Shoulder Pain
This time of year, we start seeing a lot of shoulder injuries pop up as volleyball, baseball, and ultimate seasons start up. Although we’ve been waiting all winter to get back into action, we have to remember that we don’t go from zero to hero in one day. So try these few pointers to get […]
To Ice or Heat? That is the Question
Therapists are frequently asked whether one should be applying ice or heat to an injury. My answer is “it depends”. Here are some simple guidelines to determine if you should be applying ice or heat: Acute injuries (occurring in the past 48 hours) should be iced. Chronic or longstanding conditions are more complicated since they […]
Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness
You just finish a great workout. Your muscles are warm, your heart rate is up, and you feel pumped up. You’re feeling energized with a sense of accomplishment. The exercise gives you gratifying deep and restful sleep at night. You wake up the next day and BAM! You feel stiff and sore and the simple […]
Pelvic floor & core control: more than just kegels
When it comes to training the core, the pelvic floor muscles may not be the first set of muscles that come to mind. Kegels are isometric holds of the pelvic floor muscles, meaning a static contraction of the muscle. However, the pelvic floor is part of a dynamic system that needs to allow change in […]
What do you do (as a massage therapist) to prevent injuring yourself?
Honing technique – As an RMT, it helps to pay attention to your workload in relation to your schedule. Hopefully, at the end of the day, you are not working so much or so hard as to injure yourself. A common example I see with RMTs, are thumb injuries. If injuries are common, then using […]
Why does my neck hurt?
A common question I receive in practice is “why does my neck hurt?” The problem with answering this is that there is not one answer you can give to everyone. The most common answer I give people is that posture is your issue. We have been developing the way we hold our body since we […]
Stop getting on my nerves!
Our nervous system spans the entire body through a series of mobile and adaptive conductors. We typically divide the nervous system into the central nervous system – brain, brainstem and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system which basically covers everything else. Our peripheral nervous system encompasses the nerves that relay commands to affect or […]
Perfect Posture, a Myth?
I know it sounds contradictory coming from a physiotherapist who repeatedly nags you about your posture and probably assessed your posture on your first visit but I can explain. First, let’s start with a definition of posture. Posture is the static alignment of the total body at a given moment where each body part or […]
5 Common Sources of Knee Pain
I’m sure that many of you have heard of various knee dysfunctions from patella femoral pain syndrome, IT band friction syndrome,and patellar tendonitis to name a few. What many people don’t know however, is that the cause of knee pain almost always is coming from dysfunctions in other parts of the body. In today’s blog […]
Does pain = injury?
So you just woke up and your neck was hurting for some reason. You go to see your favorite therapist or doctor for some relief. You are in pain and not happy about it. Your practitioner treats you and advises you to move your neck around every so often even if it hurts. Wait a […]