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Hey there! We all know that slouching can be comfy and it feels good to just relax and sink into our chairs. But did you know that poor posture can actually have some serious negative effects on your health? So, let’s dive into some of the amazing benefits of good posture that you might not know about! [Read more…]
I can hear your spine screaming at you from across the gym!!!!
There is always that guy at the gym…you know the one…the loudest guy in the place. Grunting like a rutting moose. Slamming weights so heavily on the ground that you think that they just might cause the floor to buckle. He’s usually the same guy who walks around the gym picking up every 45Lb plate to put on the leg press machine, just to say to his girlfriend “This is not heavy enough…can you jump on top to give me a few extra pounds?!”
We jest. But behind the joking and gawking is a small sense of insecurity. Or dare I say jealousy…not about his girlfriend…but there is one move in the gym that he can do that you can’t…
Here’s the scene: a guys’ weekend in Banff with all the fun things that they like to do in the mountains – snowboarding, nachos, steak dinners, and a couple (or perhaps more) of adult beverages. All was going well until noon on the second day of snowboarding. I came ripping down a black diamond run, dodging trees and flying over a couple of steep rollers – you know, on the border between chaos and control. Before I knew it, I had hit the ground hard enough to have a garage sale on the side of the mountain. To non-snowboarders, a “garage sale” is when you wipe out so badly that your equipment goes flying in all directions. Such an epic crash leaves you dazed, laying on the snow, and wondering if your limbs are still attached to your body. In my case, I was thankfully still in one piece and not bleeding, but my wits were definitely not still with me. The wind had been knocked out of my chest, leaving me unable to call to my snowboarding buddy as he casually made his way down the mountain oblivious to my condition. Thus I was on my own to pick myself up and get back to the safety of the ski lodge. Unfortunately, I had trouble staying vertical and I quickly realized my head had taken a bad knock.
Welp, thanks, good ole “friend”. Great help you are leaving me on the side of a mountain with a concussion. At least my sarcasm was still intact. [Read more…]
You drive so carefully, never speed through school zones, never change lanes in an intersection, never tailgate and always pay attention in parking lots… and yet here you are… a dump truck ran over your VW beetle or some new driver decided to not yield to oncoming traffic and you’ve totalled your car and your neck is screaming in pain!
Once upon a time, I had a friend I played tennis with. We used to go out a few times per year and re-learn on each occasion that we were quite terrible at the game. Even during our warm-up rallies, we consistently hit every ball over the fence. After we had fished them out of the bushes, we carefully selected the balls we liked the best, deluding ourselves that it would improve our game. Then off we went, playing our hearts out like it was the Wimbledon final.
Once we remembered how the scoring worked (how the word “love” makes it onto a scoreboard is still beyond me), we would slog through our game. Picture this: two middle-aged men running all over the court, sweating and swearing profusely, and occasionally managing a half-decent shot. Our serves (mostly into the net), our forehands (mostly bouncing well beyond the baseline), and the awkward-looking backhand (that never went anywhere but into the stratosphere) all had the coordination and grace of a newborn giraffe taking its first steps. We would have been embarrassed if we weren’t so mad at our rackets for hitting our shots in the wrong direction. Before long, we would end our tennis match exhausted, and yet strangely satisfied that we managed to hit the ball over the net enough times to complete a full game.
As the years went on with our tri-annual matches, we never suffered any worse injuries worse than the occasional blister on our feet. Despite our dismal fitness, not once did we ever get the eponymously-named Tennis Elbow.
However, five years later I got a text from my former tennis buddy, saying, “I can’t believe it. I have lateral epicondylitis and it’s driving me nuts. WTF?! It’s been years since I swung a racket!” [Read more…]
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or even a hit to the body that causes the brain to move rapidly back and forth inside the skull.
In the past, experts used to believe that a concussion was caused by the brain bouncing around inside the skull, causing bruising and inflammation, which lead to the concussion symptoms. But in recent years, research indicates that this is not an accurate explanation for what happens during a concussion.
The latest research indicates that concussions are rather created by a rapid acceleration and deceleration of brain matter. When your head or body receives a direct blow, it can cause the brain to make this rapid movement.
Why is this so harmful? The brain is comprised of grey and white matter which have different densities. This means parts of your brain will accelerate and decelerate at a different rate, causing it to move out of sync. The axons (parts of the nerves) that run between the gray matter and white matter are damaged as a result of this difference in their respective acceleration and deceleration. This damage is what leads to the symptoms commonly associated with a concussion, such as fatigue, headaches, loss of balance, and coordination issues.
Historically, concussed individuals were told to rest until they feel better. However, now that there has been a tremendous amount of research done on the recovery process, it’s been determined that while rest is important in the early stages (24 – 48 hours), longer periods of rest can actually complicate a patient’s recovery.
No. While rest and movement are important initially, concussions need ongoing treatment overseen by a practitioner knowledgeable with the latest concussion treatment research.
Our team at Pure has completed extensive training through Complete Concussion Management to treat patients who are experiencing symptoms of both acute concussion and post concussion symptoms with movement designed to help the brain heal in those later stages. Since every patient and every concussion is unique, our team of experts collaborates with each other and their patients to come up with a personalized treatment plan. Treatments may include rehabilitation exercises, vestibular ocular training, chiropractic care, physiotherapy, as well as massage therapy.
Our practitioners look at the 5 main causes of concussion symptoms when coming up with a personalized treatment plan for each patient.
These symptoms include:
You can review our website for more information, and recently our very own Dr. Michael Heinzlmeir was a guest on the What the Hack Podcast episode “What If Everything You Know About Concussion Was Wrong?”
To schedule a complimentary consultation for concussion care, please complete the following form:
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Tuesday: 9 am – 8 pm
Wednesday: 9 am – 8 pm
Thursday: 9 am – 8 pm
Friday: 9 am – 3 pm
Closed for statutory holidays.