Child's pose

CHILD’S POSE

Lower back pain is incredibly common, with up to 85% of working people experiencing it during their lifetime. While it may seem somewhat innocuous, pain in this area actually results in 6 to 12 billion dollars of medical costs in Canada per calendar year. With this in mind, let’s take a look at one of the most beneficial yoga poses for low back — Child’s Pose.

Child’s Pose helps to decompress and lengthen your spine through gentle and restorative stretching. It also aids in digestion, opens the hips, massages the internal organs, calms the mind and stretches the ankles, shoulders, and the front of your thighs.

To perform the pose, firstly come onto your hands and knees. Next, bring your hips back towards your feet while simultaneously bringing your chest towards the floor, with your arms outstretched. Let your forehead rest on the ground. Breathe. You can stay here for as long as you experience relief, just resist the urge to do it everywhere you go ; )

You had an MRI - now what

MRI findings of joint deterioration are often interpreted as causes of pain, which can trigger costly medical treatments and surgery. Many of the MRI changes may actually not be the source of the pain, and are associated with the aging process.

MRI findings are common in asymptomatic people

over the age of 40 years.

Asymptomatic findings:

Neck - 5-35% disc herniation or bulge

Low back - 68-96% disc degeneration and 50-84% disc buldge

Shoulder - 55-72% labral tear

Knee - 43% cartilage lesions, 19% meniscal tear, and 37% osteophytes

What should you do?

• Consult a care provider that treats your symptoms and not your imaging (treat the patient, not the scan!). Treatment should include exercises, manual therapy and education.

• Recognize that these “abnormal findings” can be part of aging and don’t always require “fixing”

• Understand, just because you have pain today, doesn’t mean you will always have pain! Look at the stats, there is a lot of the population with MRI findings that still live their lives pain free!

• Don’t be afraid to live your life! Bring back movement to the area with the help of your chiropractor.

• Don’t think of it as “degenerative changes” reframe the language into “normal age-related changes”

* Imaging is useful for the differential diagnosis of many conditions, including ruling out serious diseases that can present as musculoskeletal pain, and should be used with appropriate clinical reasoning*

References:

D'Antoni & Crott. J Whiplash Rel Dis 2006

Brinjikiji et al., AJNRR AM J Neuroradiology 2015

Schwartzberg et al., Orthopaedic J Sports Med 2016

Culvenor et al., Br J Spors Med 2019

Heerey et al., Br J Sports Med 2018

Disclaimer

None of the information provided on this website should be substituted for medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment from a licensed healthcare practitioner.

Surviving Pre-Holiday Stress

The holidays are typically a time where family and friends can get together and celebrate. For some, the weeks leading up to the holidays can cause headaches, havoc and unrest. Here are some tips to help you survive the weeks leading up to the holiday season.

Plan Ahead

Now is the time to look at the calendar and lay it all out. Identify which day will be a shopping day, which day is a baking day, which day will be occupied with get togethers. By labeling it ahead of time you will be able to avoid feeling like you are running out of time. Don't forget to schedule time for self-care, it’s easy to forget about the most important person during this time of year, you!

Just Say No

Don’t be afraid to say “No”. Recognize that you can’t do everything and be everything all the time. Saying yes all the time can leave you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

Be realistic

Does it have to be perfect? Is good enough? Thanks to social media, now more than ever we have these imaginary standards of how something is supposed to look. Trying to keep up with pinterest can be exhausting and impossible.

Stick to a budget

Get an idea of how much you can realistically spend over the holidays without going into too much debt. Spending too much over the holidays leads to stress, anxiety and depression in the New Year when the credit card bills start to roll in. Strategies to avoid spending too much over the holidays include:

• Donate to a charity in somebody' else’s name

• Give homemade gifts

• Start a family gift exchange

• Avoid eating out, have pot luck get togethers instead

Don’t abandon healthy habits

Even though you may be busy, still make time for exercise, stick to a healthy diet and sleep routine.

Feel It

Recognize how your are feeling and talk about it. It’s not always possible to be with your loved ones and that can be difficult. Whether it is due to distance or the passing of a loved one, sometimes it is difficult to process these feelings during this time of year. It’s okay to cry and express yourself, just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean you have to be happy. Take some time to look at old pictures, tell stories about them, sing their favourite song, cook their favourite meal to feel close to them.

Remembering a feeling is much easier than what gift was given in any particular year. Take the time to reflect and recharge with your loved ones over the holiday season!

Happy Holidays!