SOS Physiotherapy: Relieving Neck Pain

SOS Physiotherapy: Relieving Neck Pain

The Spinal Column The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

MANITOULIN PHYSIO! with Amy!

As a bright eyed newgraduate, freshwith newknowledge from a 6 week placement with Jon at SOS Physio to complete my PT education, I headed for Manitoulin Island for my first position as a physiotherapist! I had taken this jump to move 8 hrs away from anyone I knew to pursue an interesting opportunity in First Nations health care. I joined N’Mninoeyaa Community Health Access Centre which serviced 7 First Nations fromSudbury to Sault Ste Marie along the picturesque North Shore of Lake Huron. Being part of the team, lead to engaging with a variety of age groups from elders to the newest additions to the community. My days were very diverse from assessing an elder in their home for a walker to guiding a newly diagnosed diabetic on activity recommendations to post total knee replacement surgery rehabilitation to cardiac rehabilitation following bypass surgery on any given day. It always kept me on my toes and constantly learning! This opportunity also gave me a window into a new culture that I had not had the chance to learn much about previously. Being welcomed into people’s homes and into the community permitted the sharing of cultural experiences including the seven grandfather and medicine wheel teachings, pow wows, aboriginal medicines and healers. The teaching which has continued to resonate with me as I continue my career in physiotherapy is the medicine wheel teaching. There are four directions in the wheel to achieve balance in a person life: physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental. If one area is out of balance it can affect the others. It has continued to remind me to treat the whole person when working with the physical body to allow the client to achieve good health! With this teaching, my time on Manitoulin will always be a part of me! Amy

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The Spinal Column The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

STAY A NECK AHEAD OF CHRONIC PAIN! Finding Relief From Neck Pain

INSIDE: • Is Your Neck Pain Caused by Sleep Issues? • Our Clinic to YOUR Community • Mentoring Corner • Upcoming Workshops

Neck pain can be both debilitating and terrifying. When you experience an injury that leaves your neck in severe pain, the thought of not being able to freely turn your head is overwhelmingly stressful. What’s more, the pain itself is unbearable, and since the neck is so sensitive to injury, it is important to be as careful as possible in finding treatment and solutions for the pain. It is incredible to realize how common neck pain is — especially among North American adults! More than two-thirds of adults will develop neck pain at least once in their life, and the reasons for the neck pain are as varied as the population itself. Injury, muscle strain and even stress can cause significant pain in the neck and upper back. If you aren’t careful, a neck injury can lead to chronic pain, and it is even possible for chronic headaches like migraines to develop as a result of regular neck pain. There are a lot of different ways that you can relieve neck pain, but the best treatment for your personal needs depends entirely on the type of injury that you’ve experienced. If your pain is developing gradually over time and is not the result of any particular injury that comes to mind, then it may be a result of degenerative disc disease. When this develops, you may experience chronic neck pain as a result of fluid-filled sacs that are becoming weakened over time as a result of stress and strain. Physiotherapy can help alleviate the pain from degenerative disc disease by helping restore blood circulation and improve range of motion in the neck. This therapy is approached in a careful and deliberate way so as to not cause further pain in the neck region. Sometimes, neck pain develops after a particular injury, such as due to athleticism or even as a result of a car accident or a slip and fall 3 4 2 http://1sudoku.com 9 Here is a quick breakdown of what could be going on to cause your neck pain:

accident. When this happens, your pain could be a result of a muscle strain or sprain. When this is the case, then using traditional methods like hot and cold therapy and targeted physiotherapy treatment can do a lot of good to alleviate the pain. However, attempting exercises on your own could also result in further pain.   In some cases, mechanical neck pain can develop as a result of a change in the neck joints. This may develop as a result of a disc collapsing, which causes the space between the bones to become narrow, often causing bones to strike one another, resulting in pain. When this isn’t addressed, mechanical neck pain can spread, causing the pain to become more severe and covering a wider range of the neck. Finally, neck pain is sometimes caused by radiculopathy, which refers to pressure or irritation in the nerves of the neck, which alters the electrical signals in the neck, causing you to feel more pain throughout the day. Physiotherapy can help reduce the pressure and irritation surrounding the nerves, offering often immediate relief from pain and discomfort. Print sudoku http://1sudoku.com 4 7 5 3 6 7 6 2 4 3 8 1 3 7 5 4 7 9 2 5 9 1 6 2 4 4 3 3 7 2 7 2 4 3

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IS YOUR NECK PAIN CAUSED BY SLEEP ISSUES? There is one more factor that often is not spoken about, but it’s a frequent cause of neck pain and discomfort: sleeping issues. Sometimes, sleeping in a certain position or sleeping on a mattress or pillow that is too soft or too hard will lead to neck pain. Oftentimes, this pain will appear to be chronic, as the sleeping issue is likely something that you experience day after day, causing the pain to return regularly. It may be helpful to rule out sleeping concerns as a reason behind your neck pain by assessing your sleeping conditions and making any changes that you think may be necessary. Adjust how many pillows you sleep on, the position you sleep in or even your mattress! sleeping it is important to consider whether your neck is straight and in line with your body. Too many pillows or too few will put unwanted stress on the muscles, joints and discs in your neck! To make sure your head is well supported it is sometimes helpful to use a rolled towel or neck roll in the curvature of your neck to give consistent support along the entire spine and head. Also, always try to fall asleep in good position. If you wake up in the night in bad posture, readjust and try to get back to sleep again. Happy ZZZZZZZZ! For more support in finding relief from neck pain, call 519.743.4355 today to schedule an appointment at SOS Physiotherapy!

We caught Western Physiotherapy Student Adam napping after a long mentoring session... and decided to snap some shots of his neck posture. Note that when you are

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Exercise Essential Try this movement if you are experiencing neck pain.

Tasty Recipe: Yogurt Ice Pops

• 2 cups fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberries & sliced bananas, mixed

This is an exercise that can help you with those headaches at the base of the head that move up your neck and even refer into the forehead or behind the eye(s). Amy is demonstrating this with a hand towel placed on the back of her neck (just below the base of the head). Pull in a 45 degree angle toward the front and up while at the same time tucking your chin in and pushing back into the towel. It should feel like you are lengthening your spine as you push back into

• 2 cups plain/vanilla yogurt

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 8 small paper cups

the towel. Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat 10 times. Make sure you don’t resist aggressively or do any movement that may cause you pain. If symptoms persist its best to consult your physiotherapist!

• 8 popsicle sticks Place the mixed blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sliced bananas, yogurt, and sugar into a blender. Cover, and blend until fruit is chunky or smooth, as desired. Fill paper cups 3/4 full with fruit mixture. Cover the top of each cup with a strip of aluminum foil. Poke a popsicle stick through the center of the foil on each cup. Place the cups in the freezer for at least 5 hours. To serve, remove foil and peel off the paper cup.

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Know Your Physio

Amy is a graduate of the Honors Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics from the University of Guelph and Masters of physiotherapy from the UniversityofWesternOntario.Followinghergraduation in2011,shemoved to Manitoulin Island where she treated a wide variety of clinical conditions including musculoskeletal, neurological and chronic pain. Amy has continued to pursue education in manual therapy towards her Advanced Manual and Manipulative Therapy Diploma from the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. She has her certification in Contemporary Medical Acupuncture fromMcMaster University and has advanced training and special interest in the Selective Functional movement Assessment (SFMA), Concussion Management, Vestibular training and Chronic Pain. When Amy is not in the clinic, you can find her exploring a new trail around the area with her dog Sugar, playing sports including volleyball and soccer, or enjoying a craft beer on the weekend!

Workshops at SOS Physiotherapy REMINDER: Golf Workshops Call & Register Today! SOS Physiotherapy is the proud sponsor of WaterlooTigers Minor Bantam Tier 1 Baseball team. TheTigershavehadanoutstandingseason thisyear winning their ICBA league as well as the ChampionshipTournament. Andy Reist was selected as Senior Player of the Year and SamClay was awarded Senior Pitcher of the Year for all of Waterloo Minor Baseball. Theboysreallycame togetherover theseasonwith5newplayerscompared to their team last year. They worked hard and were described by other coaches as the benchmark in how they conducted themselves on and off the field. WELL DONE TIGERS! SOS Physiotherapy is the proud of several teams in the community and considers sponsorships once a month. If your youngster has a team looking for a sponsor, send your child’s bio and team picture to SOS at [email protected] and we’ll give it a look!

Coupon Corner

FREE NECK PAIN SCREENING! *

& Tuesday, September 25th 7:30 pm @ the Elmira Golf Club Monday, September 24th 7:30 pm @ our Belmont Clinic Location

CALL NOW TO SCHEDULE!

Belmont (519) 743-4355

Elmira (519) 669-1212

Belmont (519) 743-4355 Elmira (519) 669-1212 Only 20 Spots Available At Each Location. So Call Now!

Call to schedule. *for the month of September only