Golf season is in full swing. Reinitiating any summer activity after a long winter can potentially result in post-activity soreness. Golfing is a complex activity that involves generating movements through both your upper and lower extremities, thus producing a great number of stresses on the joints, muscles, and ligaments. A bucket of balls on the driving range, numerous practice strokes, and an average of 90 strokes during a round all result in repetitive strain to the tissues. A well-designed exercise program including stretching, core muscle strengthening, balance exercises, and an aerobic fitness component is key to keeping you on the fairways. Have a physiotherapist prescribe a golf-specific program for you. It is also wise to seek instruction from a local golf pro, who can improve your technique, thus decreasing your chance of injury. Try a few practice swings in the opposite direction. Enjoy the season!

Doug Treloar, Physiotherapist
PhysioFirstClinic.ca

“Every person who has cancer has a pH that is too acidic.” – Dr. Otto Warburg (Nobel Prize winner). Did you know that 95% of cancers are said to be linked to diet, lifestyle, and environment, leaving only 5% to genetics? From the foods we eat, to the amount of stress we are under, our culture leads a particularly acidic lifestyle. Our bodies were not designed to endure what we put them through, leading us on a path of disease. The answer? Eliminate the acidity. It Works! GREENS Blend is an amazing green-based super food. It helps to alkaline, energize, and detoxify the body with a perfect blend of 38 herbs and nutrient-rich super foods that provide phyto nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes you require for your body and overall health. Reclaim your health, start with GREENS.

Wendy Omilanow, IT WORKS

MAT, or Muscle Activation Therapy, is a dynamic approach to addressing muscular imbalances that can reduce or eliminate pain and fatigue, and speed muscle recovery. It is a noninvasive method for improving everyday activities for all age groups and body types. MAT allows the body to achieve optimal levels of function, without further discomfort or injury, by increasing the body’s range of motion, restoring muscular alignment, and eliminating compensation patterns. It is a checks-and-balances system designed to identify and address the causes of discomfort and range of motion limitations. MAT helps with growing pains, slowing down and even reversing the aging process, feeling a positive impact on arthritis and aging-related losses in physical performance, healing the body faster and properly after surgery, and acting as a precursor to exercise and therapy to help prepare the body.

Julie Northam, Certified Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist, Julie’s Muscle Awareness, JulieMuscleAwareness.com

If you decide to bring your pet along on a trip, take a few things into consideration. Air travel can be particularly dangerous for animals with “pushed in” faces (the medical term is “brachycephalic”), such as bulldogs or pugs. Their short nasal passages leave them especially vulnerable to oxygen deprivation and heat stroke. If transporting your pet by air is the only option, find out whether they can travel in the cabin with you. Most airlines will allow you to take a cat or small dog in the cabin for an additional fee. But you must call the airline well in advance; there are limits to the number of animals allowed in the cabin. Travel is a stressful event for animals, so remember to plan ahead of time, and talk with your veterinarian if you have other concerns.

Rob Lamont
Apetlovers.com

Do you ever feel like the clogged up hard drive of your computer? Unable to multitask, losing power, steadily grinding towards a halt? Perhaps you’ve lost your “Oomph”! Maybe you’re fine in the morning, but by evening you’re ready to crash out in front of the TV. How would it feel to reclaim your Oomph? Simply allow redundant thoughts, beliefs, judgements, and points of view, as well as the stuck feelings and attitudes they hold in place, to run out of your brain and into the “waste basket”, just as you would your hard drive. Simply press the delete button and away those files go! Are you needing direction in your life? Need to slow down, focus, smile again? Lose weight, increase money flow, diminish stress, heal? Consider getting your BARS run. It’s a beautiful way to reset that hard drive, and begin living again!

Wendy Omilanow
Access Consciousness BARS®

NAET® was discovered by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad in November of 1983. Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques, also known as NAET, are non-invasive, drug-free, natural solutions to alleviate allergies of all types using a blend of selective energy balancing, testing, and treatment procedures. The variety of techniques applied includes acupuncture/ acupressure, chiropractic, nutritional, and kinesiological disciplines of medicine. We know that many symptoms, such as headaches, backache, joint pain, indigestion, or cough, are often triggered by food and environmental sensitivities. If left untreated, these reactions might eventually cause illness. This therapy often alleviates adverse reactions to eggs, milk, peanuts, penicillin, aspirin, mushrooms, shellfish, latex, grass, ragweed, and flowers. In addition, people who suffer from allergens such as perfume, animal dander, animal epithelial, makeup, chemicals, cigarette smoke, pathogens, heat, cold, and other environmental substances also find relief.

Dr. Li Lin
Brandon Acupuncture Chinese Medicine & Herbal Centre, Brandon-Acupuncture.com

Did you know that the same essential oils that you use on yourselves can be used on your dog?

Lots of us have jumped on the bandwagon of natural health and have now incorporated a lot more homeopathic remedies into our family life, but we shouldn’t leave our four-legged family members out!

A lot of the same essential oils (EOs) that we use for ourselves can also be used for the exact same purpose on our dogs! The only difference being that animal are A LOT more sensitive than people so it’s crucial to make sure that the EOs used are good quality pure essential oils with no fillers or additives.

Dogs are also very sensitive to smell, so we have to be careful how much oil you are using and how you are using it.

For example, if you are diffusing in a closed room with your dog, make sure to use less drops or leave a door open for the pet to leave if he becomes overwhelmed. You can also apply an oil diluted to your hands and let the dog smell from 8-10” away. Some recipes can be used in a spritz to spray the coat or can be petted on the dog.

Whatever way you are using EOs with your dog, introduce new oils slowly at first, less is more!

Dilution ratios for dogs should also be closely heeded, depending on size of the animal. To start I always add more carrier oil until I know how the animal will react. A carrier oil could be anything from olive oil, sweet almond oil to coconut oil

0-25 lbs – 75% dilution (1 drop oil to 4-5 drops carrier oil)

26-45lbs – 50-75% dilution

46-75 lbs – 25-50% dilution

76-90 lbs – 50% dilution

91 + lbs – 25% dilution

You can also create a spritz with distilled water and a few drops of essential oils. Spray the fur (avoiding the face and eyes). This application is great for a bug spray or cooling spray in the Summer.

Topical applications would include the area of concern (a rash or a painful joint), or you can just dilute and apply down head, neck and back of the animal. Here are some good oils to start with on dogs:

Lavender – Use for skin issues like rashes and scrapes. Apply down the back to enhance relaxation and help with stress.

Lemon – Add lemon essential oil to a ribbon at the door for ‘scent marking’. This will help older dogs find their way outside or help puppies associate the scent to house training. Or diffuse for a fresh and clean scent.

Peppermint – Helps with tummy issues (apply topically to area). It also helps to cool the animal in the Summer either by spritzing on coat or adding a drop to their water.

Ylang Ylang & Tangerine or Orange – Helps with grieving or loss. And reduction in anxiety.

Frankincense – Helps with anxiety and dogs going through a transition. For fearful dogs. Also good for skin issues like fatty lumps or skin tags.

One of the most commonly requested remedy is one for repelling fleas and ticks for your dog. Different EOs repel different bugs so here a few ideas on how to keep pesky critters away from your pooch!

Cedar Wood & Geranium are super flea and tick repellents!

Eucalyptus & Peppermint for stinging bugs.

Citronella and Myrtle for Mosquitoes and biting insects.

Here is an all-purpose recipes for bug repellant using essential oils:

Doggie Bug Spray:

-4 drops citronella

-3 drops cedar wood

-3 drops geranium

-2 drops myrtle

-2 drops peppermint

-1 drop thyme

Add to an 8oz bottle of distilled water. Shake well before every use. You can also add a 8 drops of Neem Oil to the mixture as it is a potent insecticide itself but it will also help the spray adhere to the coat for longer.

Sylvia Provenski
CanadianMoms.ca

The lymphatic system consists of lymph vessels and lymph nodes throughout the body. These vessels collect lymphatic fluid, which is composed of protein, water, fats, and waste products from your cells. The collection of lymphatic fluid is then transported to the lymph nodes, where waste products and foreign materials are filtered out, somewhat like a water filtration system. This filtered fluid is returned to the blood by the lymph vessels. The swelling in lymphedema is caused by abnormal accumulation of the lymph fluid in the tissue, which impedes the system from performing its function. It causes the lymphatic system to develop insufficient removal, infection, and radiation of the lymph nodes (called secondary lymphedema), or has developmental causes (called secondary lymphedema). Therapy is important at all stages for reducing the swelling with specialized massage techniques and exercise.

Marita Dowsett, B.P.T. Physio4U
Physio4U.net