Get Moving For Life

Rehabilitative Benefits of Kinesio Taping

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:45:00 +0000

Andrea Brennan, who recently joined Lifemoves© is a certified provider of the Kinesio Taping method which has become a worldwide treatment phenomenon within the sports medicine and athletic communities in recent years. We will be introducing this treatment modality to our North Vancouver and Coquitlam locations.

I have seen this therapeutic tape in a wide array of sporting events from the Beijing Summers Games in 2008 to the Rugby World Cup in 2010 and have heard that it is endorsed by numerous high profile individual athletes including Lance Armstrong. Even our Liam Firus, a Lifemoves© client, who is headed to the World Junior Figure Skating Championships at the end of February uses it to help him keep training and competing.

I interviewed Andrea about Kinesio Taping to learn more about it.

Who uses Kinesio Tape?

Since its introduction to the U.S. in 1995 Kinesio Tape has gained substantial notoriety and is now used by over 50% of NFL, 75% on MLB and 30% of NBA teams. Over 150,000 practitioners around the world now rely on Kinesio Tape in the treatment of pain, neuromuscular and neurological pathologies, musculoskeletal injuries and other medical conditions.

How Kinesio Tape Was Developed

In 1979 Dr Kase, a Japanese practitioner licensed in chiropractic and acupuncture became frustrated with the notion at the time, that once a joint is of a certain shape it cannot be changed. He discovered that by applying his taping method to the muscles rather than the joint itself, stabilisation could be achieved. At the time, the tape available was rigid and harsh and could only be worn for a few hours. In order to achieve the desired affects, Dr. Kase needed a light, flexible and durable therapeutic tape. He began engineering an elastic tape that would complement his method and as a result revolutionise therapeutic tape around the world: Kinesio Tex Gold tape.

How Does Kinesio Tape Work?

The Kinesio Tape method facilitates the body’s natural healing process, while stabilising muscles and joints without hindering their range of motion.

In embriology there are three major germ-cell layers; the outermost layer ectoderm, the middle layer mesoderm and deepest layer endoderm. As we develop, these three layers from our major organs of the body. The Kinesio Tape method works on the basis that these three layers are still connected and it is possible to treat the body from the outside in.

The skin is the largest sensory organ of the body and contains a huge sensory network. Kinesio Taping works by lifting the skin microscopically which forms convolutions creating an institial space. This space allows for greater lymph drainage and enhanced cardiovascular circulation which reduces pressure on sensory and mechanical receptors within the skin. These combined affects alleviate pain, improve muscle function and reduce inflammation.

How Kinesio Taping Influences Fascia

Fascia is a strong continuous connective tissue with the human body. It surrounds the muscles, joints, organs and nerves. Following trauma, fascia will change from its usual healthy pattern of linear collagen fibres and become disarrayed and knotted. Applying Kinesio Tape helps to these painful areas helps to restore their natural linear pattern which in turn increases range of motion, makes muscular contractions more efficient and helps relieve pain.

What can be treated with Kinesio Tape?

Kinesio Taping is not just for high performance athletes. It is now used by practitioners around the world in the treatment of orthopaedic, neurological, neuromuscular and medical conditions which many of Lifemoves©’ have one or more of.

Kinesio Tape can be used to treat many conditions including soft tissue injuries such as whiplash or a hamstring strain to removing excess lymph in cancer patients following a lymphadenectomy; new uses for this truly outstanding tape are still being discovered.

Andrea Brennan

Andrea Brennan is certified in Kinesio Taping Level I and 2. She is a skilled therapeutic exercise provider. Learn more about her or book an appointment by calling 604.283.1858 ext 5.

Help Others Get Moving for Life

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Can we get your help? Did you know that this blog was nomiated by Best Health for a blog award? Lifemoves is poised for big growth in 2012. This means that we will be adding more content and looking for more ways to share information in all of our blogs: What's Moving at Lifemoves, Red Dragon Entrepreneur and this one.

We appreciate all of our current readers. We are changing our RSS feeds and looking forward to it being easier to share our content. Please use the link below to update yours. If you don't subscribe you can easily keep up to date by clicking the link below to subscribe to this blog, subscribe to our newsletter by filling in your contact info to the right or by following us on networked blogs and other social media sites.

Subscribe to Get Moving for Life: Exercise Therapy Tips

Please share any content you think others would enjoy.

Sincerely,

Alfred Ball
Life Moves Health and Fitness Inc.
President | Founder

Where Does Fat Go When We Lose Weight?

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:58:00 +0000

Our blogs are inspired by the questions we are asked by our clients. Someone recently asked me -

"Where does fat go? What happens to our fat cells when we lose weight?"

Since, I am more of an expert at getting people moving and improving their durability, not at fat loss I thought I would ask this to my colleague and North Vancouver fat loss expert, Martin Bolduc, Personal Trainer. Please read the first in a series of guest expert interviews.

Where Does Fat Go When We Lose Weight?

MB:

As you go about your fat loss journey, if you often find yourself wondering just where the fat goes, you aren’t alone. Many people often pose the question of what happens as you burn off body fat. Do fat cells release their stored fat as you burn them off and remain empty or do the cells themselves actually disappear? Let’s take a closer look at what happens as you burn fat so that you can gain a full understanding of the fat loss process.

When we lose weight, do fat cells shrink?

MB:

When fat loss begins to take place, which is due to fewer calories being consumed than being burned off throughout the course of the day, the body is going to be releasing stored triglycerides from the fat cells for use as energy, causing the fat cells to shrink down, as mentioned in the Human Fat Cell Lipolysis journal article. As this fat loss takes place, you may notice your fat cells becoming squishier to
the touch as they are emptied of their contents. These cells will never disappear so the chance of them expanding again if you consume too much food will always still be there.

Do we have the capacity for more fat cells?

MB:

Yes, fat cell hyperplasia is a very real thing, as noted in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The body can start to produce new fat cells as excess food is consumed and periods of inactivity are undertaken,which then means staying lean in the future may become much more difficult.This is a big reason why maintaining a regular exercise program and watching what you eat is critical to long-term weight control. While you can diet down and lose the contents of your fat cells, once those fatcells are created, they can never be destroyed without resorting to surgical measures.

References

Arner, P. (2005). Human fat cell lipolysis: Biochemistry, regulation, and clinical role. Best Practice Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Vol. 19, Issue 4.
Roberts, C. (2006). Inactivity and fat cell hyperplasia: fat chance? Journal of Applied Physiology. Vol102. No. 4.

About Martin Bolduc

He is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Express Fat Loss and the winner of the Lean Body Challenge 2008. Martin is a Certified Fitness Nutritionist Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer ACE and BCRPA, and a natural bodybuilder. Martin continues to help hundreds of clients reach their fat loss goals their goals. Get more fat loss tips by reading Martin's blog at Express Fat Loss

Are Kinesiology Sessions Rehabilitation?

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:18:00 +0000

In the space of one day I had two people approach me with completely different views about what Lifemoves' Kinesiologists do. One did not see the difference between our exercise therapy services and Personal Training. The other person I spoke with stated that they had used Personal Trainers for nearly a decade and the trainers' level of education and experience has run the gamut from the weekend coursers with BCRPA to those with advanced training such as Kinesiology or Physiotherapy (they now know what to look for when assessing a trainer's qualifications).

From the outside perspective of those walking through and observing some of what we do with our clients, our programs may seem to be “total body” workouts, which in fact they are because 1. the body moves as a complete organism; 2. those who are rehabilitation clients require the ability and capacity to lift, push, pull, twist, carry and squat. What an observer doesn’t know is the medical history of the client nor why the specific exercises are in the program, why they are in the order they are in and what intensity they are being performed at.

Unless they have some type of orthoses, prostheses, assistive device, mobility device or move with obvious compensations it is often difficult to know that someone has a medical condition, disability or injury just by observing them for 60 seconds.

As the second person discovered, many trainers are “more concerned about the amount of weight the client is pushing” instead of taking into account the individual’s history of injury and illnesses. This can set the client up to complete exercises with poor technique which sets them up for overuse injuries.

A Kinesiologist first completes an assessment which includes a medical history and movement screen then designs, teaches and implements an exercise program that incorporates all aspect of fitness and movement, while accounting for an injury(ies), illness(es) and disabilities not just exercises for site of injury or resulting movement compensations. Even defining rehabilitation as treating an injury is very limiting. Also, an exercise therapy program does not have to have isolated movements, joint manipulations or use exercise bands to be defined as rehabilitation. Sessions are designed to restore function and durability.

What is Rehabilitation?

“Rehabilitation is a treatment or treatments designed to facilitate the process of recovery from injury, illness, or disease to as normal a condition as possible” Medical Dictionary – more information.

Rehabilitation treatments include exercise. These normal conditions range from being able to continue to live independently, perform a very physically demanding job and compete athletically at a high level.

What do Lifemoves’ Kinesiologists do?

A client with a back injury who has a highly active and physically demanding job probably has some type of movement inefficiency that created the injury in the first place. They also require a program to rehabilitate them to the normal condition of being able to perform their job demands. This means that yes, we would have to properly progress them towards loaded dead lifts, squats and carries.

We have had clients approach us because their trainer was aggravating a previous condition or injury because they were not paying enough attention to correcting movement throughout the session. Exercise considerations for someone who needs to lose weight to ensure that their hernia surgery is successful are quite different than someone who wants to lose weight and has no known medical condition. Both clients will most likely have a full-body resistance program, however the exercises, tempo, intensity, and volume for both programs will be different.

During each exercise we carefully observe how it is being executed then coach and cue proper movement sequencing. If necessary we will progress or regress the exercise until we achieve the appropriate level of challenge.

Our clients have or have had an injury; are recovering from or have an illness; are regaining strength and function after a surgery or have a disability. Their goals are to manage their medical condition(s) while gaining as much physical conditioning as they can. These conditions include, but are not limited to transplants, brain injuries, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, total joint replacements, scoliosis, thyroid diseases, cancer and mental illnesses (depression and post-traumatic stress disorder).

Who are Kinesiologists?

“Kinesiologists offer a wide variety of assessments and services to the public to assist with both injury/illness prevention and injury management. Their practice is based on the core sciences of anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and psychomotor behaviour. Kinesiologists work in the fitness industry, clinically and in industrial environments” Canadian Kinesiology Alliance.

In Ontario we are close to becoming a regulated health care profession. A growing number of health benefits plans are providing coverage for our services. ICBC and disability benefits providers such as Sun Life Financial, Manulife and Great West Life will pay for training services when they are conducted by Practicing Kinesiologists registered with the BC Association of Kinesiologists.

Other health care professionals, such as Physiotherapist have the ability to prescribe exercises, however exercise therapy is our area of specialty and expertise. We focus on the entire person’s functionality not just the site of injury. We work in conjunction with the rest of our clients’ medical team.

So, yes Kinesiology sessions are rehabilitation!

3 Steps to Achieving Fitness Success in 2012

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:15:00 +0000

With the end of 2011 approaching and those New Years Resolutions just around the corner, it helps to review how successful you have been in reaching your health and fitness goals this year so that you can move forward in 2012 positively. Be honest with yourself when looking at what you have done well and what areas you can improve. Keeping this in mind will help guide you to set realistic and achievable goals for 2012.

Use the information provided below to answer the following questions:

1. Did you achieve the recommended amount of physical activity each week in 2011?

If you did not, write down what your barriers were (for example, lack of time, work commitments, children/family commitments, low energy levels, poor motivation).

2. What are your health and fitness goals for 2012?

Just like in competitive sports make lists of A, B and C goals. Your a goals are 1-3 items that are MUSTS, Bs are 2-6 items that are important, Cs are 2-7 things are are nice things to accomplish.

3. What steps do you need to take to achieve these goals?

Now that you have a list of goals, think of each of these as projects. What are some ACTIONABLE items you can do. Maybe it is hiring a Kinesiologist to help design a program for you. The action step is to give as call to book a consultation or assessment.

Another example is if your goal is to stop dropping in to the coffee shop for the scone and coffee in the AM. Your action step could be to take another route to and from work.

How Much Physical Activity is Recommended?

The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines (released January 2011) recommend that adults t at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more.

They also recommend muscle and bone strengthening activities (resistance training) using major muscle groups at least 2 times per week.

The recommendations for Children and Youth (5 - 17 years) are 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity daily, including vigorous intensity physical activity at least 3 days per week and activities that strengthen muscle and bone at least 3 days per week.

Our expertise can help get you there and even beyond the minimum. Lifemoves clients are very active and want to remain so despite any disability injury or medical condition.

Overcoming Barriers to Exercise

Most people face barriers to exercise at some point in their lives. There are many steps that you can implement to overcome these barriers and start to successfully achieve your goals - here are a few examples:

Lack of Time

Schedule activity into your day and make it a non-negotiable commitment. Doing exercise first thing in the morning can be a good way to tick it off your to-do list that day and ensure that other things don't prevent you from exercising (such as work or family commitments).

Low Energy Levels

Exercise will actually help to increase your energy levels and fight fatigue once you are moving because it releases endorphins into your body that help give you energy and feel good. Next time you are feeling like you don't have enough energy, force yourself to get out and move and feel the benefits!

Lack of Motivation

Physical activity should be fun. Most of us are able to find an enjoyable activity that can elevate your heart rate and get your body moving. For me, cycling, running, rock-climbing and soccer keep me healthy and motivated to move. Others enjoy dancing to their favorite songs, swimming, snow-sports, aerobics classes or working out in the gym. Find something that you enjoy and learn to love exercise!

Some other tips on how to stay committed to your exercise plan include getting into a routine, move wherever possible (e.g. take the stairs, walk to the bus, ride your bike), see a Kinesiologist regularly to keep you on-track, join a team or social group or exercise with a friend/family member/pet.

Lack of Knowledge

Clients often seek the advice of a Kinesiologist because they are unsure of how to continue to stay active or become more active when they are managing a medical condition, injury or disability.

Setting Goals to Get Moving Forward

When setting goals that should be SMART, that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

Specific: Answer the who, what, when, where and why

Measurable: Put a value on your goal so that you can measure your progress

Attainable: Identify a goal that is important to you so you can develop the attitudes, abilities and capacity to reach it.

Realistic: Is this goal something that you are both willing and able to achieve?

Timely: Put a time-frame on your goal to help measure it and track your success

An Example of a SMART goal:

In January I am going to exercise at the gym before work 5 times per week for 30 minutes each session, performing moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercise on the treadmill and bike to improve my health and fitness.

How to Track Your progress

Ensure thatyou review your goals and progress regularly and celebrate your successes! If you have a day or week where you have not achieved what you set out to, start fresh the next day and try again

"The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step"

(Lao-Tzu, Chinese Philosopher)

If you require any assistance with your 2012 goal-setting or if you need help getting moving or staying motivated, contact a Lifemoves Kinesiologist - we are more that happy to help you develop a plan to achieve your goals!

References

Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists (CSEP) Physical Activity Guidelines (Jan 2011). View.

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) View..

7 Ways to Identify Great Movement Coaches

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:04:00 +0000

Education is one of Lifemoves'core values. Thursday provided us with a teachable moment.

In the last 10 years the fitness industry has gone from fanciful movements with the BOSU and other devices to make a training session “fun-ctional” back to basic human movements of lifting, pushing, pulling and rotating with the feet on the ground. During the last several weeks I started to learn the art and science of the Olympics lifts which can be used under the appropriate circumstances with rehabilitation clients, the elderly and high performance athletes.

A video of VERY poor Olympic lifting technique has been circulating recently within my peer group of Strength Coaches, Personal Trainers and Kinesiologists (see below); the clients in this video will most likely end up with acute and chronic injuries as a result. The discussion about the quality of Personal Training and coaching provided in the fitness industry these days has been ongoing for several months.

We are concerned that clients who are paying good sums of money are not being provided with the value and quality they deserve. Part of the lack of value is little movement education or correction during their sessions which places the client in situations where they could get injured in the short or long-term.

Lifemoves’clients are generally overcoming an injury, illness or surgery which has forced their bodies to create movement compensations and pain. When there is pain the neuromuscular system reflexively prevents that muscle from contracting optimally during movement and co-contracts others to create further stability or the movement needed. Consequences are 1) the overuse of muscles that are designed for stabilization or as secondary movers instead of primary movers 2) these movement compensations have shifted joints enough so that there are poor joint mechanics which leads to long-term deterioration of joint surfaces (think of osteoarthritis). Pain is a signal that something is not quite right and that the training stimulus needs to be changed, such as a correction or load reduction.

Anyone with a basic level personal training certification can lead a client through a workout session which leaves them exhausted at the end. Our Kinesiologists are looking out for our clients’ long-term health, fitness and wellness. It is important to us that our clients use the appropriate levels of stability and mobility to lift, push, pull and rotate.

How to Identify a Great Movement Coach

When working one on with a client or even in a small group setting coaches will:

Breakdown movements into blocks and then piece them together much like the stages of learning to drive
Listen to you when you mention you have pain by stopping the lift, ask questions and adjust the lift by correcting or regressing it
Be less concerned about counting reps and more concerned about movement quality
Be analytical and attentive
Be moving around see your movements at various angles
Be able to progress or regress each movement depending how successfully you complete it. For example a kneeling plank to alternating knee lifts (feet on ground) to full plank and the other direction
Be consistently upgrading their coaching skills and knowledge via podcasts, discussions, webinars, workshops and conferences

As health care providers we don’t care how much you sweat or have a desire for you to collapse on the floor after your session. Our aim is to use an appropriate progressive level of resistance which improves your daily functional capacity and durability, but doesn’t not compromise exercise execution and technique. We are here to coach you and show how to move differently, more efficiently and more effectively.

Clients who have worked with Personal Trainers who made their client work hard, but didnt correct their form and did not adapt an exercise to manage their injuries have approached us due the lack of lack of attention they received. These intelligent clients seek training programs that will account for their injuries or medical conditions and help them navigate towards their goals.

We are always searching for the best methods of training such as exercise selection that meet our clients goals, needs and abilities.

If you are curious about the poor lifting video: click here

Excellent Coaching of the Power Clean

Thank you to our numerous peers around the globe who brought this to our attention and who helps us continue to improve our own movement coaching skills.

How Kinesiologists Use Exercise Therapy to Manage Chronic Pain

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Did you know that chronic pain affects about 13% to 30% of Canadians and 10% aged 12 to 44? Chronic pain is a complex process that has lasted more than 6 months and this is after tissues involved in the original injury or surgery have healed. Those with chronic pain also often have other mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. This pain can be debilitating and prevents patients from doing or enjoying daily and recreational activities.

It is now understood that this pain originates in the brain, a very plastic and malleable part of the body that can be changed with appropriate training. Management of chronic pain needs to be multifaceted which includes stress management, nutrition, sleep, medication reduction and exercise. Watch this humurous five minute video to learn more.

Kinesiologists develop appropriate exercise programs to help clients become more durable, stronger and move more freely.

1. Fear Reduction and Confidence Building

Often people think that any type of movement will increase their pain. Keep moving by gradually increasing the frequency, intensity and duration of activities that don’t make the pain worse which helps you gain more confidence.

2. Movement Re-education and Mobility

Acute pain often creates movement compensations. Our bodies adapt to complete the activities we need to during the day. We develop further restrictions due to pain, which perpetuates the cycle. These dysfunctions will inevitably lead to further weakness, pain and myofascial tightness. Our first steps is to increase range of motion using Fascial Stretch Therapy and re-teaching the body how to properly sequence movements.

3. Strength and Endurance

Strength is the capacity to lift, push or pull an object once (using one movement to break a branch). Endurance is the capacity to resist fatigue through multiple movements and through-out the day (bending the branch back and forth until it breaks). These two will naturually develop during step 2. However, the next stage of this process to develop greater levels of strength and endurance. Enhanced durability means that your will be able to last longer at work and at play. Exercises include those that require the ability and capacity to keep the spine stable while pushing, pulling and rotating with proper technique.

Resources

Chronic Pain Association of Canada

Call Lifemoves© today to help you develop an exercise program to manage chronic pain 604.283.1858

4 Tips to Prevent Postural Related Pain

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:58:00 +0000

by Sarah Weller, Practicing Kinesiologist

Poor posture can be a pain in the neck; this posture related pain can be prevented and managed fairly easily. With so much of our lives being based in front of a computer or desk, it isn't surprising that many people have neck, shoulder and back pain that originates from poor posture. When performing a postural assessment, too often I see clients presenting with a kyphotic posture that includes rounded shoulders, a forward sitting head, an extended neck and an excessive curve in their lower back (lordosis). Most of these clients spend large amounts of their time seated at a desk (at work and/or home), driving, or sitting watching television or playing on the computer. So, the big question is how can you prevent these postural changes?

4 Tips to Prevent Postural Related Pain

1. Correct workstation set-up

Whether at home or work, it is essential that you have the correct desk set-up to enable you to achieve a suitable posture whilst working. WorkSafeBC have a fantastic step-by-step resource that will help you set up a computer workstation correctly. Download Workstation Setup PDF.

When sitting at a station that is not desk-based (e.g. on a sofa or in the car) it is also important to think about how you can achieve some of these recommendations if you are going to be in that position for longer than 60 minutes.

2. Awareness of body position

Being aware of your body's position is one of the keys to good posture. Most people will sit up straighter just by hearing the word 'posture'. To achieve good alignment ensure you are weight bearing through your sitting, that your sitting up tall with a long spine, that your shoulder blades are sitting back and resting down in your back pockets and that your head is over your shoulders and hips.

3. Stretching during your day

If you need to spend large amounts of time seated, a stretching routine can help to prevent and alleviate aches and pains. Perform the following stretches throughout your day as required:

Neck: Slowly tilt your head to away from the tight side, then rotate your head so that your sniffing your armpit. Continue to roll your chin down to your chest and stack each vertebrae on top of each other until you are looking forward again.

Shoulders: roll your shoulders gently up, back, down and forwards 5 – 10 times.

Chest: reach your arms straight out to your sides with the thumbs up the gently squeeze your shoulder blades together. Very the angle of the arms to the floor.

Hips: Stand up and place one foot forward, tuck your bottom under and lean forward to stretch out the front of your hips.

If you need something to remind you, Stretch Prompter is a tool that you can download from WorkSafeBC here

4. Movement every hour

Movement helps to improve your circulation and it can help keep your muscles long and strong. Break up your day by trying the following: stand up and walk around for a few minutes, refill your water, deliver a message in person, take the stairs, stretch and try to move around on your lunch break.

References

Work Safe BC : www2.worksafebc.com

Contact a Lifemoves Kinesiologist today book a posture analysis and learn additional tips to keep you moving for life at 604.283.1858

Keys to Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Exercise Therapy

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:34:00 +0000

Back pain can be a difficult condition to manage. One cause of lower-back is lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Anyone with LSS would agree that it is a painful and debilitating condition with limited treatment options: surgery or more conservative measures such as exercise, physiotherapy or pain relieving injections. Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is defined as a narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back and can cause pain and numbness in your legs and back, limb weakness and loss of sensation of your extremities (Mayo clinic, 2011).

If you choose exercise therapy as part or your treatment for LSS (and the research recommends that it should be included), there is some basic information that you should know. The good news is that current research shows if you can decrease the extension forces on the lumbar spine caused by certain tight muscles and weak muscles, a reduction of the lumbar lordosis can be achieved which can decrease the level of pain experienced (Goren, 2010).

It has also been found that extension(bending backwards) of the lumbar spine (e.g. excessive lumbar lordosis) causes a 20% reduction in the intervertebral foramenal cross sectional area (spinal canal space) which exacerbates LSS, therefore exercises that promote lumbar flexion are encouraged (Iverson et al, 2010). This explains why for someone with LSS, bending forwards slightly is relieving and bending backwards increases the pain experienced.

So how does this translate into specific exercises that you should be performing at home or at the gym?

Aerobic Training: low intensity cycling at 60% of HR max ((220 – age )* 0.6) is recommended initially. Walking can be included if it is pain-free and more success has been shown with supported walking (e.g. nordic walking poles, shopping trolley, etc).

Flexibility Training: Stretching the hip flexors, hamstrings, adductors, quadriceps and lumbar paraspinal muscles will help to correct excessive lumbar lordosis.

Resistance training: All exercises should be performed with a neutral spine or posterior pelvic tilt (where suitable) and ideally exercises should be supervised by a qualified trainer or Kinesiologist to ensure you maintain the correct spinal positioning.

- Abdominal exercises: choose exercises that do not over-activate iliopsoas. Training the deep abdominal muscles, multifidus and pelvic floor should provide a more stable trunk position. Progress these exercises to include trunk flexion and work on strengthening the lumbar extensors in an isometric position (without actual extension).

- Lower body exercises: initially exercises like leg press, wall squats, leg extension and leg curl should be able to be performed as the lumbar spine is supported. These can be progressed to DB squats, swiss ball squats, lunges, cable leg extension, swiss ball leg curl and dead lifts provided that the correct lumbar posture can be maintained (e.g. neutral or posterior pelvic tilt).

- Upper body exercises: initially choose exercises that are seated/supported such as machine based chest press, seated row, seated shoulder press, bicep curls and triceps extensions. These can be progressed to dumbbells and unsupported exercises once enough trunk support has been developed and the correct lumbar posture can be maintained.

Postural correction and balance training are also recommended.

As you can see there is a large amount of exercise that can be done safely (and the list above is only a sample). The most important part about exercise with LSS is that is must be performed correctly. Many people will need to be supervised for the majority of their exercise sessions and even the experienced gym users require a few sessions to ensure they have correct spinal positioning throughout the movements.

If you have Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and require help with an exercise plan, contact one of the Practising Kinesiologists at Lifemoves Health and Rehabilitation – it is never too late to start exercising.

References:

1. Mayo Clinic (2010, March 11). Spinal Stenosis. Retrived September 13, 2011, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/spinal-stenosis/DS00515

2. Goren, A. (2010). Efficacy of exercise and ultrasound in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis: a prospective randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation. 24, 623 – 631.

3. Iversen, M., Choudhary, V., & Patel, S. (2010). Therapeutic exercise and manual therapy for persons with lumbar spinal stenosis. International Journal of Clinical Rheumatology. 5 (4), 425 – 437.

Get More from Self-Myofascial Release by Changing Direction

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:46:00 +0000

Self-myofascial release or SMFR knowledge in the general public is growing and it is something we often suggest our clients do on their own between Fascial Stretch Therapy sessions to improve tissue mobility and recovery. There is a definite art and skill to making it as effective as possible.

Our goal with clients is to release trigger points and adhesions so that muscles are at their optimal resting lengths. Through prolonged postures (sitting at a desk), repetitive motions and injury muscles get either locked short or locked long (Myers). In other words they are either passively shortened and won't release, or they are continually in a lengthened and working position, which causes them actually to overwork.

Either way trigger points develop. In a recent interview on sportsrehabexpert.com, Thomas Myers reiterated the concept of a directional focus for self-myofascial release to achieve more effective results.Think of your body as an equation or on old fashioned scale that is out of balance. Locked long muscles, often in the mid-back shoulders are more frequently activate and screaming for attention, while locked short fibres are only sore when you touch them. The shortened fibres prevent the long ones from being as strong as they can, which forces them to use more energy, while the shortened ones have restricted blood and oxygen flow.

Carrying on with the rounded posture example the chest needs lengthening while the mid-back needs strengthening. Myers suggests releasing in the same direction of the muscle fibres and the direction that is being lengthened towards. So for the chest SMFR needs to be from the sternum out and up towards the shoulder. While in the upper back, shoulder is a little more complex it needs to be released with friction that is perpendicular to the muscle fibre direction.

Focusing on both sides of the equation improves both strength and mobility of the joint.

Consult any anatomy book or the web for photos. There are many tools out there including tennis balls and foam rollers, but some of the best tools out are from Trigger Point Therapy products. Find out more by booking a private Fascial Stretch Therapy session with Leah or Alfred.

Save $10 in the May. Book Online with Leah - enter code promo code OVAL2011

Stretching Tip: Hip Opener

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:11:00 +0000

After sitting for long periods of time the front of the hips become tight and stiff. Through a concept known as reciprocal inhibition this prevents the buttocks (glutes) from working properly, thus leading to possible back, hip and knee pain.

There is an easy stretch to do that is a variation of the traditional kneeling hip flexor stretch that is done in a single direction.

Grab a pillow, rolled up towel or a double up workout mat to place underneath the knee on the side that is being stretched.
Start in a kneeling lunge postion. For this example start with your right leg infront and right thigh parallel to the ground. Left knee will be on the ground with the lower leg extended behind. Try not to kneel put direct pressure on your knee cap (patella).
Think of extending your spine up to the ceiling so that your torso is nice and tall and shoulders over your hips.
Keeping your right leg and pelvis still rotate your left leg so that your left foot is moved to the inside and to the right. This will open up some of the deeper hip flexors - psoas and illacus.
To get more of the front line into the abdominals raise your left arm up the ceiling. If more stretch is needed reach further over your head to the right.
Gently rock your left hip back and forth in smaller circles to get the undulation and increase the range of motion.
Always remember to have rhytmic breathing. This stretch is wihtout pain.
Repeat both sides until they both feel loose. Repeat tighter side once more than looser side.
If there is any pinching in the lower-back come finish the stretch by going into a child's or embryo yoga pose.

We know that some people are visual learners so, watch for video updates on fascial stretches and self-myofascial release tips.

Choosing Activities from Your Heart

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:05:00 +0000

With Valentines Day falling in February, we want to further emphasize the topic of loving the types of physical activity you participate in. How to Find Happiness in Being Active was all about how finding something you enjoy doing to creates adherence to physical activity, preventing the dreaded cycle of inactivity. How do know if what you are doing is light or moderate intensity?

However, beyond the gym setting, it's hard for people to realize that the activities we know and love to do are physically benefitting our body. When we talk about energy expenditure, we typically measure what we do in calories and at the gym, cardio machines count the number of calories we burn in the session or the heart rate monitors tell us what our heart rate is.

Beyond the gym do you have any idea just how many calories our bodies are burning? Without that number flashing at us on a machine,and sweat on our brow sometimes we are unable to mentally register and accept that other forms of activity foster improvements in health. There is another way to measure how much energy or oxygen activities outside of the gym use.

The metabolic equivalent (MET), which is 3.5 ml of oxgyen/kg/min a standardized measure of resting metabolic rate (RMR). This is the amount of energy each kilogram of body weigth uses for to sit quitely for 1 min. If you walked for 1 hour at a MET level of 2, you would be burning twice the amount of calories you than you would if you were sitting and breathing.

You can therefore gauge the intensity of the exercise based on the MET level. The Compendium of Physical Activities Tracking Guide is an unbelievable resource when figuring out the intensity level of every activity (and I mean every!). Often times people forget that daily activities like vacumming and cleaning the house require energy.

Moderate intensity is 3.0 - 6.0 METs and light intensity is 1.0 - 2.9 METs. Take a look list and find activities that you enjoy that are between 3.0 - 6.0 METs and do them for 30 min - 1 hour 3-5 days per week. Going for a 10 min walk, 3 x per day is has similar health benefits to going for a 30min walk.

A quote I make part of my everyday is "Live now from the heart". Be physically active for you, not for anyone else. When you find something you enjoy doing to get moving and this happiness keeps you motivated so that your body will benefit even more.

How to Find Happiness In Being Active

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:13:00 +0000

Are you longing for the days when you were more active? One of the many reasons why people become less active is they and their bodies become bored with the same routines. Often we get stuck doing the same routine which once gave us results, but no longer is nor does it inspire us to come back to the gym. If you are thinking about heading home after 10 minutes on the stationery bike because you have lost the enjoyment it's time to spice up your routine!

Adhering to a physical activity program becomes difficult once we have lost the enjoyment. There are so many options that don't include the gyn to stay moving for life . With the nicer months of summer fast approaching, we encourage you to try different activities to participate in that bring you joy. We are more likely to participate in leisure activities that keep us moving when we know they will also bring us happiness.

Why do you exercise? Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivators

A study compared adherence to physical activity and their motivation types intrinsic versus extrinsic. They considered intrinsic motives as something that you are motivated to do through competence and enjoyment. Extrinsic motives are more so things you participate in to reap the rewards not associated with completing the activity itself, such as body-related benefits.
The study concluded that different people engage in different activities based on different motivational tactics. Those looking for body-related benefits were more likely to be the "gym-goers" but actually ended up completing less hours a week of the activity than those who were exercising for enjoyment. I am not saying those who go to the gym are not enjoying it while they are there (I for one love exercising at the gym), but you need to find an activity that intrinsically motivates you. Those who are motived by enjoyment and competence felt more energized, confident, and satisfied with the activity.

What sort of physical activity(s) make you feel all of these things? Our preferences change as we age, so there is no wrong answer and they may change as try new things.

Being active doesn't have to be overly strenuous to reap the health benefits. Learn more on this topic by choosing activities from your heart.

References
Ryan, R.M., Frederick, C.M., Lepes,D., Rubio, N., Sheldon, K.M. (1994). Intrinsic motivation and exercise adherence. Int. J. Sports Psychol., 28:335-354.

3 Ways to Improve Balance and Prevent Falls

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:21:00 +0000

Staying balanced means staying rooted on our feet. Last month we wrote about why our balance changes as we age, we now explore several fun ways to improve your balance and prevent falls within your resistance training routine. Resistance training is not only important to maintain muscular strength, but is also important to maintain brain to muscle connections.

Keeping these pathways active lets our brains know that these muscles are still there and still working; therefore they can be recruited when recovering from balance disruptions such as slipping on the snow this winter or someone bumping into you at the grocery store.

3 Ways to Improve Balance and Prevent Falls

There are different kinds of balancing exercises and tools to use that account for the potential situations that cause us to be off balance. There are also different levels that you can progress to so that you keep challenging yourself.

1. BOSU Drills: The BOSU, an air filled dome that is much like a half a stability ball is a versatile tool that can be turned BOth S-ides Up. It increases muscle stimulation, recruiting motor units that you normally wouldn't if you were balancing on a stable surface. All of these muscles that are now stimulated are now recognized by the brain and can be recruited to balance should an un-expected situation arise.

Dome Side Up: Start with simple tasks such as stepping on a off the BOSU from varying angles (front, back, sides). Progress to jumping on an off from these angles. Exercises can also be performed while on the BOSU. You can even walk or run on the spot.

Simple bicep curls, military press ect. can be executed when standing or kneeling on the BOSU. Weight lifting while on a balance device plays with hip, knee, ankle and spine stabilizers because when the weight shifts we have to make small postural changes to maintain balance. Having to keep balance while segregating the movement of another body part stimulates smaller motor units for balance and is mentally stimulating.

Turning the BOSU upside down (flat side up) gives you a flat surface, though this is often more challenging for people to get on off - do what is comfortable and feels safe.

2. Single Leg: Balancing on one leg while doing exercises tests our balance as well. If one leg is stronger, or better with balance than the other, we often favour the use of that leg when completing two legged balancing exercises. Strengthening the weaker leg on its own will be beneficial should you need to use that leg in a real situation. It also forces your core to be stable to segregate the movement of the limbs.

If your balance is already poor start by holding on to a chair or stable post when completing these exercises. For leg abduction: Balance on one leg, starting with the free leg at the center. Draw the leg out to the side and then back in towards center. Once again, do not counter the movement by tilting your upper body in the other direction. Leg Adduction: Balance on one leg, bring the not supporting leg across your body so that its heel touches the toes of your supporting side.

Leg movement should come from the hip only and the upper body should not move. Keep your pelvis still and level.

As your balance improves try standing without holding on to something. To make it more complex add one or two arms moving in different directions, or move your leg forward and back. See how long you can stay standing on one leg.

These exercises work both on strengthening the balancing leg as well as the surrounding side muscles on the moving leg. All around leg strength and hip stability are important for keeping your knee stable should you be thrown off balance in a real situation.

3. Agility Ladder Drills: The agility ladder works with your balance by challenging your proprioception while giving you the skills to be able to change directions quickly if needed. Proprioception is the ability to sense where your limbs are in space.

If we have better knowledge and control of where our limbs are, we are faster to react in situations that throw us off balance. The agility ladder is a great tool to use to work on foot placement. It welcomes all levels of physical fitness. You can start out as simple as walking in straight line along keeping your head up, and progress to highly complex, fast leg movements. Again, the core should stay stable and make sure that you spine stays nice and tall when completing the agility ladder drills. Let your arms move nice and loosely.

You can easily create an agility ladder with a twelve foot piece of rope laid out on the ground with several similarly spaced curves (like a snake) or keep it straight. There are quite a few agility drills with the ladder as well ones that use cones.

Remember

Do what challenges you, but stop before you feel as though you are going to fall. There are many different exercises, progressions and combinations you can make with each of these tools.

To learn more and find out where you should start please contact a Kinesiologist.

Tips and Tricks to Make Your First Snowshoeing Adventure Fun

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:48:00 +0000

There are few tips and tricks to make your first snowshoe adventure fun and safe. Yearning to try snowshoeing again, I finally did. Cross country skiing has been my winter sport of choice since I first put on the bear binding skis in the snow covered vegetable garden when I was three. Though, I do remember the wide tennis racket snowshoes that I tried in elementary school a long-time ago.

With the right terrain snowshoeing can be either be a low-impact, low-intensity or a low-impact, heart thumping way to get outside during the winter. Unlike cross country skiing where you need to wax your skis to match the conditions, getting out on the snowshoe trails is relatively easy. All you need is the appropriate clothing, your own winter boots or trail shoes and you are set to go.

A client asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said "snowshoes" fully knowing that I probably wasn't going to get them and really Christmas to me is more about time with friends and family than receiving gifts. This year through a combination of early gifts I was able to go out and get my snowshoes as gift for myself. Like a kid at Christmas, I couldn't wait to go up snowshoeing on Christmas Eve. Much to my disappointment Grouse Mountain closed before I was able to even go up the gondola. I avoided a mental tantrum and waited for better weather.

It wasn't until Boxing Day that I was able to go out on the snow. It was an amazing experience, even with the fog and wind. I was open to whatever experience came my way, especially since I really didn't know where I was going or what the terrain was going to be like. Grouse Mountain feels like a different place during the winter; it took me a few minutes to orient myself with the map; even then I had to ask a staff member where the start of the trail was (all I could see was white). She pointed somewhere to the left of the skating pond.

7 Beginner Snowshoeing Tips

There are risks involved in any outdoor activity. Take these tips to heart to stay safe and have fun.

Dress for the Weather: You will start out a little cold and then warm-up, also the weather can change. Dress in layers. Take a small back pack with you so that you can place the layers inside as needed.
Wear comfortable footwear: Snowshoes take any type of shoes and are sized by weight. Make sure that what you use are comfortable and will stay dry in the weather.
Bring water and snacks: You don't know how long you will be out (I went for 1.5 hours to my surprise). Be prepared in case something happens or you are out for longer than expected.
Bring a map: Follow the marked trails. Follow the directions of any signs – e.g. Thin Ice, Closed, which are there for your own safety. At Grouse these trails are marked by wooden poles that are painted with the course's colour.
Inform Others: Regardless if you are going with a friend still let know others where you intend to go and when you have returned. Doing so could come in handy if something unexpected happens and you need be rescued. Let them someone know where you are going is standard practice in overnight hiking.
Bring a small first aid: staying on patrolled trails is important, however the first kit will help if you or someone you know are injured.
Bring a change of clothes: it is always nice to have a dry pair of socks at the very least for the drive home. Even better is having a full set of dry clothes that aren't wet nor have been perspired in.

6 Beginner Snowshoeing Tricks

On my first snowshoeing excursion I learned a few lessons.

Smile and enjoy the scenery. A simple smile is usually returned when you pass people coming in the other direction. I even met a few people who I walked with part way.
Use your toes: the first few hills were slippery going up. The crampons on the toes are there to dig into the snow, which then give you leverage to climb up.
Step side-ways down or even slide on your butt (if it is too steep). This where water proof pants helps.
Stick to terrain you are comfortable with. Eventually, I came to a place where I no longer felt safe and it was time to turn around.
Go at your own pace: As the terrain varies so, will your heart rate. Take your time, take a break if you need to.
Don't put your mitts or gloves down in windy conditions. I did that and nearly had to reach under the boundary rope to retrieve it (I thought I was going to lose my glove, phew!).

Go snowshoeing, come back and tell us about your experience by leaving a comment below.

Getting Holiday Fit - Grouse Grind Training

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:33:00 +0000

As a health professional I often hear people let their fitness programs slide as the indulgences of the season increase, then are making up lost time four weeks later once they start their resolutions. It is pretty easy to maintain your fitness during the holidays.

Today, despite the holidays and it being the last weekend to complete my Christmas shopping I stopped by Steve Nash Fitness World in North Vancouver. Watch the video to find out how and what I managed to FIT in.

In 2009 I started to write about my experiences and experiments while training for the Grouse Grind. Then in 2010 followed up with more regular posts I completed my first Seek the Peak challenge in 2:24 hr. During the 2010 season time I managed to take nearly two minutes off my best Grind time which is now 38:04 min.

However, I didn't start training until April 2010. This was six months after my last climb and was making up a lot of lost ground because I had lost a lot of fitness. Saturday I started my training for 2011' s season after only a month off with a field lactate balance point test to set my heart rate and pace zones for the next six weeks. Sunday, I started strength training again.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting about my Grouse Grind training tips. Please leave your comments to let me know what you want to learn about. Do you have a burning question? Let me know and I can speak about it in 2011's video blogs and articles.

What is the Difference between a Personal Trainer and a Kinesiologist?

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:22:00 +0000

During the last ten years I have always been proud of being a Kinesiologist, even though I was working under the title of "Personal Trainer." We have clients who have worked with Personal Trainers and now will only train with Kinesiologists. When you hear the term "Personal Trainer," you have an immediate image, correct? What about "Kinesiologist"? The image is probably not as clear.

As an outside observer you might not see a difference, however there are several.

Definition of a Kinesiologist

In BC we are not a regulated health profession, which have colleges to protect the public, where the associations look after the practitioners. In Ontario we have recently gained that designation and a college.

"The practice of Kinesiology is the assessment of movement, performance and function and the rehabilitation, prevention and management of disorders to maintain, rehabilitate or enhance movement, performance and function, in the areas of sport, recreation, work, exercise, and activities of daily living."

Differences in Education

Many beginner levels of Personal Training certifications including the BCRPA's scope of practice is limited to training those "who are apparently healthy." That is no known medical conditions or injuries. The biggest difference in BC between a Kinesiologist and a BCRPA Registered Personal Trainer is our base level of education.

A Practicing Kinesiologist has a minimum of a 4 year degree in Exercise Science, Kinesiology or Human Kinetics and often multiple other related health, fitness and certifications where as the BCRPA courses include a very basic introduction to anatomy and kinesiology throughout a couple of weekends and limited practical evaluations. To gain membership with the BCAK we are required to have core courses that include anatomy and biomechanics and electives from related upper-level courses.

Kinesiologists' extended education and experience benefits, you the client because they will be able to provide you with safe, effective and current exercises/physical activity guidelines that account for your current fitness level and health conditions.

When to Choose a Personal Trainer

If you have no known medical conditions, injuries or disabilities that are placing limitations on your ability to exercise, e.g. you are "apparently healthy."
Main goal is weight loss, toning or general health conditioning.

When to Choose a Kinesiologist

If you have an injury, disability or medical condition(s) and want to improve your health and fitness in a safe progressive manner.
If you have or our undergoing medical treatment (Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, etc) and want to increase your level of fitness.
Have a referral from a Doctor to begin active rehabilitation or work conditioning.
Goals are better health (inside and out), better quality of life, improved movement ability.
If you want to learn how to manage your condition(s) with physical activity and lifestyle changes.

Contact Lifemoves® to book a Free consultation

8 Steps to Choosing Your Health, Medical and Fitness Professionals

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 07:54:00 +0000

How often do you check the credentials of health/medical professionals even Personal Trainers? Unlike physical therapy, medicine and chiropractic where there are colleges dedicated to protecting the public, Personal Training and Kinesiology are largely self-regulated professions where it is buyer beware. With Google and the internet it only takes a few minutes to read up on who's hands you are choosing to place your health and wellbeing in. As Personal Training becomes more popular, Personal Trainers may say they have post-rehab experience or xyz certification, but really they don't or have let their credential(s) lapse.

The lack of background checking occurred to me again to me as I was having a conversation with someone who was going through rehabilitation and mentioned that their Kinesiologist/Personal Trainer had the same type of training as I did. This industry is fairly small in Metro Vancouver and I would know if this person was a Certified Fascial Stretch Therapist (there are only few of them in BC). I knew this person had not taken the FST® training from Ann and Chris. After double checking on the Stretch to Win's Therapist Locator, I found out I was correct. To me integrity, truth and transparency are very important. This person may have done some other type of training, perhaps with Kit Laughlin (though their website doesn't provide a list of who has taken their courses, I could always email them and ask).

Teaching appropriate exercises with correct technique and safe properly designed progressions is also important. Jillian Micheals, who is great at motivating, really listening and connecting emotionally with her clients, has garnered a lot of criticism over the last several months, especially since her Kettlebell DVD came out. Many of my fellow strength and conditioning, fitness, Kettlebell and rehabilitation professionals have been up in arms about how she is has become a celebrity trainer, but with credentials that are supposedly out of date or non-existent. In the DVD she is teaching exercises incorrectly that are potentially hazardous to individuals' backs when done incorrectly.

She seems to be getting on the Kettlebell trend, because it is popular. What we have a problem is not with her celebrity it is with people teaching others unsafe lifting and exercise techniques which could do them harm. Seek someone who has the RKC designation if you want to learn safely and properly. When I see this happen it makes me cringe. Your trainer should be there to correct your technique and if that is still too difficult make it simpler until you are able to progress to the next level.

Several years ago I had a friend in the United States who went to see a Personal Trainer, she was obese and needed to lose weight to change her health (obesity is a medical condition). She was pushed much too hard, too soon and went into cardiac distress. She was debilitated and is now in constant pain. Several years ago a Personal Trainer in New York was pushing a weight loss supplement, the client died and the family successfully sued.

Even IDEA (International Dance and Exercise Association) is on a big push to bring together a central website (IDEA Fitness Connect) where the public can check the credentials and experience of the exercise professional they are choosing. The list comes from highly regarded certifications.

8 Steps to Checking Your Health, Medical and Fitness Professionals' Credentials

Ask to see their certificate, ensure that it is up-to-date and valid past the date of your sessions/treatment. With the BCAK, Kinesiologists are required to renew ever year with a minimum of 20 hours of continuing education and $2,000,000 of liability insurance.
Check the certifying or licensing bodies' websites for their names – registered/licensed professionals will be listed with any disciplinary action against them.
Google their name and clinic/gym name – see what you can come up with. Search in as many social media places as you can think of.
Ask for references
If the certifying organization does not have a searchable list, just email them and ask if their certification is up-to-date.
Ask what recent continuing education courses they have taken related to your current condition, health status and needs. This ensures that they are staying current with pest practices.
When you looking for a Kinesiologist/Personal Trainer it is ok to complete multiple consultations. It is about your health and well being.
Ask yourself – will you be able to get a long and trust this individual? Do they listen to me, understand me and truly care about my health and wellbeing? Remember it is a personal relationship. We have clients who have been with Lifemoves® for several years.

Do you check up your health professionals?

Why Our Balance Changes with Age

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:26:00 +0000

Like it or not, as we age our balance decreases. It is a natural result of many other changes that are occurring within the body. Keeping our balance is an essential component of our lives; whether it is being able to recover after slipping, or having to stand on our tippy-toes and reach for an item on that top shelf.

Our balance is regulated by three main systems: vestibular, somatosensory and visual; which all under-go changes as we age.

Vestibular Changes: Getting Dizzy

Did you know that balance is controlled by fluid in your ears? The vestibular system relays the movement of fluid from within the inner ear to the brain in order to coordinate our balance and proprioception in space. This vestibular fluid runs past little hairs that detect the movement and send sensory impulses to the brain.

If the movement of the fluid is accelerated in either direction, sensors detect it in the inner ear and send this signal to the brain to tell our body to compensate for this off-set in some other way. A simple example is when you spin in one direction really fast and then suddenly stop. We still feel as if we are in motion because the inertia from the fluid within the ears is still telling our brains we are in motion; hence why we feel off balance in these situations.

Structural changes to this system occur, making the integration of information that is being received more difficult to interpret. Certain medications also make us feel dizzy, further throwing off the input of the vestibular system to balance.

Reaction Time Slows Down

One natural change to our bodies that occurs with age is sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss). Did you know we lose 50% of our muscle from ages 50-90? With this comes a decrease in motor units. Motor units are responsible for delivering the message of movement from the brain to the muscle the brain wishes to use. With less brain to muscle control, it takes our bodies longer to react to perturbations, decreasing our balance.

We also lose fast-twitch muscle fibers more rapidly than slow-twitch muscle fibers. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are the first ones to be recruited in any sort of movement. They are needed when we make quick changes in direction. With a loss in these types of fibers, it takes our bodies longer than they once did to react.

Slow twitch motor neurons are forced to branch out and innervate the degenerated fast twitch motor unit muscles. The motor unit is therefore controlling more than it is used to. Having more muscle to manage takes longer for the tasks to be properly distributed, decreasing our reaction time.

Visual Changes: Not Being Able to See Our Surroundings

Another change that occurs with age is loss of vision and depth perception. Close your eyes and try to balance, you are removing one of the input systems that contribute to balance. When our visual abilities decrease, it runs along the same lines in that we are taking away from one of the external inputs, throwing off our balance. Peripheral vision is also affected with age, giving us a narrowing field of vision and not recognizing our surroundings causing us to trip more often. Diseases that affect our vision is more prominent as we age, having negative implications for our balance.

All three of these systems highly rely on the brain to register and react appropriately to what is throwing off our balance in our external surroundings. A study conducted by the University of Florence in 2008 has found that elderly people who have greater changes in their white brain matter (also known as leukoaraiosis) have more trouble with balance.

Researchers found those with severe changes to their white matter were two times as likely to score poor on the walking and balance tests, as well as had a two times greater history of falls than those who had mild changes in their white matter. Our brains ability to sense and detect the external inputs from all 3 systems is affected by the changes to the white matter.

It takes older adults longer to integrate sensory information from all 3 systems coming to the brain to control posture.

Read Part II - 3 Ways to Improve Balance and Prevent Falls for some great exercises that will help you to train your balance and prepare your body for those unexpected situations!

References

Cavanaugh, J.C. 2006. Adult development and aging. Thompson Wadsworth, USA. Pg. 46-47

Punitha, H. 2008. Loss of balance in old age attributed to brain. Senior Health News. Retrieved on Thursday December 9^th, 2010.

Nominate Get Moving for Life for Best Health Blog Awards

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:34:00 +0000

We started this blog in June, 2009 and have since written over 50 articles on diverse topics about health, rehabilitation, staying active with chronic medical conditions and disability management. Our blog is part of Lifemoves®' efforts to educate and communicate with the public about issues that concern them about staying moving for life.

Thank you for reading, sharing with your friends and family and leaving your comments.

Recently our efforts were recognized by the editors of Best Health Magazine, a Canadian Health and lifestyle magazine, which recently won the 2010 Best Community Feature at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards.

We made the editors' list of favourite blogs. Here is what they said when they emailed us regarding the Best Health Blog Awards:

"We love your blog! Kudos for providing your readers with useful information and engaging content. All of the Best Health editors contributed to a communal list of blogs we love, and Life Moves was on it. We like the diversity of information you provide your readers and the useful tips."

Continue to Spread the Word About Get Moving for Life

Best Health adores bloggers, they want to celebrate all they do to share the word about eating, exercising and living well. They want the blog-reading community to tell them about their favourite (with a u!) Canadian blogs in four categories:

• Look Great (beauty)
• Eat Well (cooking and healthy eating)
• Get Healthy (fitness)
• Embrace Life (personal growth, humour, crafting and charitable living)

This is where you come in! We're hoping you can help us. Please nominate your favourite Get Moving For Life™ blog (http://getmovingforlife.lifemoves.ca) in the Get Healthy category.

Get more info at the official Best Health Blog Awards web page:besthealthmag.ca/blogawards.

You only get one nomination, so make it count! As an extra incentive, everyone who nominates a blog gets entered to win 1 of 17 sweet prizes.

Nominations close on January 30, and voting will run from February 16 though March 21, with the top four blogs being announced on March 31. And best yet, those four top blogs will be featured on besthealthmag.ca and in Best Health magazine.

It will only take a couple of minutes to nominate:besthealthmag.ca/blogawards.

Thank you for reading and commenting. We hope you have a healthy 2011 full of movement. We look forward to providing you with more great content in the next year.

Sincerely,

Alfred Ball and Lifemoves Kinesiologists

3 Quick Office Stretches to Improve Your Concentration

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 08:18:00 +0000

Did you know myofascial pain can reduce your ability to concentrate? Headaches are often caused by trigger points. Prolonged postures such as being forward at a desk, anxiety and stress are perpetuating factors that lead to the inability to focus. I find that I am easily distracted and have a great deal of difficulty being engaged and focused on tasks that require some level of detail when my chest, shoulders and neck are tight.

Starting with unlocking the trigger points in the shoulders, chest, rotator cuff and neck (trigger point maps). Keep a tennis ball in your drawer at work. If you don't have a lot of time and need some quick relief just do the stretches or trigger point release. These stretches will take about 5 minutes to complete and are a nice break.

Standing Doorway (pec minor/pec major): place hand behind your head and your elbow against the door-frame. Keep your shoulder dropped down and relaxed. With your elbow fixed step into the doorway. Add traction by shifting your body away from the side you are stretching and lowering your hips. Feel this stretch in the front of the shoulders. Vary your hand position on the doorway until you feel the stretch in your chest. Step out of the doorway, lower your arm to the ground and repeat on the opposite side.
Opposite Arm-Pit (Levator Scapula): place your right hand on the base of your skull. Gently lift up to lengthen your neck, adding traction your cervical spine. Tilt your head (ear to shoulder) to the right, then look towards your right armpit. Feel this stretch on the left side from the top of your shoulder to the base of your skull. Reach your left arm with your left palm down in the opposite direction towards the floor. When done continue to roll your head to the right, down to the middle and length back up. Repeat on the left side.
Corner Ceiling Look (SCM): place your hands on top of each other on your sternum (breast bone) and gently push your rib cage down. Now turn your head one direction then look up to the ceiling over your shoulder. Open and close your jaw.

The intensity of each stretch should be a mild level of tension without causing pain. Hold each stretch as you take nice long steady breaths inhaling and exhaling, letting go of the tension with each exhale. Repeat as you need and as long as you are continuing to get a release with gradual increases flexibility. End by stretching the tighter side.

Prevent Lower-Back Pain by Learning Four Movements

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:00:00 +0000

About 80% of people will experience lower-back pain in their lifetime, which can last a few weeks up to several years. Many clients we see with lower-back pain are unable to distinguish between hip extension/flexion and spine flexion/extension during movement. They also have poor core activation and spinal stabilization strategies, even after their initial injury has healed.

How to Develop Hip Flexion, Extension and Spine Flexion, Extension Awareness

Gently tighten up your deeper abdominal muscles, similar to a large belt that wraps around your waist that extends from your ribs to your pelvis prior to doing these four movements. Remember your pelvis moves in the three different directions, keep it still during all of these awareness exercises.

Open Chain Hip Flexion
Start by standing with both feet planted on the ground. Now lift your right leg off the ground by bending at the hip until your thigh is parallel to the ground. During this time you are keeping your pelvis still.

Open Chain Hip Extension
Start by standing with both feet planted on the ground. Now lift your right leg off the ground, reach it behind you, gliding your foot across the ground. During this time you are keeping your pelvis still.

Closed Chain Hip Flexion
Start by standing with both feet planted on the ground. Pre-engage your abdominals. Keep your spine long as you rotate your torso forward, your pelvis tilts around your femur, while reaching your chest away from your hips. When done properly you will feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings (back of thighs). There should be no movement of the spine.

Closed Chain Hip Extension
With your torso parallel to the ground, lift your abdomen away from the ground. Imagine being a marionette with strings on the back of your thighs. Keep your spine straight and use your hamstrings and buttocks to lift yourself up to standing position.

Spine Flexion Place your hands on your thighs, tuck your chin roll down one vertebra at a time. There are 24 moving pieces in the spine. Glide your hands down your thighs as you roll towards the ground.

Spine Extension Roll back up to your start position (this is spine extension to neutral). Place your hands on the flat spot on your lower back, sacrum. Now lean back until you feel a pinch or mild pain, this is hyperextension. Come back to your natural standing posture.

Open chain is with your foot off a surface such as the ground, while closed chain is when your feet are on the ground/surface. Developing proper movement strategies is key to reducing and preventing lower-back pain. These strategies often stay mixed up after the initial injury has healed. A Lifemoves® Kinesiologist will teach you how to retrain the left over compensatory movements so that you move differently and more effectively which will prevent further injury and reduce pain.

Is Your Gym Exercise Contributing to Lower-Back Pain?

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:30:00 +0000

The leg press, seated row, lat-pulldown, seated leg curl and shoulder press have been favourite exercises of thousands of gym enthusiasts for many years. However, when done improperly they can lead to lower-back pain.

Lower-back pain is a common complaint which has many different origins including exercise error. Repetitive poor lifting habits are often one of them. Over the last ten years of observing thousands of gym participants and teaching hundreds of people how to move more effectively I have found there are some causes of back pain that can mostly be eliminated with some easy changes in your exercise technique.

Lower the Weight and Perfect Your Lifting Technique to Get Stronger

Leg Press:
- Error- starting position - sitting with your buttocks forward and sacrum away from the bench, which flexes and compresses the spine.
- Fix – start with by sitting as tall as you can in a neutral. Lean back from your hips. When you are seated place your hand behind your lower back, there should be a slight curve before your sacrum touches. When lowering the weight make sure that your knees only come in as far as you're able to maintain the neutral posture.

Seated Row
- Error – leaning back and hyper extending the back. Pulling with the lower back instead of the muscles around the shoulder blades and arms (upper back)
- Fix – start in a good upright position. Sit on your sit-bones as your anchors. Bring your ribs over your pelvis. Shoulders aligned over top, with you ears slightly in front of your shoulders. Think of your spine being in a nice vertical plumb line. On your first repetition lean forward and then come back to the start position. Start by contracting your deep abdominal muscles to maintain stability. Pull your shoulder blades together, add the arms as your elbows bend, finish with a slight squeeze of the shoulder blades. All the effort should be centered around the upper and mid back. Maintain your plumb line.

Lat -pulldown
- Errors – 1. Leaning back, by hyper extending the lumbar spine (lower back); 2. pulling the bar so far down that you do a mini-sit-up; 3. bringing the bar behind your head! (see photo).
- Fixes Your hip joint needs to act as a hinge. Start sitting in a nice vertical position as above. Know keeping your back straight abdominals slightly engaged hinge back (your pelvis and spine act as one piece) about 10 – 15 degrees. Keep your elbows slightly forward as you bring the bar
  down to your collarbones by pulling your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.

Seated Leg Curl
- Errors– 1. flexing/extending the spine as you pull; 2. having your knees too far forward.
- Fixes -Adjust your seat until your knees are aligned with the pivot point of the bar (some machines highlight this with a different colour). As with the leg press, lat pulldown and seated row start with your spine in neutral. Sit all the way back with your sacrum against the back rest. Lean back, hinging about your thighs. Slightly tighten your abdominals before pulling with the back of your upper thighs.

Shoulder Press
- Error – using too much weight and lifting the spine and rib cage off the bench.
- Fix – lower the weight. Either with dumbbells or free weights, your spine does lengthen (extend) as you lift overhead. Try to keep your lower rib cage against the bench.

Too many people have difficulty maintaining a neutral spine when they exercise. We also find that many clients are unable to distinguish between hip extension and spine extension. Proper spinal alignment and stabilization are important in preventing repetitive lower back strain. If you feel a pinching sensation in your lower spine when lifting, stop and re-adjust either your position or even lower the weight.

Core strength is the ability to maintain stability while pushing, pulling or rotating. At Lifemoves we teach core activation, core stabilization and then core strength.

Remember these are only some of common errors we see in the gym, however there are other exercises we see being done incorrectly including preacher curls, stiff leg deadlifts, squats and rotational exercises. Try these out and let us know what you think by posting your comments below.

Call us today to help prevent lower-back pain and learn how to lift properly for your goals and medical conditions.

3 Exercises to Prevent a Rotator Cuff Injury

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:41:00 +0000

Rotator cuff injuries are the most common of all shoulder injuries. The rotator cuff consists of four muscles, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. Each of these muscles assists in holding the shoulder joint in place, by wrapping around the front, back and top of the shoulder. All of the muscles attach to the clavicle (collarbone), scapula (shoulder blade), and to the top of the humerus bone. A rotator cuff injury is an injury to one of these four muscles in the shoulder.

There are several different ligaments helping to stabilize the shoulder joint, and to assist the shoulder through its motions. Ligaments are thin structures that attach bone to bone, and are primarily in the front and back of the shoulder joint. The muscles and ligaments found in the shoulder, allow the shoulder socket to have the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body.

Reasons for a Rotator Cuff Injury

1. Acute injury: can occur from a specific incident such as a fall, causing a partial or complete tear, where surgery would be needed to fix it. Pulling or lifting an object that you are not strong enough too such as luggage. Falling on an out stretched arm down.

2. Chronic injury: can occur from an overuse of a particular tendon and/or muscle, causing inflammation. Examples of this include tendinopathy and bursitis. With age, it is normal to have some wear and tear, and especially on the shoulder of your dominant arm. Also, the intensity of wear and tear on one’s shoulder can be increased with having poor posture where the neck and shoulders are slouched forward, which closes the joint where these muscles glide. This is known as an impingement.

Signs and Symptoms of a Rotator Cuff Injury

Some of the signs and symptoms that one might have a rotator cuff injury include a loss of shoulder range of motion, and pain or tenderness in the affected shoulder (especially when lifting anything overhead or sleeping on this particular side). The most common symptom is pain and can create the tendency to keep the injured shoulder inactive, causing it to become weak, short and stiff.

Rotator Cuff Injury Prevention

Shoulder strengthening exercises should be an intricate part of everyone’s workout program, and there a few in particular that can be performed to specifically strengthen all four of the rotator cuff muscles. Blood flow to these muscles also decreases as we age, thus increasing our risk of injury and importance in stopping them from atrophying.

Focusing on strengthening all four muscles will reduces the risk of injury. Each can be completed with resistance tubing, pulleys or dumbbells, while performing the motions of internal rotation, external rotation, and lateral raises.

Beginner Pulley Rotator Cuff Exercises

1. Internal Rotation (closed door) (subscapularis): adjust pulley height to belly button height. Place towel between elbow and ribs. Use a light weight. Stand 90 degrees to pulley. Hold handle with arm closest to pulley. Pull weight towards you, patting your belly button. Keep your shoulder still and chest open. Do 10 - 15 nice and slowly until fatigue, but without pain.

2. External Rotation (open door) (teres minor, infraspinatus): now take the handle with the opposite hand, with a pad between your elbow and ribs. Reach out across a horizontal plane away from your body to about 45 degrees away from your abdomen. This is going to be more difficult than the above one, so use a lighter weight.

3. Side Raise or Lateral Raise to 20 degrees (subscaularis): lower the pulley handle down to the ground. Grab on to the handle with the arm furthest away from the pulley (you are standing perpendicular to the machine). Sweep your arm across your hips, bending your elbow, - finish as if you had just elbowed someone in the guts and your hand is at your same side hip (left side, left hip, vice versa).

STOP DOING: We see too many people still standing using dumbbells with their elbows bent to 90 degrees, swinging the weights out and in. This only works your biceps!

All shoulder exercises should be completed in proper posture (shoulders pulled back, and down) and only after having completed some gentle range of motion exercises.

Please contact us if you have any specific questions regarding shoulder injury rehabilitation. If this is an acute injury please contact a Physiotherapist.

References

Escamilla RF, Yamashiro K, Paulos L, Andrews JR. Shoulder muscle activity and function in common shoulder rehabilitation exercises. Sports Med. 2009; 39(8): 663-85. Review PubMed PMID: 19769415

Boettcher CE, Ginn KA, Cathers I. Which is the optimal exercise to strengthen supraspinatus? Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Nov; 41(11): 1979-83. Review PubMed PMID: 19812522

Baydar M, Akalin E, EI O, Gulbahar S, Bircan C, Akgul O, Manisali M, Torun Orhan B, Kizil R. The efficacy of conservative treatment in patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears. Rheumatol Int. 2009 Apr; 29(6): 623-8. Review Epub 2008 Oct 12. PMID: 18850322

Stretching Tip - 8 Reasons Trigger Points Develop

alfred@lifemoves.ca (Alfred Ball, Kinesiologist) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:15:00 +0000

Limiting trigger point development will help you move more freely due to greater flexibility and range of motion. Last month we outlined 8 Steps to Unlocking Restricted Movements , but how do we prevent myofascial trigger points from developing in the first place? There are several perpetuating factors, some that we can influence and others are ones that we can't. For the ones that we have minimal affect on we can still be aware of how the contribute to the development of trigger points and know how to relieve them quickly before they become too sore or debilitating.

Perpetuating Factors for Trigger Point Development

Cold: the cold creates more stiffness and shortening of the muscles and fascia.
Repetitive movements: moving constantly in the same patterns create fatigue. Trigger points develop due to fatigue
Prolonged postures: some muscles are in a lengthened position for too long, while others are in a shortened position for too long.
Trauma: muscles go into a protective spasm when they are overload. This happens when we try to lift or pull something that is too heavy.
Poor movement patterns: these contribute to early muscle fatigue and improper muscle recruitment for each movement.
Bony structure: how our bodies are structured. In adults this generally does not change.
Poor nutrition: muscles require certain micro-nutrients and minerals such as calcium, magnesium and B12, B6 to function properly.
Poor hydration: muscles and fascia are 70% water. Less hydrated we the stiffer we become. Water important for fascia mobility and part of muscle metabolism. 2% dehydration results in 10% reduction human performance.

In The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, Second Edition: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, Clair and Amber Davies clearly explain how trigger points develop in each muscle in a manner that is for the general public to understand. A prime example is one reason for plantar fasciitis development. When women wear high-heels the soleous, the deeper calf muscle is in a prolonged shortened position.

The fascia of the calf is part of the back line which connects through the Achilles tendon in the plantaris muscle and fascia. Once the high heel sheo is removed, the calf is not able to lengthen as it needs to. The constant tension creates soreness and inflammation. The solution is to wear flatter shoes, use moist heat to warm the muscle, complete trigger point release on the calf and sole of the foot, then stretch on daily basis until the lower leg is back at resting length and no longer sore.

Which one of the 8 perpetuating factors do you think we can change? How would you change it to limit trigger point development?

Book a Fascial Stretch Therapy session to learn more about your trigger points and how to improve your flexibility.