The Importance of Physiotherapy

About six months back, I started to have pain in my lower pack. I just attributed it to my slogging a bag full of textbooks back and forth across campus everyday, and thought it was something that would eventually go away. Unfortunately, it didn't. And much to my chagrin, a week or so after my back pain became prominent, I developed two ulcers in my stomach which forced me to go on medication, and cut any and all anti-inflammatory drugs from my daily regiment. My back pain worsened, and finally I broke down and decided that if I was going to do this pain free, I was going to need to enlist the help of more than just a nurse practitioner to give me a few tips, I needed to call in the big guns, a physiotherapist.

If you are not familiar with the physio therapy profession, they are health care professionals concerned with the repair and rehabilitation of various injuries to the body. In Vancouver, where I live, the team of physio therapists I work with all have both a Bachelor's and Master's degree, but in most places in Canada, I believe physiotherapists are only required to have a Bachelor's. There are several types of physiotherapists, and each have their own unique set of methods, or specializations. Because of the nature of my mystery injury, I sought out a back specialist, and met Jen.

A good physio will assess your lifestyle, provide you with a series of exercises to help you strengthen your muscles and joints and monitor your rehabilitation. A fantastic physio will delve deep into your medical history, and assess not only the injury in question but will search your body for other ailments that could be contributing to your injury. A thorough physiotherapist will also be able to make sound recommendations for x-rays or body scans, and have the ability to interpret the results so they can properly treat you.

Working with a physiotherapist can be a lengthy process. I've been working with mine for just over four months, but over the course of those four months, I haven't taken a single prescription drug for pain relief. To achieve the results you want, you have two work hard for them, and stay committed. Whether it's a blown ACL, or an injured back, physiotherapy should become a pertinent part of the healing process. In some cases, it's the only path to complete rehabilitation.

Are Cleanses a Good Idea?

With summer well on its way, the gyms are teeming with guys and gals, trying desperately to shed off the winter weight in time for beach weather. I live right on the water, on a seawall that stretches nearly 15km down the beach and around a large urban park. I work as a freelance writer and virtual executive assistant for a local travel firm, so I every morning, I walk out onto my balcony every morning, bring my laptop and a cup of tea, and watch the gaggle of joggers, speed walkers, cyclists, dog-walkers and leisurely strollers pass me by. I love this city in the warm months, and I love to see people out there, filling their lungs with the fresh sea air.

Personally, I've always been of the belief that a balanced diet and regular exercise is the key to staying healthy and at an ideal weight. Some of my girlfriends, however, prefer to put themselves on crash diets and Cleanses. A good friend of mine put herself on one cleanse in particular called the Wild Rose Cleanse, an herbal solution that is meant to detoxify your body over the course of 12 days. The side effects of this cleanse can be pretty grim, and can include headaches, body aches, rashes, mood swings, and nausea. Hmmm, doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, does it? Okay, look, losing weight and getting in shape is no easy task. It's not always fun. But I tell you what, working out doesn't make me feel miserable, it makes me feel renewed!

Did you know that there is very little scientific evidence that actually proves that going on a cleanse actually detoxifies the body? Renowned dietician Sina Teskey, at Region's Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota says that detox diets do not detox the body and in they contribute to nutritional deficiencies because of a significant lack of calories and nutrients. Most people who put themselves on cleanses, rarely consult with their physician beforehand, and this is one of the reasons why they feel like crawling into a ball over the course of the cleanse.

Think long and hard before you start leaching your body of nutrients and minerals. Taking short cuts when it comes to your health, is never a good idea.

Sniff, Sniff, ACHOO!

Yup, it's that dreaded time of year yet again; Allergy season. I spent the better part of my youth suffering from debilitating allergies. I was a track and field athlete, and I spent countless afternoons running laps, all the while, it felt like Mother Nature was doing her worst. My eyes used to get so irritated, they would swell up and close on me, and the only thing that would help the symptoms subside, was a steroid shot to the behind, yikes! I would spend one miserable summer after another, sneezing, wheezing and moping about because I just couldn't seem to get relief. Thankfully I grew out of it, but for those of you who spend the Spring/Summer season in a fog, I feel your pain. And before we get to work treating your allergy symptoms, it's essential to understand what the heck is causing them in the first place!

An allergy, or allergic reaction is actually your immune system fighting off airborne foreign invaders. What most people don't know, is that allergies can sneak up on you at absolutely any age! Oh yay, something to look forward too, right? The severity of your reaction depends on your body. Someone can be distractingly allergic to cat dander, whereas the next person might just be slightly irritated.

Allergens aren't just floating through the air, they can also be on a surface or in something we ingest. Sometimes, a particular laundry detergent can cause irritation to the skin. It could be the perfume, or it could be a particular chemical. Luckily, this is something that can easily be remedied by picking yourself up a natural detergent.

Now, what about those nasty hay fever allergies that try to do their worst even at the best of times? Well, it's best to chat with a nurse or even your local pharmacist to discuss medications that are suitable for your condition. You'll most likely be on the hunt for anti-histamines, medications that block the chemical release of histamine. Over-the-counter medications like Benedryl and Claritin are quiet common with combating allergy symptoms, but before you start popping pills, it's important to find out what  it is exactly, that your body is experiencing!

No Love for the Love Drug

I thought this would be a good time to take a little time out to have a good, rigorous chat about about the effects of illicit drugs on the human body. This is a health blog after all, and with that in mind, it's only fair that we open up a dialogue about more than just healthy eats and good sleeping habits. So today, this week, we're going to going to discuss a drug that claimed the lives of 16 people in British Columbia alone last year. A drug that has been historically associated and regularly distributed at raves, parties and concerts, is now available absolutely everywhere and at $3 a pill, is one of the most affordable highs someone can get their hands on. The drug of choice this week; Ecstasy. 

Drugs don't have a type. People seem to think that that a certain type of person takes drugs. Drugs don't have one face, they have many. Whether you're a lawyer, an elementary school teacher or a tattoo artist, these are all professionals that have potentially experimented with ecstasy in their adult life. What you might not know, is that Ecstasy (medically known as MDMA) is a close cousin to Methamphetamine. Yep, that's right, Meth. It's a hullucinogen that provides the user with feelings of euphoria, emotional warmth and a surge of super-human energy. It's almost always taken in pill form, and is often mixed with alcohol which just exacerbates the effect it has on the body. 

Okay, so you remember all those commercials in the late 90's and early 2000's that blasted you with slogans like "This is your brain on drugs?"Well, here's a little reality check for you. Ecstasy effects the serotonin levels in the brain which are essential for regulating things like aggression, sexual activity, and one's sensitivity to pain. This is why individuals who fall prey to the grips of ecstasy commit ridiculous feats like jumping off of bridges, or walking into the middle of the street to 'stop a car'. It's not always the drug itself that can kill you, but what it propels you to do. 

It's highly addictive and the side effects coming down from it are physically and emotionally devastating. Insomnia, depression, and neurotoxicity are just a few of the side effects that you might experience. Question is, is it worth it? No. It's never worth it. It's never worth putting that poison anywhere near your body. You could lose your career, your family, your friends, and in some cases, your life. 

Keeping the Mind Healthy

It's a well known fact that a sound mind equals a sound body. It this is true, why is that we spend so much time focusing on our exterior appearance, strengthening our muscles, beautifying our hair and skin, perfecting our smiles, all the while, leaving our mind to its own devices? I recently shared a story about losing my father to mental illness on my family blog, and since his death, I have dedicated myself to researching and understanding the impacts of mental health of those suffering from it first hand, and the effects it has on families. And it's high time that we devote as much time, if not more, to developing our minds, keeping them healthy, and reaching out if we feel like something isn't quite right.

1) Communicate your feelings at every opportunity. My mother used to say, it's better to erupt like Mt. St. Helen's than to simmer like any angry teapot (I adore her, but she had quite the temper!) I'm of the belief that neither is really good for you, and avoiding either by working through things vocally. Put pride aside, and open up. Holding it in is not only detrimentally to you mentally, but it can begin to manifest physically creating side effects like hair loss, weight-loss or ulcers!

2) Get creative, keep busy, and continuously challenge yourself. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to have to solve the New York Times Sunday crossword, but trying new activities and doing things you love, will boost your confidence and keep your brain stimulated.

3) Let yourself feel. This can be a tough one for some people. Some of us spend a significant part of our lives trying to insulate ourselves from getting hurt emotionally. Part of growing as an individual also means that we must mature psychologically, and letting ourselves feel the full spectrum of emotions from love, frustration, anger, resentment, and whatever else life throws at us. This doesn't mean that you have to cry when you see the kittens on the Royale commercial, (and if you do, I promise I won't tell!), but when crisis strikes, take it on, one step at a time, don't shelve it.

4) When you have grim thoughts, tell someone. Look, we all feel a little helpless from time to time, and sometimes, when left to our devices, the mind wanders to some dark places. When this happens, it's time to bounce your thoughts off of someone you trust. If this happens to you often, it might be time to talk to a professional. And when I say professional, I don't mean a psychology major, I mean someone who has a degree on the wall that proves they know what the heck they're talking about; Suicide is no joke.

5) Get lot's of sleep. Experts can't seem to agree how much sleep the human body actually needs. Everyone functions on different amounts of sleep. One thing they can agree on, is that sleeping disorders like insomnia can lead to serious psychological diseases including depression and manic depression. Don't lie awake for nights on end, get help.

A Reproductive Revolution - The Pill

May of 2010 was a significant anniversary, and marked a stark division in our cultural fabric. It shattered gender boundaries, forced men and women to question their relationship with the church and it gave women full control over their ability to bring life into the world. For the first time in our entire existence, humanity had the ability to control a ballooning world population. This little medical miracle I'm talking about is the Birth Control Pill, informally known as "the Pill" in the Global North.  

Today, millions of women in Canada and the US take the Pill,  and give it little or no thought. It's a fleeting moment in our otherwise chaotic schedules, and as long as it keeps doing what it's supposed to, that is, staving off the prospect of motherhood, it remains in that fleeting moment! But for many women, it is not a medicine taken without conscious. 

All forms of artificial contraception have been condemned by the Catholic Church since it's inception and the Pill, it has been a powerful thorn in the Pope's side for decades. But what it also did, was pull the rug out from under men. It stole away their ability to make reproductive decisions for women, and put it directly into the hands of the "vessel" of life, women. Women could choose a career over parenthood, and elongate their professional lives for as long as their wombs would allow. It was unknown at the time, as to the longterm effects of the Pill. Even a crystal ball couldn't have prepared us for the ripple effects created by one tiny pill. The Pill was more than just an oral contraceptive, it was expected to save unhappy marriages, eliminate the need for abortion, eradicated world poverty, and solve the world's impending world population crisis. It didn't quite work out that way. 

In 1957, the Pill was officially approved to be used as course of treatment for women who suffered from several painful menstruation disorders like PMS and scar tissue in the womb caused by heavy periods. But even as late as 1969, doctors were legislated to dispense the Pill only to women with disorders and married women. And it took several decades for pharmaceutical companies, doctors and advertisers to begin targeting at-risk groups such as teenage girls, a demographic that was contributing to a baby boom. 

If you happen to be researching careers in sociology, you have your work cut for you! Experts are only on the cusp of understanding the longterm sociological, environmental, political, cultural and physical effects of the Pill. What is the greater meaning of population control, and how will women grapple with a desire to pursue motherhood, while trying to maintain their careers in a society that doesn't necessarily support their decisions? These are some of the questions left to be answered, as we race toward another millennia. 

Breast Cancer - The Indiscriminate Disease

Last year, in Canada alone, there were 23,400 cases of breast cancer in women, and 190 cases in men. Out of those cases in women, 5100 women lost the fight. Over a lifetime, 1 out of every 9 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her life, and 1 in every 29 will die. Three very close friends of mine have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the last eighteen months, two of whom were at deaths door for six months, and beat the odds. My other friend was not so lucky, and lost her short but fierce battle. I was racked with grief and fear. 1 in 3, those were terrifying statistics.

I had a scare myself, about five years back. I was 25 years old, and discovered a rather large lump in my left breast. It was about the size of a mandarin, very hard and quite painful. After a night of hiding out in my apartment, terrified of the possibility of some doctor uttering the "C" to me, I decided that time was of the essence, and if I had to do battle with cancer, I was going to make the first move. In the wee hours of morning, I marched myself to the emergency room and had a mammogram. In the end, it ended up being a benign cyst, and after two months of careful monitoring, it went away on its own. But false alarm or not, it woke me up to some scary possibilities.

The most frightening thing about breast cancer is that it can be a silent killer. You could be running a marathon and have no idea. Some visual symptoms can include things like a breast changing shape, dimpling or puckering of the breast, a thickening of the skin, inverted nipples, nipple discharge and/or a swollen lymph node under the arm.

After my scare, I wanted to know and understand what my risks are, and what are my chances? My doctor walked me through my family history. There were no incidences of breast cancer in the family, but there were incidences of ovarian cancer, plus I had thicker than usual breast tissue which was also a factor I would forever need to consider in terms of detection. I also actively take the birth control pill which increases my risk slightly. So now I was officially on breast cancer's radar. Now what!

Until the point that I had my first mammography, I had always been told that I was far too young to be screened, and was not at risk. I soon realized that I had never been asked the right questions, and I would need to not only take charge of my body, but I would need to start monitoring any changes in my body, on a regular basis.  My three girlfriends, when diagnosed, were all under the age of 30, two of whom had absolutely no risk factors in their medical history. So what this confirmed for me, is that breast cancer doesn't discriminate who it makes ill. Young, old, risk, no apparent risk, it could happen to any of us, at almost any time in our lives. Do yourself a favour, and don't wait to be screened. If a doctor tells you you're too young, get a second opinion. Take control of your life, your body and your health, and do your self-breast exams every single month. Don't wait for death to come knocking at your door.