Mattress choice is a very personal matter. When people are looking to buy a new mattress or are even looking at their current mattress as a cause of back pain they often wonder what makes a good mattress. You can imagine that lack of support can contribute to poor sleeping posture and put strain on [...]
Your spine is made of 24 vertebrae and 3 major curves, 2 in (lordosis) and 1 out (kyphosis). Together, your vertebra forms the spine. It supports that head and trunk, moves when you are standing or sitting, acts like a shock absorber, and protects the spinal cord. Between each vertebra are 3 joints that connect [...]
We’re not all created equal. Researchers from the University of Oxford studied bone and joint size as well as orientation over the span of the last 400 million years. What does this mean for movement patterns such as reaching and squatting? Some common problems such as pain in the shoulder when reaching overhead, pain in [...]
Taping has been a component of rehabilitation for many years. In recent years we have seen taping assist athletes in high profile sporting events such as the Olympics and professional sports such as baseball, basketball and golf. Many of these athletes wear colourful tape in well defined and sometimes intricate pattern, based on their dysfunction [...]
The spine is a complex structure that requires a combination of stability and mobility. Abdominal bracing gives the spine the stability that it needs when we have to transmit force through it. This involves isometric stiffening of the abdominal muscles, meaning contracting the muscle without it moving. This stiffening creates a criss cross mesh of [...]
Canadian winters can be harsh! Before you step outside in the cold take a look at what’s on your feet. Although they may look good, your winter boots might not stand up to the icy conditions outside. A group of researchers at Toronto’s University Health Network have developed a new and innovative way to test [...]
If you have ever sprained your ankle, you would have almost certainly heard of the RICE protocol; Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevate. This practice has been in place since “The Sports Medicine Book” was published in 1978, and has been used ever since. More recently, this standard has been questioned, and whether some of its [...]
Low back pain during pregnancy is a problem that affects many women. As many as 75% of pregnant women experience back pain. It is the result of a variety of changes, including weight gain, postural and hormone changes as well as stress. A structured exercises program can decrease low back pain during pregnancy. More specifically, [...]
We’ve talked about the feet being the first place to check when assessing dysfunction. The foot arches are the key structures in the foot that maintain strength. If the small muscles in the foot can’t maintain the integrity of your arches, the foot becomes weak, creating a weak base of support for the rest of [...]
We all have a muscle that just won’t loosen up no matter how often you stretch it. After all, the way to loosen a tight muscle is to stretch it, right? Not necessarily. Not all muscles that are tight need to be, or should be stretched. It all depends on why it’s tight in the [...]
