By Administrator 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Breathing

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It’s funny but breathing is something we do all day every day but people can be doing it “wrong” (For the record, there isn’t a wrong way to breathe, just less efficient ways). To breathe more efficiently, you want to breath diaphragmatically. Here’s how:

  • Relax your body, especially the neck and shoulders
  • Place one hand on your stomach
  • Breath in through your nose and feel your hand expand outwards
  • Breath out through your mouth and feel your hand sink back towards your spine

This is the most efficient way to breathe. Take a look at your breathing in a mirror. If you are not using your belly but using your chest and neck muscles to breathe, you are using the wrong tools for the job. Try diaphragmatic breathing to relax those chest and neck muscles or just to breathe more efficiently.

By Administrator 0 Comments Health Tips

Health Tip: Routine

Conceptual clock for a healthy life

Routine is a funny thing for our bodies. On one hand, routine stabilizes the rhythms of our bodies (ie sleep, hormonal, digestive systems, etc.) and minimizes the stress put on these bodily systems. On the other hand, our body can get lazy with routine and needs to be challenged to become stronger and better (ie. Muscular, cardiovascular, neurological, etc.). So what’s the best way to live? Try to have a regular routine with your day to day tasks. Try to rest/sleep, eat, exercise at similar times everyday but challenge your body differently when it comes to the details. Find ways to rest more soundly, eat healthier foods and exercise with more advance exercises when you are used to the old ones.

The professionals at Form and Function can analyze your daily routine and help you create a better routine to fit your desired lifestyle.

By Administrator 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Channel your inner Kung-Fu Master!

Balance and proprioception (where your joint is in space relative to the rest of your body) play an important role in everyday activities:

– walking on the sidewalk and suddenly the curb dissapears (or you didn’t notice it!)

– walking on uneven terrain or an unexpected hole

– performing basic activities of daily living and knowing how your form is (and what it should be)

– balancing and recovering when you find out there’s ice under the snow on the sidewalk

Single Leg Stork Stance

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A simple everyday exercise where you stand on the floor supported by each leg for 30s at a time.

-stay close to a wall or railing you can grab on to if this is difficult for you

-try this on a pillow if this is too easy

Contact Form and Function’s Kung Fu Master John for more tips on how to improve your balance

By Administrator 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

New Study: Knee arthroscopy for meniscus tear leads to 3x the risk of requiring knee replacement later

Here is a link to this study. But first, what does this mean? It means that for those of you who have been diagnosed with a meniscus tear, it’s definitely better to exhaust all forms of conservative treatment first before even considering going under the knife.

Meniscus-Tear

Conservative treatment for meniscus tears include manual/soft tissues techniques to normalize range of motion, active rehabilitation to strengthen muscles and stabilize the knee, and modalities to speed up the healing process. Come into Form & Function to discuss your rehabilitation following any meniscus tears. You’ll be glad you did.

By Administrator 0 Comments Brampton, Health Tips

Inflamed Muscles

Have you ever come home from a long day of work and feel like your body is in pain?  Most people would go directly for the heat pack, but before you do that it is important that you check the temperature of the area first. Using the back of your hand, compare the painful area to another area of your body. If the painful area feels hotter than the rest of the body then it’s a good indication that your muscles are inflamed. This is typically caused from overuse and friction usually brought on by repetitive movement.

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It would be a better idea to use cold compress on the area bringing the inflammation down before you heat the muscle. Take a cold pack and wrap it in a light towel, place it on the resting muscle for 5min on and 2 min off. This will decrease the inflammation in your muscle allowing the pain to decrease as well.

By Administrator 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

What is the pain in my heel?

Do you wake up in the morning and take your first step out of bed and are in agony?  Does the pain go away after taking a few steps, only to return later on in the day?  If so, you are most likely suffering from one of the most common foot pain conditions – plantar fasciitis.

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There are several risk factors for the cause of plantar fasciitis, but one of the most common in abnormal foot motion – either too low or high arches.  Things to try at home to help relieve the pain include resting, icing the foot, and stretching the feet and legs.  However, if the pain persists, you may require more treatment.  Contact us for an assessment.

By Administrator 0 Comments Brampton, Health Tips

Acute Effort Migraine

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The acute effort migraine is precipitated by short periods of vigorous activity such as sprinting. It has been described following such sports as netball, hockey, cycling, swimming, and weightlifting. It is commonly unilateral, severe, usually preceded by an aura, and accompanied by nausea and often vomiting and neck stiffness. Acute effort migraines typically are throbbing or pounding in character, and recovery may require hours or even a full night’s sleep. A past or family history of migraine is often present. Treatment of the acute attack may include ergotamine preparations, oral or injected sumatriptan, analgesics and antinauseants.

By Administrator 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Do This Breathing Technique to Help You Stress Less

Diaphragmatic breathing is deep breathing from the diaphragm, instead of shallow breathing.  It is also a relaxation technique.

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Diaphragmatic breathing has many benefits as there is more oxygen going into your body.  Oxygen will sooth your nervous system, lower stress on your body, and calms your mind, which will in turn improve concentration.

Physically, diaphragmatic breathing will increase your lungs’ capacity and will detox your body as the oxygen will stimulate blood flow.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a breathing technique that you can do anytime, anywhere.  Please make an appointment with the RMT to discuss how to improve your breathing to benefit your health.

John Li, RMT

By Administrator 0 Comments Brampton, Health Tips

Risks of High Levels of Mercury

Mercury is one of those elements we are told to be careful of, but the question remains why? To answer this, we first need to examine what mercury is and how it gets into the foods that we eat.

Mercury is a metal that comes in many forms. It is most commonly used for dental tools and manufacturing partials in factories but is predominantly present in the pollution we produce from emission gases.  When it rains, the water collects the metal and drains it in the same water. When it reaches the water, many fish absorb the element.

Now that we know what it is, we can look at the effect of having this metal in our system. Mercury directly affects our nervous system and heart.  Even small amount of mercury in infants can cause developmental issues. For this reason, women who are pregnant are not recommended to eat fish to ensure full nervous development of infants. In adults, it can weaken our immune systems and cause heart irregularities.

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Some of you may be saying that our bodies will just digest the food and eliminate the Mercury – however, amounts greater then 40ml can stay in your system for 30-40 days making it very difficult for your body to quickly eliminate the element before it does damage.

By Administrator 1 Comments Brampton, Health Tips

What is Rotator Cuff Tendinitis?

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Rotator cuff tendinitis happens due to swelling or inflammation of tendons of the shoulder joint. This could happen due to any injuries like heavy lifting, pulling, pushing or any repetitive activities.

It is more common in people who play sports due to high impact activities.

Most of the athletes can regain full function depending of the extent of injury.

Symptoms: Pain and swelling of shoulder tendons, pain with outstretched arm or reaching behind the back , decreased ROMs and strength.

Physiotherapy treatments: Manual Therapy, Exercises and stretching will help to decrease pain and swelling. Electrotherapy helps to decrease swelling and pain.

Contact Form and Function today for your assessment!