Taking Care of Your Spine While Gardening

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Are you a gardener? I am not, but I do appreciate the efforts and results of others!

Working outdoors in your garden and yard is a great form of physical activity, even better if it’s something you are passionate about.

To protect your body and avoid injury, consider some of these tips when stepping out to get your garden started this season:

Keep Your Posture In Mind

While mowing the lawn, keep your head up and stand directly behind the mower so you can keep your hips and shoulders in line with your spine. Push the mower uphill rather than pulling. Always use both hands rather pushing or twisting with one.

Get Down Before You Get Dirty

When working in the dirt, crouch down, sit on a stool, or squat instead of bending at the waist which can strain the joints in the low back. Bend your knees when lifting anything so that you can use the strength of your legs.

Lift Carefully

Keep yard waste bags close to your body while lifting them. Hold a rake with one hand at shoulder height, one hand at waist level and walk or drag the pile. Most importantly, vary your tasks and take breaks when necessary.

Keep Moving

Avoid staying in prolonged postures involving the lower back and neck.

Injury Prevention Works

Your best bet for protecting your back? Consider Chiropractic care!

Waiting until symptoms appear before taking care of your body often can make the problems worse, ultimately causing them to take longer to heal. Chiropractors assess your posture and spinal joints to ensure they are moving properly and that your body is physically balanced. The results people experience from regular spinal care are profound, and the increases in their quality of life measurable.

Find a Chiropractor who fits your needs and will work with your other health professionals to keep you feeling and functioning your best.

Have a Happy, Healthy Halloween!

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Dressing up and celebrating Halloween can be fun for kids, and adults, but it can also be unhealthy for your body and the environment!

Consider these tips this year:

Have fun and walk with your kids!

When my sons were younger I sometimes saw parents driving slowly while their children trick or treated. If you are injured and this is absolutely necessary, I totally understand. But if you can walk I’m going to suggest that you do! Move your body a little and appreciate the fresh air. It’s also much more entertaining!

Give Treats You Would Like Your Children to Receive

Enough said.

Create a Low-Impact Costume

Rather than buying a new costume every year, get creative with items you already own, swap with friends, or shop the local resale shop.

Be Mindful of Toxic Chemicals

Most makeup, face paint, and coloured hairsprays contain ingredients that do not support healthy bodies. Even though you might argue “it’s only once a year” I’m still going to remind you there are alternatives! Get creative and have fun with costumes without using chemicals that don’t belong on your children’s skin, or that you wouldn’t want them to inhale.

Decorate Naturally

Grab pumpkins, gourds, hay bales from a local farm. Reuse decorations you have from previous years rather than purchasing disposable items every year that add to the landfill.

Have a Happy, Healthy Halloween!

It’s totally possible to have lots of fun this Halloween, while protecting your health and the environment. Hope you have a great one!

Hungry for more? Check out the rest of our blog posts!
If you’re more of a listener than a reader, you may prefer tuning into my Rock Your Health Podcast.
If you love conversation, reach out here, I’d love to hear from you!

Episode 17: Gardening With Your Body In Mind

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It’s that time of year (at least here in Canada), where we reap the last of the harvest, pack up the gardens and put them to bed for the winter. Your body, while genius, does not care which season you’re gardening in, it still needs you to be conscious of it as you work. On today’s episode, I’m sharing the quick tips that will save you from the injuries I commonly see in my practice during this time of year.

For more Gardening Tips for a Healthy Spine, check out this blog post.

Detox Your Home…Why?

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“Chemicals have replaced bacteria and viruses as the main threat to health. The diseases we are beginning to see as the major causes of death in the latter part of (the 1900’s) and into the 21st century are diseases of chemical origin.”                                                                   – Dr. Dick Irwin, Toxicologist, Texas A&M University

We live in a chemical world. Over 5000 chemicals have entered daily use since WW II, many of them found in the products we use every day to clean and beautify our bodies and our homes. Scientists are increasingly concerned that long-term low-level exposures to chemicals create a variety of health risks. They also worry that we do not yet know the impact of living with the cocktail of chemicals found in household air and dust.  Testing for human health effects is normally done on single chemicals. However, in the real world, we are exposed to a daily variety of chemicals which create ‘chemical stress’ in the body and impact cellular function.  Quite simply, if you are breathing, absorbing, ingesting a variety of chemicals regularly, your body has to work harder to keep you functioning well.

Many people assume that “if it was bad for us, the government would not allow it to be sold” but we know that regulatory bodies are slow to act. Legislation governing pest control products was only amended in 2002, after over 30 years without change and review of pest control products is just beginning. Health Canada has recently added some chemicals to their ‘hot list’ of chemicals not permitted in cosmetics, but those ingredients had not been used for years and were added for the sake of ‘clarity’. Health Canada has been slow to restrict many chemicals currently in use, including identified or suspected carcinogens, hormone disrupters and reproductive toxins. The process of evaluating and regulating all the chemicals we use in our daily lives is going to be slow. And past experiences in regulating lead in gasoline, tobacco and lawn pesticides tell us that the companies which produce these products won’t take attempts to limit their use quietly.

In choosing the products we use on our bodies and in and around our homes WE are the ones in control. We can make informed choices for the sake of our own health and the health of our families. And in most cases, what is less toxic for us is also less toxic for the natural environment.

Making the move to less toxic products can seem overwhelming… but it doesn’t need to happen all at once and is likely easier than you think! Whether you make changes in a few areas or in many, you will be making positive choices for your life.

Ready to start? Grab one of the many books from the practice or keep watch for more posts with ideas and solutions.  Share your ideas with us too! Some of the most useful tips I have gained have come from others and not out of a book…

Our Earth-Friendly Practice

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Environmental toxins weaken your health and are bad for the environment.  Our goal when building this location was to create a beautiful and harmonious space that fit the needs of the practice.  During the construction (complete renovation to convert if from a family home to commercial space) 75% of the materials and process was in keeping with environmentally-friendly practice.  From non-toxic solvents and paints to natural clay and reclaimed wood, fixtures and furniture,  the space we designed is now a beautiful, functional, health-promoting place.  We continue to hold these high values by using natural cleaning products, minimizing energy losses, recycling and composting. All computers are hard-wired and there is no WI-FI in the building.  Celebrate Earth Day on April 22 by committing to making one small change in your lifestyle that honors environmental awareness.