By Caroline Gimbert (Office and Marketing Administrator)

My name is Caroline and if you visited Core Link over the last year we’ve probably already met or talked over the phone: I am one of the 3 receptionists here and I have also been responsible for promoting the centre and it was such a great adventure that is unfortunately ending soon…

Goodbye and thank-you!

First I wanted to thank Payam Kiani for introducing me to the clinic and Steve Nagy for actually hiring me and giving me the opportunity of marketing for his clinic. This past year has been extremely busy with a new website, a new monthly newsletter, an updated Facebook page, some great workshops and events to organize and some new services and practitioners to involve in the clinic. I feel extremely grateful for having been part of these projects, but what I enjoyed most was the customer service part of my work. At Core Link, we are so grateful to have you as clients and we hope you feel well taken care of when you call, email or visit us! I was also honored to work with the best practitioners: a team of highly skilled professionals aiming to provide the most integrated quality care. Quality care that, I have experienced myself.

As some of you might know, I am now leaving for another important personal project: giving birth to my second child, due at the end of the month. I am really excited about it but also really sad to leave this amazing team.

Core Link Wellness Centre: The most professional integrated care

I would like to share a small part of my pregnancy with you and my experience with the integrated care offered at the clinic. I am 34 weeks pregnant and my last ultrasound revealed that my baby was in a breech position. For me, who wanted the smoothest and most natural birth, it was a shock at first. Although I know C-section can happen anytime during labor for a variety of reasons, it reminded me that I may have to consider that option more seriously. I talked to my midwives and realized that the baby still had time to move and there were some gentle approaches to try to help this process. I am actually in the perfect environment to get help and now I have an action plan. All the disciplines we offer at the clinic can help us prepare for the gentlest birth: osteopathic treatments, reflexology sessions, massage, acupuncture, naturopathic and chiropractic care. Now I am not scared anymore, I feel confident and empowered that I will be able to offer my child the best birth I (we) can…

And don’t ask whether it’s a boy or a girl, we don’t know yet! But we’ll keep you posted!

By Erin Rothenburger – RMT

As a massage therapist, I have seen many people requiring treatment for shoulder pain. Often, the complaint is of the rotator cuff, but this in only one of many problems that can occur in the shoulder. Some of the most common problems can include poor posture, which occurs frequently in those who work in an office environment; the patient’s shoulders are rounded forward from slumping over a desk or steering wheel. Pain can also occur when muscles and joints are overused through repetitive over-lifting; from accumulative, repetitive movements often found most in jobs requiring the same motions over a long period of time, such as manual factory labour or sports practice, or conversely in lack of activity in that area. Impact injuries that can occur in the home (such as a fall), or in sports (such as being checked into the boards during a game) can also affect the shoulder causing pain and discomfort in the muscles and joints there. Many different pain syndromes and dysfunctions can occur involving the shoulder girdle. Direct impact injury, overuse, and strain are most common, but postural and mechanical imbalances may also contribute; even neck and upper thorax problems may refer pain into the shoulder.

The following issues are the most common issues I deal with in my day to day treatments:

Rotator Cuff Strain: The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that provide stabilization of the very mobile ball and socket joint of the shoulder; they also function to rotate the arm. Most commonly, it is the Supraspinatus muscle that is involved with n injury, but the other muscles can also be injured.

Bursitis:  The Bursa is a small, flat sac of synovial fluid located in the shoulder that is designed to reduce friction irritation with movement and function. This bursa may become irritated with excessive, repetitive overuse or with direct trauma such as sports related injuries like getting checked into the boards during a hockey game. Movement, stretch, or contact pressure (such as with lying on the affected side) can be very painful. The pain is often nagging and constant.

Biceps Tenosynovitis: The biceps long tendon has a synovial sheath that the long tendon glides within. Problems can occur with overused of the tendon itself, or of irritation of the sheath around the tendon. Pain is located at the front of the shoulder and the upper arm.

Impingement Syndrome: The Supraspinatus, biceps long tendon, and/or the bursa can all become impinged under a bony arch in the shoulder causing pain and difficulty when raising the arm up. Pain is at the top and front of the shoulder, varying depending on which structure is involved.

Adhesive Capsulitis: The capsule of the shoulder joint normally allows a wide range of mobility, but if there has been an injury or irritation to structures of the shoulder, the capsule may become inflames, adhered, and significantly restricted. Pain typically occurs at the end of the range of motion, or while lying on the affected side. Mobility will be limited with this issue.

For an image relating to the shoulder and shoulder muscles, click here.

Check with your health care professional for differential assessment and treatment options. A Massage therapist can help determine what the dysfunction is and provide appropriate treatment to relieve pain and improve mobility, helping you to return to activities of daily life, recreation, and work.

By Dr Kelly McGuire ND

By Michelle Witterick (Look for her at the reception on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays)

It’s spring and the lure of getting back in the garden is irresistible.

Invigorated by all that balmy fresh air, you spend the first sunny day digging, planting, lifting and hauling.  The next morning, you pay.  Your thighs quiver.  Your back tightens with every step.

Let your legs and arms do the work instead of your back when you take on those gardening activities.  If you take the necessary precautions, aches and pains and serious injury can be avoided.

Other good safety tips include:

• Before doing anything – take a walk around your yard a few times to loosen up.

• Be cautious about the amount of strain placed on your lower back.  When lifting dirt and debris, let your arms, legs and thighs carry the load.

• When weeding or planting, sit on the ground or kneel on a foam pad.

• Do easier tasks first, change periodically to avoid overusing one muscle group.  You should also alternate difficult tasks with less taxing ones.

• Switch hands frequently when doing prolonged raking, hoeing or digging.  Repetitive motion on one side can bring on low back pain and shoulder spasms.

• Carry on manageable loads.  If a load is too heavy, get help or divide it into smaller loads.

• Hold or carry objects close to your body, so as to not risk straining your neck and lower back.

• Don’t stay in the sun for prolonged periods without protection .  Take frequent breaks.

By Kathleen Simpson, Pilates Instructor

DO YOU SUFFER FROM INCONTINENCE, OVER ACTIVE BLADDER, SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION, PELVIC ORGAN PROLAPSE, SWOLLEN PROSTATE AND MORE ?

LEARN WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Pfilates is a program of neuromuscular conditioning based on extensive EMG recordings taken from the pelvic floor. Pfilates was created by an American Urogynecologist to provide a method of  pelvic floor fitness training accessible to a broad population. Certification of Instructors began in 2010 all over the world.

Pelvic floor disorders are absolutely epidemic. Stress, urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, female sexual dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, and fecal incontinence are so commonplace they are often regarded as the inevitable consequences of childbirth and aging. When these conditions are treated they are too often regarded as purely mechanical disorders requiring a surgical solution. Although trained as a surgeon Dr Crawford have come to regard these disorders as principally neuromuscular disorders deserving of a neuromuscular solution. PILATES true nature is to redefine our neuromuscular pathways so we move our muscles the way they were made to be moved.

The Pfilates program provides a movement oriented method of pelvic floor exercise that could be incorporated in to any regular fitness routine once you learn how to do the movements correctly. Neuromuscular research reveals that movements which engage the external hip rotators, adductors of the thigh, transverses abdominals,(Pilates) and gluteal muscles also facilitate, or induce, a pelvic floor contraction.

The Pfilates program is a simple program consisting of ten movements presented in the same order in three different phases (beginning, intermediate, and advanced). Each of the Pfilates movements includes a series of repetitions followed by a hold phase and a pulse phase at the point of peak engagement of the pelvic floor. As such these movements encourage the development of the three essential elements of neuromuscular performance: strength, endurance, and coordination..

Pfilates is intended to be preventative but also a therapeutic alternative for those already experiencing symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. For patients that have already has surgery Pfilates can help protect the investment and reduce the chance for recurrent symptoms.

2 Workshops  ($45 each) are scheduled on :

Monday May 13th           1 pm – 3:30 pm

Wednesday May 15th      7 pm – 9:30 pm

The workshops will include:

• Statistical and anatomy information,
• Information regarding bladder incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, sexual dysfunction, prostate issues (for men).
• You will be assisted in finding your own muscles in your pelvic floor.
• You will be taught all 10 exercises in the program.

TO SIGN UP NOW CALL 905 592 0095

SPACE IS LIMITED

MEN AND WOMEN