Toronto Massage Therapy and Acupuncture Clinic by RMT » Pain Management & Self Care

Schroth Exercises for Scoliosis

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:09:25 +0000

The Schroth method of exercises treat scoliosis using breathing, postural awareness, and light exercise to correct scoliosis. Here is the website as well as an article from Physiotherapy Magazine. This video gives an idea of how the exercise sessions work. Very similar to Feldenkreis and Alexander Technique.

Sping: The Best Time for a Dietary Cleanse

Ken Shim, RMT — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:35:47 +0000

With the undeniably warm weather here, it is time for another cleanse. I am relatively new to the cleansing game. I think this is the third year I’ve tried it. I think that spring time is the perfect time for me to do a dietary cleanse.

I would hate to be stuck doing a cleanse during the summer patio season. Cleansing is a bit of an anti-social habit depending on your group of friends. It requires abstaining from alcohol and just about any party food. No more social lubricants. You actually have to rely on your natural born charm and wit to work the room. No more late night munchies like souvlaki or burritos. Who wants to be munching down on spinach at 3am? Then again, without alcohol, who has the munchies at 3am? The dietary cleanse actually is a bit of a behaviour modifier turning us into less juvenile versions of ourselves. But with Canada only having 2 months of true summer, who wants to waste time being grown up? Bring on the ice cream with Bailey’s!

Winter is also a terrible time for a cleanse. One would think that since social hibernation usually sets in during winter that it would be the perfect time for a cleanse. It is true that we generally leave the house less in the winter, but I need my winter fat. I’m 5’10″ and usually around 170 lbs, but cleansing will usually drop my weight down to around 160 lbs. Having a 2 or 3 pack (I’m just not a 6 pack kind of guy) is great for the summer, but who is ever going to admire my rock hard abs (I wish) in the winter? You would need some serious x-ray vision to be able to see through my layers of turtle necks, thermal underwear and woolly sweaters. The extra 10 lbs is the only thing that really keeps me warm in the winter time. I’d put my winter flubber against any thinsulate or gore tex combo anytime. I made the mistake of cleansing one winter and I almost froze to death. No lie! (unless you count that one…)

So, this year, I’m trying to do a spring cleanse. It goes perfectly with all the spring cleaning I’ve been doing lately. Get rid of all that stuff you don’t need. I don’t have to worry about being too cold. The weather is still crummy enough to warrant staying in every now and again. The only hitch is Easter weekend. Some of the best Trinidadian food you can find in Canada gets cooked up on Easter weekend. Not to mention all the Easter chocolate. Another troubling coincidence is that I just started buying chocolate to have available for my clients (the most amazing part of that is that I can now claim chocolate as a business expense! Can you believe it? I can’t wait to put that in my accounting program… “Chocolate Expense”). This means that I have a couple of kilograms of Lindt Swiss chocolate lying around the clinic that I am not allowed to touch.

Somehow I will get through this.

I will be using Cleanse Smart by Renew Life.

Video: Exercise for Low Back Pain, Sciatica & Herniated Disc

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:36:44 +0000

Here is a video for people suffering from lower back pain, sciatica or herniated disc pain. This is a great exercise because it is so gentle and safe. The exercise gently mobilizes the lower back vertebrae and lubricates the joints. It also eases the Lumbar Muscles.

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you.
Do the exercises slowly and gently. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Try to breathe slowly and keep your body relaxed. Do not tense up or hold your breath as this will invite muscle spasm.
You should not feel any pain during the exercises. If you do feel pain, decrease the range of movement by stopping before you get to the point of pain. Continue the exercise within the pain free range.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Do the exercises in a set of 1 minute for a minimum of 3 times a day for best results.

Video: Exercise for Sciatica & Disc Herniation

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:24:02 +0000

Here are some exercises for Disc Herniation or Discogenic Sciatica. The exercises are part of the McKenzie Method. The exercises are an attempt to take pressure off the sciatic nerve by helping to mobilize the disc back into the place.

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you.
Do the exercises slowly and gently. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Try to breathe slowly and keep your body relaxed. Do not tense up or hold your breath as this will invite muscle spasm.
You should not feel any pain during the exercises. If you do feel pain, decrease the range of movement by stopping before you get to the point of pain. Continue the exercise within the pain free range.
Stage one where the instructor is on his elbows is the safest position. Do not attempt the other positions until you can do the previous position safely with absolutely no discomfort for 2 days.
Be very careful about going into the position where you are supported by your hands. Only do this position and the subsequent “side bending” pose when you are no longer in the acute or subacute phases
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Do the exercises in a set of 3 for a minimum of 3 times a day for best results.
Hold the stretch for 15 seconds each time.

How To Relieve the Discomfort of Airplane Travel

Ken Shim, RMT — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:31:19 +0000

Just got back from Spain via Amsterdam and I thought I’d share a few tips on how I coped with all the hours of sitting in a cramped little seat with the tiny fork and knife set, the tiny meal, served in the tiny dishes, with the tiny drink in the tiny cup….. I’m still a bit jetlagged and my ipod alarm clock woke me up at 6 am for some wacky reason (ghost in the machine), so now could be the perfect time to hammer out this article that I’ve had in my mind for a year.

When travelling, the biggest enemies are inactivity and improper posture. The combination of them both leads to soreness or stiffness in the lower back, legs, shoulders or neck. Here are a few tips that will help:

Use Your Pillows & Blankets

This step should help to reduce the postural strain that improper sitting places on your body.
Sit with your hips back against the back of the seat to get the maximum support from the seat.
Place the blanket or pillow (personally, I like to fold the blanket in half) between the small of your back (the curve just above your hips) and the seat back. This will help to support your lower back in its natural curve and reduce low back pain. It is especially helpful if you are suffering from any disc related issues
Place the pillow behind your neck and keep the back of your head rested firmly against the headrest so that you can feel your neck being supported. This helps to keep your neck in its neutral curved position and reduce neck stiffness.
If you follow these steps you should feel like your upper body is fully supported in a more natural position. You should feel less strain or discomfort in this position

Get some exercise

Too much rest is not a good thing. All that sitting without any real movement can make you achy and stiff. The perfect solution is a bit of exercise. Any simple exercise or movement helps increase blood flow and lubricate your joints. Improved blood flow nourishes and oxygenates your body’s tissues and helps in waste removal, leaving you feeling healthier and more refreshed.
Get up and walk around. Use any excuse to go for a walk: Get a glass of water; Go to the bathroom; take a tour of the cabin; see what movies everyone else is watching; or as they say in the Dead Poet’s Society, view life from a different perspective!
You will probably feel pretty stiff the first time you get up. This is a sign that you should be doing it more often!

Choose your seat carefully

Make sure you get an aisle seat. All that getting up and walking around is never going to happen if you are stuck in the middle of a long row between 6 very close strangers. Make it easy for yourself to get up at will without annoying your neighbours.
The aisle seat also means that you have to get up every time one of your neighbours wants out, but if you’re not big on sleeping on flights, being forced to get up is a bit of a bonus and the perfect chance to stretch out a bit.
Don’t take all the aisle seats! Leave at least one for me unless you want to see me get cranky

Use your time between flights

If you are stuck waiting for a few hours between flights, take the chance to walk around. A good solid hour of walking can do wonders to reverse all the damage that sitting for 6 hours does to your body.
Shop. Not up for a brisk walk? How about a leisurely stroll through the mall?

Beware Deep Vein Thrombosis

Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot that can form in your calf. It may feel like a bit of pain or swelling in your calf. This is only mildly annoying, but if left untreated can result in the clot breaking free and blocking the blood supply to your heart or brain. If you feel soreness and swelling in a calf muscle after a flight, consult your doctor. The typical treatment is a round of blood thinners to gently break down the clot.
The lower air pressure combined with inactivity and sitting increases your chances of getting deep vein thrombosis. Seniors or women using the birth control pill are especially at risk.
One solution for preventing the deep vein thrombosis from forming is exercise. It is much more difficult for a clot to form if you are moving about. Get up and walk around every now and then to keep the blood flowing in your legs.
Try calf raises. While you are seated you can practise going up on your tippy toes and back down again. The constant flexion and relaxation of your calf muscles act like a pump and move the blood faster through the calf.
An Aspirin a day. Aspirin is a blood thinner in addition to being good for a variety of other ailments. If you doctor agrees with it and believes you are healthy enough for it, take aspirin daily for 3 to 4 days before your flight. Remember to be sure to consult with your doctor before you try this.

Some other tips

The air is pretty dry in the cabin, so keep drinking water to keep yourself hydrated.
Try the in flight exercises. Most planes have neck and shoulder exercise routines available in their in flight magazines. Try them out. It might look a little silly, but they definitely help.

Video: Chest/Pectoral Stretch for the Office

Ken Shim, RMT — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:47:18 +0000

Here is another stretch for your chest pectoral muscles. It is a yoga stretch than can easily be done at the work place. Perfect for those moments when you are stressed out at work and don’t have time for a break.

Guidelines for performing the stretches:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you.
Do the exercises slowly and gently. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Try to breathe slowly and keep your body relaxed. Do not tense up or hold your breath as this will invite muscle spasm.
You should feel a gentle stretching sensation, but you should not feel any pain during the exercises. Be especially careful of any sharp pain in the shoulder. If you do feel pain, decrease the range of movement by stopping before you get to the point of pain. Continue the exercise within the pain free range.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
To increase the stretch, try to squeeze your shoulder blades together and slide them down your back while you are doing the exercise.
Do the exercises in a set of 3 for a minimum of 3 times a day for best results.
Hold the stretch for a minimum of 15 seconds each time.

Ingredients of H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine

Ken Shim, RMT — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:17:00 +0000

Here is a humorous look at the h1n1 swine flu vaccine. The scary thing is that it is dead on. Those ingredients he is listing off: mercury, chicken embryos, formaldehyde, etc. are actual ingredients in the flu shot. And yes, it’s true. The vaccine has not gone through the same testing and approval procedure that vaccines are supposed to.

Video: Chest/Pectoral Stretch for Neck & Shoulder Pain

Ken Shim, RMT — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:24:06 +0000

Tightness in the pectoral muscles is an important factor in neck pain or shoulder/upper back pain. Shortness in the pectoral muscles pull the shoulder blades forward and cause the upper back muscles to stay in a stretched, weakened position resulting in neck and shoulder pain. This often happens because of poor postural habits, but more importantly it is due to our always being hunched over our desks or computers. Doing a few pec stretches every day can help reverse poor posture, increase muscle length and decrease shoulder and neck pain.

Guidelines for performing the stretches:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you.
Do the exercises slowly and gently. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Try to breathe slowly and keep your body relaxed. Do not tense up or hold your breath as this will invite muscle spasm.
You should feel a gentle stretching sensation, but you should not feel any pain during the exercises. Be especially careful of any sharp pain in the shoulder. If you do feel pain, decrease the range of movement by stopping before you get to the point of pain. Continue the exercise within the pain free range.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
To increase the stretch, try to squeeze your shoulder blades together and slide them down your back while you are doing the exercise.
Do the exercises in a set of 3 for a minimum of 3 times a day for best results.
Hold the stretch for a minimum of 15 seconds each time.

Video: Pilates for Legs

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:52:27 +0000

Here is part 3 of the pilates video: The Glutes Routine.

Strengthening the leg muscles can add strength and stability to your lower back area. You might never guess that your legs could be causing you lower back pain, but as I always say, everything is connected. Most leg muscles originate from the pelvis and any muscle imbalance in the legs can have an effect in shifting, tilting or rotating the pelvis and upsetting the natural balance of the body, thus causing lower back pain.

Pilates is a system of exercises which targets and strengthens core muscles. This video teaches some exercises for toning the legs. It especially works the inner thigh muslces (adductors) and the outer hip muscles (abductors). These 2 muscle groups work together to stabilize your hips in both athletic or non-athletic activity. Like the glutes, dysfunction in the leg muscles is rarely felt in the legs themselves, but rather in the lower back.

Practising these exercises on a regular basis will help to strengthen your leg stability muscles and can give you greater ease standing or walking as well as improved performance in athletics.

You should only try these exercises if you have a very strong core and are relatively athletic already. If you have a weak lower back or abs, you may find these exercises especially difficult or even painful. If you are healthy enough to do these exercises, they can be an important step in improving your health.

Guidelines for performing the exercises:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you. It is especially important to rule out any disc problems before you do this exercise.
Do not do these exercises if you have any kind of acute low back pain or pain due to a herniated disc .
Do the exercises carefully. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Pilates is a very technical exercise. It works very well because of the finely-tuned movements. To get the most of the exercises it is best and safest to go to a pilates class or work with a pilates instructor.
Be very careful with the position of the lower back. It should be in a neutral position for the exercises. It should not be arched or rounded. In some of the exercises, you may feel like you do not have the strength to keep your lower back in a neutral position. You may feel like you cannot stop it from arching or rounding. In this case, do not do that particular exercise as it may do more harm than good. Challenging and potentially dangerous exercises are the seal, the hundred and the hundred prep.
You should feel a bit of a workout when doing these exercises, but you should not feel any pain. If you do feel pain, especially sharp or intense pain, stop immediately.
Do not feel like you have to do all the exercises. Only do the ones that you are most comfortable with when you are starting. Listen to your body.
As you gain strength and confidence over the weeks, you may want to add back the exercises that you had skipped. Only do so when you are sure that you can do the exercise safely.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Try to do the exercises at least twice a week to start off. You can increase the frequency as you build up strength.

Video: Pilates Glutes Routine

Ken Shim, RMT — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:04 +0000

Here is part 2 of the pilates video: The Glutes Routine. Strengthening the hip muscles can add strength and stability to your lower back area.

Pilates is a system of exercises which targets and strengthens core muscles. This video teaches some exercises for toning the glutes. This is the same exercise routine that I used when I was suffering from acute back pain. It helped me tremendously and I hope that it will help you too. Be sure to have a look at part 1 of the video series, which focuses on the abs.

Guidelines for performing the exercises:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you. It is especially important to rule out any disc problems before you do this exercise.
Do not do these exercises if you have any kind of acute low back pain or pain due to a herniated disc .
Do the exercises carefully. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Pilates is a very technical exercise. It works very well because of the finely-tuned movements. To get the most of the exercises it is best and safest to go to a pilates class or work with a pilates instructor.
Be very careful with the position of the lower back. It should be in a neutral position for the exercises. It should not be arched or rounded. In some of the exercises, you may feel like you do not have the strength to keep your lower back in a neutral position. You may feel like you cannot stop it from arching or rounding. In this case, do not do that particular exercise as it may do more harm than good. Challenging and potentially dangerous exercises are the seal, the hundred and the hundred prep.
You should feel a bit of a workout when doing these exercises, but you should not feel any pain. If you do feel pain, especially sharp or intense pain, stop immediately.
Do not feel like you have to do all the exercises. Only do the ones that you are most comfortable with when you are starting. Listen to your body.
As you gain strength and confidence over the weeks, you may want to add back the exercises that you had skipped. Only do so when you are sure that you can do the exercise safely.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Try to do the exercises at least twice a week to start off. You can increase the frequency as you build up strength.