Are you experiencing heel pain? It might be plantar fasciosis (fasciitis).

What is the plantar fascia?

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. Let’s start by defining the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a strong band of tissue designed to support the arch of the foot. It connects the heel to the front of the foot. When it becomes inflamed, the condition is called plantar fasciitis. Newer research now prefers the term plantar fasciosis because this accounts for more than just inflammation. It takes into consider degeneration which is now thought to be the more prominent cause of the condition.

What causes it to break down?

There are many things that can cause this fascia to break down. Although it is designed to withstand high stresses placed on it through activities of daily life like walking, running, and playing sports, it can often experience tears when this pressure gets too high. Our body’s natural response to most injuries is inflammation and when the fascia experiences damage or tears, the possible inflammation and degeneration can result in heel pain and stiffness.

Are there risk factors?

Although plantar fasciosis (fasciitis) can develop without any identifiable cause, there are some risk factors that can increase your susceptibility such as:

• New or increased levels of activity
• Repetitive high impact activity
• Standing for extended periods of time on hard surfaces
• Having flat feet or high arches
• Tight calf muscles
• Obesity
• Age (most common in those aged 40-60 years)

What are the symptoms?

The most common symptoms include pain at the bottom on the foot near the heel. The first few steps in the morning are often most painful but the pain tends to subside with a few minutes of walking. Another symptom to look out for is increased pain after exercising as opposed to during.

What can I do?

Stretching the calf muscles and the fascia itself can be beneficial. Working on the intrinsic muscles and joints of the foot is something a chiropractor or massage therapist can help with. Orthotics are another treatment option that can help decrease the tension placed on the fascia which in turn can reduce the amount of microtrauma being experienced. To find out the cause of your heel pain and the best treatment option designed just for you, book an appointment today!

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With the start of a new year comes new resolutions. Perhaps these include working on your fitness and prioritizing your health. Sound familiar? But what does it mean to be fit? To be “healthy”? Diet and exercise come to mind and for today’s post I want to focus on what being active can look like. To start, all you need is 10 minutes!

How much do I need to move?

According to the Canadian Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines, people aged 18-64 years should aim for 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity each week. But what does this truly mean? 150 minutes can seem like a lot, but let’s break it down. This can look like exercising for 30 minutes for 5 days of the week. It is recommended to exercise for periods of 10 minutes or more at a time. With that in mind, we can break this down even further and exercise 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon, and another 10 minutes in the evening. Sounds a lot more manageable when we think of it like this, right?

What types of movements should I be doing?

Now that we’ve worked the timing into our schedule, let’s talk about what types of movement we should be doing. Moderate intensity aerobic exercises are those can cause us to break into a little sweat and breathe a little harder. These include brisk walking and bike riding. Vigorous intensity aerobic exercises are those that cause us to break into more of a sweat and end in us being “out of breath”. These include activities like jogging and swimming laps.

What about strength training?

Now that we’ve got our aerobic exercises covered, let’s talk about strength training. It is recommended that we incorporate activities that focus on strengthening our bones and major muscle groups at least 2 days each week. Examples of these include lifting weights, working with resistance bands, body-weight exercises like push-ups and squats and so many more!

What are the benefits?

There are many benefits of following these guidelines such as improving our overall fitness, strength, and mental health. It can also help reduce the risk of the following:

• Premature death
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• High blood pressure
• Certain types of cancer
• Type 2 diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Overweight and obesity

As you work on your goals, don’t forget to take care of your body. Whether it be for an injury or a wellness visit, we’ve got you covered. We offer massage, chiropractic, kinesiology, and acupuncture. Book an appointment today!

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Don’t let the name fool you – there are no actual “shocks” involved (phew!). Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) uses high-energy sound waves to help heal tendons, ligaments, capsules, muscles, and bones.

How does it work?

Shockwave therapy stimulates metabolism and increases blood flow which can help regenerate damaged tissue. It uses strong energy pulses to create micro-cavitation bubbles that expand and burst. When these bubbles burst, force is created and it makes its way into the tissue to promote cells in the body to heal bone and connective tissue. 

What is it used for?

Does it really work?

Interested in getting started? Book an appointment! For more information about the shockwave therapy we offer, visit https://shockwavecanada.com/.

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Why Should You Consider Orthotics?

First, let’s talk about the kinetic chain. Our feet support and balance our bodies. If this foundation is “off”, the rest of our body will hurt – knees, hips, and even our backs. This is referred to as the kinetic chain. Almost 99% of people’s feet are overpronated which means the feet are turned inwards. This can lead to problems all along the kinetic chain. Thus, if you’re experiencing pain anywhere along this chain, it might be worthwhile to consider orthotics and take a closer look at your foundation – your feet!

Our Custom Orthotics 

At Fraser Valley Chiropractic & Wellness, we use 3D scans to determine the root cause of your pain and provide customized orthotics via Foot Levelers. With an orthotics assessment, you will receive education on how to strengthen your feet in addition to chiropractic treatment to address any joint concerns that may be playing a role in your pain. Foot Levelers alone are proven to reduce pain and symptoms but the combination of them with chiropractic treatment shows an even higher reduction in pain.

How Do They Help?

Custom orthotics can reduce low back pain by over 30 percent – but how?

1. Static Support – flexible orthotics like Foot Levelers improve the alignment of the arches when standing. By correcting the pronation of the feet, the knees no longer rotate excessively which helps reduce knee pain. When the knee is not rotated, the hips and spine also benefit.
2. Dynamic Support – providing a smooth transfer of the body’s center of mass results in energy conservation and minimal expenditure.
3. Postural Support – Foot Levelers also provide shock absorption which helps with posture. They can also aid in preventing hip, knee, and spinal degeneration.

Ready to get started? Book an appointment! This will include the scan and exercise prescription to help with foot strength. The orthotics arrive within 2 weeks. For more information about the orthotics, check out https://www.footlevelers.com/.

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Why Should You See a Chiropractor?

Not long ago most people considered a visit to their chiropractor as “alternative medicine”. These days, more people are turning to chiropractic care for a variety of reasons including pain and inflammation relief, alignment support, spine health, prenatal care, and general wellbeing.  

As more individuals embrace the idea of whole-body health, they are beginning to see the benefits of chiropractic care. 

What are the benefits of chiropractic care? 

1. Pain Prevention:  
   Pain from an injury or chronic illness can be debilitating and have a negative effect on wellbeing and functional ability. We often ask our patients, “how well do you move?” Rather than focusing on specific pain, our goal is to focus on the body as a whole.  
    
   If your body is in pain, your movement will be restricted or influenced by the discomfort. We often ignore smaller aches and pains, but these can have a cumulative effect. Small aches and pains can lead to greater harm and even affect our mobility.  
    
   When you’re dealing with even small amounts of pain, you may compensate by moving muscles in other areas. This compensation can contribute to stiffness or misalignment.  
    
   In chiropractic medicine, our goal is to help relieve pain and support your functional movement. The goal is to help your whole body. 

2. Stress Management: 
   Stress can contribute to chronic pain and illness. Traditionally, when people thought about going to see a chiropractor, they would talk about getting their “back cracked” or a “quick cracking session.” This gives the impression that your chiropractic sessions will be brief and without much care.  
    
   Adjustment times do vary but our goal is always to provide a relaxing experience, which gives you time to relax and decompress. Sometimes we’ll literally take a weight off your shoulders.   

3. Posture Improvement: 
   Many of us spend a lot of time sitting in chairs during the day, which does not support ideal posture. We can become slouched and slumped after hours at a computer all day. This has a detrimental impact on the spine, neck, and overall posture. As part of a whole-body health routine, we’ll help you to ensure you’re sitting up straight while still feeling comfortable. Regular chiropractic adjustments will also help your spine to maintain alignment so you can sit (and stand) correctly. 

4. Prenatal Care: 
   During pregnancy, your body will experience numerous physical changes that can have an impact on your pelvic and spinal alignment. This can result in discomfort and pain.  Using the Webster Technique, our chiropractors perform detailed sacral analysis. We provide adjustments that can reduce labour pain and help prepare the body for birth and recovery. 

There are many benefits of chiropractic care that go beyond a simple “back cracking” session. Chiropractic treatments help to support posture, alignment and mobility while also reducing stress, inflammation and pain. At Fraser Valley Chiropractic & Wellness, we love to help patients of all ages and abilities achieve well-being. 

Ready to get started? Book an appointment!

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How Can You Achieve Longer Lasting Relief from Headache Pain? 

Did you know one-third of Americans and Canadians suffer from chronic headaches? According to recent surveys, since the start of the pandemic Canadian migraine sufferers experienced an increase in migraine headaches. Keep reading to learn how can you find lasting relief from headache pain and discomfort.

Headaches are common, uncomfortable (sometimes debilitating), and often hard to treat. While pain medication and muscle relaxants will ease the pain of a headache, these options are essentially a Band-Aid. They do nothing to relieve the cause of the headache itself. The result is headaches that regularly re-occur. In many cases, traditional medicine has little to offer chronic headache sufferers. 

Thankfully, traditional pain medicine is not your only choice for headache relief.  

How To Deal with Headache Pain 

Headaches can be caused by a variety of factors including stress, tense muscles, pinched nerves, eye strain, or pressure from the sinuses. In addition, some types of headaches can be caused by dehydration, poor posture, food or alcohol sensitivities or even lack of sleep.  

• Identify the Type of Headache: Knowing the cause or type of your headache will help you on your path to relief. Tension and cervicogenic headaches are among the most common and the most treatable. Some headache causes are simple to resolve while others may be more complicated or require medical intervention.  
   
• Reduce Stress and/or Tension: Stress and tension are a natural part of life. Too much of either can cause issues like headaches. Stress reduction practices such as meditation, regular stretching or exercise, and relaxation techniques can improve wellbeing; these practices can also help reduce the occurrence of certain types of headaches.  
   
• Get a Massage: Massage therapy has been proven effective for the treatment of headaches. Massage therapy can reduce the frequency and number of headaches experienced by those with chronic tension headaches. Massage is also a wonderful way to reduce stress! 
   
• See a Chiropractor: Chiropractic treatments are very proficient at dealing with headaches. Chiro can even help decrease the frequency, duration of the pain, and the number of painkillers needed for relief.  
   
• Talk to Your Doctor: Are your headaches extreme or causing a disruption to your daily life? You may need to visit your doctor for a full assessment or an MRI. 

Headaches are something we all deal with from time to time, but if regular headaches are affecting your quality of life, you may want to consider alternate options. You don’t have to just keep reaching for that Tylenol bottle and waiting for the discomfort to pass.  

At Fraser Valley Chiropractic & Wellness, we offer full assessments to help diagnose your type of headache. We provide treatments to relieve pain, tension and discomfort.  If you would like to pursue more lasting solutions for headache pain, we would love to help!

Book an appointment!

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How to Improve Mobility & Extend the Benefits of Your Chiropractic or Massage Treatments 

Do you wish you were more mobile; more able to get out and move your body?  You may benefit from adding a few simple mobility exercises to your routine.

Strength, or stability, is a key component of mobility. If your body is lacking stability due to muscle weakness, you are more likely to suffer from decreased mobility, pain, and discomfort.  Thankfully, you do not have to be on an intense fitness program to improve your strength, it can be as easy as a few simple exercises a day. Improving stability will also allow you to increase the benefits of your chiropractic or massage treatment. 

Mobility and stability are intricately connected. There is an abundance of scientific research, which has shown that strengthening the muscles surrounding your joints will improve stability, and mobility, and increase the longevity of a chiropractic adjustment. 

Chiropractic and massage treatments improve the mobility of joints and surrounding tissues which allows them to function more normally. However, stability is also necessary for the body to work optimally. Exercise, particularly strength training, is a fantastic way to improve your body’s stability.  

Here are a few simple mobility exercises you can do at home to improve stability: 

1. Planking:
   Building up the core muscles is something that many people find overwhelming, especially as doing exercises like crunches can feel uncomfortable. A plank or half-plank is a beneficial, simple, and full-body exercise that can be done anywhere. The trick with a plank is not to overdo it. There is no need to hold the pose for a long time. In fact, simply doing this pose regularly for small intervals each day, will benefit your upper body and core strength. To perform a plank or half-plank, simply lie on your stomach, push up on your arms and feet, then hold. For a half plank, keep your knees lowered. Make sure your stomach is not sinking down as this will put pressure on your lower back.  

2. Lunges or Warrior Pose:
   Lunges can be a fantastic way to release tension in your hips and build strength in your knees and legs, while also giving a nice stretch in your hamstrings, quads, and groin. A lunge simply involves stepping one knee forward and the other leg back on a parallel line. To add to this pose and engage the upper body as well, simply pivot the back foot to the side, and extend the arms up, or to the sides for a Warrior Pose.  

3. Chest and Shoulder Openers: 
   There are a few ways to open up your chest and shoulders and improve both posture and mobility. One way is simply to lie on your back and stretch your arms up over your head. This will give you a great stretch in your core while opening your chest. Another exercise to open your chest is the Sphinx pose. For this one, you will need to be careful not to over-stretch when starting off, especially if your lower back is tight. But you can lie on your stomach and press your palms and elbows into the ground while lifting your head and chest up. This will create a big stretch in your stomach and chest. So again, start small and allow yourself time to ease into it. 

4. Arm and Shoulder Circles: 
   These simple exercises are beneficial to improve shoulder and arm mobility. Stand up and spread your arms out to your sides in a t-shape. With palms facing down, do several small circles then begin to form bigger circles until your shoulders are at full rotation. Do this in one direction. Then, turn your palms face up and repeat the circle movements with palms up.   

5. Hip Flexers/Circles: 
   Kneel on the floor with one knee raised. Imagine your pelvis is a bowl of water and tilt it forward. Then, raise your arm on the same side as your lowered knee and tilt to the opposite side. You will feel a stretch through your hip and side body. This is great for those of us who sit too much during the day. 

6. Pigeon Pose:
   Another great one for the hips, lower back and glutes is the pigeon stretch, start by getting onto all fours on the ground. Then cross one leg behind the other and slide back. Come down onto your elbows. You will feel the stretch in your hip and glutes. 

When it comes to improving mobility, even taking time to do a small amount of exercise regularly will benefit your overall health and quality of movement.  

Whether you’re an athlete looking to simply improve flexibility or recover from an injury, or you have never done strength training in your life, you will see the benefits. An added benefit is that you will also experience greater and longer-lasting benefits from your chiropractic and massage sessions.  

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Can Chiropractic Care Improve Arthritis?

Are you suffering from arthritic pain? Arthritis is an overarching term that can include many varieties and causes. It’s important to understand the cause of your specific arthritis and how this can affect your options for treatment.  While some forms of arthritis will benefit most from medication, many forms of arthritis will respond very well to manual adjustment and chiropractic care.  

Let’s look at the different types of arthritis and how chiropractic treatments can provide the most benefit. 

What Is Arthritis?

Arthritis is an inflammation in the joints. When your joints become inflamed, the body interprets this inflammation as pain. The first goal for any arthritis treatment should be to reduce inflammation, which will then reduce pain.

Often, patients believe arthritis pain is for life, thankfully, that’s not always true. While the joint changes caused by arthritis are often permanent, symptoms can improve with proper treatment. However, before we can treat arthritis, it is important to understand the root cause and type. 

5 Common Types of Arthritis: 

• Osteoarthritis: The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects millions of people around the world. Osteoarthritis is caused by the gradual wearing down of protective cartilage; it is most common in hands, knees, hips and spine. Chiropractic treatments are considered one of the safest treatment options for this form of arthritis. 
• Rheumatoid Arthritis: An autoimmune condition, rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis causes chronic inflammation that affects more than joints. It can affect the skin, eyes, blood vessels and lungs. Because rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation, the symptoms are treatable by chiropractic care when used at the correct time. 
• Psoriatic Arthritis: Also referred to as PsA, psoriatic arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory disease that affects the joints, causing them to become stiff, swollen, and painful. Psoriatic arthritis can affect anyone of any age, including children. Chiropractic treatment can benefit PsA patients by reducing pain and inflammation and aiding spinal alignment which can potentially improve mobility and nervous system function. 
• Gout: A highly painful form of arthritis, gout occurs due to an excess of uric acid in the body, which can create sharp crystals that form on the big toe or other joints. These crystals can cause significant pain and swelling. Gout can leave permanent joint damages so it’s important to engage in an effective and evidence-based treatment plan.  Unfortunately, when a Gout attack occurs, there’s not much we can do. Prevention is the best strategy and should incorporate nutrition.
• Lupus: An autoimmune condition that affects joints, skin, kidneys, lungs, and even blood cells, Lupus causes the body to attack healthy tissues and can result in pain, inflammation, and discomfort as well as reduced immune system efficiency. Chiropractic care may help to reduce symptoms of Lupus flare-ups alongside other medical treatments.

When Can Chiropractic Care Help Arthritis? 

Chiropractic treatments, manual adjustment, and shockwave therapy can help reduce symptoms of arthritis including inflammation and pain. A proper diagnosis to determine the course of care is always crucial when dealing with arthritis.  

Arthritis does not have to limit your activities or daily enjoyment of life. With proper care and treatment of the inflammation, it is very possible to reduce inflammation and pain and improve mobility.   

Want to see how chiropractic care can help your arthritis? Book an appointment!

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