So you’ve decided to be part of the 1% that completes a marathon, an incredible achievement! Training for a marathon is demanding on both your physical endurance and mental resilience. One of the most common dangers comes from experiencing a sports injury during your training. This could be overuse injuries, strains, sprains, and more. Ultimately, these can hinder your progress and even affect you on race day itself. To help you keep your body as healthy as possible, here are some essential tips to avoid sports injuries while training for a marathon: 1. Start Slow and Build Gradually Tip: Avoid…

Oftentimes, people can be scared to move their backs certain ways, or that some movements are bad, and they will injure themselves if they do them. Truthfully, the more we avoid these movements, the harder they become to do which can actually lead to a greater chance of injury. Keeping the spine mobile and strong with exercises every day is the best way at minimizing the risk of injury. Ultimately, it helps our bodies build resiliency. There are many gentle movements and stretches to choose from that are great for keeping a healthy spine! Getting Started Firstly, these exercises may…

Have you decided that you want to become more active, but don’t know where to start? As physiotherapists we are huge advocates of health and are excited for you to make this change! Starting the journey to become more active and increase your fitness is fantastic! Finding an activity and appropriate difficulty at the beginning are essential to making this a lasting habit. Unfortunately, for some people, “traditional” workouts like jogging or lifting weights don’t work for them. Instead, here are some alternative ideas to try for your workout! 1. Incline walking or hiking Hiking is…

  Our physiotherapy clinic PhysioNow has 9 locations to serve you across the GTA, from Burlington to Etobicoke Physiotherapists can improve your health by being champions of fitness and wellness. They are experts in a wide variety of topics and can help in many different areas. The following is a list of ways your physiotherapist can improve your health! 1. Prevention Physiotherapists work to prevent injuries and physical health issues through education and awareness. For example, they may provide guidance on proper ergonomics, posture, and exercise habits to reduce the risk of developing pain, injuries and chronic conditions. 2. Rehabilitation Sometimes, accidents happen and injuries can’t be avoided. Physiotherapists help individuals recover from injuries, surgeries, and medical conditions. They use various techniques, therapeutic exercises, and treatments to restore physical function, mobility, and strength. 3. Pain Management Physiotherapists help manage and alleviate pain, whether it’s caused by…

Image by Freepik What is cupping? Cupping is one of the techniques that has been used since ancient times. At first, it was used in Chinese, Egyptian and Middle Eastern culture and continues to be used for many years. Cupping Therapy is a technique which uses different sized cups to do suction on a body part by creating negative pressure. Importantly, it helps to increase blood circulation in the area. Additionally, it is beneficial in the treatment of pain like musculoskeletal pain, tension headaches and more. Similarly, \ cupping can also be helpful with muscle tightness and to help reduce areas of inflammation. To create the suction effect, they use cups made of different materials like silicon, glass, bamboo or more. Sometimes, they may combine it with additional techniques like fire, manual pumping or automatic pumping to create a vacuum. How is cupping performed? Dry cupping:…

Image by creativeart on Freepik Chronic pain is a complex and pervasive health issue that affects millions of people worldwide. While physical factors like injuries and medical conditions play a significant role in chronic pain, there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that psychological factors, particularly stress, can also contribute to the development and exacerbation of chronic pain. In this blog post, we’ll explore the intricate relationship between stress and chronic pain and how understanding this connection can lead to better management and relief. The Stress Response and Chronic Pain Stress is a natural response to challenging situations, triggering the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. In the short term, this “fight or flight” response can help us cope with immediate threats. However, when stress becomes chronic, as is often the case in our fast-paced modern lives, it can have detrimental effects on…

When most people think about physiotherapy, they usually think about getting treated for a muscle pain, or other strain or sprain. However, the benefits of physiotherapy extend beyond just the musculoskeletal tissues of the body. In this blog post, we discuss through some of the lesser known conditions or symptoms that can improve with physiotherapy Pelvic health physiotherapy for pelvic pain or dysfunction Firstly, pelvic health physiotherapy may be right for you if you experience pain or dysfunction in the pelvic area. This may include but is not limited to pain during intercourse, and pain or abnormal control over urination and bowel movements (urgency, incontinence, retention) and prenatal and post-natal care. Both men and women may benefit from pelvic health physiotherapy. Cancer rehabilitation Secondly, physiotherapy can help manage the many side effects of cancer treatment after surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Addressing these side effects can help you increase the quality…

What is Parkinson’s Disease? Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurological condition resulting in difficulty starting and maintaining movements in the body. Importantly, there is a loss of some neurons (brain cells) that contribute to coordinating muscles and creating smooth movements. As a result, individuals with this condition experience a range of symptoms that impair their strength, mobility,  flexibility, and posture. 4 hallmark features Tremors: Firstly, tremors are usually the initial symptom. The tremor is mostly when the body is resting, such as sitting, but may worsen over time to affect the individual while they’re performing other tasks like writing, eating, or shaving. Rigidity: Secondly, rigidity refers to stiffness of the muscles and joints. In Parkinson’s, it can affect the arms, legs, trunk, and even the face. Bradykinesia: Next, bradykinesia means slowness of movement which may include stopping or hesitating during movements. Postural Instability: Finally, difficulty balancing and correcting postural faults…

Beyond the Physical: How Physiotherapy Affects Mental Well-Being When people are asked to imagine physiotherapy, they think of physical rehabilitation involving exercises, stretches, and manual therapy. While these are undoubtedly the defining aspects, engaging in physiotherapy can also lead to benefits in your psychological well-being and overall quality of life, leaving you feeling better both mentally and physically. In this blog, we will cover the lesser-known benefits of physiotherapy on your mental health. 1. Increased Self-confidence and empowerment In physiotherapy, we aim to give patients the tools and knowledge to manage their injury or condition. Living with an impairment can…

Orthotics Orthotics are specially designed equipment that provide support to the feet and ankles to improve your lower body’s alignment. Since the body is all interconnected, misalignment at the feet can lead to compensation at the knees, hips, and lower back and contribute to pain and dysfunction in those areas. Thus, orthotics are a great tool to help correct this and alleviate pain and discomfort in the body. In this blog, we will go over how they work and how they can improve your quality of life. 1. Relieving Pain with Orthotics [caption id=”attachment_6107″ align=”alignnone”…