Trish Trumper, RMT

03/13/2026

Podcast Episode · The Dose · 2026-02-05 · 28m

03/13/2026

Wanting to learn more about menopause? Dr. Jen Gunter is a very well respected and reliable source...as well as a great speaker! Hope to see some of you there.

03/12/2026

For the 750 million people who hear a relentless ringing, buzzing, or hissing sound that no one else can hear, there has never been a genuine cure — until now. Northwestern University researchers developed a bimodal neuromodulation device that delivers precisely timed electrical impulses to the tongue and auditory nerve simultaneously, retraining the brain's auditory cortex to stop generating the phantom sound. After 12 weeks of daily use, a majority of participants reported significant and lasting relief. 👂

Tinnitus is not a problem in the ear — it is a problem in the brain. After hearing damage, the auditory cortex becomes hyperactive, firing spontaneously and generating sounds that have no external source. The Northwestern device exploits a neurological principle called spike-timing-dependent plasticity: by delivering two simultaneous sensory signals at precise timing intervals, it forces the overactive auditory neurons to recalibrate and dampen their abnormal firing patterns.

This breakthrough matters enormously for quality of life. Tinnitus is the leading cause of disability among military veterans, affects 15% of adults globally, and has strong links to sleep disorders, depression, and cognitive decline. Current "treatments" — white noise machines, counseling, hearing aids — manage symptoms at best. This is the first therapy that appears to address the neurological root cause directly. 🔬

The device, called Lenire, is already FDA-cleared and commercially available in the US following the Northwestern trials. For millions, a silent night is now medically achievable for the first time in years.

Source: Northwestern University, Nature Reviews Neurology, 2023

03/11/2026

03/11/2026

Just today, I was talking to a patient about **whole-body DEXA scans offered by private clinics** versus the **bone density (BMD) tests done in hospitals**. They sound similar, but they are used for *different purposes*. Here’s a simple breakdown.

# # # Whole-Body DEXA Scan (Private Clinics)

**What it measures**

* Body fat percentage
* Lean muscle mass
* Fat distribution (visceral vs subcutaneous fat)

**Advantages**

* Detailed breakdown of **body composition**
* Can help athletes or people working on **fitness, muscle gain, or fat loss**
* Very low radiation exposure

**Disadvantages**

* **Not designed to diagnose osteoporosis**
* Not typically used in medical decision-making
* Usually **not covered by provincial health plans**

**Typical cost**

* About **$100–$200 per scan** in most private clinics

# # # Bone Density Test (Hospital or Imaging Clinic)

**What it measures**

* Bone mineral density at the **hip and spine**

**Purpose**

* Diagnoses **osteopenia and osteoporosis**
* Helps estimate **fracture risk**
* Guides treatment decisions (medications, supplements, lifestyle)

**Advantages**

* **Medically validated test** used worldwide
* Results interpreted using standardized scoring (T-scores)
* **Covered by provincial health insurance** in many cases when medically indicated

**Disadvantages**

* Does **not provide body fat or muscle composition data**
* Requires a referral from a healthcare provider

**Typical cost**

* Usually **covered** when ordered for appropriate medical reasons
* If paid for privately, at a hospital facility, typically **$100–$150**

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# # # Key Point

If the goal is **checking bone health and fracture risk**, a **bone density test ordered through your doctor** is the appropriate medical test.

If the goal is **tracking body composition for fitness or training**, a **whole-body DEXA scan** may be useful—but it doesn’t replace medical osteoporosis screening.

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✅ **Bottom line:**
These tests use similar technology, but they answer **very different questions**.

If you’re unsure which test is appropriate for you, speak with your family physician—we can help determine whether bone density screening is indicated based on your **age, fracture risk, medications, and medical history**.

03/04/2026

Tendon failure as … a drug side effect?

In early 2024, I partially ruptured my triceps tendon while doing something EXTREMELY athletic: standing up from my office chair. 🙄 Sheesh.

Reckless, I know. Ironically, I was standing up to do one of my many daily “movement snacks” — an injury prevention strategy!

Guess I should have stayed put.

I’m hardly alone. I’ve heard many stories of tendons that ruptured with little provocation: Stepped off a curb. Reached into the back seat. Caught a falling coffee mug. Sneezed hard.

Partial ruptures like mine are probably even more common, but often undiagnosed. It was less dramatic than a full rupture, of course, but I could feel it tearing, an awful sensation: a wet, shuddering GIVING WAY. It felt just like the last time I definitively tore some connective tissue (coracoclavicular ligament rupture, a sports accident in the mid 2000s). A memorable sensation.

I didn’t curse. I just groaned and rolled my eyes and sighed the sigh of the defeated. I have already endured so many insults like this, what’s one more? But perhaps I should have cursed, because it turned out that this injury was probably the tip of a much more disturbing iceberg.

THIS tendon tear was — drum roll please — quite possibly a DRUG SIDE EFFECT.

Say what now? Yes, you heard that right: tendon rupture as the side effect of a medication. A side effect which I had never heard of before, despite my expertise — despite even knowing about OTHER drugs that do this.

This is a complicated and fascinating topic, and I really went way down the science rabbit hole. NEW POST, a hefty one, about a 20-minute read, heavily referenced (some big footnotes), with a long audio version for members:

PainScience.com/blog/tendon-failure-as-a-drug-side-effect.html

~ Paul Ingraham, PainScience.com publisher

02/17/2026

🧠 What Was the LIFTMOR Study?

The *LIFTMOR* (Lifting Intervention For Training Muscle and Osteoporosis Rehabilitation) trial was a scientific study done in Australia with postmenopausal women who had *low bone mass* (osteopenia or osteoporosis). The researchers wanted to see whether heavier strength training could help bones and overall physical strength, and whether it could be done safely.

👉 What makes this study special is that it challenged the usual idea that older women with weaker bones should *avoid* heavy lifting because of fear of injury.

💪 What They Did in the Study

Women in the main exercise group did:

* Twice-weekly supervised sessions
* ~30 minutes per session, for 8 months
* High-intensity resistance and impact training — which means heavier lifting with controlled movements and some impact activities (like jumps) done safely and with professional supervision.

Examples of exercises used in the study included (as part of a structured program):
• Deadlifts
• Overhead shoulder presses
• Squats
• Jump-type impact actions (e.g., controlled landings)
(all done with attention to safety and progression)

📊 What They Found

Compared with a control group doing *light home exercise*:

✔️ Bone density improved — especially at the spine and hip.
✔️ Strength and physical function improved — this means things like standing up from a chair, balance and power got better.
✔️ Posture improved, reducing forward-leaning spine posture.
✔️ Safety was excellent — no fractures or serious injuries happened when the sessions were supervised and technique was taught properly.

In simple terms: *stronger bones, stronger muscles, and better movement without added risk when done right.*

🌟 Why This Matters for Midlife Women

As women go through midlife and menopause, hormonal changes accelerate bone loss and reduce muscle strength. This raises the risk of falls and fractures later in life.

The *LIFTMOR* study shows that targeted strength training can be a powerful tool to:

✨ Keep bones stronger
✨ Maintain or improve muscle strength
✨ Better posture
✨ Help keep independence as you age

Importantly — it’s not about lifting *as heavy as possible* — it’s about the right progressions, technique, and supervision.

📣 Simple Exercises for Midlife Women

(*Always start at your level and ask a health professional if you’re not sure.*)

1. Squat Progression
• Sit–stand from a chair
• Then bodyweight squats
• Eventually weighted squats (with light dumbbells)

2. Hip Hinge / Deadlift Pattern
• Practice hip-hinge (bending forward at the hips, spine straight, then coming back to vertical) with no weight
• Progress to kettlebell or dumbbell deadlifts

3. Overhead Press Variations
• Start with light weights or resistance bands
• Gradually increase as strength improves

4. Step-ups or Small Controlled Jumps
• Use a low step for stability
• Focus on controlled landing and knee alignment

5. Core and Balance Moves
• Single-leg stand, single leg squat
• Planks or modified planks

👉 Start with 2 sessions a week, 20–30 minutes each, and increase slowly.

🏁 Bottom Line

Heavy-load strength training — when well taught and supervised — can be safe and effective for women in midlife and beyond.
It doesn’t just help muscles — it can *help your bones stay stronger too*.

[1]: https://academic.oup.com/jbmr/article-abstract/33/2/211/7605709?utm_source=chatgpt.com "High‐Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial | Journal of Bone and Mineral Research | Oxford Academic"
[2]: https://afterhoursphysio.com.au/can-lifting-weights-help-osteoporosis-the-surprising-science-behind-the-liftmor-study/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Best Treatment For Osteoporosis | Home Physio Melbourne"

02/14/2026

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 (𝗣𝗘𝗠) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱

PEM is a hallmark feature of long COVID, affecting approximately 80% of patients (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39694730/ ). It is characterized by a delayed exacerbation of symptoms following physical or cognitive activity that exceeds a patient's specific, often narrow, threshold. Crucially, these "crashes" are not merely temporary fatigue; they can persist for weeks or even result in a permanent decline in the patient's baseline health. Because of this risk, major health authorities like the WHO have cautioned against traditional graded exercise therapies for these individuals (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-clinical-2023.2).

📘In a brand-new publication, Charlton and colleagues (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/02/09/bjsports-2025-111387) debunk the deconditioning myth of long covid. While physical inactivity (deconditioning) can occur in chronically ill patients, the authors present evidence that it cannot explain the specific cardiac alterations seen in long COVID:

✅ Preload Failure: Many patients suffer from "preload failure," where the heart does not fill with enough blood—a phenomenon not typical of simple deconditioning.

✅ Structural and Inflammatory Changes: Research has identified myocardial scarring, inflammation, and "leaky" blood vessels in long COVID cohorts.

✅ Mitochondrial Dysfunction: There is significant evidence of deranged mitochondria and impaired oxygen extraction at the cellular level, suggesting an energy production failure rather than just a lack of fitness.

👫 A Human-Centered Approach to Rehabilitation

The authors emphasize that because long COVID is highly heterogeneous, treatment must be personalized and data-driven. They advocate for several specific strategies:

▶️ Systematic Screening: Healthcare providers should use tools like the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire to identify PEM early and distinguish it from other pathologies.

▶️ Heart Rate Pacing: Utilizing wearable monitors to stay within the "first ventilatory threshold" allows patients to remain within their "energy envelope," preventing the repetitive exposure to PEM events that can worsen their health.

▶️ Postural Management: For those with POTS or severe PEM, gentle upright postures, supported sitting, and compression garments are recommended to prevent skeletal muscle decline without triggering a crash.

▶️ Targeted Pharmacotherapy: The use of low-dose naltrexone, beta-blockers, or pyridostigmine may be necessary to reduce the symptom burden of PEM and autonomic dysfunction.

💡Ultimately, the paper concludes that cardiac alterations in long COVID are largely independent of deconditioning, and safe recovery requires moving away from historical exercise guidelines toward an individually tailored management strategy.

02/09/2026

On March 1, eligible menopausal hormone therapy and diabetes meds will be covered by the new National Pharmacare plan in BC 😊

“On March 6, 2025, the Province of B.C. and the Government of Canada signed an agreement for the implementation of national pharmacare in B.C., with the federal government providing up to $670 million in funding over three years. Under the agreement, 100% coverage for eligible diabetes medications, including for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), now called menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), will begin in B.C. on March 1, 2026.

Expanded coverage for certain diabetes-related devices and supplies will begin on April 1, 2026.

Since B.C. already offers universal coverage of contraceptives, the Province is putting federal funding for contraceptives towards free treatment of menopausal symptoms.”