Can You Prevent Arthritis? Is it truly possible to prevent arthritis? The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, which is also known as degenerative joint disease. It is experienced by 80% of people over 50 years of age and can begin in the teenage years. It brings with it pain, deformity and the tendency to limit joint movement throughout the body. Unfortunately, it usually does not announce its arrival. Rather, it comes on subtly, often with morning joint stiffness appearing as the initial symptom. From there, it progresses, becoming increasingly painful, especially with activity. For many people, the assumption is that it is impossible to prevent arthritis of this kind. They feel that osteoarthritis is just a normal part of aging and that it goes hand in hand with normal “wear and tear” on the body. They also believe that nothing can be done about it. Improve Your Understanding to Prevent Arthritis Understanding how osteoarthritis is caused, can help provide solutions in how to prevent it. Osteoarthritis is caused by an improper function (or motion) of the involved joints. When joints begin to move improperly, 90% of the time it causes no sensation. As a result, joint degeneration occurs, Read more…
Benefits of Chiropractic Care and How It Can Help Support Your Health
WHY SHOULD YOU SEE A CHIROPRACTOR? AFTER EXPERIENCING ACCIDENTS OR TRAUMA A car accident or simple fall can cause severe stress on one’s neuro-musculoskeletal system, this can affect movement and function. A fall, even as a young child, can cause or contribute to future health problems. Thankfully, seeing a chiropractor can help with such injuries. It is possible to not only find relief but also prevent other health issues that may arise later on in life. IF YOU ARE COMPETING IN SPORTS Even though sports benefit the body by giving it exercise, these activities can also put stress on our spines. The vast majority of elite teams and athletes worldwide would not dream of competing without first experiencing chiropractic adjustments. Research shows that chiropractic care increases athletic performance by 17%! Are you an athlete who has been putting up with aches, pains or other injuries? If you see a chiropractor, you could experience an alleviation of your symptoms, and a boost to your competitive edge. TO EASE PREGNANCY Pregnancy is a time of hormonal changes that can “loosen” ligaments, when the body is preparing for birth. This, coupled with added weight, can put increased stress on the neuro-musculoskeletalal system. Women Read more…
Inflammation is the body’s normal physiological attempt to defend itself against foreign invasions and repair it from injury. This blog shares what inflammation is and how to reduce chronic inflammation naturally! Acute Inflammation When describing what inflammation is to my patients, I always explain that there are 2 types; the acute and the chronic. Acute inflammation is important, especially if we experience an injury or infection—it’s what promotes healing. Heat (calor), pain (dolor), redness (rubor) and swelling (tumor), best describe the classic inflammatory response. Acute inflammation occurs as a short-term response to harmful stimuli such as a cut, sprain or burn. Ever notice that a wounded area swells up and becomes warm? That is the body’s way of protecting the area as it begins to heal. Chronic Inflammation When inflammation persists over time it becomes chronic. Chronic inflammation is the body’s response to ongoing lifestyle stresses like: poor diet, lack of sleep, stress, and lack of exercise. It occurs when the injury is ongoing or a predisposed immune system fails at counter-regulation, contributing to the onset of many chronic illnesses. Without getting too technical, chronic inflammation can be explained as an insufficient dampening or excessive up-regulation by intracellular proteins, kind Read more…
Two Natural Ways to Relieve Foot Pain
Approximately 75% of Canadians will experience some form of foot problem during their lifetime. Are you one of the 75% of people suffering? This week’s blog addresses two natural ways to relieve foot pain. Common Causes of Foot Pain Your feet are a complex system of 52 bones, 66 joints, 214 ligaments and 38 tendons and muscles. Even the smallest imbalance in your feet can cause pain. Fortunately, there are solutions but before we get into those let’s chat about some of the most common causes of foot pain. 1) Plantar Fasciitis Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It occurs when the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. The plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue that spans the sole of the foot and provides shock absorption while walking. Those with plantar fasciitis will usually exp erience pain in the morning, when they first step out of bed. The pain will usually improve over the day, with only a dull pain persisting. 2) Metatarsalgia Metatarsalgia results in a sharp pain in ball the foot, which is given its shape by the rounded ends of the metatarsal bones. The pain can feel like Read more…
5 Things You Can Do to Relieve Shoulder Pain
Looking to relieve shoulder pain? Keep reading… The shoulder is a complex joint that is located at the intersection of the humerus (upper arm), clavicle (collarbone), and scapula (shoulder blade). These 3 bones are held in place by a network of muscles, tendons and ligaments. Despite its large range of motion, the shoulder is not very stable, which puts it at an increased risk for injury. In fact, shoulder injuries are so common that 1 in 10 people experience shoulder pain in their lifetime. What Causes Shoulder Pain? It could be as simple as a slip or fall, an injury while playing sports or plain old overuse. The pain may be caused by: • A fractured bone • An injury to tissues around your joint, like a ligament (bone connector), tendon (muscle-bone connector), or muscle • Damage to the cartilage cushion inside the joint Whatever the cause, shoulder pain is just that – a pain. Since shoulder pain can make life miserable, people often overdo it with pain medication. Though medication may temporarily mask pain, one must keep in mind that it does nothing to resolve the cause of the pain. Without addressing the cause – the pain will almost always come back. So, Read more…
Chiropractic Care and Women
In honour of International Women’s Day, we at Sante Chiropractic and Wellness decided to devote this blog to women and Chiropractic. In todays world we like to promote equality between women and men in all aspects of our lives. There are a few things that will remain different between both genders, specifically when it has to do with our bodies. Ladies Only Women have the incredible capacity to get pregnant and give birth, something men cannot do. Yes, it is true science is evolving and there may come a day when we re-visit this idea but for the purpose of this blog we will keep it to how a womans body naturally was designed for pregnancy. Pregnancy is a wonderful thing and does not necessarily need to be painful or difficult. Many pregnant women have benefited from chiropractic care during their entire 40 week gestation period. It can help as the body goes through changes and help on the day of the delivery. A recent study showed that women receiving chiropractic care during their pregnancy have a 24% shorter labor time for a first pregnancy and 39% shorter for a second or third one. Also, the studied revealed the need for analgesics during Read more…
Is Sitting too Much Really that Bad? “Sitting is the new smoking!” at least that is what people are saying these days. Sounds a little bit extreme for some, but did you know that sitting can actually cause more than physical dysfunction and can also be systemic? Harvard University recently published an article stating that too much sitting is linked to heart disease, diabetes and premature death. The 2015 Inaugural Active Working Summit presented findings on the increase risk of lung, uterine and colon cancer with longer hours seated. More than half of the average person’s waking hours are spent sitting, watching television, working at a computer or commuting. Studies have also shown that brain function slows when the body is sedentary for too long. This is explained by the decrease in blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Sitting and Weight Gain If one spends a significant amount of time in a sedentary position throughout the day, they may find that weight gain becomes an issue. As the body slows down while in a resting and seated position, our metabolism slowly slows down as well. Calories are burned at a far lower rate when most of the muscles are Read more…
The Impact of a Concussion
In the past decade they has been an increased awareness towards cerebral concussion
As chiropractors, we come across a lot of patients who self diagnose and sometimes come up funny stories It’s sciatica… I know my brother had the same thing. It’s just normal headaches everybody has them. I don’t know how it happen, I swear I was doing NOTHING! Must be age. I’m getting old. One of my favorite: ”I don’t think it’s my joint’; it’s my muscles causing me pain”. Muscles would be the only cause of pain, according to a number of our patients. In a neuro-musculoskeletal disorder, the part ‘’musculo’’ represents only a third of the word and the same goes for an actual physical problem. In fact, there is rarely one thing causing your problem, it is often multifactorial. Let me explain, What is Pain? It is nothing more than the interpretation of a sensation by your nervous system. So, without nerves we could not feel the pain… We could also not feel anything else, move, breath, think, react, or just live. Pain is a sign of alarm to let you know something is wrong in your body. From there you have the choice to listen to it or to ignore it. Fun fact: Pain transmission in your Read more…
5 Tips for Low Back Pain Relief During Pregnancy
Pregnancy causing back pain? Relieve it with these 5 tips