. Greg Kawchuk and his colleagues recently did a study where they used an MRI to visualize a joint cavitation in real time. Below is a short video of their findings:


Kawchuk GN, Fryer J, Jaremko JL, Zeng H, Rowe L, Thompson R (2015) Real-Time Visualization of Joint Cavitation. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0119470. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119470

Now you can teach all of your friends about the science the next time they cringe when you crack your knuckles…

Author: Dr. Allie Dennis, B.Sc. Kin (Hons.), D.C., FRCms
Chiropractor | Acupuncture Provider | Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist

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We’ve Been Nominated!

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Sports Specialist Rehab Centre is proud to announce that we are an Official 2020 Top Choice Award Nominee! Thank you to all of those who have taken the time to nominate us! Now, we need your help to WIN! Voting is now open and if you feel that we have earned your vote, we would appreciate you taking the time to vote for us. Winning the Top Choice Award is one of the largest endorsements a business can receive within North America & Europe, so this is a BIG deal!

Show us some love by voting for us. Your vote will automatically enter you into a draw for a chance to win a grand cash prize of $2000 or one of many Toppy T-shirts. You can vote for us here: topchoiceawards.com/vote?survey_id=k82Yzj – Otherwise, you can contact Top Choice Awards via email or phone to vote for us.

‍Voting ends December 20th, 2019.

‍We would love to win the Top Choice Award… But we need your help to do so. If you believe we are your Top Choice, why not help us spread the word!Thank you for your time and we appreciate your vote!

P.S your written feedback in the survey is anonymous but very important to us, as it allows us to know what you love about us and what we can improve to continue serving you every day and providing the best customer experience possible. Many thanks in advance!

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Comments Off on Join Marco at APHA Expo!

Join Marco at APHA Expo!

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Dear Colleagues,

Join me at the American Public Health Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting & Expo where the scientific research I co-authored will be presented. The APHA Annual Meeting is the premier public health event taking place Nov. 2-6 in Philadelphia, PA. With more than 1,000 cutting edge scientific sessions, 600 booths of information and state-of-the-art public health products and services, this is an extremely important meeting in the public health field.

My submission, titled “Application and effectiveness of educational programming in musculoskeletal evaluation and management led by chiropractors in a rural Ugandan population” is scheduled to be presented at session , “Public health & chiropractic “, at . View the session online for more details. 

For general information about APHA2019 or to find out about other sessions and presentations visit the Annual Meeting home page.

I hope you can attend my presentation and join the public health community and APHA in exploring the latest public health practices and challenges.

Sincerely,

Marco De Ciantis

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How to Lift Your Luggage

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In the flurry of packing for a vacation or business trip, it’s easy to get carried away and pack every­thing but the kitchen sink into your suitcase and carry-on. But over-packed luggage and improper lifting and carrying techniques are common causes of injury to the back, neck and shoulders.

The good news is many of these injuries can be easily prevented. The following tips can help take the pain out of your vacation:

Choosing your luggage:

  • When shopping for new luggage, look for a sturdy, light, high-quality and transportable piece. Avoid purchasing luggage that is too heavy or bulky when empty.
  • Choosing a bag with wheels and a handle can go a long way to lighten your load.
  • A good quality backpack with adjustable, padded shoulder straps and a waist strap makes an ideal carry-on because, when worn properly, backpacks can evenly distribute weight.

Packing your luggage:

  • Over-packing is an easy pitfall, but consider that the larger and heavier the luggage, the more susceptible a traveller is to neck, back and shoulder injuries. Try to only pack what you absolutely need.
  • When possible, place items in a few smaller bags, instead of one large luggage piece.
  • Ensure your carry-on luggage does not weigh more than 10 to 15 per cent of your body weight.
  • Keep the contents of any carry-on luggage to a minimum, pack heavy items at the bottom of the bag and make efficient use of the bag’s pockets.

Lifting and carrying your luggage:
Lifting your luggage can’t always be avoided, even if your luggage has wheels. But practising safe lifting techniques can substantially reduce your risk of injury.

  • Move slowly and, whenever possible, break the action into smaller parts. For instance, when loading a suitcase in the trunk of a car, try lifting it first onto a chair or step-stool, then lifting it into the trunk. Similarly, when placing luggage in an overhead com­partment, first lift it onto the top of the seat.
  • When lifting your luggage, first get close to the load and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Bend at the knees and let your leg muscles, rather than your back, do the lifting.
  • Hold the load close to your body.
  • Avoid twisting. Instead, turn your feet in the direction you are headed and turn your entire body in that direction.
  • Do not carry bulky luggage for long peri­ods of time. Make sure to check heavier items when travelling rather than carrying them for the duration of the trip.
  • Try to carry light pieces in each hand rather than a single heavy item on one side.
  • If using a backpack, use both shoulder straps and the waist strap, and adjust them to minimize the bag’s movement.
  • If using a duffel or shoulder bag, switch sides often to reduce strain.

Source: This post is originally written by the Canadian Chiropractic Association.

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