Sports injuries are a major economic and health burden, with an estimated cost of $1.65–2 billion dollars each year and approximately 40,000 people in Canada over the age of 15 years old being hospitalized due to a sporting injury. Several health care professionals provide musculoskeletal sports injury management in the community; with a recent study finding 49.5% of Chiropractors report often treating athletes or sports people.

The aim of one study was to describe the workforce characteristics of chiropractors involved in treating sports injuries. A 91-item web-based questionnaire collected information about practitioner and practise characteristics of chiropractors. Descriptive statistics summarized the frequency of practitioner (e.g. age, gender, education), patient characteristics, caseload and management approaches, as well as beliefs about identity and role as a chiropractic sub-discipline.

Chiropractors were typically male with advanced education beyond chiropractic credentials. Amateur or semi-professional sports people comprise 65.6 % of Sports Chiropractors’ caseload. Athletes were most likely to present with a lower limb musculoskeletal (MSK) disorder (hip, knee, ankle or foot). Of these, 42.6 % were co-managed with another health care practitioner; treated via multiple modalities, most commonly being soft tissue, trigger point and spinal manipulation. Approximately 86% of Sports Chiropractors work alongside another health care practitioner, with 60% working alongside a massage therapist or chiropractor and 27% working alongside a physiotherapist. Half of Sports Chiropractors provide sideline emergency assessment.

Sports Chiropractors exists for a diverse range of competitive athletes, typically at non-elite levels. These athletes present almost exclusively with MSK complaints (diverse bodily regions), which are typically managed using a multidimensional approach.

If you have sustained a sports injury, we welcome you at PRI clinic. With over 35 years of experience, we have rehabilitated many amateur and professional athletes. To book an appointment, call or e-mail:

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is an injury to the knee commonly affecting athletes, such as soccer players, basketball players, skiers, and gymnasts. Non-athletes can also experience an ACL tear due to injury or accident. Approximately 200,000 ACL injuries are diagnosed in the North America each year. It is estimated that there are 95,000 ruptures of the ACL and 100,000 ACL reconstructions performed per year in the North America. Approximately 70% of ACL tears in sports are the result of non-contact injuries, and 30% are the result of direct contact (player-to-player, player-to-object). Women are more likely than men to experience an ACL tear. Physical therapists are trained to help individuals with ACL tears reduce pain and swelling, regain strength and movement, and return to desired activities.

What is an ACL Tear?

The ACL is one of the major bands of tissue (ligaments) connecting the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) at the knee joint. It can tear if you:

• Twist your knee while keeping your foot planted on the ground.
• Stop suddenly while running.
• Suddenly shift your weight from one leg to the other.
• Jump and land on an extended (straightened) knee.
• Stretch the knee farther than its usual range of movement.
• Experience a direct hit to the knee.

How Does It Feel?

When you tear the ACL, you may feel a sharp, intense pain or hear a loud “pop” or snap. You might not be able to walk on the injured leg because you can’t support your weight through your knee joint. Usually, the knee will swell immediately (within minutes to a few hours), and you might feel that your knee “gives way” when you walk or put weight on it.

How Is It Diagnosed?

Immediately following an injury, you may be examined by a physical therapist, athletic trainer, or orthopedic surgeon. If you see your physical therapist first, your therapist will conduct a thorough evaluation that includes reviewing your health history. Your physical therapist will ask:

• What you were doing when the injury occurred.
• If you felt pain or heard a “pop” when the injury occurred.
• If you experienced swelling around the knee in the first 2 to 3 hours following the injury.
• If you felt your knee buckle or give out when you tried to get up from a chair, walk up or down stairs, or change direction while walking.

Your physical therapist may perform gentle “hands-on” tests to determine the likelihood that you have an ACL tear, and may use additional tests to assess possible damage to other parts of your knee.

An orthopedic surgeon may order further tests, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other possible damage to the knee.

 When to consider Surgery?

Most people who sustain an ACL tear will undergo surgery to repair the tear; however, some people may avoid surgery by modifying their physical activity to relieve stress on the knee. A select group can actually return to vigorous physical activity following rehabilitation without having surgery.

Your physical therapist, together with your surgeon, can help you determine if nonoperative treatment (rehabilitation without surgery) is a reasonable option for you. If you elect to have surgery, your physical therapist will help you prepare both for surgery and to recover your strength and movement following surgery.

How Can a Physical Therapist Help?

Once an ACL tear has been diagnosed, you will work with your surgeon and physical therapist to decide if you should have surgery, or if you can recover without surgery. If you don’t have surgery, your physical therapist will work with you to restore your muscle strength, agility, and balance, so you can return to your regular activities. Your physical therapist may teach you ways to modify your physical activity in order to put less stress on your knee. If you decide to have surgery your physical therapist can help you before and after the procedure.

 Treatment Without Surgery

Current research has identified a specific group of patients (called “copers”) who have the potential for healing without surgery following an ACL tear. These patients have injured only the ACL, and have experienced no episodes of the knee “giving out” following the initial injury. If you fall into this category, based on the specific tests your physical therapist will conduct, your therapist will design an individualized physical therapy treatment program for you. It may include treatments such as gentle electrical stimulation applied to the quadriceps muscle, muscle strengthening, and balance training.

 Treatment Before Surgery

If your orthopedic surgeon determines that surgery is necessary, your physical therapist can work with you before and after your surgery. Some surgeons refer their patients to a physical therapist for a short course of rehabilitation before surgery. Your physical therapist will help you decrease your swelling, increase the range of movement of your knee, and strengthen your thigh muscles (quadriceps).

 Treatment After Surgery

Your orthopaedic surgeon will provide post-surgery instructions to your physical therapist, who will design an individualized treatment program based on your specific needs and goals. Your treatment program may include:

Bearing weight. Following surgery, you will use crutches to walk. The amount of weight you are allowed to put on your leg and how long you use the crutches will depend on the type of reconstructive surgery you have received. Your physical therapist will design a treatment program to meet your needs and gently guide you toward full weight bearing.

Icing and compression. Immediately following surgery, your physical therapist will control your swelling with a cold application, such as an ice sleeve, that fits around your knee and compresses it.

Bracing. Some surgeons will give you a brace to limit your knee movement (range of motion) following surgery. Your physical therapist will fit you with the brace and teach you how to use it safely. Some athletes will be fitted for braces as they recover and begin to return to their sports activities.

Movement exercises. During your first week following surgery, your physical therapist will help you begin to regain motion in the knee area, and teach you gentle exercises you can do at home. The focus will be on regaining full movement of your knee. The early exercises help with increasing blood flow, which also helps reduce swelling.

Electrical stimulation. Your physical therapist may use electrical stimulation to help restore your thigh muscle strength, and help you achieve those last few degrees of knee motion.

Strengthening exercises. In the first 4 weeks after surgery, your physical therapist will help you increase your ability to put weight on your knee, using a combination of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing exercises. The exercises will focus on your thigh muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings) and might be limited to a specific range of motion to protect the new ACL. During subsequent weeks, your physical therapist may increase the intensity of your exercises and add balance exercises to your program.

Balance exercises. Your physical therapist will guide you through exercises on varied surfaces to help restore your balance. Initially, the exercises will help you gently shift your weight on to the surgery leg. These activities will progress to standing on the surgery leg, while on firm and unsteady surfaces to challenge your balance.

Return to sport or activities. As athletes regain strength and balance, they may begin running, jumping, hopping, and other exercises specific to their individual sport. This phase varies greatly from person-to-person. Physical therapists design retusrn-to-sport treatment programs to fit individual needs and goals.

At PRI, we specialize in a variety of techniques aimed at helping you with ACL tears.

To find out how we can help you, please contact us at:

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

Researching ways to improve health will most likely lead to results that include addressing leaky gut, also known as intestinal permeability. Leaky gut happens when contents from the small intestine spill into the sterile bloodstream through a damaged and “leaky” intestinal wall. This creates a foundation for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune health disorders.

Intestinal inflammation damages the inner lining of the small intestine making it very porous. This allows overly large compounds like partially digested foods, bacteria, yeast, and other pathogens to contaminate the bloodstream.

The immune system targets these compounds as hostile invaders that don’t belong in the bloodstream and launches an ongoing attack against them, increasing systemic inflammation. Some of these compounds are very toxic (endotoxins). Wherever they take up residence throughout the body, they trigger more inflammation.

At the same time, excess intestinal mucous and inflammation from the damage prevents much smaller nutrients from getting into the bloodstream. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies as well as poor cellular function.

Your unique genetic predispositions will determine how leaky gut manifests for you. However, symptoms associated with leaky gut can include fatigue, depression, anxiety, brain fog, poor memory, joint pain, chronic pain, puffiness, asthma, seasonal allergies, fungal infections, PMS, migraines, arthritis, and many more.

 Medicine finally recognizes leaky gut

Information and protocols for treating leaky gut have long been dismissed by conventional medicine as quack science and alternative medicine folklore. However, given that newer research has established it as a legitimate mechanism, pharmaceutical companies are now working on creating drugs to address leaky gut.

Current studies have established links between intestinal permeability and many chronic disorders including inflammatory bowel disorders, food allergies and sensitivities, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, and psoriasis.

The gut is the largest immune organ, powerfully influencing the whole body including the brain. Therefore, it is vital to include a gut repair protocol in overall treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.

 How to mend leaky gut

A healthy diet is foundational to repairing leaky gut. Sometimes, all that is required is to simply stop eating inflammatory foods. Other times, the solution is more complicated. What is most important is determining what is causing the leaky gut.

Intestinal impermeability is often caused by blood sugar imbalances from consuming a standard North American diet of processed foods and excess sugars. Food intolerances, also contribute significantly.

A leaky gut diet, has helped many people repair intestinal permeability. One of the goals of this diet is to stabilize blood sugar. This requires avoiding too many sugars and carbohydrates as well as eating regularly enough to avoid energy crashes. Regular exercise is also vital to stabilizing blood sugar and promoting a healthy gut.

Another cause of leaky gut is failing to eat enough fiber. Our intestines, along with our entire body, depend on a healthy and diverse gut microbiome to function properly. To nurture a healthy gut microbiome, it’s important to eat at least 25 grams of fiber a day from a wide and rotating variety of plant foods.

Leaky gut can also be caused by antibiotics, excess alcohol, hypothyroidism, autoimmunity, and much more.

 When you’re starting on a new health journey, knowing what to eat can seem confusing. For starters, there is a ton of conflicting advice out there, with proponents of each diet insisting their diet is the healthiest.

For more ideas on how to keep your body healthy with whole foods, please contact the nutritionist in our office for some solid advice.

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

A recent review of aquatic therapy for Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee concluded that pain may be decreased by aquatic therapy. Because of the water temperature and the decreased loading, aquatic exercise is often considered an ideal place to begin exercise or for those in the more advanced stages of the disease where exercise on land has become too difficult.

Clinicians often contend that aquatic physiotherapy offers greater pain relief than land-based intervention in musculoskeletal conditions. One study comparing similar land- and water-based exercises for people with knee OA showed no significant differences between the interventions in range or walking distance but postexercise pain was less in the water-exercise group.

Similarly, when comparing aquatic training group and land-based progressive resistance training group, the aquatic training group reported significantly less postexercise pain. People with late-stage OA awaiting joint replacement surgery experienced less pain immediately after an aquatic exercise program than those who undertook land-based exercise. Orthopedic inpatients completing an intensive aquatic exercise program also reported significantly less pain during intensive aquatic exercise and perceived less difficulty than when undertaking usual ward exercise. However, aquatic exercise for people in pain must be undertaken with caution clinically because reduced pain perception during aquatic exercise may make it easier to over-exercise because the perceived workload is less than during land-based exercise. Although systematic reviews were unable to confirm the clinical contention that aquatic exercise can reduce pain, the methodological processes required in meta-analysis may dilute the results of the few, small positive trials. Further research is clearly warranted to determine whether this clinical perception is supported.

Aquatic exercise may have an effect on pain because of buoyancy and the hydrodynamics related to moving in water. The effect of buoyancy could reduce pain during exercise because the depth of immersion is directly related to the percentage weight bearing. Weight bearing when immersed to the neck is considered to be 30% at the chest, and 50% at the waist. To reduce load and pain in the joints, the individual can exercise in deeper water or conversely to progress weight bearing and load, exercises can be undertaken in shallower water. The ability to easily alter weight bearing to reduce pain during functional exercises is not possible in land-based exercise programs. A small clinical trial recently demonstrated that aquatic immersion restored normal spinal stature more effectively than an equivalent land-based position, adding support for the argument that immersion decreases joint loading. Immersion in thermoneutral temperature water is commonly thought to reduce pain because sympathetic nervous system conduction slows, thus reducing pain perception. The compressive effects of hydrostatic pressure in combination with the circulatory changes that occur with immersion reduce swelling, allowing greater movement to reduce joint and soft-tissue stiffness and, therefore, improve pain levels. To date, one small randomized control trial did show a difference between a general water exercise program and a specific aquatic exercise program designed with an understanding of hydrodynamics and movement in water. Whether the positive effect of aquatic exercise on pain found clinically is due simply to the hydrodynamics of immersion or is related instead to the aquatic exercise intervention requires further research.

Just as in a land-based physiotherapy practice, in aquatic physiotherapy practices where the physiotherapists are in the water and able to treat people individually, it is common clinical practice to include specific manual therapy techniques with the aquatic exercise program.

If you have sustained a hip or knee injury, suffer from osteoarthritis or a slew of other musculoskeletal conditions, please see a specialist at the PRI clinic. This multi-disciplinary team is specifically trained to properly introduce their body to aquatic therapy, which will allow a remarkable improvement in their lifestyle. To book a consultation, please call or follow these links.

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

We look forward to helping you out!

With the weather in Toronto undulating between -10 and +10 for the past few weeks, here at PRI, we decided to come up with a list of suggestions, aimed to improve your safety!

Winter Storm

Continue listening to local news or a for updated information and instructions. Access to some parts of the community may be limited or roads may be blocked.

Help people who require special assistance —infants, elderly people, those without transportation, large families who may need additional help in an emergency situation, people with disabilities, and the people who care for them.

Avoid driving and other travel until conditions have improved.

Avoid overexertion. Heart attacks from shovelling heavy snow are a leading cause of death during the winter.

Check on your animals and ensure that their access to food and water is unimpeded by drifted snow, ice, or other obstacles.

If you are using a portable generator, take precautions against carbon monoxide poisoning, electrocution and fire.

Hail

In just a few minutes hail can do extensive damage to your vehicle, so it’s important to be prepared. Here are some tips that may help keep you and your vehicle safe:

• Become familiar with the weather patterns that can produce hail so you can be prepared.
• If there is a forecast for hail, protect your vehicle by moving it under a covered structure.
• To avoid injury, do not go outside once a hail storm begins.
• If you are driving when it begins to hail and there is a covered structure nearby, safely move your vehicle to it. If you cannot find a covered structure, pull your car to side of the road and wait for the storm to end.
• If the hail resulted in a broken window, protect your vehicle from further damage by covering the window with plastic or other material.

Flood/Heavy Rain

Flash floods can occur up to 12 hours after a heavy rain storm. Knowing what to do and how to handle potentially dangerous situations can mean the difference between saving or damaging your vehicle. Read on for information about preparing for and handling heavy rain or flood conditions:

• If you see a large puddle or standing water, go around it or choose a different route. It could be hiding a deep hole and even a few inches of water can splash into your engine causing untold damage.
• Heavy rain can make it difficult for other drivers to see you. Keep your headlights on and drive slowly, keeping your eyes out for on-coming traffic.
• If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, make sure you have plenty of fuel and know the local evacuation routes.
• Give yourself plenty of time to brake and do so gently in order to avoid hydroplaning.
• Familiarize yourself with terms used to describe weather patterns and warnings:
  • Flood Watch: Flooding is possible. Tune in to Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for information.
  • Flash Flood Watch: Flash flooding is possible. Be prepared to move to higher ground; listen to Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for information.

During severe weather, you are running a high risk of getting into a motor vehicle accident.

We truly hope you stay safe out there!

If you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident, we can offer continued support through your Motor Vehicle Accident claims process while providing you with dedicated care for your car accident injury.

Physiotherapy, Aquatic Therapy, Massage Therapy and Acupuncture are sometimes used with Chiropractic therapy to achieve remarkable rehabilitation results if you have sustained a bodily injury during the accident.

We are very thorough with our reporting:

Your MVA claim relies on the detailed, honest reporting of your chosen medical rehabilitation provider. We recognize this and take a personal interest in ensuring it’s done properly, and in a timely manner.

If you’ve been involved in a collision, and are looking for rehabilition to bounce you back to health,  please contact the staff in our office at:

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

Your shoulders each have two joints, making them the most flexible parts of your body.

The main shoulder joint – the glenohumeral – is a ball-and-socket joint. It’s called this because the top of the upper arm bone – the humerus – is shaped like a ball. This ball fits into the shoulder blade bone, which acts as the socket, giving your shoulder a wide range of movement.

But, the shoulder socket is very small, compared to other ball-and-socket joints, such as the hip. It’s held together and controlled by a covering of muscles, which are secured to the bones by strong cords called tendons.

These muscles and tendons form a capsule around the joint and support its movements, but can make it more likely to dislocate than other joints.

Inside the capsule is the synovium, which produces fluid that lubricates the joint and keeps the cartilage healthy. The cartilage helps protect your bones from any impact and sits between the bones of your shoulder joints to stop them rubbing together.

Above the main shoulder joint there’s a smaller joint where the top of the shoulder blade – the acromion – meets the collar bone.

This is known as the acromioclavicular joint. It helps the larger joint below to move through its full range, particularly when you’re raising your arm, lifting or throwing.

CAUSES OF CHRONIC PAIN

Most shoulder problems only affect a small area and should last a relatively short time.

But sometimes the problem in your shoulder could be part of a wider, long-term condition such as, osteoarthritis or polymyalgia rheumatica.

It’s fairly common for people with rheumatoid arthritis to have pain and swelling in their shoulders.

Osteoarthritis is less likely to affect your shoulders than other joints, unless you’ve injured them in the past.

There are several other possible causes of shoulder pain, such as:

• inflammation, where your shoulder becomes hot, red, swollen and painful as a natural reaction to an infection or injury
• damage to the muscles and tendons around the shoulder
• tension in the muscles between the neck and shoulder – this is usually down to your posture in your upper back or neck, and is often linked the way you stand or sit when you’re using a computer or at work. A physiotherapist or a chiropractor can show you how to go through your activities of daily living in an ergonomic way
• inflammation in the bursa – a fluid-filled cushion which normally helps the muscles and tendons slide smoothly over the shoulder bones
• damage to the bones and cartilage, which can be caused by arthritis.

It’s also possible the pain you’re feeling in your shoulder is coming from a problem in another part of your body, such as your neck.

Problems in your neck can make your shoulder blade or upper outer arm painful. When this happens it’s known as referred pain or radiated pain. If you’re feeling a tingling sensation in your hand or arm, as well as pain in your shoulder, it’s likely to be from a problem in your neck.

WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR

Unless you’ve had a serious injury or get a sudden, continuous pain, you can usually treat your shoulder pain without having to see your doctor.

If, after two weeks of treating yourself, you feel the pain isn’t any better you should see your doctor or a physiotherapist.

You should also see your doctor as soon as possible if you:

• develop severe pain in both shoulders
• also have pain in your thighs
• feel feverish or unwell.

These can be signs of the condition called polymyalgia rheumatica, which needs prompt treatment.

DIAGNOSIS

Each shoulder problem has its own pattern of symptoms that can help your doctor or a  physiotherapist make a diagnosis. Most conditions make it painful to use or move your shoulder, but some make your shoulder feel stiff.

Your doctor or physiotherapist will need to see which movements are the most painful, as this could show where the problem is. They will usually ask how the problem started, how it has developed and how it affects your daily activities.

If you can, try to write a few notes about when and how the problem started and what makes it feel worse before your appointment. This will help you get a more accurate diagnosis.

Usually your physiotherapist or doctor can recommend the best course of treatment once they’ve diagnosed what your condition is. However, they may send you for further tests if they suspect your problems are being caused by arthritis or a more complicated condition.

 For more info on how to take control of your health, and tackle chronic pain in a smart way, please reach out to:

Phone: (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

Although this winter in Toronto has been fairly mild, and temperatures have been undulating around 0 degrees, you have swapped out your regular or all-season tires for a set of winter tires. You may think winter or snow tires are only required for those who live in rugged, snowy terrains and aren’t really necessary for those travelling on paved and frequently ploughed roads in urban areas. The truth is that regular and all-season tires just don’t perform as well during Canadian winters as they do the rest of the year.

Cold temperatures can cause regular tires to become too hard. This means that they lose their normal traction, even when there’s no snow on the ground. Winter tires are created using rubber that stays soft in colder temperatures. This allows the winter tires to grip the surface of the road – including compact snow and ice – with more surface area, allowing for better traction, acceleration, stopping, and steering compared other types of tires. Winter tires also have wider, longer treads that will eject snow and ice more easily.

Winter tires can be identified by a special logo on the tire’s wall that indicates it has been designed and tested to meet winter traction requirements. The logo is a three-peaked mountain with a snowflake inside. Be sure to look for this symbol when you shop.

Decide in advance if you want to purchase just the set of winter tires, or if you also want to purchase rims. While getting rims for your winter tires will cost more initially, it will likely save time and money down the road. Switching tires back and forth on the same rim is a more complicated process than switching out a winter tire that is already on a rim. It also requires balancing of the winter tires on the rims. This means a mechanic will charge you more for the service each time it is performed.

Without winter tires, you are running a high risk of skidding while driving and getting into a motor vehicle accident.

At PRI Clinic, we can offer continued support through your Motor Vehicle Accident claims process while providing you with dedicated care for your car accident injury.

Physiotherapy, Aquatic Therapy, Massage Therapy and Acupuncture are sometimes used with Chiropractic therapy to achieve remarkable rehabilitation results if you have sustained a bodily injury during the accident.

We are very thorough with our reporting:

Your MVA claim relies on the detailed, honest reporting of your chosen chiropractic provider. We recognize this and take a personal interest in ensuring it’s done properly, and in a timely manner.

If you’ve been involved in a collision, and are looking for rehabilition to bounce you back to health,  please contact the staff in our office at:

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

I’m not sure why, but it seems that when I have the opportunity to sleep on the weekends or when I’m on vacation, I wake up at the crack of dawn. Ignoring the fact that you should get up at about the same time each morning for your health, many people love the opportunity to sleep in when they don’t have commitments such as work or school. During the week or during your regular schedule, it can be difficult to drag yourself out of bed. Have you ever wondered why that is? What makes it so hard to get out of bed in the morning?

Well, there’s one trick anyone can use to get up and get their day going with a little more gusto:

Find one thing to get truly excited about on an upcoming day!

Here are a few tips to help you get started.

Choose Something Achievable

If I were going to wake up and meet Jennifer Lawrence on her private jet to be whisked away to Bora Bora, I’d bounce out of bed each morning ready to face the day. Alas, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me or most other people, so it’s much better to choose something realistic to get excited about.

Choose something easy or comforting to look forward to such as finally cracking open that new book that you’ve been dying to read or the sushi you’re going to get after work. Choose something that makes you a little bit happy and focus on that.

Let Your Choice Be Your Beacon

The entire point of finding one thing to look forward to is to have a light at the end of your daily tunnel. It could be a bright spot on a no good, very bad day, or it could be the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae when your day is already looking good. Let this thing guide you all day, like a beacon of hope.

Don’t Skip It

In order to make this entire strategy work, you cannot skip the thing you choose to focus on. Do not, under any circumstances, let it fall through the cracks or get swallowed up by other things during the course of the day. Always make sure it’s something you give yourself and make time for. Remember, no matter how small, it’s still something to wake up for.

Until Jennifer Lawrence answers the call or Mickey Mouse moves into your living room to make each day magical, you have to learn to find magic in the mundane. Try this helpful hack and see if, in fact, you can be the morning person you always wanted. Or close enough.

This is just one of many hacks, your local chiropractor can provide to help you achieve your goals!

Is “improve my health” still on your list of 2020 New Year’s resolutions? Keeping your resolution will be much easier if you make chiropractic care part of your life. Contact us to schedule your appointment.

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

Let’s face it, we are all getting older, but there are many people out there who have successfully slowed down the effects of aging. These people prevent injury, illness, surgery and/or their dependence upon medications. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed warranty on our bodies, but there are several key factors for increasing the mileage and its ease of operation.

First, there are no quick fixes on this subject. Hard work and a smart plan are the major keys to success. By hard work, I don’t mean that it has to be difficult or painful. Whatever method(s) you choose to slow the effects of aging, it should be done with diligence, energy and with a specific purpose in mind.

We often see patients who have a regular exercise routine or an already established way of treating their injury or disease, but they have no idea why they are exercising or if they are doing it correctly. Understanding the purpose of your exercise and prevention plan along with its key components are vital to successful implementation.

When it comes to keeping your body healthy, moving and working well, you can be helped by applying the following principles no matter what method you use:

1. Exercise without increasing your joint or muscle pain during and after exercise. Soreness is OK, but pain is not normal.
2. Flexibility is the key to maintaining your ability to move the way you want.
3. Correct Posture is vital in protecting your joints from injury and allowing you to safely move and exercise throughout the day.
4. Proper Strengthening activities are another major key in preventing the effects of aging and allowing you to function at or above your chronological age.
5. Endurance Building is just as important as strength building, especially while we age.
6. Balance Activities are vital to the type of exercises that you choose. You also need to build a “balancing” activity into your routine as you age.

Through proper planning and the advice of your chiropractor and physical therapist, you can quickly and easily learn the simplest and safest ways to keep your body feeling and working younger!

At PRI, we specialize in a variety of techniques aimed at alleviating nagging pains and increasing mobility to aching shoulders. After correctly identifying the source of the pain, we employ extensive mobility stretches and exercises aimed to release tension to the area and increase blood flow. If the issue stems from subluxations (spinal misalignment), a full spine and body approach will be taken over an isolation treatment. It is important to remember to practice proper technique with and without doctor supervision. Physical health is after all a full time endeavor. Taking home exercises and executing them regularly will lead to a stronger and more resilient body.

To find out how we can help you, please contact us at:

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com

When you’re starting on a new health journey, knowing what to eat can seem confusing. For starters, there is a ton of conflicting advice out there, with proponents of each diet insisting their diet is the healthiest.

The truth is, the best diet depends on which one works best for you. Factors that determine this include your individual food sensitivities, digestive health, blood sugar handling, and stress handling.

In alternative medicine, we follow general guidelines that focus on whole foods, removing foods to which you are intolerant, and stabilizing blood sugar.

A custom diet plan starts with real food

With customization tips in mind, one basic rule still applies across the board: Eat whole foods.

When you eliminate foods that have been through processing (like breakfast cereal or chips), foods with artificial colourings, additives, and preservatives, and foods laden with industrialized fats and too much sugar, you are already on solid ground nutritionally.

This means sticking largely to the produce, meat, and nut sections in the grocery store. Use healthy, natural fats such as coconut oil and olive oil. Avoid vegetable oils, which are unstable and become inflammatory free radicals in your body.

Avoid hydrogenated oil as it has been shown to damage brain cells and raise heart disease risk.

You have to develop new habits to shop for and prep vegetables, cook healthy meats, and wean yourself off sodas, pizza pockets, chips, and other quick-grab items. But you’ll start feeling so much better you won’t mind. In fact, you’ll likely feel enthusiastic about it.

When eating real food is difficult

Some people favour processed food because they have trouble digesting real foods. This is a red flag digestion is seriously compromised.

For instance, if your stomach feels heavy after eating meat, as if it just sits there and does not digest, your stomach may be low in hydrochloric acid (HCl). HCl is necessary to digest meats and it’s a common deficiency.

In nutritional medicine, we know that a diet that consists primarily of produce is very beneficial. However, the dramatic increase in fiber from eating more fresh fruits and vegetables causes digestive problems in some people.

Factors that make eating produce difficult include an overgrowth of the wrong bacteria  low HCl, insufficient output of pancreatic enzymes, inflammation of the gut lining, and other digestive issues.

These people need to work on restoring gut health and slowly ease into eating more vegetables.

For more ideas on how to keep your body healthy with whole foods, please contact the nutritionist in our office for some solid advice.

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com