Community News
Find an Experienced Pain Practitioner

We have all experienced pain at some point during our life. But there are some people for whom pain is a daily burden that doesn’t seem to go away. For those people, it is important to find a practitioner who has extensive experience in assessing and treating acute and chronic pain conditions. It doesn’t matter if your pain is from joints, muscles, nerves, organs, emotional trauma, or even an unknown origin, there is almost always something that can be done to decrease or remove the pain. Get a thorough assessment that can uncover previously overlooked or misunderstood aspects contributing to your problem.

Knee Replacements Outside of Hospitals

Total knee replacement is the most definitive treatment for advanced osteoarthritis. This procedure is typically done in a hospital setting, with 3-5 days of hospital stay. In recent years, it has become clear that healthy individuals can be discharged from the hospital on the day of their surgery, to safely and conveniently recover at home. Having surgery done at a medical centre provides a welcome alternative to hospitals. This can help reduce complications associated with hospitalization, and for many patients, the convenience and comfort of being at home with family is much preferred over the rustle and bustle of a busy surgical ward.

Cold Laser Therapy Process

State-of-the-art cold laser therapy is a three-step process, each using a different wavelength of light. The first step uses a red light pad, which gets absorbed by the skin cells and underlying superficial layers of muscle. The second step uses an infrared light pad, reaching deeper into the muscle layers, as well as the tendons and ligaments. The third step includes an infrared laser wand that is placed specifically on the affected areas by a trained laser therapist. It’s very concentrated and targets the deepest affected structures, stimulating healing in and around affected ligaments, cartilage, joints, and even bone.

Building Empathy and Understanding

When students who have learning difficulties have access to specialty learning programs outside of school, their brain networks are often strengthened and they become more aware of how their actions affect others. During their time in specialty learning programs, these students experience increased networking in the brain, which helps them better develop areas in the brain that are related to the ability to feel empathy and understand others’ perspectives. Many students with learning difficulties have also experienced bullying in the past, and with their strengthened empathy and understanding, they are able to help others who are going through similar struggles.

Chiropractic Care is Simple

Modern life is filled with opportunities that cause misalignment in the joints of the spine. Sitting, bending, lifting, trauma, and poor posture while using computers and mobile phones can all cause strain on the neck and back. This strain can damage the soft tissues of the spine, including the delicate nervous system that is housed within. So, what happens when your spine becomes misaligned? Neck pain, back pain, headaches, sciatica, and more. But sometimes pain doesn’t occur until the damage accumulates. Chiropractic can help to gently re-align, reduce strain, and restore function to this delicate spinal system. When was the last time you had your spine examined by a doctor of chiropractic?

Words to Live By

“Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, hate less, love more, and good things will be yours.”

~ Swedish Proverb

Clean Eating Recipe: Almond Butter Pancakes

Makes 7 – 8 pancakes. Ingredients: 1/2 cup almond butter. 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. 2 whole eggs. 1/2 tsp baking soda. 1/2 tsp cinnamon. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Directions: In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until a smooth, uniform batter is created. Cook on pre-heated non-stick frying pan medium heat, with a small amount of oil. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve with fresh fruit, berries, dollop of plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of maple syrup.

The Healthy Book Club

The Good Living Guide to Medicinal Tea. 50 Ways to Brew the Cure for What Ails You. by Jennifer Browne. Tea has medicinal properties that are widely underused in North America. Common herbs, spices, fruits, and barks have been scientifically proven to help relieve pain, menopause symptoms, high blood pressure, insomnia, stress, and digestive angst. When taken preventatively, certain herbs in tea can help fight off cancer cells, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s disease and fibromyalgia. Learn about what these various natural ingredients are capable of and how they work.

Gaining the Mental Edge

Athletes are always looking to get into “the zone” – a balance of attention, concentration, and confidence. Quick thinking is crucial to making decisions that can be the difference between winning and losing a game. Neurofeedback is a tool that allows for identifying the areas of an athlete’s brain that are responsible for mental flexibility, task switching, and rapid decision-making. This allows an athlete to control how their brain reacts to stress, which in turn can help achieve peak performance. Neurofeedback training can help an athlete increase their cognitive abilities, while reducing the white noise of distractions around them.

Using an SI Belt

A sacroiliac belt (SI belt) used during the training part of your physiotherapy program is often recommended for both pain relief and support of the sacroiliac joints and/or pubic symphysis. SI belts are used as an adjunct during core muscle training and act both to provide mechanical support and sensory input to remind the brain which muscle(s) need ‘waking up’. Your physiotherapist can perform a couple of simple tests to determine whether an SI belt is recommended for you. Diane Lee’s patented Pelvic Support belt will help support your pelvis specifically where it is needed the most during your training period.

After-School Brain Boost

Not all learning has to happen during school hours. If your child seems to have to put more effort into their schoolwork than their peers do, an after-school program could give them the extra brain boost they need. Additional time spent strengthening the brain can help it to change and grow through the principle of neuroplasticity. This can increase your child’s self-esteem and social connections. After-school programs that strengthen the brain’s capacity for learning increase the brain’s efficiency, which makes school less tiring and keeps your child focused and on track to be their academic best.