Benefits of Exercise

What if someone told you that a thinner, healthier, and longer life was within your grasp? Sound too good to be true? According to a wealth of research, exercise is the silver bullet for a better quality of life.

Not only does regular exercise aid in weight loss, it reduces your risk for several chronic disease and conditions. Finding activities that you enjoy and that become part of your daily routine is the key to a long and healthy life.

The list of health benefits is impressive, and the requirements are relatively simple – just do it.

A lot of people associate the benefits of exercise to weight loss. This is in fact very true, but exercise has many other health and longevity benefits. It can help prevent or improve these conditions:

Heart Disease and Stroke: Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart’s working capacity. Physical active individuals have half the risk of coronary heart disease compared to their sedentary counterparts.

High Blood Pressure: Regular physical acitivity can reduce blood pressure in those with high blood pressure levels. People who exercises are 35-50% less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who are inactive.

Type II Diabetes (Non-insulin dependent): By reducing body fatness, physical activity can help to prevent and control this type of diabetes.

Obesity: Physical activity helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving lean muscle mass and improving the metabolism of the body (the body’s ability to burn calories). Obesity is a major risk factor for many diseases.

Back Pain: It has been estimated that up to 70% of low back pain is due to poor muscle tone and flexibility of the lower back muscles and poor abdominal muscles. By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise helps to prevent back pain.

Osteoporosis: Regular weight bearing exercises (walking, jogging, stair climbing, weight training etc…) strengthen bone formation and helps prevent the bone loss. Studies have shown that women who walked four or more hours per week had 41% fewer hip fractures than those who walked less than an hour a week.

Psychological Benefits: Four large population studies in the US and Canada have shown that general well-being is somewhat greater, and depression is much less frequent, in those who take exercises relative to those who take little or no exercise.

Improved self-esteem is one of the top benefits of regular physical activity. While exercising, your body releases chemicals called endorphins that can improve your mood. Excises can help you cope with stress ward off depression and anxiety.

How much exercise would be beneficial? For the greatest overall health benefits, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends a combination of aerobic exercises (the type that makes you breath harder, like walking or jogging) for cardiovascular conditioning; strength training (like lift weight) for muscle toning, and stretching to improve your range of motion. Try to do all three types of exercises, but remember that any form and type of exercise is better than nothing.

Here are some easy ways to incorporate physical activities into your life:

• Adopt a dog and take it for walks everyday.

• Park your car at the further end of the parking lot.

• Take the bus or ride your bike to work.

• Take up any sports/games that you enjoy.

• Take stairs instead of using the elevator.

• Do things the old-fashioned way—get up to change the television channel, and use a push lawnmower etc...

• Join a gym or get advises from fitness professionals.

How can we help you?

At Helping Hands, our knowledgeable Kinesiologists are University trained professionals that specializes in designing personalized exercise programs to help you achieve whatever your fitness goals are. Whether is to improve general fitness levels, to have a personalized home based exercise programs, to have a water/pool based programs, or to enhance sports performance, our team members will be able to help you!

Please feel free to book an appointment today with our Kinesiologist for a consultation to get you started visit http://www.physiotherapycentres.com/ or call 604-939-2833!

Proper Lifting Techniques

Improper lifting technique could cause acute and chronic injuries to the back, legs, or arms.


Here are some of the ways that could help to prevent injuries while lifting.


1) Plain ahead before lifting

Knowing what you will be doing and where you will go will prevent you from making awkward movements while lifting something heavy. Make sure you make a clear path before you lift. If lifting something with another person, make sure the other person has the same plan in mind.


2) Test the weight of the load

If it feels too heavy, ask for help, or use a mechanical lifting device if it’s available. Don’t try to be the hero.

3) Position your body close to the load.

You will have a greater mechanical advantage if you keep the load close to your spine versus away from the body. Make sure you have a firm grip on the object and keep it balanced close to your body.


4) Feet shoulder width apart

A solid base of support is important while lifting. Try to have the load between the knees if possible.


5) Bend your knees and keep your back straight.

Bending at the waist should never be permitted. Never try to catch a falling load. The risk of injury increases when the lower back is rounded.


6) Keep your head up.

The more vertical your posture, the lower your risk of injury.


7) Tighten your stomach muscles and lift with your legs.

By tightening your abdominal muscles will help to brace your spine in a good lifting position. This will also help prevent excessive force on the spine. Your legs are so much stronger than your back muscles. Therefore bend your knees and use the power from your legs.


8) Breathe out as you begin to lift.

This increases tension in your abdominal muscles. Do not hold your breath during a lift; this increase pressure in the abdomen.


9) Always keep your shoulders in line with your feet.

Twisting significantly increases the load on the spine, which increases the risk of injury. Never twist even when carrying light objects.


10) Proper lowering is just as important as lifting.

It is dangerous to drop or throw a load. Bend the knees, keep the back straight, and breath.

Preventing Falls: What You Should Know

Falls are the leading cause of home injury and death among adults age 65 and older. In recent decades the number and frequency of fatal injuries caused by falls among older adults has increased dramatically throughout the world because of an increasing number of older people. Each year, more than 4,700 Americans aged 65 and older die as a result of falls, and more than a million elderly Americans are admitted to hospital emergency rooms to treat injuries related to falls, according to the Home Safety Council.

Falls generally result from an interaction of various risk factors and situations. Frequently, older people are not aware of their risks of falling and often do not recognize risk factors. Although no single risk factor causes all falls, the greater the number of risk factors to which an individual is exposed, the greater the probability of a fall and the more likely the results of the fall will threaten the person’s independence. Even a fall that does not cause an injury can limit confidence and the ability to be comfortable living independently.

Risk factors responsible for a fall are considered to be either physical (i.e. – leg weakness, poor grip strength, visual problems, balance disorders) or environmental (i.e. - poor lighting, loose carpets, lack of bathroom equipment). Many of these risk factors are considered to be preventable. As obvious as it may sound, a lack of knowledge about risk factors and how to prevent them contributes to many falls. Some people believe that falls are a normal part of aging, and as such are not preventable. However, lack of knowledge leads to lack of preventative action, resulting in falls.

For many elderly people, the home can be a hazardous place. Homes with loose throw rugs, runners and mats, curled carpet edges, poor lighting, slippery uncarpeted floors and stairs can turn into “booby traps.” A Yale School of Medicine study of people ages 72 and older living in and around New Haven, Connecticut, found that the most dangerous part of the house was the floor in the living rooms, bedrooms and hallways. Stairways were the second most dangerous zone, according to the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health. Night lights and light switches at the top and bottom of stairways were missing, as were handrails.

Bathrooms were also considered to be dangerous due to the fact that tubs and showers usually lacked nonskid mats, abrasive strips, and grab bars. In addition to poor lighting, toilets were typically too wobbly or too low for an older person to rise from safely. Kitchens were next on the list, with poor lighting, unstable step stools and storage areas that required an older person to reach high or bend low.

Since one-third of all falls in the elderly involve environmental hazards in the home, it may be useful to conduct a walk-through of your home to identify possible problems that may lead to falling. A home visit by an occupational therapist might also be useful in that they are trained to identify risk factors and recommend appropriate actions. Recommendations are specific and comprehensive and often include measures to improve home safety such as the addition of grab bars in the bathroom, removal of loose area rugs, and using alternate colors to denote changes in surface structures.

Some of the reasons seniors tend to fall more often are a result of physical changes such as lack of flexibility and muscle strength, especially in their legs. Failure to exercise regularly results in poor muscle tone, decreased strength, and loss of bone mass, which contribute to falls and the severity of injury due to falls. Recent studies have found that physical activity is an effective intervention strategy for preventing falls in older people. A supervised strength and endurance training program prescribed by a physiotherapist has been found to be effective in reducing the rate of falling by more than 30 %, according to the British Medical Journal.

Physiotherapists play a key role in identifying those at risk of falling and providing interventions such as exercise to improve balance and strength, prescription of appropriate walking aids and activities to maximize endurance, fitness and bone density. For people at high risk of falling, physiotherapists can also intervene to reduce the severity of a fall by recommending injury-reducing equipment such as hip-protectors. Recent research has also identified that balance in women begins to decline after the age of 40 due to changes in sensation and vision. Exercise programs designed by physiotherapists incorporating vision and head movements can also improve balance in the ‘under 60s’ to reduce the likelihood of future falls. Exercise groups and activity programs designed and implemented by physiotherapists are also effective in optimizing balance and fitness for people with conditions that may restrict participation in general activity programs, such as those with diabetes, arthritis, or neurological dysfunction.

For more information or to book an appointment with a Physiotherapist, visit us at www.physiotherapycentres.com or cal 604-941-3055.

Bowen Therapy Sessions

What Happens in a Bowen Therapy Session?


Gentle movements composed of subtle rolling of connective tissue in a series of patterns initiate the treatment. There are pauses between movements to allow the brain time to process and send messages to the body. It is thought that stimulation of the brain, reawakens the original, genetic pattern, and more recent injury and compensation patterns are released. The pauses enable the body sufficient time to receive and process the messages and restore a healthy, natural balance.

Sessions usually last 45 minutes to an hour. Subsequent visits (usually a minimum of 4) are scheduled one week later, in order to complete the foundation of the work in the body.

It is advisable to allow a week between sessions of any other physical modalities and Bowen Therapy.

To book an appointment call 604-856-8989

Bowen Treatment

Bowen Treatment Can Help With:


• Arthritic Pain

• Asthma

• Back Pain (Chronic & Acute)

• Bunions

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

• Fibromyalgia

• Gait Disorders

• Headaches & Migraines

• Leg Length Issues

• Foot & Ankle Issues

• Frozen Shoulder & Tendonitis Pains

• Hammer Toes & Heel Spurs

• Hay Fever, Sinusitis & Allergies

• Knee & Hip Issues

• Pelvic & Sacral Iliac Joint Unevenness

• Plantar Fasciitis

• Pre-Menstrual Syndrome

• Tennis & Golfers Elbow

• TMJ Syndrome

• Scoliosis

• Shin Splints

To learn more visit www.physiotherapycentres.com or call 604-856-8989

Thank You Guildford Physiotherapy

Thank you so much for giving me the pleasure of working with each and every one of you.  It's been a great eight months.  Take care and have a wonderful 2012! 

Liz

Low Back Pain

Have you ever experienced low back pain? Unfortunately, chances are that you either have or that you will. For most people, this pain is short-lived, but for a small percentage, low back pain can become chronic. What options are available for you if you are coping with chronic low back pain?




Ask yourself, Do I have good days and bad days? If you do, then something must be aggravating your pain, such as certain movements and postures. A Kinesiologist or Physiotherapist can help you analyze how you move and help to identify possible aggravating movements or postures. Key to decreasing chronic pain is to eliminate aggravation, so by discovering what leads to increases in your pain and removing these factors, you may help to decrease your pain.



Before exercising, you should focus on creating and maintaining a neutral spine. The spine is considered to be neutral when it is in its natural alignment, preserving the curves of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. The spine and its surrounding structures and put under the least amount of stress when in this position, and this position is usually non-aggravating. A Kinesiologist or Physiotherapist will guide and instruct you on how to find your neutral spine.



Once you have learned how to find a neutral spine, it is time to exercise! Exercises should emphasize creating endurance rather than strength in the muscles of the back. Strong backs tend to be injured backs! Your muscles must be strong over a long period of time in order to maintain posture for the duration of the day, including during activity. Specific exercises can be prescribed for you to address your own unique weaknesses, goals, and activities. Find an experienced Kinesiologist who will design a program unique to your needs.



Yoga can also help to decrease back pain. Yoga’s focus on alignment during movement reflects the importance of creating endurable strength in neutral to help reduce pain. Yoga also improves body-awareness by strengthening the mind-body connection and creating calmness in practitioners. Increasing relaxation and decreasing stress are important for decreasing back pain. Look for an instructor who has worked with low back pain sufferers previously and make sure they are aware of your pain – not all poses will be appropriate for you.



For more information on managing your chronic low back pain, we invite you to attend an information session at one of our clinics! Call your nearest location to find out upcoming dates!  http://www.physiotherapycentres.com/