As we are amidst our third province-wide lockdown in Ontario it's pushed me to reflect on how and why we do what we do: from all things Covid19 and pandemic-y to activities of daily life to interactions and treatments in clinic. At this point in the game, it's no surprise that many of us have had to adapt to change in one way or another. Whether that's been returning to working from home, coping with not being able to spend holidays in person with loved ones or even dealing with the additional stress of just everything going on and changing so rapidly. Routine is a very difficult thing to grasp right now, and that's okay. The important thing is that we continue to adapt to whatever is thrown our way.

How does this relate to chiropractic care? The answer is the concept of adaption. Adaption of new literature, adaption of new evidence for/or against specific treatments, and  adaption of bringing this new knowledge into clinical practice.

What does that mean for you? It means that when you come in for chiropractic care, you can expect treatment beyond cracking. It means that the issue you're coming in for will be treated with a combination of education, rehabilitation, muscle work, and joint work. The latest evidence suggests that the combination of these 4 aspects of treatment is superior to just 1 of them alone.

Education: Understanding what is going on with your body is crucial to taking the mystery and confusion away from it. It means that the pain you're experiencing will become less scary. Knowledge is power and will be important to help you properly rest, strengthen and recover from your injury. 

Rehabilitation: Many injuries occur because something in your body is being subjected to more than it can handle. Most of the time, strengthening the area of your body that is being overworked will lead to drastic improvements in decreasing your pain and also help prevent the injury from reoccurring. This is because that area of your body is now stronger and able to take on more without feeling uncomfortable, sore or achy. 

Muscle and Joint Work: This will provide relief from pain so that you can move more comfortably and get what you need to get done. 

When you come in for chiropractic care, you can expect Dr. Brenda Yee to be up to date with the latest evidence in manual therapy and provide you with the best evidence-based care so you can have the smoothest road to recovery as possible.

 Dr. Stuart McGill is an internationally known biomechanist that has devoted much of his research to the study of low back pain and how to beat it. Through his research, 3 exercises emerged to be the best exercises for strengthening your core and low back. The important part about these exercises are that they keep your lumbar spine in a neutral position (which is where your lumbar spine wants to be) while also strengthening the surrounding muscles.

The FIRST of the Big 3 exercises is: Crunches!

Getting Ready for CRUNCHES!
-To do a proper McGill Crunch, lay flat on your back. 
-Keep one leg straight and bend your other leg at the knee and place that foot flat on the ground
-Place your hands underneath the arch of your low back with your palm facing down

HOW TO PROPERLY DO A MCGILL CRUNCH:
-Before doing anything, tighten your core just enough to prevent any movement in your lumbar spine (Remember, the goal of this exercises is to stiffen your core and build stability in your lumbar spine WHILE it's in a neutral position)
-Slightly lift your elbows off the ground while at the same time slightly lifting your head off the ground
-While lifting your head off the ground, keep it also in a neutral position (aka don't just flex your neck to raise your head off the ground)

If you're doing this exercise right, it really should look like you're not doing much at all! But remember, you're doing this exercise to rebuild your bad back. It happens with baby steps.

Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks to find out what the other 2 best exercises are for fixing your low back pain!

If you or someone you know is experiencing low back pain, book today with Dr. Brenda Yee to begin your journey on beating back pain! Through guided strengthening rehabilitation and hands-on treatment for sore muscles and stiff joints, you'll be moving and grooving your way to being pain free. (And no, you won't be coming for treatments forever just to "get cracked".)

Have you ever experienced a deep achy (sometimes burning) pain in your midback region on the inside part of your shoulder blade beside your spine? Does it make you feel like you need to rub your midback on the corner of a wall to get relief? Does the persistent pain of it distract your from doing work at your desk? If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions, you may be experiencing the symptoms of Dorsal Scapular Nerve Entrapment. 

What is Dorsal Scapular Nerve Entrapment?
Dorsal Scapular Nerve Entrapment is the irritation or (literal) impingement of the dorsal scapular nerve in your midback. It is an under-recognized cause of neck, upper back and shoulder blade pain. The symptoms of it often overlap with other conditions and can be mistaken for cervical disc herniation, rib pain or shoulder pathology.

My side rant: Now, I don't like to use the word "impingement" or phrase "pinched nerve" lightly when talking about the body because I think it can too easily mislead the proper, thorough diagnosis of a person's pain. It's too easy to say "you have a pinched nerve and that's why you have pain". Most often, the pain a person experiences is NOT from a pinched nerve. But in the case of dorsal scapular nerve entrapment, it literally is "a pinched nerve" in severe cases.

Common Cause of Dorsal Scapular Nerve Entrapment
In the diagram above, you can see the common "pinch points" of the dorsal scapular nerve as it travels from the neck down into the midback. The muscles that commonly get tight and then consequently decrease the dorsal scapular nerve's ability to move properly in your body are levator scapulae, rhomboid minor and rhomboid major.

How Do You Treat Dorsal Scapular Nerve Entrapment?
Rehab, rehab, rehab! I cannot stress enough how important it is to strengthen your midback muscles, particularly your rhomboid muscles, to help in the recovery process of dorsal scapular nerve entrapment. Exercise combined with manual therapy (soft tissue therapy, spinal manipulation and mobilization) has also demonstrated itself to be an effective treatment combination in relieving the pain you're experiencing from it and also helping to prevent its reoccurrence. 

Does dorsal scapular nerve entrapment sound like something you're experiencing? Book today with Dr. Brenda Yee at Nurture Family Chiropractic in Guelph, Ontario to see how the combination of hands-on treatment and guided strengthening physical rehabilitation can make a drastic difference for you.

What is the ONE single best thing you can do for your health? Is it sleeping? Is it eating healthy? Is it exercising?

The answer is EXERCISE! Just 30 minutes of exercise a day can dramatically decrease your risk of developing heart disease, stroke and other nasty illnesses while also boosting your mood, productiveness and overall quality of life. Sound too good to be true? Well, it's real alright! Our human bodies were designed to move. When we move our muscles get stronger, our bones stay dense and our joints stay well oiled. Movement also prompts our bodies to produce our infamous happiness hormone dopamine amongst a host of other hormones that are important for healthy regulation of our body. 

Sound interesting? An extraordinary video produced by DocMikeEvans on Youtube describes how EXERCISE is the single best thing you can do for your health. Maybe that's how some of these catchy phrases developed like "Movement is Medicine" and "Motion is Lotion". This video is definitely worth a watch and will challenge the excuses you've developed to avoid having to exercise.

Need some guidance on where to begin with exercise or have an injury that's preventing you from exercising the way you'd like to? Visit Dr. Brenda Yee at Nurture Family Chiropractic in Guelph to see how exercise can become an integrated and enjoyable part of your lifestyle through personalized treatment and advice. 

Do you use you ever find yourself scrolling endlessly on your phone during the day? Well if you have, you're not alone! Some times scrolling for long periods of time can result in a feeling of stiffness in your thumb and wrist. Here is a quick and easy stretch to help relieve that unwanted ache!

Name: DeQuarvains Stretch
How to Stretch: Grip your thumb with your fingers. Bend your wrist towards your pinky finger. You should feel a gentle stretch along your wrist and forearm.
How Long?: Hold for 10-30 seconds.
How Often?: Repeat 2-3x/day or when you feel stiffness developing.

This will help loosing those scrolling and texting muscles and hopefully decrease your thumb and wrist pain!
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If you’re experiencing aches or pains, book an appointment today to see how Dr. Brenda Yee can help you at Nurture Family Chiropractic in Guelph.