Community News
Do the Twist

This spring, be sure to consider the mobility and strength required to do yard work and play sports like baseball or golf. The mid-back, or thoracic spine, is designed to twist, allowing for smooth motion while doing these activities. If your thoracic spine lacks the ability to twist, or has strength deficits, other areas may compensate for this, potentially resulting in injury to the low back, or lumbar spine. If you find these spring twisting activities are irritating your low back, consider addressing the strength and mobility of your thoracic spine. A strong and healthy thoracic spine can help take the load off of the already stressed lumbar spine. As physiotherapists, we can fully assess your movement and strength to determine the underlying cause of your low back pain. Treatment options, including manual therapy and exercise, have proven to be effective in relieving pain and increasing function.

Dan Girardin, MPT, BESS, Prairie Trail Physiotherapy, PrairieTrailPhysio.ca

Grilled Corn and Avocado Succotash Recipe

2tbsp veg oil

kosher salt

Pepper, 2 tbsp

fresh lime juice

4 ears fresh corn

½ pint cherry tomatoes

halved

1 bell pepper

¼ inch diced

½ medium Red Onion

finely chopped

1 avocado chopped into ½ inch cubes, ¼ c

torn fresh basil leaves

While your steaks are cooking, shuck the corn, toss it in the veg oil and let it cook on another side of your grill. Once you’ve got some nice grill marks on the corn, take it off and slice the kernels off with a sharp knife. Mix with the rest of your ingredients, and serve with the steak. Prairie Box, PrairieBox.com

Business Spotlight: Prairie Box

Prairie Box is Winnipeg’s first meal prep subscription company aimed at families, and busy professionals who want to get a healthy meal, but don’t have the time or inclination to cook fresh every day. Each week chefs Lewis Glassey and Brandon Schofield create a fresh and healthy menu delivered right to your door. Customers sign up for 6, 8, 10 or 12 meals a week, and can choose between a different meat or vegetarian options. Each meal costs $9.99 and is designed to be hearty, healthy and delicious. Most of the ingredients are sourced from local farmers. An example menu; Pork loin with roasted carrots and Yukon gold mash; sautéed chicken fillet with creamed leeks, mushrooms, and brown rice; beef lasagna or spaghetti squash “pasta” with basil pesto. The meals keep well in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them, or can be frozen for longer-term storage. Prairie Box, PrairieBox.com

Nutrition from the Sea

The vegetables we consume today are vastly different from those grown 50 years ago. With the use of fertilizers, the exhaustion of most minerals from the soil cannot be prevented. However, minerals are still quite abundant in the ocean. Seaweed is a highly nutritious vegetable that’s often overlooked as a meal option. As dark, leafy veggies go, seaweed is about as nutrient-dense as it gets. Eat about a gram of seaweed and your daily iodine needs are taken care of. Seaweed packs high amounts of calcium and protein, as well as a good amount of vitamins B12 and A, and it’s a great source of fibre. But not just any old fibre. Seaweed is mostly soluble fibre; the kind that turns into a gel, slowing down the digestive process, thus inhibiting the absorption of sugars and cholesterol. Still don’t like the taste? Taking a seaweed pill can help with that!

ReVitamins of Charleswood, Twitter.com/ReVitamins

Detoxing Your Body

Pollutants from the environment – in the air, water and foods that we eat – as well as wastes produced from normal bodily processes, can accumulate within the body and lead to a state of congestion. To help maintain a healthy balance of assimilation and elimination, the Wild Rose D-Tox Program is uniquely designed to enhance all aspects of the metabolism. It is a proven 12-day cleansing program that follows a healthy and satisfying meal plan. Emphasis is placed on supporting the function of the liver, the small intestine and the bowel (large intestine) to promote proper digestion and elimination of toxins and wastes. The Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox program is simple to use. It has excellent benefits for both young and old, and it is enjoyed by both the novice and the experienced cleanser as a hearty diet can still be maintained.

Nathan Zassman, Aviva Natural Health Solutions, AvivaHealth.com/WildRose

New Treatment for Inflammation

Near Infrared Light Therapy is a new treatment for inflammation, wounds that don’t heal, and soft tissue injuries. People with arthritis, carpal tunnel, fibromyalgia, sports injuries, and even diabetic skin ulcers are experiencing incredible pain relief and healing with this technology. Different from standard laser therapy, this Health Canada licensed medical device can penetrate the skin 3-4 cm deep, stimulating healing at the cellular level. In doing so, it increases circulation, oxygenation, and tissue perfusion. These combined effects result in decreased inflammation and muscular pain, and increased wound healing, even for chronic conditions that do not respond well to other types of treatment. Near Infrared Tissue Stimulation, now available in Manitoba, is being used in Ontario to treat arthritis, shoulder injuries, back pain, tendonitis, knee pain, chronic foot wounds, and fungal infections. Improve your health and get some relief today with N.I.R. Therapy.

Centre For Alternative Healing, AltHealing.ca

2 Things to Thrive

In addition to the necessary essentials of food, shelter, and safety, we humans require two important qualities in order for us to thrive. First is a healthy attachment and connection to someone in our lives who is able to fully see, hear, honour and celebrate our being without us having to accomplish or do anything in return, just by being YOU! In addition, we also need to listen to our deepest gut, our authentic embodied self that shares our inner knowing and guides us to trust where we need to go. Most of us are required to choose one over the other in order to be accepted, liked or taken care of in life. Both are needed and required to be developed and treasured so we can fully thrive and soar in life the way we are meant to be.

D’Arcy Bruning-Haid, Souls-Journey.com

Detoxing Your Body

Pollutants from the environment – in the air, water and foods that we eat – as well as wastes produced from normal bodily processes, can accumulate within the body and lead to a state of congestion. To help maintain a healthy balance of assimilation and elimination, the Wild Rose D-Tox Program is uniquely designed to enhance all aspects of the metabolism. It is a proven 12-day cleansing program that follows a healthy and satisfying meal plan. Emphasis is placed on supporting the function of the liver, the small intestine and the bowel (large intestine) to promote proper digestion and elimination of toxins and wastes. The Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox program is simple to use. It has excellent benefits for both young and old, and it is enjoyed by both the novice and the experienced cleanser as a hearty diet can still be maintained.

Nathan Zassman, Aviva Natural Health Solutions, AvivaHealth.com/WildRose

Love Connection

In today’s fast-paced society finding love can be a difficult task. Technology often replaces human to human contact, and actual socialization has decreased. Many people have resorted to the Internet in attempts to find love. Virtual dating can be a very daunting task with terribly mixed results. There are wonderful, quality, single people, of all ages in Manitoba who are at a loss as to where find love. A Matchmaker is often the answer. Matchmaking is an age-old profession that historically has brought love into peoples’ lives for centuries. An experienced Matchmaker hand picks and presents individuals who have been screened and are suited to their clients often resulting in long lasting love. Placing your heart in the hands of a good Matchmaker should lead to an amazing love connection with someone who is right for you.

Lianne Tregobov, Camelot Introductions, camelotintroductions.com

Vipassana Meditation

Research has shown that meditation can expand the brain, and help people avert stress and disease. One way to achieve this is through Vipassana meditation, a technique that emphasizes mindfulness, with the goal of seeing things as they “really are.” An ancient meditative technique from India, Vipassana was taken up by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) just over 2,500 years ago. Vipassana meditation is the practice of freedom. It is an honest and direct practice: the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind-body process through calm, open, and precise awareness. Learning to observe our experience from a place of spacious stillness enables us to relate to life with a balance of wisdom and compassion. This experience fosters clarity and penetrating insight into the nature of who we are, as well as increased peace in our daily lives.

Brett Scott, Disability Tax Credit, DisabilityTaxCreditWinnipeg.com

Something to Sleep On

Daydreaming about better health? Getting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep can help make those dreams come true. Some researchers claim that the health benefits of sleeping are equivalent to those of eating. When daylight fades, our bodies release melatonin, a natural sleep aid/hormone with powerful antioxidant properties that works to: 1) Reduce inflammation; 2) Foster mental and emotional resilience; 3) Boost immune system function; 4) Improve performance and memory; 5) Protect your heart; 6) Prevent cancer. Having trouble sleeping? Here are a few tips to help you nod off: 1) Darken your room. Melatonin release only happens in low light/dark conditions. Blue light from mobile devices, TV’s, etc. inhibits this process. 2) Avoid eating/drinking 2-3 hours before bedtime. 3) Keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule. 4) Engage in moderate to rigorous exercise. If you rarely feel well rested talk to your healthcare provider about natural and medicinal support.

Sean Miller, CMHA MB & WPG, mbwpg.cmha.ca