Health Tips Archives - Page 4 of 22 - Form & Function Physiotherapy, Chiropractor, Massage

By Administrator May 2, 2017 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Health Tip: Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction

Do you have headaches, neck pain, ringing in the ears, or pain into the jaw/teeth? Did you know your temporomandibular joint or jaw could be the cause?

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) or jaw joint is a two hinged joint that allows for complex movements to allow you to eat, talk, yawn and do things with your mouth. You have two TMJ joints, one on each side of your head. The TMJ is comprised of:

🔹Muscles of chewing

🔹Joint capsules

🔹Articular Discs
🔹Tissue behind the disc

We will be assessing the following motions during a self assessment. The jaw is quite complex and has four basic movements, each of which are required for proper function:

– Protrusion – jaw moves forward

– Retraction – jaw pulls backward

– Elevation – jaw rises

– Depression – jaw drops

The first question you can ask yourself is: Do I have a tempomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD)? The answer may be quite simple. Answer the following questions and try this self assessment screen to see for yourself.

– Is there any pain in your jaw?

Do you have headaches?

– Do you have neck pain?

– Do you have ringing in the ears?

– Do you have deep tooth pain (cleared by your dentist)

– Does your jaw tire easily while eating?

Try this self assessment:

– Look into the mirror

– Gradually open your mouth wide – can you open it as wide as 3 of your knuckles?

– Does your jaw shift one way? Does it shift back?

– Do you have a pop or click sound?

– Does one side feel tighter than the other?

These are all examples of things that you can see/feel when assessing yourself for a potential TMD. If you notice you have any of the following, you may have a TMD! Get yourself checked out and come in for a screen and we can see how well you function.

Dr. Christopher Duong is a board-certified Chiropractor specializing in TMJ pain.

Patcharee Bergsma is a Registered Massage Therapist and Thai Massage Therapist that performs TMJ massage on external TMJ muscles as well as Interior TMJ Muscles and joints

Book an assessment

Initial assessents will include a full physical and history taking of your TMJ issue.

The practitioner will provide a prognosis and treatment plan. Most insurance billing accepted

Book Appointment

By Administrator April 25, 2017 0 Comments Health Tips

Water After a Massage

We have all enjoyed the great benefits to massages, but most of us forget to drink water after being treated. Massages are dehydrating, kneading and working the muscles gets fluid pumping out of the soft tissue and into your circulatory system, where it heads toward your kidneys. That’s why many people have to pee right after a massage. You have to replenish all that lost water, by drinking more.
Then there’s the issue of metabolic waste which is produced by muscles in the course of everyday function. When your muscles are tight or you have a major knot, it constricts circulation in those areas inhibiting the body’s ability to flush out this waste. Since tight muscles are probably what prompted you to make a massage appointment in the first place, chances are you’ve got some compromised circulation happening. Massage relaxes the tension, releasing the circulatory pathways and allowing nitrogenous metabolic waste to dump into the system. Drinking provides your kidneys with the water they need to effectively eliminate the newly liberated waste.

By Administrator April 18, 2017 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Diabetes and Your Feet

One of the most common complications of diabetes is problems with your feet. In particular, high blood sugars can cause damage to the nerves and the blood vessels in the feet, which can lead to more serious problems such as wounds and amputations. It is important to keep good control of your blood sugars as this can prevent these changes from occurring. If you are diabetic, it is important to have your feet screened yearly to check for any changes.

Victoria Sheard, Chiropodist

Contact us to book an appointment today!

By Administrator April 11, 2017 0 Comments Health Tips

Sprain vs Strain: What’s the difference?

The signs of most sprains or strains are very similar: pain and inflammation, and sometimes bruising, at the injured area. The pain level varies depending on how bad the sprain or strain is. The worse the sprain or strain, the harder it is to use the affected area.

The difference is what was stretched or torn to cause the pain.

A sprain is a stretch or tear in a ligament. Ligaments are bands of fibrous tissue that connect bones to bones at joints.

A strain is also a stretch or tear, but it happens in a muscle or a tendon. Tendons link muscles to the bones.

Daily exercise and stretching can prevent sprains and strains. After you get a sprain or strain, it is important to care for the injury by doing proper exercises and stretching as suggested by your health care professional. Please make an appointment with the RMT to discuss what works best for you, your body type, and/or injury.

John Li, RMT

By Administrator March 21, 2017 0 Comments Brampton, Health Tips

Benefits of Vitamin C

We have all been told that consuming vitamins is essential for keeping your body healthy and to avoid colds. Did you know that Vitamin C in particular is essential for our daily life? Here are some of the many benefits you can get from Vitamin C:

Stress: Research has shown that vitamin C was beneficial to individuals whose immune system was weakened due to stress. Vitamin C is one of the nutrients sensitive to stress, and is the first nutrient to be depleted. Having Vitamin C in your system will help you keep a more positive attitude and reduce the anxiety associated with stress.
Stroke: Did you know that people with the highest concentrations of vitamin C in their blood are associated with 42% lower risk of getting a stroke than those with the low concentration. In these cases Vitamin C helps maintain proper circulation.
Bodily Repair: You need Vitamin C to repair your tissue, skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. It’s essential for healing wounds, and also aids in repairing bones. It is clear that without Vitamin C in our systems our bodies would not be avail to sustain proper functionality.

By Administrator March 7, 2017 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Just because you CAN go doesn’t mean you SHOULD!

Your kidneys are constantly filtering our blood and creating urine which collects in your bladder. Once your bladder is half full, the nerves in your bladder send a signal to your brain and you feel the slight need to urinate. When your bladder is full, another signal is sent and you feel a stronger urge to urinate.

This system of signaling between your bladder and your brain keeps your bladder function running smoothly.

If you always urinate before your bladder is full, your bladder ‘learns’ that it cannot hold as much volume as it did before. In other words, you are training your bladder to become smaller. As a result, you may experience the urge to urinate more frequently than before.

So when should you go…? Only when you need to!

Kelly Leong, Registered Physiotherapist

By Administrator February 21, 2017 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Stretching & Muscle Fascia

Muscle Fascia is the connective tissue that runs throughout your body, between the muscles and the skin. The fascia holds muscles together, keeps each muscle separate so that they can work independently, and allows the muscles to move smoothly against each other. Therefore it is important to keep it well stretched; making it flexible and loose.

To allow free movement and to prevent stiffness or tightness, regular stretching and drinking water, will help keep the fascia from seizing up and promotes wider range of motion.

There are many stretching techniques for different parts of your body. Many are fast and easy, so they can be done while waiting in line, at the office, or while watching TV. Please make an appointment with the RMT to discuss what works best for you, your body type, and/or injury.

John Li, Registered Massage Therapist

By Administrator February 14, 2017 0 Comments Brampton, Health Tips

Stretching Tips to Avoid Injury

Before any activity, it is important to make sure that you stretch your muscles to avoid any tearing. This typically will occur when people jump into an exercise or even stretch while their muscles are still cold. The reason behind this is due to the fact that when muscles are tight they do not have any elasticity so when you ask them to perform and difficult task the muscle does not have the adequate room to contract properly and tears as a result.

To properly stretch your muscles take 5 seconds to go into the stretch, hold the stretch for 25 seconds then 5 seconds to release the stretch. If it hurts to hold your stretch for 25 seconds then bringing our count down to 10 seconds. You should do your stretches 3 times in a row. Without holding your stretches for at least 25 seconds you will not properly release the muscle for activity.

By Administrator February 7, 2017 0 Comments Health Tips, Markham

Shoulder Circles Everyday Keeps Frozen Shoulder Away

The shoulder joint is the most mobile – and thus the least stable – joint in the body. This makes the shoulder a prime candidate to injury during work and during play. Common shoulder injuries include joint capsule sprains, muscular strains, tendinitis, rotator cuff tears, and dislocation. There’s more than meets the eye when talking about the shoulder – many factors often less considered affect the shoulder such as the positioning of the shoulder blade, mid back mobility, and core stability. A great start is doing some Controlled Articular Rotations or CARs each and every morning – Try 7 per arm each and every day to start off your day.

Dr. Jon Leung

By Administrator January 31, 2017 0 Comments Brampton, Health Tips

What’s the deal with Lower Back Pain?

The Lumbar Spine consist of 5 spines. Between each spine has a disc with nerves coming out from between these spines. These nerves originate from the spinal cord and inside the vertebral column. With aging or injury, a disc can bulge out from the spine and compresses the nerves which are coming out of the same spine. These nerves comes out from the spine and runs down the legs. When these nerves are compressed due to disc disease, the painful tingling, numbness or that pins and needles feeling , goes down to one or both legs depends on the level of compression. Physiotherapy treatments could help to relieve or decrease the intensity of this pain.

Contact Form and Function today for your assessment!