Diaphragmatic Breathing: Take a Deep Breath
Take a deep breath…. When you inhaled did your belly inflate? If so, great! You were breathing through your diaphragm. If not, you are among the many and all too common chest breathers. Throughout our lives many of us start using our chest to breathe. Stress, poor posture, excess weight and many other reasons, encourage […]
Injury Prevention for Cyclists
There has been a rapid increase in new cyclists hitting the road especially between the ages of 40-50 and is gaining even more popularity than golf, especially in the lower mainland. Former athletes with osteoarthritis and joint related conditions are turning to cycling as a means to keep fit without high impact. As the early […]
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 […]
What is Prenatal Massage
Prenatal massage is a type of massage therapy treatment that is tailored for women while they are pregnant. Massage therapy has been proven to have numerous benefits including improving circulation and joint mobility and reducing stress, anxiety, tension and pain, all of which are essential to maintaining a happy and healthy pregnancy. One of our […]