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To ice or not to ice

Inflammation gets a bad reputation.  Everyone wants to get rid of inflammation.  We have long been told to RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate) any acute injury to get the inflammation settled down.  What if this was wrong?

 

Recently Dr Gabe Mirkin, the physician that coined the term RICE, has spearheaded a movement away from icing acute injuries (see link below).  The heart of his message is “Let inflammation runs it course”.  Inflammation is needed for the body to call for healing chemicals/cells in the acute stages of injury.  Why slow that down by icing and reducing blood flow?

 

It is against a lot of traditional thinking but next time you injury a body part and it swells up, try using avoiding the ice immediately.  Rest, compress, elevate and get treatment to maintain muscle and joint function.  The health care professionals at Form and Function can guide you through the acute stages of injury and get you back to normal quicker!

 

For the link: http://drmirkin.com/fitness/why-ice-delays-recovery.html

 

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Be Thankful for the Health Benefits of Gratitude

It’s Thanksgiving long weekend once again, a wonderful time to slow down and share good food with loved ones. It’s also a great time to reflect on what we have to be thankful for. Recent studies have shown that expressing gratitude has several health benefits including:

  • Decreased stress levels
  • Increased feelings of happiness
  • A more positive outlook on life
  • Better ability to cope with difficult times including traumatic experiences
  • Improved immune system function
  • Fewer visits to the doctor
  • An increase in other health-promoting behaviours like exercise and healthy eating

Here are some simple ways you can start expressing gratitude & improve your health this Thanksgiving:

  • Start a gratitude journal: Write 3 things you are thankful for every morning or night for 1 month.
  • Write a thank you note to someone. It could be for something big or small, something recent or from far in the past. Consider mailing it or even hand-delivering it to them with a hug.
  • Share one thing you are thankful for with your significant other, every day.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to you & your loved ones,

Odette Bulaong, ND

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Sun Safety…Just in Time for Canada Day!

As we are well into summer, many of us are enjoying the hot, sunny weather. Please remember to enjoy the sun safely to reduce your risk of harmful effects of prolonged exposure to the sun which can include dry, wrinkled skin and skin cancer. Here are 3 easy tips that you can help you enjoy the sun safely:

  1. Reduce your exposure to the sun by covering up easy to burn areas. Hats can protect the nose and forehead; shirts with sleeves, or a light scarf worn as a shawl can help protect the shoulders. UV protective sunglasses are a must. There is even UV protective clothing available now.
  2. Apply a safe and effective sunscreen 15-20 minutes before sun exposure. Re-apply after water exposure and sweating, which breaks down the effective sun protection compounds. Re-applying sunscreen is important even if you wear a high SPF (greater than 50). Read this article to learn why SPF 50+ sunscreens may not be the best thing for you.
  3. Choose a safe & effective sunscreen with lower levels of chemicals that may cause unwanted health concerns which you can learn about here. Check out this link to the Environmental Working Group’s 2014 list of best beach and sport sunscreens. You can also search for how your sunscreen measures up in terms of safety here.

 

Enjoy the rest of summer & have a Happy Canada Day!

Odette Bulaong, ND

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Healthy Plate, Healthy You

If you look into nutritional guidelines from around the world, you will realize that almost every nation has their own unique version of the food guide. However, the hard part about most of them is translation into practice. After all, how do you eat the spinning top that is the Japanese food guide or the rainbow that is the Canadian food guide?

Screen Shot 2014-06-02 at 11.18.35 AMScreen Shot 2014-06-02 at 11.18.07 AM

In reality, we all eat off plates. Therefore, the most important part about understanding any food guide is knowing how to transfer its messages into a healthy plate one can eat. After all, if we are what we eat, we better make our meals as healthy as they can be. Here are 5 easy tips on how to achieve this:

  1. Make half your plate vegetables and fruits. Make sure to eat dark-green and orange vegetables and fruits every day, along with other colour varieties. The different colours of vegetables and fruits come from their different nutrient contents. The more colourful you plate, the greater variety of nutrients you’re eating.
  2. Make at least half your grains whole grains. This will add more fibre to your diet and help to better balance out blood sugars. As well, whole grains will keep you fuller longer and are a great source of B-vitamins. Look for “whole grain” or “whole wheat” as the first ingredient on bread products or pasta, and make the switch from white rice to brown rice.
  3. Choose leaner meats, poultry, and vegetarian sources of protein more often. The marbling in meats is indicative of high saturated fat content. However, even without the visible streaks, certain cuts of meat can be high in fat that is hidden in between the animal’s muscle tissue. Choose meats that are labeled “lean” or “extra lean” or switch to poultry to cut down on the calories and fat. Choosing vegetarian sources of protein—such as tofu, beans, legumes, and nuts—can also help cut down on your daily calorie intake, while increasing daily fibre intake and still providing the necessary nutrients.
  4. Plate your food, eliminate distractions, and eat slowly. When eating straight out of containers or pots it’s easier to lose control of portion size and overeat. Furthermore, distractions such as television make paying attention to hunger and satiety cues more difficult. Since it takes 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that food is present, it is particularly important to eat slowly and be vigilant of the body’s signals.
  5. Choose <1% dairy products. Lower fat dairy has the same quantity of calcium and other essential nutrient as their higher fat counterparts, but with a lower saturated fat and calorie content. To adjust for taste, start off by mixing your current milk with its lower part counterpart for a few weeks to help your taste buds adjust.

For more information on healthy eating and help with reaching your nutrition goals contact your local Registered Dietitian, Anna Gofeld, at the Form and Function clinic in Club Markham. Don’t wait another day, start eating healthy today!

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Prehabilitation

           Most people have heard of or been through the process of physical rehabilitation AFTER sustaining an injury (ie muscle tear) or developing a condition (ie stroke). Fewer people have heard of prehabilitation, which is gaining traction in health care. Prehabilitation is the process of training BEFORE an injury/event with the goal of preventing injury or increasing health outcomes (ie before surgery).
Injury Prevention:
            When you see a rehabilitation professional for prehabilitation, typically an analysis of your movement, strength, flexibility and posture is conducted. Any weaknesses in these areas that predisposes you to injury during your daily physical demands will be addressed with exercises and stretches. Due to the varied demands of each individual, not every prehabiliation program will be the same. For example, the physical demands of a deskjob worker are vastly different than that of a professional athlete. The physical demands between sports are also different.
             It is important to get an individualized program targeted to your goals and needs. For example, if you are a basketball player, you may want to undergo prehabilitation for ACL injuries as that is a common injury in basketball. For a runner, prehabilitation can reveal mechanical faults or weakness that should be corrected. For a deskjob worker, prehabiliation will identify and correct improper postures, which will prevent many overuse syndromes.
Prior to Surgery:
             Surgical outcomes are typically better when you are fitter. The theory is that if you go into a surgery stronger, you come out strong. Being strong post surgery can improve your outcomes as you have already done some of the rehab before the surgery. A custom prehabiliation program designed for your surgery (ie total knee replacements) will target muscles that need to be strong for full recovery.
              If you are interested in discussing the process of prehabiliation, both prior to injury or surgery, please contact one of the healthcare professionals at Form and Function.  We have ongoing prehabiliation programs (ACL prevention and running analysis)  that may be of interest to you.  We can also answer any of your questions regarding prehabilitation.
Man Chun (Manni) Wong
Registered Physiotherapist
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Is lightning a threat to outdoor sports and exercise?

With the recent rainy weather, I wanted to go over some lightning safety tips.

Rain and lightning storms often make for an “epic” sports game as depicted in movies or gatorade commercials. However, the presence of lightning during outdoor activities poses a threat to our safety.

rain

What are the chances that one will be struck by lightning? 

About 150 Canadians are seriously injured each year by lightning; Many suffer permanent neurological disabilities. Lightning kills more Canadians than hail, wind, rain and tornadoes combined, making it a prime safety consideration.

With that said, one needs to be careful when exercising or playing sports during a rain or lightning storm.           The 30-30 rule or the Flash to Bang method are ways to gauge whether it is safe to continue playing.

  •  Count the seconds between seeing lightning and hearing thunder.
  • If count less than 30 seconds, stop all outdoor activity and seek shelter

When seeking shelter, avoid tall trees, lone objects (poles), metal objects, water and open fields. The best position to be in is a crouch, do not lie flat – want to reduce contact with the ground. Also staying in a car with the windows up is a safe place to be. Allow 30 minutes to pass after the last lightning/thunder before resuming. Remember also, that it does not need to be raining for lightning to occur.

Hope that you can apply these safety tips to make a lightning safety plan the next time you are exercising outdoors.

Happy and safe exercising!

Cheers,

Amanda Lum, BPhe, CAT(cc)

 

 

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Is lightning a threat to outdoor sports and exercise?

With the recent rainy weather, I wanted to go over some lightning safety tips.

Rain and lightning storms often make for an “epic” sports game as depicted in movies or gatorade commercials. However, the presence of lightning during outdoor activities poses a threat to our safety.

rain

What are the chances that one will be struck by lightning? 

About 150 Canadians are seriously injured each year by lightning; Many suffer permanent neurological disabilities. Lightning kills more Canadians than hail, wind, rain and tornadoes combined, making it a prime safety consideration.

With that said, one needs to be careful when exercising or playing sports during a rain or lightning storm.           The 30-30 rule or the Flash to Bang method are ways to gauge whether it is safe to continue playing.

  •  Count the seconds between seeing lightning and hearing thunder.
  • If count less than 30 seconds, stop all outdoor activity and seek shelter

When seeking shelter, avoid tall trees, lone objects (poles), metal objects, water and open fields. The best position to be in is a crouch, do not lie flat – want to reduce contact with the ground. Also staying in a car with the windows up is a safe place to be. Allow 30 minutes to pass after the last lightning/thunder before resuming. Remember also, that it does not need to be raining for lightning to occur.

Hope that you can apply these safety tips to make a lightning safety plan the next time you are exercising outdoors.

Happy and safe exercising!

Cheers,

Amanda Lum, BPhe, CAT(cc)

 

 

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Let’s talk. Period.

Menstrual health is not an easily discussed topic and yet it is vital for all women – especially those trying to conceive. To put things simply, the first step in trying to get pregnant is ensuring that your menstrual cycles are regular and healthy. This will help determine when you are ovulating which is necessary for having a chance to conceive that month.

With all of this in mind, the health tip of the day is simple: start tracking your menstrual cycle today. Regardless of whether or not you are trying to get pregnant, your menstrual health is an important part of your overall health. You can start simply by marking the first day you get your next period on your calendar or on the many free apps that exist, and continue for every future period. It is helpful to track the length of your period, the length of your cycles, heaviness and your premenstrual symptoms.

As a naturopathic doctor, I can use this information to determine if your menstrual health is reflecting good overall health or not. I can also use natural therapies like nutrition and acupuncture to help regulate your cycle and promote your fertility chances, if that is your goal.

Remember, it’s your body, your health. Period.

Happy Naturopathic Medicine Week,

Odette Bulaong, BSc (Hons), ND

Check out what a Naturopath in Markham Does here 

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Fracture Rehabilitation

I have recently seen an influx of fracture patients, mainly due to the harsh winter conditions we experienced this year.  I wanted to go over some facts and tips on rehabilitation of fractures.

 

There are different types of fractures and almost all require significant amounts of trauma.  If you sustained trauma (ie fell off step, slipped and fell, car accident, etc), you should go see your family doctor.  Most doctors will assess your symptoms and send you for an X-ray if they believe you may have a fracture.  X-rays are the gold standard in diagnosing fractures.  Once it has been confirmed you have a simple fracture, you will be immobilized at your fracture site for typically 6 weeks.  Bone healing is usually around 4-6 weeks for upper body fractures and 6-8 weeks for lower body fractures.  More complex fractures may require surgery and healing can be delayed depending on the surgery.  Talk to your surgeon and get a timeline if this is your case.  The whole process of rehabilitation of fracture can vary but it usually last at least 6-8 weeks post immobilization.

 

Tip #1: Do not think immobilizing the fracture site means immobilizing the whole limb.  I have seen this happen far too often.  For example, if you fractured your elbow, you can still move your shoulder, wrist and hands.  Keep your body moving.  Immobilization is one of the worse things you can do to your body (although necessary to facilitate fracture healing).  So why subject non-injured body parts to immobilization when you can maintain healthy joint movement?

 

Tip #2: You don’t even need to immobilize the fracture site all the time*.  Every once in a while, you can move slowly and in a control manner to keep your joints healthy.  An example of this is ankle fractures which used to be plaster casted always.  Now, almost all ankle fractures are given a walking boot and allowed to move slightly.  It’s to help counter the detrimental effects of immobilization.  Let pain be your guide when moving though (no more than a 5 out of 10 on a pain scale and absolutely no sharp pain).

 

Tip #3: Go see a rehabilitation health care professional.  Even during your immobilization, there are modalities like laser therapy that can promote fracture healing.  After immobilization, you may think your movement can come back on its own and it can but often times, you will require joint mobilization to regain all your mobility back.  Sometimes, no matter how hard you force your joint to move, it requires a glide or a roll that has been lost due to immobilization.  Your rehab professional can help regain that.  Also, a rehab professional can guide you through the rehab process which requires regaining full range of motion, proper strengthening and progressive return to activity to prevent reinjury.

 

Hope that gives you a general guideline on dealing with fractures.  If you have any questions or you have sustained a fracture and require rehab, feel free to come in and see one of our healthcare professionals at Form and Function.

 

Regards,

Man Chun (Manni) Wong

Registered Physiotherapist

 

*Only applies to simple fractures.  Some complex and displaced fractures require full immobilization.  Talk to your surgeon about immobilization before moving your fracture site if this is your case.

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Is your lipgloss making you sick?

If you suffer from skin, immune-related, reproductive or other hormone-related health conditions there are many nutritional, herbal and lifestyle changes that are helpful to restore your body back to health. One of the important lifestyle changes that often goes overlooked is limiting your exposure to chemicals found in everyday beauty products.

Women in particular can use multiple beauty products on a daily basis. In addition to lip gloss, women often wear foundation or powder, blush, mascara and that is often on top of a moisturizer and other skin care products. Unfortunately, many beauty products contain harmful chemicals that can have a negative impact on our health by:

  • causing allergic reactions (hives, rashes)
  • disrupting hormones (reproductive, stress, thyroid)
  • irritating the skin and worsening conditions (eczema, psoriasis, acne)

The good news is that there are many good quality make-up and skin care products that are formulated to be free of these chemicals. You can learn more about the top 10 most harmful chemicals in beauty products at the Environmental Defence website.

If you are looking to try natural make-up and body care products but don’t know what to start, you’re in luck. The Environmental Defence is hosting a FREE event called “The Just Beautiful Eco-Beauty Event” on April 4th where you can try and buy beauty products that are chemical-free making them healthier for you.

It was a great event last year and I was able to find some fantastic products.

Hope to see you there,

Odette Bulaong, ND