Is It Because of My Age?

The aging process begins at birth! When we are born our cells start to form, divide, grow and mature. During this process the cells in our body require nutrients, rest, and exercise in order to mature. These cells form a variety of different structures in the human body. The cells aid in developing our skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs, brain, and bones. As we age these cells go through renewing themselves each day. For instance, over the course of 7 years our bodies develop a whole new bone system! Yes, that is right, even at a later age our bones go through a renewal of cells and a taking away of cells. Just think in 7 years time your bones will have regenerated to form themselves again. If you live to the age of 70 your bones will have renewed themselves 10 times!  

We at Back to Health enjoy helping people age gracefully. We often have individuals who believe that their problem is because of their age! We as a society feel that as we age it is normal to have issues with a joint, muscle, tendon, ligament or another body part. We are often told for instance that a left knee problem is due to our age! If this were the case how come the right knee does not bother this person?

Should we not change our philosophy on aging and think of it as a time to take care of these issues and to address the underlying causes? After all is it not things we did when we were younger or that we did not have taken care of that often come back to haunt us as we age?  

THE AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR CANADIANS WAS 81.2 YEARS OF AGE! FROM 2009

12 months of weekly strength training improved cognitive function in women as they aged and decreased the chances of fractures. Try yoga for strengthening!

Ensure that when you strength train that you focus while lifting and maintain proper body alignment

Are you Omega 3 deficient?

Omega 3 deficiencies result in altered cell membranes that simply do not function properly. Cell membrane dysfunction is a critical factor in: cancer, diabetes, arthritis, nerve and eye tissues, cognitive disorders of the brain, cardiovascular disease – including heart attacks and strokes.

Omega 3 and Omega 6 are the names of two groups of polyunsaturated fatty acids known to be “essential”. This means that our body cannot make these on its own and we must take them in through the foods we eat! Studies have shown that the ideal ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 in our bodies is 1:2. The typical modern diet has caused the ratio to skyrocket to between 1:10 and 1:25.  

The key Omega 3’s are called: EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahaxaenoic acid) and they are abundant in fatty fish – such as mackerel, sardines, and anchovy. We do not normally eat enough of these fish. It is recommended to take between 1,000 and 3,000 mg. per day of an Omega 3 supplement.  

There are also plant based products such as flaxseed and hemp that provide a type of Omega 3 called ALA (alpha-linoleic acid). The body must first convert this ALA into the EPA and DHA before it can be used. Studies have shown we only convert about 2 – 20%.

If you consume a lot of Omega 6 in your diet – meats, grains, vegetable oil, and olive oil – you should look at supplementing with Omega 3!

Please see the information sheet on the board in front reception.

Differences in bones, cartilage, muscle, tendons and ligaments as we age!

Bones reach a maximum mass between ages of 25 and 35. The aging process causes bones to shrink in size and density. You might notice yourself becoming shorter. Bones become less dense partly because they contain less calcium (which gives bones strength). The amount of calcium decreases because the body absorbs less calcium from foods. Also, levels of vitamin D, which helps the body use calcium, decrease slightly. Certain bones are weakened more than others. Those most affected include the end of the thighbone (femur) at the hip, the ends of the arm bones (radius and ulna) at the wrist, and the bones of the spine (vertebrae).

The cartilage that lines the joints tends to thin, partly because of the wear and tear of years of movement and old accidents we have had. The surfaces of a joint may not slide over each other as well as they used to, and the joint may be slightly more susceptible to injury. Damage to the cartilage due to lifelong use of joints or repeated injury often leads to osteoarthritis, which is one of the most common disorders of later life. 

Osteoarthritis cannot be reversed but you can have work done in the area to improve joint motion!

Ligaments and tendons tend to become less elastic, making joints feel tight, stiff and resulting in you becoming less flexible. These tissues also weaken. Muscles, tendons and joints lose some strength and flexibility. Reflexes become slower and you may become less coordinated during the aging process. You can do exercises to aid in maintaining balance and coordination.

Who is in charge of your Aging? 

The human population lives longer now than ever before! Unfortunately we sleep less, eat processed foods, and do not always put ourselves first when it comes to taking the time for stretching, icing, strengthening, exercising and other general wellness aids. Why is this? We have the tendency to ignore things till there is a problem. We are not conditioned as a society to think of general wellness, prevention and maintenance for our body as we age. When we do have an issue we want a quick fix for it!

Some European countries do think of maintaining their health in this way. With these countries they find there are less chronic issues, greater wellness, less time off work, decreased sick days and people generally feel healthier!   

Should we start thinking in this way? Yes! General wellness starts with you! Start taking the action required to bring yourself towards this goal so that you may feel great as you age. It does not have to happen overnight. Sit down and make a list of the things you feel that would take you on a road to wellness as you age. Make one change initially and then after working through the one change, look at the next item on your list!

If you require help with the list then enlist the appropriate people to aid you on this path! After all, If you wear out your body, where will you live?

Take action today to help yourself for the future! You are in charge of how you age!

With age, if a problem is neglected, the body will attempt to splint or stabilize the injured joint, like mending a broken bone. First a thickening of adjacent bone surfaces, then a lipping effect, bone spurs, and later fusion will occur. These degenerative changes affect the spine, extremities, and tissues in our body. These changes in the bones are the same as leaving your teeth and having tooth decay. The extra bone/thickening of bone our body forms in the area is the same as mineral deposits in a cave. Our body lays it down to attempt to help.  Since the joint is not moving properly our body develops extra bone in the area.

  

Preparing for Winter Sports

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It’s that time of year to begin thinking about and preparing for winter sports. Skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, ice hockey, and snow shoeing are some of the most popular activities that tend to start as we head into winter.  If you don’t take the time to properly prepare the body for the stress placed on it during these activities (some more than others), then you are setting yourself up for muscle aches and soreness and also pre-disposing the body to injuries.

Your preparation should include the following:

1.   Stretching and strengthening

2.   Preparing yourself and winter gear

Strengthening and Stretching 

Many winter activities use the strength and power of the lower body. The lower body holds the largest and strongest muscles, which many of us neglect all summer. Come first snowfall, we are out there on the mountain unable to participate to our full capacity because our legs become tired after two runs.

Strengthening your muscles before the season starts will also help prevent injury. Our joints endure a tremendous amount of pressure and instability in many winter activities. If we have strong muscles, ligaments and tendons surrounding the joints, there is less of a risk of injuring the joint. For example, many of us know of someone who has torn the ACL or meniscus in the knee while downhill skiing. This injury can be prevented if you have a strong quadriceps and hamstring muscles surrounding the knee joint because these muscles do not allow the knee to torque in a way that will tear those ligaments. Being strong going into your winter season of fun will also help with your recovery process. Many of us have woken up after a day of fun unable to hop out of bed. Muscles have memory and must practice to remember. They get used to the movement and the way they are required to fire to move properly. The more you do it, the easier it is and the less sore you are!

Strengthening: Snow Sport Circuit

• 10 min warm-up (running, cycling, cross trainer)
• 10 calf raises
• 10 push-ups
• 10 lunges on each leg
• 30 bicycle crunches
• 10 box jumps (or tuck jumps)
• 10 triceps dips
• 10 single leg squats on each leg
• 10 bridges
• Repeat 3 times
• 5 min cool-down

Stretching

Think of a top down approach:

• Neck and Shoulders
• Back and Sides
• Thigh and Extensors
• Gluteals and Hamstrings
• Lower Legs and Feet

Preparing Yourself and Winter Gear

1.  Be sure your diet is adapted to the physical activity.

2.  Drink lots of water and drink it often to avoid becoming dehydrated, which can be caused by physical exertion and the cold.

3.  Protect your’s and your children’s faces with sun block (adapted to your skin type) and renew its application throughout the day, even when it’s cloudy or overcast.

4.  Never leave without your sunglasses.

5.  Check weather, snow and ice conditions beforehand and dress, wax and sharpen accordingly.

6.  Wear a helmet!

7.  Maintain your chiropractic and other treatments!

Straighten Up Canada!

STRAIGHTEN UP CHALLENGE AND SELFIES!

What is the Straighten Up Canada app? Straighten Up Canada is a mobile app for improving posture and spinal health through twelve short exercise videos. Spend just three minutes a day doing these exercises and you'll be well on your way to better spinal health!

The app can be found at: www.straightenupcanada.ca.

We are challenging everyone to download the app and from October 15th to December 19th to complete a 30-day challenge of taking 3 minutes a day to do the exercises in the app! As well you could take Selfies, before and/or after if you like of yourself.

We will be having three contests with prizes: one for the individuals who complete the 30 days performing the exercises in the Straighten Up app, one for the selfies and the last for the individuals that complete both the app challenge and the selfies.

Stay tuned for the list of prizes!
Download your app now and try it out!

Research has demonstrated that poor postures and inactivity can contribute to the development of back pain, neck pain and other spinal disorders.

Some facts:

• Up to 80% of people will suffer from back or neck pain during their lives. 

• 50% of the working population will experience back or neck pain symptoms at least once per year. 

•Many every day activities can increase the risk of spinal pain.  

• Age is one of the most common risk factors for spinal pain, and the greatest effects of population ageing are predicted in low-and middle-income countries. 

• Back and neck pain is one of the most common reasons for workplace sick leave. 

• Back pain is the second most frequent reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by the common cold. 

The good news is that many of these common problems can be easily avoided!

Courses taken by our health care providers:

SPINE:

Ashley Rocheleau, registered massage therapist, has certified in the SPINE active release technique!  She is now full bodied certified which includes: spine, upper and lower body/extremity.

NERVE ENTRAPMENTS:

Dr. Barbara Rodwin is re-certifying in the Active Release Technique from November 1 to 2, 2014. This essentially would be where a nerve is pinched somewhere in your body. If you want to watch a video about how this works :click here

Dr. Rodwin is certified in: upper extremity, lower extremity, spine, nerve entrapments, biomechanics, and a Masters course with the Active Release Institute. She has been practicing this technique since 1998, for 16 of her 23 years in practice!

INDIVIDUALIZED NUTRITION FOR YOUR HEALTH:

November 8 and 9, 2014 Dr. Rodwin will be attending this course. The course is going to be an excellent! The course outline includes: Creating individualized treatment plans utilizing successful evidence-based therapies and effective dietary recommendations for your health, treatment guidelines will be addressed for thyroid conditions, adrenal stress, bone health, yeast infections, blood sugar, insulin resistance and diabetes, heart health, breast, ovarian cyst, PMS and prostrate health, menopausal and peri-menopausal symptoms.

Think about your body; it is the most important piece of equipment you have!

After all if you wear out your body where are you going to live?

Good posture will help you to:

• Look and feel even better than you already do,

• Prevent back aches and muscle pains,

• Decrease wear and tear on your joints,

• Use less energy for daily tasks, and

• Increase your spine’s flexibility and resilience.

Seasonal Affect Disorder

What is Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD)?

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Seasonal affect disorder (SAD) is a cyclic, seasonal disorder which can cause depression, anxiety, increased need for sleep, difficulty concentrating and over eating, especially sweets and carbohydrates, which can result in weight gain.

It is unknown exactly what causes seasonal affect disorder, although decreased sunlight is thought to be a major cause. SAD is more common in Northern countries where there is a major decrease in the amount of sunlight in the winter months.

Age is another factor. Very few people under the age of 20 are affected by seasonal affect disorder. It is also suspected that changes in the levels of some hormones (increased melatonin levels and decreased serotonin levels) experienced in the winter may also contribute to SAD.

It is difficult to diagnose seasonal affect disorder because it could be another form of depression that happens to coincide with the winter months. There is usually a requirement for depression in the winter months for a minimum of 2 consecutive years with a lack of depression at other times of the year for SAD to be diagnosed.

Seasonal affect disorder is usually treated with light therapy. Sometimes medication and psychotherapy are also used to treat it.

Exercise and getting outside in the sun can also help.

SOME SYMPTOMS OF SEASONAL AFFECT DISORDER
• Anxiety and depression
• Loss of energy
• Social withdrawal
• Increased sleep
• Overeating
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating

Lights

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The ideal way to treat this form of depression is to get some outdoor exercise on sunny days.

When this is not possible light therapy may be used. Light therapy involves exposure to very intense infrared light.
Damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light is avoided by filtering out the UV light.

New research shows that specific wavelengths of light are more effective at treating SAD than others.

Insomnia

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One of the side effects of light therapy can be insomnia. If light therapy is performed too late in the day it can keep you up at night.

Some people suffer from reverse seasonal affect disorder or “Summer SAD”. This occurs in the summer and is related to heat instead of light. Summer SAD results in insomnia, irritability and a loss of appetite instead of oversleeping, lethargy and overeating.

To avoid problems with insomnia you should avoid large doses of light later in the day. The room you’re trying to sleep in should be quiet and at a comfortable temperature.

Daily exercise early in the day and avoiding large meals and excessive fluid later in the day should also help.
If insomnia is still a problem there are some other natural techniques such as the cold abdominal wash and breathing techniques can also be very helpful