Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.

Recently, one of my practice members asked me if it was normal to have back pain and stiffness after raking leaves.

The answer to this question should be “no”, but unfortunately this is often times not the case.

If you struggle with the same issue, I am going to explain to you today how and why this happens.

Raking involves a lot of reaching and leaning forwards which is not ideal posture for anybody.

If your core muscles and your lower back stabilizer muscles are weak, your spinal joints are going to take the brunt of the load.

And if you do not exercise your core muscles or lower back muscles specifically, it is inevitable that they will be weak.

Your spinal joints are highly sensitive and when they get irritated and inflamed because they have been unduly overloaded, you will be in for a whole heap of backache.

Here are two things you can do to help this …

Use a rake with a wider fan and a longer reach. A wider fan will help you move more leaves in one swoop and a longer reach will allow you to stand up straighter while raking which will decrease some of the load on your lower back.

And make sure to do your plank exercises regularly.

Planks are an excellent and very effective way to strengthen and tone your core muscles and lower back muscles both.

If you are unsure if you are planking properly, here is what you can do …Use your phone and get a video of yourself doing a plank. Forward the video to me on FB Messenger and I will look at it, critique it and give you some feedback. Remember that yard work should be enjoyable and a good source of exercise for you.

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad here again and today we are going to talk about seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

This is when people feel down and depressed during the winter months.

It no surprise there is a lot more anxiety and depression out there due to this whole covid thing. I have unfortunately observed this within my own practice.

This is why I want to give you some tips on how you can get out in front of this now especially if you are the type to get down during the gloomy winter months.

I’d rather you deal with this holistically instead of taking those wicked meds that often times have unfavorable side-effects. Or at least try these first.

First of all, EXERCISE !! Make a commitment with your self to get to the gym a few times per week, or take a yoga class or get out for a walk when the weather is tolerable.
 
The change of scenery and the endorphin release from exercising is a great
natural mood elevator.

You can also get yourself a sun lamp. You can purchase them affordably on Amazon. Studies show that sun lamps have a positive impact on serotonin production … a hormone which has been linked to depression when levels are low.

Spinal alignments …. these flood your body with endorphins. Endorphins are your feel good hormones and many people remark that after having an alignment, they feel like they are ‘walking on air.’ 

So do everything you can to naturally release and flood your body with endorphins because they too can lead to depression when levels are low.

And be careful what you are saying to your self because your body is always listening.

Life Chiropractic Centre is a family chiropractic and postural correction facility. 905 335 LIFE (5433)

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.

Last time we talked about lower back pain in kids.

But what about all you hard-working and over-stressed mom’s out there? I really feel for you all.

It is a challenging time for many of us.

Did you know that females tend to hold a lot of their stress in the lower lumbar area?

Mental/emotional stress, kid stress, relationship stress, not to mention the physical stress from all the hard work that you do.

This can often times lead to chronic lower back ache and if this sounds like you, I have a few helpful tips for you today.

First of all, should you apply ice or heat on an achy back?

Wherever you fell achy and sore, there is always a degree of underlying inflammation.

So if you apply heat directly over a sore spot, this will escalate the underlying inflammation and make the problem even worse.

Cold packs are therefore the best thing to do. Ten to 15 minutes over the sore area every couple of hours.

Cold has anti-inflammatory properties. There is nothing wrong however with a warm salt bath as long as you apply a cold compress before and afterwards.

Stretching your back is also another thing you can do but you have to know which stretches you should do and which stretches you shouldn’t do.

This will be different for every person depending upon what the exact problem is.

I will be able to help you with this. You can reach out to me on Facebook, the contact form on our homepage or a simple phone call.

And remember too that spinal alignments are an excellent drug-free way to help with lowerback ache.

Life Chiropractic Centre is a family chiropractic and postural correction facility. 905 335 LIFE (5433)

Hello everyone. Dr Brad here again.

Last time we talked about pediatric headaches.

Today we are going to talk about mommy headaches.

I know how stressed and how busy you are with everything going on in our world today.

There is an element of fear and uncertainty that weighs on us all to some degree.

Often times this will affect our physical health and headaches are a common result. Tension headaches especially. Those headaches that will sit behind your eyes, or across
your forehead or along the base of your skull. Sometimes it feels like it engulfs your entire
cranium.

Tension headaches (any headaches for that matter) can knock you right off your game and this is the last thing any of us need right now. Especially with a home and children to manage.

Here are a few tips to help you get out in front of these things before they become a problem.
Regular neck stretches every day (contact me if you need help with this) and cold packs if you feel one coming on (10 to 15 min across your forehead, base of skull or both).

Remember too that chiropractic adjustments are an excellent tool to help you manage stress and have proven to be a highly effective drug-free way to help people manage their headaches.

Hello everyone. Dr Brad here again.

Last time we talked about pediatric headaches.

Today we are going to talk about mommy headaches.

I know how stressed and how busy you are with everything going on in our world today.

There is an element of fear and uncertainty that weighs on us all to some degree.

Often times this will affect our physical health and headaches are a common result. Tension headaches especially. Those headaches that will sit behind your eyes, or across
your forehead or along the base of your skull. Sometimes it feels like it engulfs your entire
cranium.

Tension headaches (any headaches for that matter) can knock you right off your game and this is the last thing any of us need right now. Especially with a home and children to manage.

Here are a few tips to help you get out in front of these things before they become a problem.
Regular neck stretches every day (contact me if you need help with this) and cold packs if you feel one coming on (10 to 15 min across your forehead, base of skull or both).

Remember too that chiropractic adjustments are an excellent tool to help you manage stress and have proven to be a highly effective drug-free way to help people manage their headaches.

Hello everyone. Dr Brad here again.

Today we are going to talk about pediatric headaches which can be a real concern now that
a lot of kids are home schooling and sitting at their computer more than they typically would.
(I have seen this problem arise with some of my own pediatric patients.)

There are 3 probable cause for pediatric headaches in this particular circumstance;
time spent sitting at the computer, posture while sitting at the computer and eye strain.

Here is what you can do to help prevent headaches from occurring in the first place with your
own children.

Make sure they take a posture break every 30 minutes for 60 seconds. It can be a simple as
getting up out of the chair and walking around for 1 minute.

Secondly, make sure they sit with upright, healthy posture while interacting with any technology.

Eyes forward and chin up. This applies to any device (computer, tablet, cell phones etc.)

And finally you can purchase blue blocker glasses or install software that will decrease the amount blue light or excessive glare that is emitted from all electronic screens. This will help prevent eye strainthat can most certainly cause headaches.

If your children do struggle with headaches, I can help.

Just call to schedule an appointment for your free initial consult which also includes a free detailed posture scan and this will tell us most everything we need to know and then we can get started.

Life Chiropractic Centre is a family chiropractic and postural correction facility.
905 335 LIFE (5433).

So please make sure to let the children play especially if they are schooling at home.

Life Chiropractic Centre is a family chiropractic and postural correction facility.
905 335 LIFE (5433).

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad here again.

I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line. I am also a Certified Posture Expert with the American Posture Institute.

For the next while we are going to be talking about pediatrics and posture.

But before we get into it we need to learn about the ‘C-Generation.’

The C-Generation are those kids born between 1995 and 2015.

And what we are seeing in this modern group of pediatric patients is that more and more of them have a C-shaped spinal curve (S-shaped is normal) which is prominent throughout their developmental years.

This is not what nature had intended. This is a primitive postural presentation seen normally in infants and geriatrics only.

And one of the main cause of this is technology.

Kids born between 1995 and 2015 have been using technology since a very early age.
They had their Gameboys, x-boxes, play stations, they got their 1st cell phones (games and texting) and there was a literal explosion of computer use in the home and at school.

This was the first generation of kids that have been immersed in technology and it is the same group of kids that we are collecting our data from.

If you have ever had to tell your kids to “sit up straight” you have already detected a problem. Over the next few weeks I am going to help you as parents understand the potential developmental disorders and functional disorders that can result from a C-shaped spine.
Remember that good posture is by design and not by circumstance.

Life Chiropractic Centre is a family chiropractic and postural correction facility.

905 335 LIFE (5433).

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.

I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line.I am also a Certified Posture Expert with the American Posture Institute.

Today we are going to talk about healthy technology boundaries for your home.

Here are 4 things to consider ….

Remember to use all handheld devices at eye level. If your kids use an ipad frequently, consider investing in a stand.

Secondly, make it a rule that for the first hour every morning, your kids do not engage with any technology.Let them get through their morning routine without any interruptions. And let their right brains flourish for an hour or so. This is the creative and artistic side of the brain. Many of us typically do not spend enough time in right brain mode. As soon as we interact with technology, we flip into left brain mode (thinking/analytical) and stay there for the rest of the day. This needs to be better balanced.

Another thing you can do is make an agreement that there are no devices at the dinner table. Take the opportunity for some real human interaction and communication with other family members.

And finally, no technology at least 1 hour before bed-time.

The blue light that is emitted from TV screens, computer screens, ipad screens, cell phone screens etc. hyper-stimulates your brain tissue. This will not allow you to fall into the deep part of your sleep rhythms.

In fact, no wifi in the bedroom is a very healthy idea.

Benefits from doing one, some or all of these?

You are establishing better brain habits for your kids and helping to prevent postural collapse especially forward head posture or tech neck.

Life Chiropractic Centre is a family chiropractic and postural correction facility.
905 335 LIFE (5433).

Hello everyone.

Dr Brad Ivanchuk here. I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line.

I am also a Certified Posture Expert with the American Posture Institute.

Starting next week and for the next little while we are going to be talking about kid’s posture.

A lot of school-aged kids and students in high-school, college and university will be studying at home for the foreseeable future.

They will be spending a lot more time with their devices and on their computers attending
online and virtual classes.

So, now it is more important than ever that we as parents teach our kids how to maintain a healthy posture system while they interact with technology (cell phones, tablets, computers etc.).

Poor posture resulting from improper use of technology can lead to physical health problems, mental-emotional health problems and even low self-esteem.

I have been deep in study the past few weeks getting my Pediatric Posture Specialist certification with the American Posture Institute and by next week we will be able to get right into it.

I will be sharing with you the most recent information based upon the most recent research and expert solutions.

I want to help you as parents get out in front of any potential health problems before they arise because we need to do every single little thing we can to keep our kids healthy.

Life Chiropractic Centre is a family chiropractic and postural correction facility.
905 335 LIFE (5433).