By: Dr. Schoer
Hello July, Hello Summer! Here at Advanced Chiropractic + Wellness Centre, we hope you and your loved ones had a safe and fun Canada Day long weekend!
With summer in full force now, the long days and warmth of summer provide endless opportunities for fun! So why not make sure you are healthy and safe while you’re enjoying yourself this season?
Feel your best in the coming months with these tips:
#1: Get your rest.
Sleep hygiene is one contributing factor to your overall health, so it is important to ensure you are getting adequate rest. With summer, comes a change in routine for most, as well as long, hot days that may leave you feeling exhausted and sore! Here are some tips you can implement to ensure those long and busy days don’t interfere with your sleep:
Keep a consistent schedule – do your best to stay consistent with sleep and wake times.
Keep nighttime temperatures low – the ideal temperature for sleep is believed to be 65°F, so prop open that window on a cooler night or turn on a fan!
Use lightweight fabrics – try using lightweight pajamas or thin bedsheets that wick away moisture such as silk, bamboo, or satin!
Treat your body’s aches and pains – pain and sleep are closely linked together; there is a reciprocal relationship where pain during the day affects the quality of that night’s sleep and, poor quality sleep increases your pain the next day. Chiropractic care can provide natural pain relief in several ways. Firstly, it encourages the flow of blood around the body, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to areas that require healing. Secondly, it encourages our body to produce our own natural pain-relieving chemicals which keep the discomfort under control.
#2: Move your body.
It is natural to become more active during the summer months, but that can also mean experiencing more aches and pains! We strongly encourage the members of our community to be more active to improve your quality of life, so follow these tips to ensure you are staying healthy and preventing injury while doing so:
Avoid peak sun times – try doing your activities in the early morning before the sun and heat are in full force, or in the evening when the sun has gone down and temperatures are generally cooler!
Avoid long and intense workouts – try splitting up your activities throughout the day to give yourself a break from the sun and heat and ensure to drink plenty of cool fluids to stay hydrated.
Wear sun protection – make sure to wear sunscreen and appropriate attire for your activities (including a hat!), to ensure your protected from the sun.
Practice injury prevention – chiropractic care plays a major role in injury prevention by enhancing joint mobility, lowering muscle tension and imbalances, improving your body mechanics and posture, and enhancing your nervous system performance. Chiropractic care can help you maintain a healthy and balanced musculoskeletal system by concentrating on these areas, which will reduce your risk of injury!
#3: Avoid bug bites.
Warmer, summer temperatures also bring the season of bug bites and bee stings! Many diseases are spread by the bites of infected insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, or flies. Use these tips to lower your risk of being bitten by disease-carrying insects:
Cover up – wear lightweight, long pants and long sleeves, as well as closed-toe shoes/boots when participating in outdoor activities.
Use insect repellent – ensure the insect repellent is approved by Health Canada!
Minimize exposure to insects – avoid activities at dawn or dusk, use mosquito netting when outdoors, check family members, pets, and clothing for crawling insects (ticks) after outdoor activities, keep a flyswatter handy for indoor use, and ensure indoor areas are completely enclosed or well-screened.
Remain calm and move away from the insect.
#4: Stay protected from the sun and heat.
As the climate warms in the summer, extreme heat and sun exposure can cause serious health implications such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, severe sunburns, and dehydration. Use these tips to stay cool and hydrated while enjoying the summer weather:
Cover up – wear long, loose, light-coloured clothing and a wide-brimmed hat made of breathable clothing to protect your skin, and wear sunglasses that protect against UVA and UVB rays to protect your eyes!
Use sunscreen – use sunscreen when the UV Index is 3 or higher! Specifically, your sunscreen should be “broad spectrum” and “water resistant”, and at least SPF 30.
Limit your time in the sun – the sun is strongest between 11am and 3pm so make sure to minimize your time outside during these hours or, engage in outdoor activities in areas that provide lots of shade!
Drink plenty of cool liquids (especially water!) – as we enjoy our time in the sun and heat, our body’s natural process to stay cool is through perspiration (sweat) – it is important to replenish this fluid loss so we don’t become dehydrated, which can lead to serious health implications such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke!
Be aware of the signs and symptoms of heat-related illness – visit this link to gain valuable knowledge about different heat-related illnesses and their respective first aid: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/heatrelillness.html
#5. Practice water safety.
For many Canadian families, summer includes activities such as boating and swimming but each year, tragic and avoidable water-related fatalities occur across Canada. Here are some water safety tips to ensure you and your loved ones stay safe while enjoying the water:
Never swim alone – use the buddy system! Always swim with a buddy, no matter how confident you feel with swimming.
Wear a life jacket – a common misconception is that you don’t need to wear a life jacket if you know how to swim. Ensure your life jacket fits properly:
Once your life jacket is properly fastened, raise your arms above your head, grab the shoulders and gently pull up. If the life jacket rides up over your chin or face or there’s room between your shoulders and the life jacket, your life jacket is too loose!
Never leave children unattended – this may seem like common sense, however we have the tendency to feel comfortable to briefly step away to use the washroom or grab a snack, especially when the children know how to swim – if you need to take a break, ensure another adult is around to supervise, install pool fences to limit access when you’re not supervising, or empty portable pools when not in use!
Alcohol and water never mix – alcohol dulls your senses, clouds your judgment, and impedes your ability to supervise children and stay ready to act to protect others – enjoy yourself after the water activities are done!
What Are The Best Summer Shoes?
By Dr. Trina Ting
Summer is finally here: so what should we be wearing on our feet? I think we all know by now, flip flops are great by the pool, but not so great for walking around at summer festivals or standing at a bbq. Here are some things to consider when selecting summer footwear:
Structure
The most stable sandals will have a fairly structured sole with a built in arch. If you can wring the sandal in your hands like twisting a towel, then that’s a clue the sandal is too soft for walking more than a couple of minutes.
Some examples would include Birkenstocks (I’m partial to the plastic ones, which are easily cleaned and can get wet, and have great arch support which is less aggressive than the standard Birkenstock models), Tevas, and Crocs.
Will They Fall Off Your Foot Easily?
Slides are great for comfort and beach use, but the very nature of how they’re structured means they may easily fall off your feet when walking. This can make you prone to falling or slipping, and present a serious fall hazard. Sandals that wrap around the back of the foot may be better for you if you are concerned about falling due to a rogue sandal.
Thickness of The Sole
A thicker sole absorbs more shock and cushions your feet from the concrete ground reflecting your weight back into your body. They don’t necessarily need to be a platform (which in itself can present a fall hazard), but the ideal thickness would be about 1 inch.
Natural or Recycled Materials
Consider leather or a stretch type of material for the sandals of your straps. Leather will conform to your foot shape, or a synthetic material which gives to the motion of the bones in your feet will less likely reduce the risk of blistering. Leather also breathes better in footwear, which is important for sweaty feet! Recycled plastics used in many new sandals and shoes are also a great way to save the environment.
Consider Sandals with Your Custom Orthotic Built Right In
The Orthotic Group has an array of sandals from Birkenstock and other brands in which we can customize the foot bed of the sandal, so essentially it’s an orthotic built right into the sandal! The custom orthotic component of the sandal may be covered under your benefits, so check your insurance and we may be able to get you into your own customized pair of sandals. Go to www.tog.com, select Patient Entrance then select View Footwear Options. Patient password is TOGShoes to view the selection they have.
Finally, if you are having any back or joint pain from walking around in your summer sandals, and changing your shoes has not helped to rid the pain, please reach out to us. We’ll help realign you and ensure you have a health, well-aligned summer!
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