East Coast Therapeutics - Massage Therapy & Acupuncture in Cheticamp

11/01/2021

The treatment space

09/15/2021

Highly recommend this free Physio advice for a range of injuries.

We're a team of experienced Sports Physiotherapists who aim to provide easy to follow, research based advice on how to treat sports injuries. 🌟Need more hel...

04/29/2020

Free service available to you - Assessing your work space

So I just wanted to let you know that there is a great, free service available during this pandemic. Our local Occupational Therapist, Noella LeFort is offering virtual assistance for people with different concerns. She is set up via Telehealth Zoom. It is a safe and private version of Zoom by NS Health.

I highly recommend her services, especially if during this time you are experiencing any physical strain related to your home office.

A lot of work spaces are not set up well and can cause strain on the neck, shoulders, wrists and back. Often people don’t realize that their wrist pain is coming from something like the desk being set to the wrong height or the neck pain and the associated headaches from the computer screen being too low.

Occupational Therapists are well trained in assessing work spaces and can make great suggestions for you. They are excellent at injury prevention and post injury intervention. It’s amazing how many seemingly small tasks in our daily living can affect our pain levels.

The service is completely free, because it is covered through MSI. The only cases that are not covered are worker’s compensation cases. Those cases need to be addressed by a private Occupational Therapist. Noella works through the hospital in Cheticamp. You should still reach out to her even if you are a worker’s compensation case, because she can direct you to another clinic.

You can get in touch with Noella LeFort at 902-224-4023 or noella.lefort@nshealth.ca

Stay well,

Roman

04/07/2020

Home care advice #5

Injury prevention in your office - chair set-ups

Many of us do not have a good office chair and there are a lot of negative effects a bad posture has on our bodies. For example it can translate to Neck pain, Headaches, Sciatic and Back pain.

Most people have access to an Occupational Therapist through their work. It is usually a free service and from my experience it is not sought out enough when it comes to office spaces.

I highly recommend that you make use of their expertise when it comes to setting up your workstation. There are many things in your office that can lead to occupational strain and cause pain.

If you are suffering from work related injuries during the Covid-19 situation it would be good if do some research yourself on how to set up your workstation more safely. You could also check with your local Occupational Therapist if they offer online consulting. But when this situation is over, you should really consider having an Occupational Therapist assess your space.

For this post I want to focus on chair set ups.

While a good chair is definitely not the only factor in maintaining strong physical health, it is one that is often overlooked.

They say that sitting is the new smoking and I completely agree with this statement. Out of all the clients I treat, people who sit for prolonged periods of time tend to suffer from a lot more pain than people who perform physical labour on a regular basis.

So what can you do? Having to sit in order to make a living is a reality for a lot of people nowadays.

Here are my top two recommendations when it comes to working in an office.

The ‘standing desk’ or the ‘kneeling chair’.

'Standing desks' are excellent and have been growing in popularity. There are many products out there so do your research. My recommendation is to purchase a good stool with it. Standing in one spot for a long time can negatively impact your low back and other parts of your body. Therefore you should alternate between standing and ‘perching’ on a stool.

There are many great 'standing desks'. You can choose between electric and manual control to select the height of the table so you can also alternate between standing, sitting on a stool and sitting in a chair. (IKEA and VariDesk are two good providers)

Every office is different and yours might not allow for a standing desk due to space limitation (slanted ceilings for example). They can also be a bit more costly.

So if budget and space are an issue for you then I highly recommend ‘the kneeling chair’.

Personally, this is what I have been using with my computer related work for 6 years and they are amazing.

The ‘kneeling chair’ puts you in a very good ergonomic position thus preventing strain on your body. I can spend long office days on my ‘kneeling chair’ without feeling any strain compared to what I would normally suffer from when using a regular office chair.

My biggest recommendation with regards to the ‘kneeling chair’ is paying attention to the thickness of the cushioning before you purchase one. If the cushion is too thin, it will hurt your shins after a while and become uncomfortable to sit on. I suggest that the kneeler has at least 3-4 inches of cushion for the shin and buttock area. (The cushion on my kneeling chair is 3.5 inches thick)

It is also good to purchase a ‘kneeling chair’ that lets you adjust its height. It gives you more flexibility and you can share it more easily with others this way. But you can also find one that suits you perfectly even though the height does not adjust. (Mine cannot adjust in height)

You can find a good ‘kneeling chair’ starting at around $150.

Here are two videos that explain the premise of the kneeling chair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbficso02uA&t=132s

The guy in the second video does not have a lot of knowledge about anatomy, but still explains how a regular office chair causes slouching and how the kneeling chair prevents it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbficso02uA

There are different types of kneeling chairs out there. The classic ‘kneeling chair’ allows you to engage in a rocking motion and seems to give even more flexibility if you need to reach across a desk. Personally I have never tried one of these, but they look excellent and I suggest you do your own research to find the type of ‘kneeling chair’ that suits you.

Here is a video for a classic ‘kneeling chair’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOav_qql-fU

I hope this post gives you something to think about with regards to your office space!

Stay well,

Roman

This is a review of the Putnam's Posture / kneeling chair. I've used kneeling or posture chairs for about 15 years to help my back. My current chair is a Put...

04/01/2020

Home care advice #4

How much water should we drink and why?

If you have been to a Massage Therapist or other health care professional they have probably talked to you about the importance of drinking plenty of water. A lot of people have a difficult time following this simple advice. So why is it so important?

Here are a few reasons why adequate water intake is so vital

1. Water helps your body get rid of wastes through urination, sweating and bowel movements
2. It keeps your temperature normal
3. It carries nutrients to your cells
4. It cushions your joints
5. It helps with digestion

I have cross referenced a few articles and they all had slightly different answers as to how much water we should drink. The most well known suggestion seems to be 8 x 8 ounces per day.

Most articles I read suggested more than this. According to ‘Webmd’ the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends a total of 13 cups (about 3 liters) of fluid each day. For women, they suggest 9 cups (a little over 2 liters) of fluid each day.

Several factors affect how much water we should drink. Such as how much we exercise, our general health and the environment we live in.

Your fluid intake is probably good if your urine is colorless or light yellow.

It is best to ask your doctor to figure out a recommended water intake for you.

The reason I am writing this post is because I want to make a suggestion as to how to make it easier to get that much water into your system on a daily basis.

I know most people struggle with it when they hear or read that they should drink almost 3l of water every day!

My biggest recommendation for getting an adequate water intake is a large glass bottle. Having a bigger bottle makes it much easier to consume such a large amount of water, because you don’t constantly need to refill a single glass and it’s easier to keep count of your refills.

With a 32 oz bottle you might only need to refill 3-4 times a day.

‘Origin Glass’ makes excellent bottles, but there are other companies out there as well.

https://originglassco.com/

The following is the one I highly recommend. It is currently unavailable from Amazon, but you can probably get it directly from Origin Glass

https://originglassco.com/collections/32-oz-glass-bottle/products/origin-best-bpa-free-glass-water-bottle-with-protective-silicone-sleeve-and-bamboo-lid-dishwasher-safe-14-ounce-ash-rose?variant=11657279242287

Here is another choice, but it's best if you do your own research.

https://www.amazon.ca/Sunkey-Neoprene-Reusable-Borosilicate-Stainless/dp/B07QR4GRTM/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=glass+water+bottle+32&qid=1585569873&sr=8-7

I recommend a 32 oz bottle. The larger the bottle, the less you need to refill and the more likely you are to actually drink enough water!

The reason I prefer and suggest glass bottles is that it’s healthier than using plastic or stainless steel. And glass bottles just keep the taste very clear :)

Stay well!!

Roman

Sources:

https://www.webmd.com/diet/how-much-water-to-drink #1

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-water-should-you-drink-per-day

03/31/2020

Home care advice #3

Are you dealing with Sciatic, Low back or Hip pain?

None of us are able to see our health care practitioners for the next while, therefore I think it is important to find tools that you can use at home to alleviate pain.

One of my biggest recommendations is a ‘Foam Roller’. You can get a sense of a deep tissue treatment with this tool right from your home. It’s really amazing how much relief you can get from this simple invention.

I usually recommend it as a home care tool for the above mentioned conditions, but you can actually treat most areas of your body with a foam roller. Even ‘Tennis elbow’ can be addressed by placing the foam roller on a table and rolling your forearm muscles with the foam roller. (You can even try stealing your wife’s rolling pin before getting a foam roller)
One of the keys to using a foam roller is moving very slowly. It’s the same with deep tissue work when you go see a Massage Therapist for example. The rule is - the slower the better.

You can also treat mid and upper back pain with a foam roller. Just do some research on YouTube and see how you can help alleviate symptoms with it.

Foam rollers are great tools for treating Trigger Points in your muscles. To put it simply, Trigger Points are knots in your muscles that can cause pain and tightness in muscles, limiting your range of motion.

Personally, I have a foam roller that has a hard plastic core. They tend to last a bit longer than the ones that are made of only foam.

The cheaper alternatives are the ones that are purely made from foam. These are still excellent and may even give a deeper pressure depending on the product.

But if you do some research and read product reviews, I am sure you will find one that suits your needs.

Just as a note of caution - a foam roller does require some strength and agility to use. So for elderly or someone in a lot of pain I would not advise using one. Most foam roller techniques are on the floor, so you need to be able to get back up easily.

I know it’s frustrating that we cannot receive treatments such as Massage Therapy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic and Physiotherapy right now.

But as I always tell my clients, going to see a practitioner is only a part of getting healthier. You will heal much faster if you do as much as possible at home and keep a positive mindset!

Here is a good video that explains and shows foam rolling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSU2FiFKTM

Stay well,

Roman

Learn the importance of and the best tips to maximizing your session.

03/31/2020

Home care advice #2

Laughter is the best medicine.

I truly hope that all of you can find ways to have laughter in your life on a daily basis.

There are actually many physiological reasons behind this famous saying.

According to an article in Psychology Today, laughing on a daily basis can reduce your stress levels greatly.

It reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and reduces blood sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics and non-diabetics alike.

It reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort.
It improves your job performance and it's role in intimate relationships is vastly underestimated and it really is the glue of good marriages.

According to Dr. Miller "Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system."

- There probably is not a person in the world right now who is not experiencing stress and needs that release. So even with what is unfolding with this virus, we need to take the time to find joy and laughter! Many great stand up comedians on YouTube and Netflix :)

Here is the link the to the article from Psychology Today if you want to read it!

Laughter reduces pain, increases job performance, connects people emotionally, and improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and brain.

03/31/2020

Home care advice #1

Since there is no vaccine for COVID-19 at this point, it is important to keep your immune system strong.

Stress compromises our immune system and leaves us more vulnerable. Exercise is one of the best ways that we can keep our stress levels lower during this difficult time.

Since we are basically at home for quite a while now, we should try to exercise daily.

There really are no excuses at this point. There are endless, free resources available on the internet. Endless amounts of exercises that can be done from home without any form of equipment. For anyone. Even if you are not used to exercising regularly.

Exercise promotes good sleep, improves your mood and boosts your energy.

Go for long walks. I suggest 1-2 hours daily if you can.
Fresh air and daylight are important factors for your health.
Yoga, Qi-gong, deep breathing exercises and meditation are all proven ways to reduce stress and improve mental clarity.

I highly suggest you try these techniques as they can easily be done anywhere and have strong effects on our well being.
We all must take care of others. And taking care of others always begins with taking care of yourself first.

Stay well,

Roman