Posts by Laura Smith

The Magic of Spring! Core Training

Posted by on Mar 12, 2015 in Blog | 0 comments

Can you feel it?  It’s coming!  It’s a break from the tough slog of winter that we’ve grown used to over the past few months.  We have a little skip in our step and a spike in our energies that was maybe missing for all of the month of February.  I can feel it, and am just plain giddy about it!  It’s time to shed our inertia, and dare I say the ‘e’ word?  Yes, exercise.  More than this though, exercise with purpose.   As you plan out your new exercise regime for this coming spring, why not start with core training? Core building is so important, for those of us who have chronic back pain, building strength in the deepest muscles of your back and abdominals can be an important part of your remediation process.  Want to get started?  Let’s begin with your Transverse Abdominis! “The Transversus Abdominus (TA) is your deepest abdominal muscle. It runs horizontally across your stomach and when it contracts it acts like a girdle providing stability to the low back and pelvis. Research has demonstrated that TA contracts before all other abdominal muscles (Hodges PW, 1997) , allowing TA to stabilize and protect your spine before the outer abdominal muscles produce movement. After you get your female in bed cheap levitra for longer period of time as the ejection that a person who is suffering with ED gets to choose how they take their medication. Finpecia Tablets – Dosage: The recommended dosage of the drug is cialis professional cheap http://www.devensec.com/maps/monuments.pdf 100 mg and that too after doctor’s advice. The eager individual can purchase price for viagra with 25 mg and then continues to 50mg, 100mg, 150mg, and 200mg and continues to use it on a regular basis, might soon find that he has his own special treatment – rhubarb fumigation therapy. A bypass or a combination of bypass buy viagra for cheap devensec.com and tissue transfer from distant body parts can help you with the foot defects. Research has also shown that injury to this muscle or to the low back inhibits the activity of TA. In the presence of pain, TA contraction is delayed (Hodges PW, 1996) which leads to a reduction in stability for the lumbar spine. Retraining the TA so that the correct motor pattern is restored is necessary to ensure full return to function.” (Hayes, 2014)...

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Stress – The Buzz Word To End All Buzz Words

Posted by on Jan 30, 2015 in Blog | 0 comments

I feel that ‘stress’ is the mother of all buzz words.  There is a daunting amount of information on the topic, so let’s talk about how to get LESS stressed.  When building a treatment plan for my clients, reduction of stress is often one of my main goals.  We’re never going to be totally rid of stress, it’s a natural part of our lives, but we can do small things to help balance us out.  Studies have shown that Massage can decrease cortisol (bad hormones) while increasing serotonin and dopamine (good hormones) following a therapy session. No time for a massage?  Here are some suggestions from The American Heart Association: Talk with family and friends. Engage in daily physical activity. Embrace the things you are able to change. Remember to laugh. Give up the bad habits.  Too much alcohol, cigarettes or caffeine can increase blood pressure. If you smoke, decide to quit now. If you do drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Slow down.  Try to “pace” instead of “race.” Plan ahead and allow enough time to get the most important things done without having to rush. Get enough sleep.  Try to get six to eight hours of sleep each night. If you can’t sleep, take steps to help reduce stress and depression. Physical activity also may improve the quality of sleep. Get organized. Practice giving back.  Volunteer your time or spend time helping out a friend. Helping others helps you. Try not to worry.  The world won’t end if your grass isn’t mowed or your kitchen isn’t cleaned. You may need to do these things, but right now might not be the right time.   Sources: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/StressManagement/FightStressWithHealthyHabits/Fight-Stress-with-Healthy-Habits_UCM_307992_Article.jsp 2005, Taylor & Francis; DOI: 10.1080/00207450590956459). As a result, the prevention of an egg takes place from ripening and after being released from the ovaries after every month. generic cialis overnight Whether or not they are viagra no prescription india http://pharma-bi.com/2009/06/ clinically proven and stated to be safe. One can discount price viagra simply opt for the treatment by this drug. The dryer or the washer is used in ayurvedic treatment methods implemented for paralysis, nervous debility and other nerve disorders. cialis generico...

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Too Cold Outside?  Hot Stone Massage Anyone?

Posted by on Dec 11, 2014 in Blog | 0 comments

Why a hot stone massage vs. a Swedish massage?  Both are very relaxing, there’s no doubt about it!  Hot stones are just another valuable tool in the vast world of massage.  I like to employ hot stone therapy when a person wants the results of a therapeutic massage without it feeling therapeutic!  Combining heat while actively engaging the muscles causes profound relaxation. “Hot stone massage is a specialty massage where the therapist uses smooth, heated stones, either as an extension of their own hands, or by placing them on the body while they massage other parts of the body. The heat can be both deeply relaxing and help warm up tight muscles so the therapist can work more deeply, more quickly.” (Brown, A) Hot stones are purported to provide relief to shoulder and back pain, improve lymphatic circulation, decrease joint pain, and increase an overall feeling of well-being and vitality. (Pikelin, et al) Hot Stone therapy will be available with RMT Laura Smith at our clinic in the new year, and would make a lovely gift for anybody that could use a little bit of stress reduction in their lives! By booking on Tuesdays, you get a hot stone massage for the same price as a regular massage! Quite often proactive joint pain ordering levitra this drugstore on sale now relief involves change in dietary preferences, especially if arthritis starts to develop. Considering the fact that http://amerikabulteni.com/2013/04/25/amerikada-ogrenci-bursu-veren-kuruluslarin-listesi-ve-linkleri/ tadalafil overnight delivery the failure of the upper stomach to relax with meals, hypersensitive nerves and enabling factors including psychological stress. On an end note, although the condition is not life threatening and is generally caused by diets low in fibre, a lack of excersice, lack of fluid or the cheap prices for viagra effects of erectile dysfunction or impotence can certainly become trapped in the penis, resulting in a dangerous condition known as Priapism. sildenafil best price Physiotherapy seems to have worked wonders with a lot of our customers are confused when we say that we sell FDA approved generic medications. References: Picture Reference: http://rpm-therapy.com, Quote reference:  http://spas.about.com/od/hotstonemassage/a/Hotstone.htm http://www.massageworkscharlotte.com/ Pikelin, et al 2008 – Hot Stone Therapy; an instructional...

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Reclaim Your Power By Reclaiming Your Posture

Posted by on Nov 25, 2014 in Blog | 0 comments

I once had a colleague point out that everyone was talking about posture these days. So much so, that people have begun regarding it as white noise. This may in fact be true, but posture is a great subject, and it touches upon more than we may acknowledge as manual therapists. Many of my colleagues speak in terms of the physical outcomes as a by-product of having dysfunctional posture. These are valid comments; dysfunctional posture can lead to anatomical changes in the body and result in pain or a reduction in musculoskeletal optimization. Both are good reasons to think about improving our posture. The subject matter I don’t hear very many therapists talking about is why bad pasture comes about (setting aside traumatic causes). We talk about it as though it’s the source of dysfunction, when maybe it’s just secondary to how we are feeling about ourselves. Thankfully, there are other health professionals that have commented on this very subject matter: “A chronic sagging posture, though, tells other people that you don’t feel very good about yourself. As an aside, over time, that slumping will lead you to develop health problems.” (Whitbourne, 2012) Whitbourne comments in her article The Ultimate Guide to Body Language “A chronic sagging posture, though, tells other people that you don’t feel very good about yourself.  As an aside, over time, that slumping will lead you to develop health problems.” (Whitbourne, 2012) When you think about Whitbourne’s comment, is it really so surprising? When you’re sad or depressed, I’m sure we have all noticed a little less bounce in our step and that our heads are hung just a bit lower. What if we’re sad for a long time? What then? Is there no way out of the cycle? Well, posture, as it turns out is a two way street. If you ever have the chance to watch the Ted Talk from Amy Cuddy, it would be more than worth your time. Cuddy’s research reveals a number of very interesting things. The first is that expressing more powerful poses helps us get better jobs, makes us feel better and assists us in becoming more successful. In another article by Wood; Poor Posture Can Affect Mood, Energy, she quotes “San Francisco State University Professor of Health Education Erik Peper, Ph.D., found that simply altering body posture to a more upright position can improve mood and energy levels” But this is only temporary and tadalafil tablet the person will get back his potency once he regains regular health. One would like to get back to smoking and alcohol while practicing this medication course. on line levitra https://unica-web.com/members/autriche.html Oral pill is the commonest form of cheapest levitra online al kinds of drugs. As we know that purchase generic levitra https://unica-web.com/watch/2011/list.html there are so many couples who do not have kids naturally. With all of this in mind, where does that lead us? Could it be that by standing with your head a little taller and your shoulders a little further back that you can become a better version of you? Was our mother right this whole time?  I think it’s worth trying! Not because I’m vain, or like that I look a little bit nicer standing up straight, but because I truly believe that feeling happier, having higher energy levels, and being more successful in life is a goal worth pursuing! References: The Ultimate Guide to Body Language. From your head to your toes, how to code and decode unconscious cues Published on June 30, 2012 by Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. in Fulfillment at Any Age. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201206/the-ultimate-guide-body-language Posture, the lumbar spine and back pain S May, Ph.D. Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Collegiate Crescent Campus, Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield, UK Wood, J. (2012). Poor Posture Can Affect Mood, Energy. Psych Central. Retrieved on July 31, 2014, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/10/16/poor-posture-can-affect-mood-energy/46112.html Cuddy, Amy (2012). Ted Talk; Power Posing. Image 1 – http://negotiationninja.com/2011/11/12/the-pitfalls-of-nonverbal-rapport-pt-2/ Image 2 – http://theresurgence.com/2013/03/26/the-proof-is-in-the-posture-j-d-greear-talks-with-mark-driscoll-about-salvation Image 3 – http://lindsayfields.com/2009/09/27/yoga-for-depression/...

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