Meet Dr. Priscilla Kerr, a family physician with 5 years postgraduate specializing in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. Dr. Kerr immigrated to Winnipeg with her husband in 2007 after living in Brazil for 33 years where she did her Medical training, became a Family Doctor and then entered the Acupuncture residence program for Doctors. Dr. Kerr fell in love with Traditional Chinese Medicine and specializes in pain management as well as fertility. in Canada she helped hundreds of couples reverse their infertility issues and become pregnant (538 pregnancies)! Dr. Kerr founded the Prairie Medical Acupuncture Clinic in 2007, which is located within the new building at Manitoba Clinic.
Community News
To Err with BP
Monitoring your blood pressure at home can sometimes be misleading. Checking the same arm several times in succession can give inflated results. For more accurate readings, first empty your bladder. Sit for five minutes with your back supported and your feet flat on the floor. Ensure your arm is resting level with your heart. Put the BP cuff snuggly on your bare arm. Don’t talk while taking a reading. Refrain from smoking or ingesting caffeine prior to checking. Consistent readings over 150/90 should be recorded with your pulse and reported to your doctor.
Abs of Steel or Jelly Belly?
Your pelvis is a ring of bones held together by ligaments and muscles. These muscles engage every time you walk, sit, stand, run, or even breathe! Weak stabilizing muscles cause your pelvis to move too much and surrounding muscles contract to control the excess movement, leading to chronic muscle tightness. By strengthening the core, our bodies are able to withstand these forces without muscle spasms. Some of the best exercises for core involve maintaining a neutral spine position and resisting forces. Your physiotherapist can give you specific exercises to improve your strength, while relaxing other muscles through manual therapy techniques.
8 out of 10 People Impacted by New Epidemic
Digital Eye Strain is a new epidemic affecting roughly 8 out of every 10 people twenty-five years and older in North America – that’s 80% of nearly our whole working force! With the rise of technology, most people use screens for sometimes hours at a time. This increased digital focus is causing dry eyes, headaches, light sensitivity, blurred vision and neck pain. Whether you have any of these symptoms or work on your computer for more than 3 hours total per day, be sure to see an optometrist that prescribes glasses and/or contacts for Digital Eye Strain.
Imagine Your Strength
August is the month of Gladiolus and Poppies which are said to represent Strength of Character and Imagination. Imagine your dream self: Healthy, strong, happy, smoke free, able to take in clean fresh air and run with the kids, the grandkids, and the fur baby. Imagine life free of addiction and full of self control and a firm resolve to change. These are attainable goals! Reach out to for help in your area to find people that can come along side you with natural strategies and encouragement. Your dreams matter and you are not alone. Help is closer than you think!
Home Remedy for Denture Pain
There are many reasons to replace missing natural teeth with dentures; aesthetics, proper mastication of your food, digestion, proper jaw alignment (to avoid a TMJ disorder), and speech to name a few. However sometimes dentures can cause pain or discomfort, especially if they are old or ill-fitting. An easy home remedy to help relieve gum/oral tissue pain is rinsing with saltwater twice daily. Doing this will help reduce swelling and help heal any sores that may have developed. It also inhibits growth of bacteria in the mouth. Simply dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water and rinse your mouth in the morning and evening. (Note: not intended to replace consultation with qualified medical professional.)
Meet the Professional
Ever since local mixed media artist Sally Towers-Sybblis was a child, she had a passion for creating. She believes her process is simple: start and the painting will evolve and finish itself. Sally loves to use colour in her work; the more colour, the happier the work becomes. “I want my work to reflect a sense of fun and spontaneity!” she says. It’s important to Sally to include the community in her work, so she teaches classes on a regular basis. “Sharing my techniques gives others that same sense of gratification and expression that I receive from creating!”
Make Social Interaction a Priority
Maintaining relationships and spending time with others is essential to our emotional and mental well-being. It can help prevent depression which affects 20 percent of the population over 70 years of age. Socializing also keeps the mind active and improvements are greater when the person is involved in fun interests with other people. Scheduling regular get-togethers with friends give us something to look forward. For those who are truly adventurous you can enjoy new experiences and meet new people by signing up for travel tours, book clubs, and much more at your local community centre.
Response to Trauma
When trauma is experienced, we naturally react by going to the following 3 states. Flight – tuning out, scattered attention, running away from situations, unable to look at what is going on inside. Fight – turning to defensiveness or argumentative behavior. Freeze – avoiding engagement or confrontation, turning away, or becoming passive.
With trauma, there is often a disconnection from self or the present moment. These behaviors may continue if the emotions attached to the events and experiences are not released. EFT, or Tapping, is a gentle way to release the emotions, conscious or sub-conscious, to improve your emotional wellness.
Experience Matters with Botox
Your face has more than 40 muscles and each plays a role in creating facial expression. Practitioners with minimal knowledge may perform Botox injections. An inexperienced provider will be less familiar with the anatomy of the face, leading to possible complications and poor results. In fact, less experienced providers may end up using more volume of Botox (costing you more) to achieve the same result, simply because their application is less precise. Make sure the person is an expert in facial anatomy and aesthetic procedures, such as a MD with special interest in dermatology/aesthetic medicine or board-certified dermatologist.
Computerized Spine and Joint Therapy
Divine Spine provides computerized adjustments, most commonly used to provide neck pain, back pain, headache, and sciatica relief, through state-of-the-art technology. Divine Spine’s computerized treatment system is designed to gently, precisely, and effectively restore motion to your joints to help get you moving, feeling and functioning better. Treatment is performed through EVA – the Electronic Vertebral Alignment system. Adjustment is a non-invasive procedure consisting of a precisely directed movement to help relieve pain and discomfort and restore range of motion in the spine.
