Top Blog Posts From 2018

It's been a big year at our clinic, and I thank all of those who have been with us during the way and following our progress. Between growing Cain Exercise Rehab, adding on additional practitioners to our team, and finally making the move to our new office, it's been a full 2018! We look forward to another great year.

With that in mind, let's look back at our top five most-popular blog posts from 2018. You chose them! If you haven't given them a read, please take a look and share the information with those who may need it.

5: The Nocebo Effect - Why Belief In Treatment Is Vital

We spoke about the nocebo effect, which is the opposite of the placebo. It's very possible and common for the belief of harm being done (or simply just the belief in a treatment being ineffective) to turn into reality. This is important in highlighting the need to find a therapist who can productively educate you, as the client, so that trust in the treatment and therapist is there.

4: Get Out Of Pain - 3 Steps For Maintaining Motivation

Everyone tells us that something should be easy to do as long as we want it enough. This disregards the complex, messy, and irrational way our brains work, however. That being said, there are other steps that we can take to make sure that we stay on the right track when it comes to exercise or other lifestyle changes.

3: Cannabis Research - Things To Consider

With the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada this year, a increase questions and speculation have started cropping up when it comes to the use of marijuana for pain treatment.

Not to rain on the parade, but I just need to remind everyone that our understanding and study into cannabis is still very fresh. While I won't discredit the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, it's important to take anecdotes and news updates with a grain of salt until we know more.

2: The Stressful Effect Of Stress On Pain

One of our first posts from 2018; stress is EVERYWHERE in our lives, and it absolutely can have an effect on the way our bodies physically feel. When pain is present, stress can exacerbate and prolong it, contributing to the development of countless chronic pain conditions.

This shouldn't be an article to worry you, however; rather, it's a reminder that we can help ourselves by treating our emotional and mental health when we're in pain, as well as the physical.

1: Making Rehab Fun

Our most-read post from 2018, and I'm happy this is the one that took! Rehab, or any exercise for that matter, can often be grueling and unenjoyable. For that reason, it's important to incorporate fun movements and the client's preferred activities into the recovery plan. Having fun during recovery is going to both benefit your mental health as well as ensure that adherence to that physical activity will be maintained.

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Don't Be A Hero - Use Crutches

I sprained my foot pretty good, this past weekend. There was a crunch. It hurt. Ruled out a fracture and went on with my next few days. Thankfully, it started feeling better quite quickly, but I definitely needed crutches to walk without a limp.

Bringing me to my point; I have athletes, very commonly, be too stubborn to use crutches when they sustain minor lower limb injuries.

True enough, the pain isn't so severe that walking isn't impossible, albeit with a limp (as was the case for me.) But, despite the fact that you might feel "soft" for using the assistance, the fact of the matter is that you're prolonging your recovery time by limping around.

When an acute injury occurs, we know that consistent movement and range of motion are crucial in those early stages in order to promote proper tissue healing. In the event of soft tissue damage, scarring will start to form. Taking the joint through its regular range of motion means that that scar tissue, as it forms, will align itself in those directions of pull, developing as closely-resembling the healthy tissue as possible.

When limping and protecting that joint, you're preventing proper movement and avoiding stressing that healing tissue, resulting in irregularities in the scar formation. This is likely to prolong the pain and potentially result in mechanical dysfunction later on in time. Conversely, using that walking assistance allows you to deload the limb while maintaining regular (or as close to) movement of that joint and increases the speed and effectiveness of healing.

So, I know that you may not expressly feel the need to use a cane or a crutch when in minor pain from an ankle sprain, hamstring tear, or other lower limb injury. However, buck up and use the assistance until you can walk without a limp; you'll recover faster and stronger for it.

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4 Explanations For Common Pain Conditions

Nearing the end of 2018, I've compiled a short list of go-to explanations and busted myths about some of the most common pain conditions that walk in my door. These can hopefully summarize many of the questions that individuals have about their afflictions.

Back Pain

May as well start with the most common! Back pain clients will often have no specific diagnosis and generalized symptoms. It can be a hard thing to wrap one's head around, so here are three major points that I educate my clients with.

Osteoarthritis

A LOT of misconceptions revolve around the reasons for the development of osteoarthritis and the most effective ways to treat it. Does too much activity really deserve the blame? Does movement help or hurt more after diagnosis? Is surgery always necessary?

Shin Splints

"Shin splints" tends to be used as a catch-all term for any shin pain, from muscular tears to stress fractures. However, in true cases of medial tibial stress syndrome, there is a mechanism occurring right down to the level of the bone structure itself. And yes, muscular conditioning will still help or hinder the situation.

Tendinitis

Another heavily-misunderstood condition. What is physically occurring within the tissue during a tendinopathy? And hat are the best ways to treat it?

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The Reverse Domino Effect Of Health

"I sprained my ankle. Limping caused my hip to go out. Then I started getting back pain and it's traveled all the way up to my neck."

This is the domino effect occurring. We know for a fact that a dysfunction or injury left unattended long enough can lead to another. It's often small occurrences that begin individuals down a path toward long-term, wider-spread pain.

It's an unfortunate trend, but as we know, it's not necessarily a permanent one. Therapy and rehab, especially those involving movement and exercise, are proven to be able to address these dysfunctions and alleviate the symptoms.

However, it's also a trend for individuals who have experienced this sort of domino-collapse of their joints and muscular system that have a difficult time motivating themselves to begin making those changes for the better again. It can be easy to feel like the time and energy to address such a large number of different (albeit related) problems could be fruitless.

I like to remind clients, though, that it's not necessarily a matter of address every single ache and pain separately, though.

As a biological organism, the human body is good at organizing. In this I mean that this domino effect that we're considering can occur back in the OTHER direction!

I always start with broader corrective exercise when I first treat my clients, only narrowing the specificity down as needed. More often than not, broader changes with how the body moves are enough to begin making the mechanics that we want to see start clicking together. Addressing one area of dysfunction (not even necessarily in reverse of what order it occurred in) can lead to the body further correcting and managing other areas along the chain.

Not acknowledging this reverse domino effect is to not acknowledge the body's own ability to run operations on the most efficient manner that it can. We're a sophisticated system that is excellent at making do with what it has. Small changes CAN make a big difference, and only when those small changes hit a plateau in effect do we need to begin nitpicking for further progress.

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In the Victoria area and interested in booking an appointment with Cain Exercise Rehab? Follow the link below to book online!
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