Spring Cleaning

Domestic Work:

cascoprojects.org

• Like with other types of physical work, remember to warm up before starting the activity.
• Make sure mops, brooms and vacuum cleaners have sufficiently long handles so you are not hunched over while cleaning.
• Stand straight and use your legs to support your weight while cleaning.
• When moving to the side, step in that direction rather than twisting your body to help prevent back injury.
• If hanging laundry on a clothes line, place the basket on a chair so that you don’t need to bend constantly to pick up the clothing.
• Grocery shopping? Don’t carry all your bags on one side. Evenly distribute the weight and carry bags in both hands.

Painting:
The house needs a few touch-ups? Don’t forget proper posture when working with your paint brush!

homedit.com

• To help prevent muscle strain, don’t spend hours reaching over your head with your brush. Instead, get a secure ladder and position yourself at eye-level to the area where you are working.
• When working on low areas, squat or kneel instead of bending at the waist. Use a foam pad under your knees and stand up to take a stretch break periodically.
• Painting is a repetitive motion and can put a great deal of strain on your arms,
• forearms and wrists. Take frequent stretch breaks and apply ice if any pain occurs. 
• Like with any major household project, don’t try to do it all in a single day.

Your body will thank you for it!

Gardening Tips
It's spring, and the lure of getting back in the garden is irresistible. Invigorated by all that balmy fresh air, you spend the first sunny day digging, planting, lifting, and hauling. The next morning, you pay the price.

dirtmamas.ca

• Before doing anything--even any pre-garden stretches--take a walk around your yard a few times to loosen up. Or take a brief bike ride around the block to help you limber up.
• Be cautious about the amount of strain placed on your lower back. Let your arms and legs do the work when pulling a rake or pushing a hoe or shovel. When weeding or planting, sit on the ground or kneel on a foam pad.
• Do easier tasks first. As you progress, periodically switch to other jobs to avoid overusing one muscle group.
• Instead of bending at the waist to pick up a bag of mulch, bend at the knees, pull it up on your thigh close to your body and then stand up. Your thighs can take more strain than your back. When turning do not rotate through the torso, rather turn your whole body with the load.
• Assume a scissors stance while raking by placing your right foot forward and left foot back, says the American Chiropractic Association. After a few minutes, reverse this position, puffing your left foot forward and your right foot back. Periodically reverse the position of your hands on the rake.
• Pace yourself. Work for 15 to 30 minutes and take a stretching break. Take stretching breaks and do some shoulder rolls to take a break from the repetitive motions.
• Keep hydrated. Water should be consumed every 30 minutes, and for warm days, every 15 minutes.
• Think of gardening as a workout, and schedule 30 minutes to an hour of it at least three times a week. Break longer gardening sessions into two to three hour time periods instead of all-day undertakings.

Ladder Safety: 

nachi.org

The Government of Ontario offers these ladder safety tips:

• Use a ladder of proper length to reach the working height you need.
• Before you use a single, extension or stepladder outside, make sure it will not hit electrical wires or tree limbs when extended.
• Place the feet of the ladder on firm, even ground.
• The bottom of the ladder should be about one foot away from the wall for every four feet that the ladder rises.
• The upper and lower sections of an extension ladder should overlap to provide stability.
• Face the ladder while climbing and stay in the center of the rails. Do not lean over the side of the ladder. Your belt buckle should not be further than the side rail.
• On single or extension ladders, never stand above the third rung from the top and never climb above the point where the ladder touches the wall or vertical support.

http://www.healthyontario.com

Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleeping postures and pillows

my.clevelandclinic.org

balancewinnipeg.com

We spend approximately one third of our lives sleeping.  Sleep allows our body to restore itself for the day both energy wise and physically. 

Common sleeping positions often lead to poor sleeping posture, neck and back pain when sleeping, pressure on the different joints of the body, and injuries due to sleeping.  With respect to our sleeping position we should either sleep on our sides (with a pillow between knees) or back (a pillow under knees) and never on our stomach.  Sleeping on the stomach reverses your spinal curves and places a lot of force on the joints of the body. 

Are you sleeping properly? If you are not you can injure yourself and interfere with your body’s recuperation time.

We should never sleep with our arms up above chest height, with our hands under our pillow, or with our legs rotated forward and bent too high.  Your body should be in a straight alignment.

Your pillow should be replaced every 1 – 2 years unless you sleep with a water pillow and these last normally 5 years. The pillow should be at a height so that when you lie on your side your neck and head are straight and not bent down or up.  If you are wondering about your pillow please bring it in and Dr. Barbara Rodwin can check the height and age of it for you.  We have pillows to loan out, ask the front desk about borrowing one if you would like to.

Sleeping Tips:

You should try to go to sleep at the same time each night.  The room you sleep in should be as dark as you can make it.  Do not sleep with your cell phone under your pillow as studies have indicated that the cell phone emits harmful radiation that can damage your brain and lead to brain cancer or tumors.

If you have problems falling asleep or you wake up in the middle of the night you can take natural supplements to aid in getting a good night’s sleep.  These can include: melatonin, 5-HTP, taurine, magnesium, Phosphatidlyserine, and several other ones. 

If you have problems sleeping email Dr. Rodwin and she can make suggestions to ensure you obtain a good night’s sleep!

Mattresses

eofdreams.com

Mattresses last for 10 to 12 years.  If yours is older than this, it is time to replace it. A mattress is important to getting a good night’s sleep and allows our body to feel good!  There are so many types in this day and age to choose from. You should ensure you do your research before going out to look for one and understand the warranty and exchange policy the company offers for the one you purchase.

There are basically three comfort preferences: soft (Pillow Top), plush and firm. There are also varying forms of the Pillow Top. Learn about the support system- foam or innerspring.  A good support system provides good support whether your mattress is a pillow top, plush or firm. Never put a new mattress on an old foundation. You can also look at purchasing a latex or memory foam mattress. Mattress buying is the most important decision you will make in furnishing your home, since you and your loved ones will spend close to one-third of your lives sleeping on your mattresses. For a mattress that costs $1,000, you spend approximately three cents a day. Aim to buy the best mattress you can for the money.

For more information on mattresses please ask Dr. Barbara Rodwin.

The Top 11 Causes of Low Energy 1.   Low Iron 2.   Thyroid Dysfunction 3.   Vitamin B12 Deficiency 4.   Insufficient Magnesium 5.   Stressed Adrenals 6.   Food Sensitivities 7.   Missing Essential Fats 8.   Low Coenzyme Q10 9.   Chronic Bowel Issues 10. Dwindling Sex Hormones 11.  Not getting a good night’s sleep

Are you tired of feeling tired? If you are find out how to increase your energy! Ask Dr. Barbara Rodwin.

Magnesium

justmein1health.wordpress.com

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is essential to good health. Approximately 50% of total body magnesium is found in bone. The other half is found predominantly inside cells of body tissues and organs. Only 1% of magnesium is found in blood, but the body works very hard to keep blood levels of magnesium constant. 

Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. There is an increased interest in the role of magnesium in preventing and managing disorders such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Dietary magnesium is absorbed in the small intestines. Magnesium is excreted through the kidneys. 

Magnesium is important for people with diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, osteoporosis, muscle tension, muscle cramping, restless legs, and many other conditions.

safeandhealthy.com

Acupuncture

genethso.ca

Types of Conditions that Acupuncture is Beneficial for:
Acupuncture can be a very effective solution when treating many different problems. It works by increasing the circulation to the area and decreasing inflammation.  Secondly, acupuncture stimulates regrowth of the cells and tissues in an injured area. And also, it helps to reduce pain by activating opioid systems in the brain that respond to pain. Sometimes in pain conditions, the central nervous system remembers the pain, even if the injury is healed. Acupuncture helps to reteach the brain and nervous system to be healthy again.

The acupuncture needles are inserted into meridian points associated with the condition a patient has. The needles are very fine. The needle is thinner than your hair diameter!

Dr. Barbara Rodwin has treated: Ankles sprains, shin splints, Ilio-tibial band problems, Osteo-Arthritis of different  joints, Patello-femoral syndrome, hip problems, Sciatica, lower back problems, rotator cuff issues, golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, migraines, neck problems. Also: pre-menstrual syndrome, immune system problems, depression/anxiety, colds, flu, rheumatoid arthritis, and other arthritic conditions.

There are fewer adverse effects associated with acupuncture than with many standard drug treatments (such as anti-inflammatory medication and steroid injections) used to manage painful musculoskeletal conditions. 

Brian Berman, M.D., director of the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine in Baltimore, confirmed that acupuncture is definitely becoming a more popular treatment option for North Americans.  

"There is more evidence coming out showing acupuncture is safe and often effective and should be considered as part of a multidisciplinary approach for chronic pain," he said.

Are you a candidate for Acupuncture on your hip or knee?

Several studies have been done to test the efficacy of acupuncture in treatment of hip pain. A randomized, controlled study of 3,633 osteoarthritis patients, published in the November 2006 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, assessed the effectiveness of acupuncture along with routine care compared to routine care alone in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee joints. 

Patients who received acupuncture with the routine care improved markedly compared to patients who only received routine care. Patients were randomly assigned to receive up to 15 acupuncture treatments in a 3-month period versus a control group that received no acupuncture. Some patients who did not agree to be randomly assigned also received acupuncture. The randomized and non-randomized acupuncture patients showed significant improvement in symptoms at three months and the improvement was maintained at 6 months compared to patients not receiving acupuncture. Quality of life also improved in the acupuncture group.