What is sciatica? Sciatica is a term that gets used quite frequently in the physiotherapy world.  It refers to pain, tingling and/or numbness that goes down the back, hip or entire leg.  It can happen to both younger and older adults for many reasons.  For some, it starts after a traumatic event like a slip and fall or after a motor vehicle accident.  For others, however, it starts gradually then suddenly increases in intensity over time.  Despite the exact cause, sciatica can be a very difficult condition to go through. Where does the term sciatica come from? The term sciatica refers to irritation of the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in our body.  This nerve has its roots at the lower levels of the lumbar spine and runs through the gluteal area down the back of the thigh.  Around the the knee, the sciatic nerve splits up into…

Vestibular Rehabilitation – What is it? Vestibular rehabilitation involves the treatment of disorders related to the vestibular system of the body.  However, to understand these types of conditions and the treatment that is involved, it is helpful to know a little about the vestibular system. What is the vestibular system? The vestibular system is a complex system that deals with controlling balance and eye movements. It includes structures that are found in the inner ear and the brain The vestibular system picks up information about movement and spatial orientation from your surroundings and sends this information to the brain This system allows us to do all our daily activities from reading, driving, walking, running and playing sports to name just a few. The brain combines this information with other sensory information from your body to coordinate smooth and well-timed movements As a result, if there is a disease or injury…

Golf is a great sport that usually many are looking forward to in the summer.  However, if you have played golf, you know that you need very good flexibility in your body for the sport.  Playing golf with reduced flexibility leads to a lot of injuries.  Some of them include golfer’s elbow, back strain, shoulder or knee injuries and so on.  Therefore, golf stretches are an important part of the golf routine. First, let’s go through the benefits of stretching. Benefits of stretching Improves flexibility and range of motion A sedentary lifestyle or less physical activity may lead to reduced mobility in the joints. If you start playing golf without stretching, it may increase chances of getting a muscle strain/injury as it may be in a shortened state and may also reduce the ease of playing golf. Improves blood circulation Stretching improves the blood flow to the muscles which has…

Cancer Rehabilitation What is Cancer? Cancer rehabilitation is an important part of a patient’s cancer recovery journey.  But it is important to understand what it mean to have cancer. Firstly, the normal, healthy cells of our body go through stages of development, maturity, and death.  Importantly, cell death is part of the normal life cycle of tissues.  In short, this process allows for the removal of older and damaged or abnormal cells from the body and the addition of new healthy cells.  However, with cancer, the old, damaged, or abnormal cells do not go through the process of death.  That is to say, they continue to accumulate and grow, spreading into surrounding normal tissues.  Moreover, these abnormal cells are capable of surviving and can do a lot of damage to the body.  Consequently, cancer cells can: Invade surrounding healthy tissues Develop their own blood supply Eat away at bone Add…

How to Safely Get back into Exercise during the Pandemic                 Everyone knows the importance of regular exercise and movement.  Up until 2020, a lot of people had exercise in their weekly routines.  However, once Covid-19 became a real threat in the world, exercise was greatly affected.  Exercise during the pandemic seemed like the last thing on people’s minds but the lack of it has definitely made huge impacts on people’s health. How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect activity? During the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone’s lives drastically changed.  Other than essential workers, most everyone else was forced inside to help prevent the spread of the virus.  A lot of people had to set up home offices and work from home.  Although this took away a lot of the financial burden of not losing work and long commuting times, it did create other problems. What…