Neck pain and back pain are extremely common in our society and have been so for a long time.

However, as physiotherapists, we have experienced that the most common causes of neck and back pain have changed over time. Over the past few years we are seeing more and more neck and back pain that is originating from office work. One of the issues people are facing is the prolonged time periods they are spending sitting while working at a computer, in meetings, using their cell phone, etc.

Positioning at your workstation is very important to allow the curves of your spine to be as close to their  natural alignment as possible. This can be accomplished through the set up of your office chair, desk, and computer. Here are some general guidelines to follow:

1. Your Chair

•  Ensure your bum is as far back as it can go in the chair
• 90-90-90-90 Rule
  • Feet flat on floor, so that ankles are at 90°
  • Knees bent 90°
  • Hips bent 90° (although could also recline slightly)
  • Armrests are adjusted so that elbows can be comfortably bent 90°

2. Keyboard

•  Articulating keyboard/mouse trays are ideal
•  Adjust keyboard position so that it is close to your body and at a height to maintain the 90° elbow bend
  
  

3. Monitor

•  Center the monitor directly in front of you
•  Top of the monitor should be ~2-3” above your eye level while seated
  • If you wear bifocals, lower the monitor to a more comfortable level
•  Sit at least an arm’s length away from screen
  
  

These are just some general guidelines to help you get set up. Our team of physiotherapists can help you out with more details and how to adjust for special circumstances.

The most important thing to remember is that no matter how good your set up is, our bodies are built to move. We need to move to prevent muscle tightening, help lubricate joints, and improve the blood circulation to our tissues. It is a good idea to take short, mini-breaks every 20-30 minutes to get out of the sitting position and do some quick stretching. We have even gone so far as to have people set timers at their desk to remind them to move.

On a final note, do not forget about your eyes. They have a group of small muscles that control them, just like the other muscles in our body. A good rule of thumb is the 20-20-20 rule – every 20 minutes, look at an object at least 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds. Alternatively, after 20 minutes of work, cover your eyes with your palms for 20 seconds. This can help reduce some of the eye strain from looking at the computer screen for prolonged periods.

~ Trevor, Physiotherapist

Throughout my career as a physiotherapist, I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing clients, who have gone through some ups and downs that most of us would never imagine.  Cancer can be a very aggressive disease, that not many people beat.  But when they do, to be able to work with these individuals for the rehabilitation process, I am always amazed by their strength and will to do better.  To continue to be better.

Cancer seems to touch everyone these days.  Family. Friends. Clients.  In particular, 1 in 9 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives.  It is part of the reason that we, at Donald Physiotherapy are committed to helping with the annual C95 Radio Marathon for Breast Cancer Research.  My own personal family history, makes the cause even closer to my heart.

But what does physiotherapy for Cancer Rehabilitation look like?  The treatment process can be intensive.  Surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy.  They can all play a role on a persons fatigue levels, functional mobility, and ability to complete activities of daily living.  Tissue damage can occur. Weakness is common.  Loss of range of motion, in particular for the upper body when dealing with breast cancer.

Physiotherapy plays a role in assisting with many things, including:  

• Lympedema or swelling in the effected arm
• Frozen shoulder or loss of range of motion in the effected arm
• Improve strength
• Chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy
• Pain
• Axillary web syndrome
• Scar tissue management
• Cancer related fatigue

Treatment can include manual therapy, acupuncture, dry needling, and exercise therapy.  It encompasses the biopsychosocial approach, meaning the person is the focus, followed by the issue we are dealing with.  We are also very fortunate to work with Janis Riise, a kinesiologist who runs a Cancer Management and Strengthening Program  within our clinic.

If this blog speaks to you, or anyone you know, please do not hesitate to contact us to find out more on how physiotherapy can help with the rehabilitation process.

​~ Michelle, PT

It is a lot of work growing babies. It can also feel like a lot of work to recovery from growing those babies. A while back I heard someone say (I can’t remember where I heard it) “It’s not a competition, it’s a comeback tour” and it has stuck with me ever since.

This pregnancy is already different than my last. When I was pregnant with my girls (twins) I was well prepared and physically fit. When we got pregnant I was probably the strongest I have ever been, and I put in the hard work to rehab well after I had the girls. It took a lot of dedication but I was successful at returning to half marathon running and triathlon like I wanted. Now I’m pregnant again and I’m not going to lie,  it feels a bit daunting knowing the work I have in front of me to get back to where I want to be. I want to keep doing all the things I love doing, like running and lifting heavy but my body tells me to slow down. I have to force myself to listen to it, and not blow past the signs it’s giving me. I have to quiet my athlete brain. My sister said it best: “ I’ve got a new body (that I don’t necessarily like) that can’t do the things I want it to right now, but I’ll meet it where it’s at (not where I want to be) and try to take it there!

Right now I am trying to train smart while I carry this baby, later I plan to train smart so that I can return to all of the activities that make me feel like me.

This post is geared more towards those postpartum mama’s. When we are pregnant everyone is capable of maintaining different levels of activity. What I was capable of doing with my twin pregnancy may be different than what I am capable of now. My body is different that it was when I was pregnant with them and over the next few months it’ll continue to change quite rapidly. My focus is on navigating this time to feel best now and to best prepare for my postpartum journey to be successful.

So here we go…  When we are pregnant our glutes and core get “turned off”, and if we don’t take the time to really rebuild and give them the attention they deserve, often they don’t return to full strength.

Many women love running because it is convenient, free and “easy” with a baby. The problem is that if we return to running too early and we do not work on core and glute strength recovery, running poses more risk than reward. Symptoms may present as urinary incontinence, pain or a diastasis recti that doesn’t seem to be resolving.

Your pelvic floor, glutes and abdominals are a lovely trio – the best of friends! If you haven’t done the work to rehab, your pelvic floor likely isn’t optimally supported. We need our pelvic floor when we run; not only to prevent leaking but for efficiency and strength!

Touching on efficiency, we should discuss posture.  Mom runners tend to fall into one of two camps:

1. The “twerk”. This is common with those pushing a jogging stroller. Think low back WAY arched and ribs flared out with the chest up.
2. The “mom bum” (butt tucker), who runs on her heels almost like she is “tucking her tail”.

Now, while recovery of strength/stability and posture can help the pelvic floor to feel supported and optimally function we should probably briefly discuss the pelvic floor more specifically. It is just as dysfunctional to be too tight as it is to be weak. Dysfunction may present as:

• leaking
• pain
• pressure
• heaviness
• constipation
• straining to empty our bowels or bladder
• pain with sex or tampons.

Leaking urine while running is one of the most common complaints we hear from women, especially postpartum women. Leaking can be caused from muscles being weak or too tight. While you might be thinking a tight pelvic floor is a good thing, it is very important for your muscles to be able to relax. If your pelvic floor is always ON, your pelvic floor can’t handle the demands of running, jumping or maybe even sneezing.

​Working with a pelvic floor physical therapist on alignment, glute strength, and core strength is going to help your pelvic floor and get you back to doing whatever it is you want to be doing! You deserve it mama!

~ Lindsay, Physiotherapist

I guess if I really think back, I’d have to say my journey with running started in elementary school.  Small town Saskatchewan track and field meets were the highlight of the school year for a farm girl who grew up with an ethic of work first, play later…if there’s any time left.  Now what student to this day, doesn’t jump at the chance to miss a few classes in exchange for some time in the great outdoors?  Of course the fond memories I have of the meets may also have something to do with the fact that I managed to collect a few red ribbons in the process. I believe that my ability to run fast at that time, may have had more to do with my growing up alongside two older brothers who were always a bit faster, and let’s just say a bit more energetic than I.  In some instances, you just learn how to run fast out of shear necessity.  The fact that our path from the house to the school bus was also a quarter mile run, probably didn’t hurt the training process either.

Now that was many years ago and I can honestly say that I’ve had an off and on relationship with running ever since. However, lately it’s been one of the activities that I’ve come to value a great deal in my life, and today I’d like to share with you my 5 top reasons why.
 
1.      Simply, because I can - Anyone who’s been through any type of surgery, lengthy illness, or major injury can perhaps relate to the feeling of having taken something for granted that was previously performed so automatically.  Never a second thought about getting around with independence and ease, whether it be walking, running, or even driving, until it typically comes as a surprise out of nowhere that it’s no longer an option. However, once recovery is achieved there is no greater feeling than being able to return to doing something whenever and wherever you want, and if you’re really lucky, at whatever pace you want again. It really causes you to stop and view your freedom and mobility, among other things, in a bit of a different light.
 
2.      For my mental health – Research, time and again, has revealed that running, along with other forms of exercise, promote physiological changes in your brain that include “neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being.  It also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain, that energize your spirits and make you feel good.” (1)  I find it allows me time to recognize and process my triggers and stressors, and convert them into time spent re-fueling and healing through the self-care of a simple run. I’m also motivated knowing that running:

• releases hormones to elevate my mood
• increases my breathing rate which means increased oxygen supply to my “gray matter”
• is my chance to do something proactively to manage stress, anxiety and ward off the symptoms of depression beyond the dependence of medication alone

 
3.      For my physical health -  Working my way to 55 this coming year, I’ve become increasingly aware of the need for even more focused attention on my cardiovascular health.  The fact that running, allows me the opportunity to take an active role in managing my:

• blood pressure
• cholesterol
• and in reducing my chances of some forms of cancer,

gives me added peace of mind in knowing these are factors I can have a direct influence over, by the choices I make.  As our body goes through some of the unavoidable processes of change both hormonally structurally, I also know that the impact of running will help me to not only continue managing my body weight, but also to keep my bones strong and healthy to reduce my chances of developing osteoporosis, and it can also help slow the process of OA.  One study indicates that “running significantly reduced OA and hip replacement risk, due to, in part, running’s association with lower BMI (body mass index).” (2) Of course I recognize that running isn’t for everyone, but by increasing your body awareness through the help of a physiotherapist as well as your physician, you can learn if it is right for you.
 
4.      To set an example – Who else can join me in saying that it’s not always easy to walk the talk, or in this case…the run.  If you’ve ever tried to convince someone to stay healthy, while at the same time not putting in the best effort yourself, I can tell you that it just doesn’t work.  Of course there will always be what might seem like more important things to do than getting out for a run, or for any other form of moderate to vigorous exercise for that matter, but as your children get older and you start to experience them following your lead, do as I say and not as I do just won’t cut it.  While sometimes it can take a ton of effort both mentally and physically, being consistent with running has been something that’s helped me feel that I’m doing my best to be the change I would like to continue seeing in my family.  Now one of the best things that has come about by putting in the extra effort, is that at some point a transition has taken place, and now my family has become my biggest source of support to help keep me accountable.  When you eventually find your husband, who has never considered himself a runner, saying that he’s looking forward to our run at the end of a long work day, you realize it just all balances out in the end.  To top it off, when your teenage daughter lets you include her in signing up for a 5 k run as a family activity, even when she feels that running is not quite her thing, well I’m going to take that one and just run with it!  Nature vs. nurture, whether running or any other regular activity, family will tend to follow suit in living a healthy lifestyle in the long run.  Is anyone else getting a kick out of my run puns or is it just me?
 
5.      To support a worthwhile cause –Last but certainly not least, when you know your actions and efforts are not just for your benefit, but are also helping to support others in your community, it’s a win, win.  So one way our family has discovered that works to maintain some momentum and accountability in our training, lies in setting some realistic and worthwhile goals to keep us on track.  For instance, we were recently among the many that took part in the Annual Heartbeat Run & Walk, with funds raised this year going toward the Saskatoon Children’s Hospital (3), a cause that not only our city, but our entire province and has been privileged to see come to fruition.  Registering to run for a cause continues to have rewards for us, far beyond setting personal bests, and I’m hopeful that our team of family and friends that continue to join us in this endeavor, will continue to grow over the years to come.
 
In closing, I suppose I should confess that when it comes to me and running, to this point it’s been outdoors or nothing, and since I consider myself a fair weather runner I typically pack in my runners for the winter.  Now that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy our great Saskatchewan winter, it just means that I trade in my runners for a pair of cross country skis and look forward to enjoying Saskatoon’s beautiful golf courses from a different perspective.  Having said that, for some reason our daughter is now trying to convince us that signing up for a run in the snow would be fun.  What have I done?  Wish us luck!
 
What’s your activity?  Whether it’s running, walking, dancing, cycling, skiing, swimming or all the above.  Whatever it is that keeps you interested to keep you active, just get out there and do it!  You, and your family deserve it!
 
~ Elizabeth Stefanyshyn-Alonso PT
 
(1)   https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise.htm
(2)   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23377837
(3)   https://raceroster.com/events/2019/21669/saskatoon-heartbeat-run