Injury Prevention - NTO Wellness and Rehab Centre

Proper Lifting Technique in Your Daily Life

Christine Mo, PT ,RMT has had many clients seeking Physiotherapy and Massage Therapy come in to the NTO Wellness and Rehab Centre with the very common lower back pain, muscle strain or ache that has been triggered from some of the most common day-to-day activities in our daily lives. In some cases she has had clients come in to see her who have injured their back from working out, weight-lifting, doing dance aerobics and a variety of physical intense sports.

Whether it is lifting the grocery bags out of the trunk of your car, lifting heavy boxes when moving houses or picking up your 2 year old child when walking in the park – it is important to know the right technique for lifting in order to prevent back injury or muscle strain. Christine has put together a video that focuses on the proper lifting technique so that you can prevent injury when going about your daily errands and activities.

As a proactive measure for injury prevention, Christine would like to demonstrate a stretching exercise that you can do to improve your posture when going about your daily activities.

The severity of the lower back injury and/or muscle strain is determined based on the level of impact and intensity that was incurred when the muscle strain happened – a sudden sneeze could be all it takes to jolt your lower back in the wrong manner, or lifting a heavy box from a bad angle and not squared in front could cause some serious damage to your soft tissue and lower back muscles.

In most cases the soft tissue, ligaments and muscle may have been impacted resulting in the need for manual therapy, soft tissue manipulation, myofascial release – this is where NTO Wellness and Rehab Centre can assist in your rehabilitation and recovery process. However it is important to note that in some cases a lower back strain could be so severe that you are unable to walk immediately following the injury, in this case, you may have fractured a bone, herniated a disc or damaged your spine requiring an X-ray to confirm the fracture or disfunction – please seek emergency assistance from your medical practitioner or go to the nearest ER to prevent further injury.

The All Too Common Ankle Sprain

Leo Wan, Physiotherapist has had many clients come in to the NTO Wellness and Rehab Centre with the all too common sprained ankle, especially over the summer and fall seasons where people have been getting outside and active outdoors more frequently. He has put together a couple of videos that explain Ankle Sprains, the types, symptoms and remedial treatments that can be performed as part of your own home self treatments in order to help you recover and rehabilitate appropriately for your body.

A sprained ankle is a very common injury that can effect anyone when performing simple day-to-day activities like walking to the grocery store, running to catch a bus as well as playing physical sports such as soccer, tennis and/or basketball.

All it takes is a person to casually walk on the sidewalk and suddenly hit some uneven ground without looking resulting in what has been commonly termed “an ankle roll”. Or in another scenario when doing intense and physical active sports a momentarily lapse of concentration on foot placement after a jump or speed burst could prove costly and result in a sprained ankle injury.

The severity of the ankle roll, strain or sprain is determined based on the intensity of the roll resulting in the imbalance, the angle of the roll, as well as the force/impact or speed in which one rolled the ankle.

In most cases the soft tissue, ligaments and muscle may have been impacted resulting in the need for manual therapy and physiotherapy in the recovery process – this is where NTO Wellness and Rehab Centre can assist in your rehabilitation and recovery process. However it is important to note that in some cases an ankle roll could be so severe that you are unable to walk on it immediately after the incident, in this case, you may have fractured a bone and require an X-ray to confirm the bone fracture or break – please seek emergency assistance from your medical practitioner or go to the nearest ER to prevent further injury.

Heat or Ice? The Ongoing Debate

At NTO Wellness and Rehab our very own Registered Physiotherapist Leo Wan would like to share some advice on one of the most common questions he often gets asked at the clinic: Heat or Ice? The Ongoing Debate.

The question I get asked most in at the NTO Wellness and Rehab Centre, ” Should I apply heat or ice when I have pain?”

Honestly, we don’t blame patients for asking this question because this has been an ongoing debate, even in the health community. Heat is generally used to promote more circulation to an
injured area, providing it with more nutrients and oxygen to aide in healing. The warmth can help to alleviate pain, relax muscles, decrease muscle spasms and increase range of motion of the
affected joint. Ice, on the other hand helps to decrease circulation to the area, thereby reducing swelling, inflammation and pain.

So what is the big difference between the two? Simply put, heat will increase circulation and ice will decrease circulation. Both modalities are useful and effective only if used at the right timing in
the course of your injury. Therefore, the biggest question is “when”. Here are some general guidelines on when to use ice or heat.

When to use Ice?

You should use ice within 24 to 48 hours after an injury. It is not recommended to ice after this time frame as it may delay healing of the injured tissues. The main goal of icing at this time is to
help reduce or prevent excess swelling that may occur during your body’s inflammatory response to the injury. You may use ice again if you reaggravated the injured area and caused more
swelling. Ice should be applied for no more than 20 minutes and you should wait an hour before reapplying it again.

When to use Heat?

After the initial 48 hours after an injury, you may start to use heat. The main goal of heating at this point is to bring more blood to the area to stimulate healing of the damaged tissues. You can
also use heat if you are suffering from muscle spasms, chronic injury and joint or muscle stiffness. Heat should be applied for no more than 20 minutes and you should wait an hour before reapplying it again.

If you are unsure about the nature of your injury or have any doubt as to whether to apply heat or ice to an injury, you should contact your health care provider for more information. Feel free to bring up this question of Heat or Ice the next time you see me at the NTO Wellness and Rehab Centre.