Author: Megan

Are you in the process of recovering from surgery and want to return to golf?

Do not try this without professional guidance!

You got to a place where you needed surgery in the first place, don’t throw it all away just because you are itching to get back out there! 

Returning to golf PROPERLY will determine your success!

I have helped many people return to golf after surgery and it is ALWAYS a gradual return. Don’t expect to go out there and play 18 holes right away. Confidence plays a huge role, but so does range of motion and strength. This is the bread and butter of what Athletic Therapists do as we specialize in return to sport after an injury! 

Trust me, as a golfer I want you to return to golf just as much as you do!

If you are on the brink of returning to golf after a surgery and unsure what to do or how to do it, book in today! 

Has anyone watched the Play Book yet on Netflix? 

Having worked with a lot of different coaches over the years, I have a great deal of respect for coaches on the whole. Learning about the coaches selected for this docu-series was super interesting, and it reminded me about a great coach I was lucky enough to work with!

I have always had an interest in leadership and different leadership styles and I firsthand have witnessed some great coaching.

While I was doing my Masters, I took a course on leadership where I had to interview and write a paper on a leader in my life whom I admired. I chose Defensive Coordinator at the time, now Head Coach of the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Orlondo Steinauer (aka Coach O). It’s also no surprise that he has now become head coach 

I have always respected his calm, cool & collected coaching approach as it takes so much discipline to uphold that in stressful situations. I have also admired his leadership style as doesn’t hesitate to do the not so glamorous tasks that need to get done. The phrase ‘no job beneath me’ is a management trait that I think sends a great message, whatever line of work you are in, which is definitely what Coach O emulated. 

I even remember him helping the therapy staff carry Gatorade jugs inside after practices some days. Its a small gesture but it truly goes a long way

Lastly, I greatly admire individuals who take the more positive approach (in coaching and in life) such as ‘be on time’ versus ‘don’t be late’ 🕚. 

I’ve recently learned Coach O sends out my paper at the beginning of each season to his coaching staff which makes me feel so honoured 

Have you had an admirable coach in the past (or currently?) Also if you haven’t watched The Play Book yet, get on it!!

ATTENTION NEW MOMS!

I am currently testing out my Glute x Core Class with some new moms and so far they are loving it! It has been a great introduction into exercise again since giving birth, while still feeling the burn.

The core and glutes are SO important in terms of injury prevention, which is why I want to share this with class with all the new moms out there!

If you are worried to return to the gym or unsure where to even start, register for my Glute x Core class online. These are pre-recorded classes so you can do them anytime, anywhere! They are 45-minute classes and you will receive 1 new class per week. The goal would be to repeat each class 2-3 times within the week before progressing to the next class.

We start each class teaching you how to properly fire your core and glutes and then move into more therapeutic type strength based exercises. We finish each class with a static stretching circuit to promote recovery.

These are safe yet effective exercises with the goal to improve your core and glute strength to support your joints in the activities you love to do!

Make sure you have been medically cleared by your doctor prior to starting this program!

I am excited to help new moms return to their pre-pregnancy fitness levels while preventing injuries! Register here

If you’re active, it’s likely you have a collection of rehab professionals that you see.

If this sounds like you, that’s great! I am glad you are taking the steps to be the healthiest version of yourself to continue staying active and doing what you love.

People often think, ‘no pain no gain’ and ‘the more the better’. When it comes to treatment I would have to disagree!

Have you every thought about how many treatments do you get in a week, or even in a day?

I would air on the side of caution when booking two treatments in one day. That is a lot for our bodies to handle and if you are sore for 3 days after those treatment days then it’s likely that your body thinks so too!

Try and space appointments at least by a day. If you are getting a deep tissue massage, I would wait at least a day or two to have another treatment from an Athletic Therapist or other rehab professional.  

If you have a big event or a race coming up, I would book your last treatment two days before your event incase you have any soreness the following day. By event day you will be fresh and ready to go!

If you are seeing someone new then try and remember how you feel 1, 2 and 3 days after that treatment. 1 day of soreness is ok, 3 days is too much.

Think twice when booking multiple appointments and ensure you have adequate spacing between them for your body to reap the most benefit!

I have treated many kids in my day, including dancers, gymnasts, hockey players,  volleyball players and the list goes on

Many of them experienced knee pain with activity. Most of the time the parents aren’t sure to just ignore it, ice it, or actually seek help

My philosophy is to address the pain as soon as you can. If you have ignored the pain for 6 months it will take some time to get better once you properly address it. Some kids have a hard time describing their pain, so I can see how it could get lost in translation… I have also seen some mismanaged cases over the years. For example a 12 year old girl sprained her ankle and was put in a walking boot for 13 weeks?!?!?!?! ..This lead to a host of other problems up the chain, including knee and hip pain. Which also lead to several weeks of rehab and exercises for something that probably could have been avoided. I think in this case it was a mix of misinformation: the doctor probably never told them when to get out of the walking boot and maybe the girl still had some ankle pain, which lead her to being in the boot for 13 weeks (WAY too long)…What can you turn to when your child has knee pain?..

1. Stretch: Try stretching the quads, hip flexors and glutes.
2. Ice: Ice the knee after exercise sessions for 20 minutes.
3. Strength: Try some glute exercises such as clam shells or monster walks and core exercises such as dead bug or planks.
4. Support: Try a compression sleeve, knee brace or even a tape job to help alleviate the pain.
5. Seek Help: Book in with an Athletic Therapist to help address the pain to help them return to their sport pain free.. Does your child athlete have knee pain? Don’t wait to address it, get the tools to fix it ASAP!

Book online today to nix your child’s knee pain for good!

Here are 5 exercises I love to prescribe to introduce flexibility and core/glute strength.

1 & 2) Hip Flexor with Hamstring Hinge: Kneel on a pillow for comfort (not mandatory), and push both hips forward. Whatever knee is on the ground, that arm raises in the air. You can simply hold this stretch, or do a more dynamic stretch where you straighten the front leg and hinge forward and hold each position 2-3 seconds. Aim for 20 reps of the dynamic combination pre-exercise. OR simply hold each position 20-30 seconds, 3 times each post-exercise

3) Glute Figure 4 Wall Stretch: The wall is so important here as it helps to support the low back. Push your tailbone into the ground and hold for 20-30 seconds, 3 times post-exercise.

4) Clam Shell: Squeeze the top glute and raise your top knee while keeping the ankles together. Aim for 3 sets of 20 or until fatigue compromises your form

5) Table Top (aka bird dog): Practice activating your core in this position. Raise opposite arm opposite leg WHILE keeping your hips LEVEL! Body awareness is key here. Aim for 3 sets of 20.

There you have it! 5 EASY at home stretches and exercises you can use to combat lower body pain!

I have treated several paramedics in the past and they commonly complain of the same issues: low back pain, hip/knee pain, shoulder and neck pain & stiffness. This job is definitely hard on the body! I built these clients routines that they could do before and after work, and even during some downtime during thier shift.

Here are 5 ways you can get through your work day pain-free:

1.    Stretch: if you have no time to stretch, pick one stretch to do per day. Aim to hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds and repeat it 3 times.

2.    Heat: If you have a seat heater in your car, use it on your way to work or on your way to doing any sort of physical activity. I recommend using heat for 10-20 minutes, which you can do before or even after your shift.

3.    Hydrate: Drink water! Hydration is great for our muscles and prevents cramping. If you don’t want to drink a lot during your shift at least drink more once you get home.

4.    Strength: The core and glutes directly impact back health. If the core and glutes are weak, our low back takes a lot more stress then it needs to.

5.    Increase your movement: Sitting for long periods? Get up and do something! Set your timer for as short as a minute and walk around, do some leg swings or some body weight squats. Incorporate some movement to get the blood flowing

I had a few people book in with me soon after one of their parents had a hip replacement. They assumed that this was going to eventually be them one day so they wanted to address their hip immobility and pain sooner rather than later. 

Unfortunately sometimes it takes some fear to finally take some action!

Get into a mobility and strength routine today, so that you can prevent any issues that may develop over time. Combined with Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) your hips will be in good hands. 

Book in for healthier HIPS today!

A few years ago I had the opportunity work at Purolator to treat employees before/after their shift. I would treat the employees who would load the trucks (night shift), the couriers as well as the managers. I truly gained a whole new appreciation for those involved in the courier services industry.

Do you ever wonder the behind the scenes work that goes into delivering your packages?

Many of these employees dealt with chronic pain, however I couldn’t exactly say: “take this week off of work”. I had to give them tips and strategies so that they could get manage their pain throughout the week. Many of them first hand saw the benefits that the treatment and exercise programs had on their daily tasks and they could get through their work with a bit more ease and definitely less pain!..Everyday I preached to these employees to implement a ROUTINE. And I quickly heard the answer: “I don’t have time”

They were SO tired after their day either loading trucks or doing 100+ deliveries in a day. So I asked them to just incorporate one thing per day, or even one thing per week to help alleviate their pain…What is 1 or 2 things you know you should or at least could be doing but the week goes by so fast you forget to do it? Set your timer for 1 minute and do those 1 or 2 things. Try this daily but incorporate a different movement each day, and soon enough you will have the start of a pretty good routine on your hands!

Book in today if you are ready to gain the tools to help you become pain-free FOR GOOD!

Earlier this year Tiger was quoted saying: “Running over 30 miles a week for probably my first five, six years on tour pretty much destroyed my body and my knees.”

This was a controversial quote in the health care & running community! I participated in a Running Symposium in the Spring where the speaker was very unhappy with Tiger for saying this!

Upon further research, Tiger really said: “Not to run so much” early in his career, not to eliminate running in general.

Tiger would run 4 miles in the morning (6k) and then another 4 miles in the evening after a workout and practice on the golf course. So I would agree with Tiger. Running 12 km a day on top of all his other activity probably wasn’t wise.

There are a lot of misconceptions around running and Knee Osteoarthritis (OA), where many people believe the OA is caused from the running. Well that depends. There are a lot of factors that contribute to Knee OA: age, genetic disposition, weight (VERY IMPORTANT), occupational workload and previous injury.

Also, how frequent do you run? What distances do you run? Are you an elite runner or a recreational runner? How long have you been exposed to these amounts of running?

I would say Tiger was definitely in the elite category: running 30 miles a week for 5 or 6 years is definitely outside the recreational range. If you put his ‘occupational workload’ into the mix, the torque and power with his golf swing definitely adds a lot of load on top of the running.

Studies have actually shown that recreational running lowers the odds of knee (and hip) OA compared to competitive runners and non-runners. So maybe if Tiger ran 15 miles a week or even just one 4-mile run, 3 days a week? Exact running prescription (in the literature) is unclear, but definitely needs to be individualized for the person based on the factors listed above.

As much as I don’t like Tiger blaming running on his body’s issues, maybe if he was advised to modify his running early on, on top of all the other loads his body would take throughout the day would have helped his outcome.

(Knee OA is a complex issue and I will be doing some more posts on management of his condition in the future!)