Do you suffer from pain, stiffness, and discomfort in your major joints like knees and hips? You may have osteoarthritis. In addition, to many non-drug therapies such as losing weight, exercise, and supports, there are some over-the-counter medications that can help. These include topical anti-inflammatories, acetaminophen, and oral anti-inflammatories such ibuprofen or naproxen. If a trail of over-the counter medications is not successful, there are prescription medications that could tried. While each of these options has some risks of side effects or drug interactions, your pharmacist can help you determine what option is best for you.
Community News
Ask The Expert
Q: I’m blind without my contact lenses. Do I really need to get glasses or should I just stock up on my contact lens supply? A: If you feel disabled without contact lenses, you ought to do both. There are times when you really need to wear glasses – to ensure the surface of your eye gets enough oxygen, or after an eye injury or eye infection. For optimum eye health, take time off from wearing the lenses and replace them often.
Considering A Chemical Peel?
Is your skin feeling dry and dull? Medical grade chemical peels form an integral part of achieving optimal skin health and appearance. Tailored to specific skin types and conditions, these treatments are designed to target hyper-pigmentation, aging, acne, and more. Peels also enhance the results of your home care regimens and other in-clinic procedures. Chemical peels can target discolouration, skin tone, radiance, the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and pore congestion, without over-drying the skin. The result is an improvement in the appearance of the skin overall, leaving it smoother, glowing and a more even looking complexion.
Changing our Perception
We’ve been conditioned to be rewarded with unhealthy food. I am sure you’ve heard.. “If you finish your broccoli, you can have a piece of cake!” Food is there to nourish you. Not to be a burden, a stressor nor a reward for good behavior. After a week of hard work, you reward yourself with pizza and beer; nothing wrong with it occasionally if your body can process it, but you notice you are not feeling well afterwards. How was that a reward? What about rewarding yourself with a meal that nourishes your body and leaves you feeling good and energized. By changing our perception towards food, we can change our relationship with food.
The Great September Reset
This September feels truly like a new start. A time to reset and recharge, the break from the heat of summer and a new season, back to school, or work, new routines, new wardrobe (masks). There is momentum, it is time to take charge, get inspired, and tackle all those goals you’ve been “getting around to.” It is a perfect time to take control of your health. To help you start those new habits come to our OPEN HOUSE September 19th. Come see what we have or participate through our social media pages. Health is Wealth!
“Fight or Flight’ to ‘Rest and Digest’
Massage therapy is undeniably effective at getting people tapped in to their parasympathetic nervous system, which is more commonly called ‘rest and digest’. Unfortunately, many spend most of their days in ‘fight or flight’! When the parasympathetic nervous system is in charge, blood pressure and heart rate lower, breathing is fuller, oxygen and blood make it deeper into the body, tissues repair themselves, organs do their jobs better, and overall, mental health is much more relaxed and content. It’s not hard to understand why being in ‘rest and digest’ is more conducive to recovery, management and being better prepared to handle what life throws at us!
Book Club
Living Well with Arthritis: A Sourcebook for Understanding and Managing Your Arthritis Living Well with Arthritis is written by Canadian doctors for Canadians. Its authors, all respected experts in the field, focus not only on medications and complementary treatments, but also on management of the many aspects of life that arthritis can affect. Topics such as dealing with chronic pain and fatigue, developing emotional and social coping strategies, and managing relationships are all explored, taking readers through the steps of how the body is affected, and ways to manage the disease.
Clean Eating Recipe
Grilled Chicken Lettuce Wraps. 1 lb lean ground chicken; 2 shallots, thinly sliced; ½ red pepper, diced; 1 tbsp chili powder; 2 tbsp lime juice; 2 tbsp orange juice; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp honey; 1 tbsp sriracha; 1/3 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped; 12 iceberg lettuce leaves; 1/3 c chopped peanuts. Sauté chicken, shallots, red pepper, and chili powder 5-8 min, until chicken is brown. Stir in lime juice, orange juice, fish sauce, honey and Sriracha. Cook 3-5 min, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir 2 tbsp cilantro into the mixture. Remove from heat. Serve in lettuce leaves. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts. Enjoy!
Words To Live By
Love yourself the most and treat yourself the best! That is in your best and highest interest; and in the best and highest of everyone else as well!
How Tinnitus Impacts Daily Life
Most people have experienced a few hours in which they heard a constant ringing or buzzing in their ears without any external source of noise, likely after a concert or some other loud event. Even if temporary, ringing in the ears can be distracting and make communicating difficult. For most people, the noises typically fade after a short period of time, but for some, the ringing never goes away.
This ringing is called tinnitus, a condition that affected an estimated 9.2 million adult Canadians (see hearing loss Canada) in the past year (Stats Canada). It can manifest as a ringing, clicking, buzzing, or a variety of other sounds. Like hearing loss, tinnitus ranges in severity and can be caused by many different things. Although there is no cure for chronic tinnitus, when symptoms persist for over three months, there are treatment options that can allow patients to live a normal life despite the condition.
When approaching treatment options for tinnitus (see free hearing test), it is important to understand what tinnitus is, and what causes it. Tinnitus is most commonly caused by age and long-term exposure to loud sounds, but there are some other causes as well. Ototoxic drugs, impacted ear wax, and problems in the middle ear are less common causes of tinnitus but can create the same effect. For cases such as impacted ear wax, the sounds being heard are the sounds that our bodies naturally produce. But for most types of tinnitus, the sounds are not influenced by any external input. In these cases, tinnitus is the brain’s attempt to make up for a lack of external stimuli caused by damaged hair cells in the cochlea, which is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing.
The impact of tinnitus pain differs from person to person and depends on the severity of the issue, and the type of treatment the person is using. Common negative impacts of tinnitus include anxiety, poor concentration and sleeping habits, stress, irritability and depression. Poor sleeping and challenges with concentration are the two most common side-effects of tinnitus and can both be dealt with in similar ways.
Because tinnitus is more noticeable when it’s quiet, falling asleep can become extremely difficult for people with tinnitus. Some people find that using a sound machine or white noise app helps drown out the tinnitus and makes falling asleep easier. There are also masking devices that can be worn, such as hearing aids, that help to cover the sound of tinnitus.
People with tinnitus may find it difficult to complete complex tasks or follow conversations as the constant noise can be incredibly distracting. For people who have trouble sleeping because of their tinnitus, concentration becomes even more difficult.
Although some people can live with only slight annoyances from their tinnitus, others find it much harder to ignore the constant ringing or other sounds. In these cases, a professional can help to determine the best treatment options for their patient’s unique condition.
Natural Product Spotlight
Try Natural 2-in-1 Willow Bark Conditioning Shampoo by Herbs and Butters Skincare – made right here in Manitoba! This all-natural 2-in-1 conditioning shampoo is the perfect blend of nature and science. This deeply penetrating conditioning shampoo removes excess dirt and oil while conditioning the hair and scalp with plant-derived proteins. Minimizes shedding, stimulates hair growth, and clarifies scalp with Willow Bark extract. Daily use of this gentle yet effective, pH-balanced, conditioning shampoo will result in healthy, lustrous hair and long-lasting cleanliness. An excellent solution for all hair types, this product is free of sulfates, silicones and harsh chemicals.
