Author Archives: browns

Regularly we have patients coming to the clinic complaining of neck pain. Most commonly these patients are reporting discomfort after sitting for long hours at their desk or pain worsening throughout the day. I am not saying all neck pain is the same but a generalized tight and stiff neck is commonly caused by bad sitting habits and poor neck posture.

This poor head and neck posture increases the stress on your muscles, ligaments and joints, causing the postural deconditioning model- which Dr. Kara talked about here. This deconditioning can lead to neck pain, headaches and jaw pain.

So what can you do to stop the de-conditioning?

Try these two simple exercises which only take a couple minutes. I always say to do these exercises once an hour every hour. Sneak them in before you head to lunch, at every red light, once you have sent off an email or after you have liked a picture from our instagram. Yes once an hour every hour seems like a lot but that is only ~12 times in your day and should only take you 24 minutes. Ultimately you would benefit doing these exercises 3 times a day but 12 would be even better!

The Chin Tuck: A very “attractive” exercise, creating the double chin effect.

This exercise helps decrease forward head posture by strengthening your neck muscles. You can do this exercise standing, sitting or even laying down on a mat on the floor.

When doing this exercise seated or standing:

Start with your shoulders rolled back and gently pulled down.
Look straight ahead, and move your chin straight back. (Make sure you chin is not flexed forward or tilted backwards)
Hold for 5 seconds and release for 1 second.
Repeat 10 times

You are all done and that only took 1 minute! I perform these at red lights, while pushing my head into the headrest for some resistance. Notice after performing the exercise in the car that you may need to adjust your mirror as you will be sitting taller. If you plan on doing this laying on the floor, place a small towel behind your head so you have something to push your head back into.

Wall Angels:

This exercise helps open your shoulders back and strengthen your shoulder blades. This exercise can be performed standing against a wall or laying on the floor.

Stand with your back against the wall.
Place your feet a few inches from the wall and have a slight bend in your knees. Your head, spine and glutes should be flush against the wall.
Bring your arms up in a “Goal Post” position on the wall, your elbows bent with your upper arms parallel to the floor, and back of the hands touching the wall.
Hold this position for 2 seconds
Slowly straighten your elbows while sliding your hands up the wall to form a letter “Y”. Pay attention not to shrug your shoulders to your ears.
Hold for 2 seconds
Repeat 10 times

Again that only took 1 minute. Good work

You are on your way to better neck health and posture. If you need any help with these exercises just ask me.

Written by Dr. Shereen Kangarloo BSc, DC

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What’s in our logo

February 4, 2016

browns

Clinic News Fun No Comments

Now let me tell you about this logo which was painstakingly crafted over dozens upon dozens of doodles. Once Shereen and I decided on a name for the clinic, which let me tell you was not an easy task, the madness ensued. We dabbled with the token chiropractic logo ideas such as the spine and the motion man but ultimately we wanted something more modern and different. Something that reflected our unique strengths and spoke deeper to the patient base we were looking to attract. What we came up with was nothing short of a masterpiece…well our masterpiece (beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course).

This logo speaks to us in several levels and we hope you appreciate the consideration that went into it. The “CC” in the top row has an infinity symbol look to it, which to us represents the cycle of life and the fact that the care we provide is not only complete but also continuous. The “ST” further contributes to this notion of continuity as it curves and leads forward. When both rows of lettering are appreciated together one can see in an abstract way our nod to the motion man idea as the “CC” almost looks like two arms and the “ST” as a pair of running legs.

The turquoise rounded square that surrounds the logo was added to represent the modern element of our clinic. The app like look of it is meant to represent our online presence both from an electronic scheduling capability we offer as well as our desire to connect over social media. In addition, it provides coverage and protection for what is within, which represents the services we wish to provide to our patients.

Turquoise was chosen to represent our proximity to the beautiful bow river, which is across the street from our clinic. Orange was chosen as our second color as we wanted something bright and bold to match our personalities. Normally, logo’s do not use two bright “accent colors” together but we wanted to represent the duality of our partnership and again try to be a little atypical and modern with our approach.

We hope you like it as much as we do as our goal at CCST is to offer you a unique experience unlike those at other facilities offering similar services.

Written by Dr. Alim Kara BSc, DC

Posture: The structure of health

February 4, 2016

browns

Health & Wellness No Comments

Let me start off by telling you a little story about the birds and the bees…actually on second thought, lets just skip to birth! As infants, we are born as wee little C-shaped babies; think fetal position. This shape/position is the first posture we assume in life and we call it the ‘primary curve’ which forms a full-spine kyphosis. As we develop and start lifting our cute little baby heads, a ‘secondary curve’ forms in our neck (cervical spine); this time in the shape of a lordosis. Finally when we begin getting ourselves into trouble by moving around the house (via crawling and walking) a second ‘secondary (lordosis) curve’ develops in our low back (lumbar spine).

So let’s recap: now we have a lordotic curve in our neck and low back, while we have a kypotic curve in our mid back (thoracic spine) and we can walk! Having these curves in our spine gives us proper body posture to support all of our internal organs as well as angulate all of our muscles in the correct positions to give us the ability to walk. This process can be summed up as: Postural Development/Conditioning.

Now posture is an important thing as without it, we get injured. Think of the human musculoskeletal system (muscles and bones) as the greatest architectural creation to ever exist. Every curve, dent and hole in a bone (206 bones in the human body equates to a lot of different curves, dents and holes) has a specific purpose of existing due to our evolution and adaptation over millions of years. Every muscle, ligament and tendon is attached to one or more of these bones (in very specific locations) and has multiple blood and nerve supplies. It is very complicated! When you start to now consider that the process of movement originates in the brain (as hormonal and electrical impulses) and travels down the spinal cord, out the nerves of the spine and to the muscle, things become almost incomprehensible! All in all, it is the human posture that allows us to stand-up straight and walk.

The body can be thought of as a house, building or bridge. Something specifically and meticulously designed to stand the test of time and to protect what is inside. There is not one house, building or bridge that doesn’t eventually need to be upgraded or repaired (ie: replace the roof, add an energy efficient furnace, fill in a pothole etc.) because we use them so much. With use comes damage, it is inevitable! Now imagine if you could physically feel that damage…well, you can, that’s what your body goes through! Your posture is the house, building or bridge for your body (don’t you love it when an analogy comes together). Your posture protects what is important inside of you and it is your posture that takes the brunt of the wear and tears of the environment to your body.

The point? Posture is extremely important! The human body is designed to be most functional and work at its best when a correct posture/position is maintained (good form = good function). So what is a ‘good posture?’ This is where things get a little more complicated because posture is a dynamic concept, meaning it is always changing as we do different things. However, a general idea remains that if you promote and consciously have an intent to maintain the ideal posture (ie. the prototypical human form), which promotes and supports the natural curvature of the spine, you can use your bones and muscles in the ideal form/position they were created/designed to operate in; thus minimizing the risk of injury.

In closing, a wise man once said “chickity-check yo self, before you wreck yo self” which couldn’t be more true! That man, Confucius? Ghandi? No my friends, it was my man, Ice Cube. YEAH YEAH!

Written by Dr. Alim Kara BSc, DC

Postural Deconditioning: Adaptation from repetitive strain injuries

February 4, 2016

browns

Health & Wellness Injuries 2 Comments

Ooooh, sounds fancy and complicated but in reality, it isn’t! So what is Postural Deconditioning and how does Repetitive Strain factor in? I left off my last entry by introducing the thought: imagine that you used your body and its bones and muscles with a poor posture. What would happen?

Now in this scenario, these muscles and joints are in mechanically poor positions and thus they cannot work as efficiently or effectively as they are designed to do. This creates a STRAIN, which essentially is STRESS to the muscle, joint and bone. Now this is not a huge deal, it is obviously possible to do, we are resilient creatures. However, this is done at the cost of increased energy and stress to the body. Over months and years, these muscles, joints and bones slightly change to ADAPT to the consistent STRESS it is being subjected to (because we are so resilient remember) and we develop REPETITIVE STRAIN injuries.

One day, years later, your body has changed: you’re not sitting straight, you’re hunched, you’re always experiencing constant chronic low-level pain and discomfort; essentially, you are POSTUALLY DECONDITIONED! At this point, the muscles are more shortened and denser in composition, the joints are wearing out and thinned from constant pressure held in the same poor position and you now find yourself in a higher risk category for developing pain (low back pain, neck pain, etc.).

The entire mechanics and design of your body has changed! Your risk of injury is far greater than someone who has a great posture. Now the keyword here is RISK of injury. Think of it like: your chances of getting into a car accident with a low pressure tire (meaning the alignment would be off kilter) are higher than a car driving with equally inflated tires.

Why you are told to lift something by bending your knees and sticking your butt out? So you can assume an optimal lifting posture for the purpose of reducing your chances of getting injured. Apply this principle of doing ANYTHING to someone who is POSTURALLY DECONDITIONED. The chances of “picking up a pencil and throwing out your back” are a lot higher than someone who has a great posture. Let’s get one thing straight, it’s NEVER the pencil’s fault. This is why low back and neck pain are so common, because we REPETITIVELY STRAIN our bodies to the point where our body ADAPTS over time and eventually fails us (even while doing the most mundane of tasks, like picking up a pencil) and then we become injured.

Written by Dr. Alim Kara BSc, DC