Avoiding foods that stimulate your pro-inflammatory cycles is important as is consuming foods that inhibit your pro-inflammatory cycles.  Thank you to Pacifica Naturopathic for providing us with this amazing anti-inflammatory diet.  This is just a basic outline for foods that can be good to avoid or include in your diet when dealing with inflammation.  There are many other strategies to inflammation management other than diet that naturopaths and other health care providers can provide.  Pacifica Naturopathic offers Traumeel injections among other strategies and at Baseline Health, many of the practitioners provide Kinesio Taping (read more here).

Here is Pacifica Naturopathic’s website if you would like to be individually assessed for your inflammatory concerns.  Thanks again Dr. Durnan and Dr. Lange.

Download the Anti-Inflammatory Diet list. Anti-Inflammatory DIET PNC-1

You can book online here with Leah.  She generally books quite far ahead, so get that appointment booked to test out her magic!

Welcome Leah; we are thrilled to have you joining us at Baseline Health!

Baseline Health would like to welcome, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncturist, Vivien Hsiung to our team!  You can read all about Vivien here on our website.  Vivien is incredibly smart and she is fortunately also a very caring and nurturing practitioner.  She has only worked one day with us and is already receiving rave reviews regarding patient’s migraine and low back pain relief.

Vivien will be using her TCM background to manage cases that range from sports injuries and frozen shoulder to bloating and pregnancy nausea.  Vivien will also be using a technique called facial rejuvenation that focuses on internal health from a meridian and local approach that will result in improvements within the skin and subsequently, your face.  Interesting fact: skin is the largest organ of our body.

You can read more about acupuncture and what Vivien will be offering at Baseline Health here.

Vivien will be working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for the Month of March and then opening her schedule to Thursday and Friday from April onwards.

Book in with Vivien here.

Check it out here.

The videos that Jon posted here are ridiculous!  Of course, both Jon and I know that these videos do not represent all Crossfit gyms, but for those it does represent, they should be shut down for letting people do this to their bodies.  I cannot explain how dangerous these exercises are.  Most people cannot even come close to doing these exercises properly without weight, never mind with that many plates!  CRAZY!

Please train safely.  We want you to enjoy training for years to come!!!  If you have questions about your training abilities, book in for an initial visit and I can run you through a Functional Movement Screen to assess your functional movement capabilities thereby identifying issues that may be placing you at risk of injury.

*Don’t train as seen in this video please:

McMaster University researchers took muscle biopsies from individuals who first cycled to exhaustion and then underwent massage on only one leg to determine if there was a difference in the cellular tissues between the massaged and non-massaged legs.  They did in fact discover a difference.

The massaged legs shows changes in their mRNA (messengers which tell our body how to manage protein production).  The mRNA essentially told the tissues to create more mitochondria; the mitochondria’s job it to produce energy for our cells.  More mitochonria equals more energy; this enhances the tissues’ ability to repair more quickly.  The massaged legs also showed lower levels of chemicals that are associated with inflammation.

Conclusion: massage helps improve healing time and decrease inflammation!  AWESOME!

Here is the link to the abstract of this study.

*Note – I am extra excited about this paper as it was written by researchers from my alma mater and from my old department (kinesiology)!  GO McMaster GO!

Love yourself and get some lovin’ in return.

Steps to score some love!

1.  Book an appointment here for yourself or someone you want gift health to in the month of February.  (Must book before February 13th at 5pm).

2.  You will automatically be entered in a draw to win one of three $100 gift certificates to The Beach House Restaurant in our beautiful West Vancouver.

3.  The 3 winners will receive an email by 6am on Valentine’s Day notifying them of their first score of the day;)

4.  Enjoy the gift of love you gave your body at Baseline Health.

If you have troubles booking online, watch our “Need Help Booking an Appointment” video on the bottom left of our homepage here.

***Thank you to The Beach House Restaurant for contributing to our promotion. Without a doubt, The Beach House is one of the most romantic dining locations in the city… treat yourself and your Valentine this year to a delicious meal overlooking the ocean at our local and lovely venue.

The yoga craze is certainly not coming to a halt anytime soon, so if you are part of the yoga community, please be mindful in your practice.  However, being mindful means you have to understand the intention behind your physical practice (each asana / pose).  Working one-on-one or in a small, intimate class is best for this.  You don’t have to work in a private setting each time you step on your mat, but a yoga check up is just as valuable as a doctor’s check up to ensure your alignment is ideal and safe for your body’s needs.

Nara Henderson

Yoga Therapy Classes – This March at Baseline Health With Nara Henderson

We are launching two yoga therapy classes this March.

Yoga For Back Pain – (Mondays – March 5, 12, 19, 26 – 9:30-10:30am)

Class Description:

This class is designed to help you take care of your back. You will be taken through safe, supportive yoga exercises and gentle flows which will encourage healing, promote stability, and increase mobility in your back. You will learn how to find and move from your core, how to use your hips and shoulders properly, and how to move safely in and out of positions commonly required of us in every day life. You will leave this class feeling stronger, healthier, and more confident about using your back and moving in your daily life. This class is appropriate for all levels of ability.

Register here

Yoga For Stress Reduction – (Wednesdays – March 7, 14, 21, 28 – 12-1pm)

Class Description:

When you decrease stress & tension and lead a more calm and balanced lifestyle, you become more clear, focussed and efficient during times when you need to work hard, and you’re able to relax and enjoy life when it’s time to play and rest. This class is designed to melt your stress away. The first half of the class will be led as a hatha flow class, encouraging you to move with your breath and work out your tension more dynamically through postures and movements designed to increase your strength and flexibility. The second half of the class will be focussed on slow, restorative yoga which will allow you to relax very deeply and encourage your nervous system to switch from its “fight or flight” response and into a calmer “rest and restore” state. You will leave this class feeling calm, focussed, and ready to take on the rest of your week!

Register here

For those of you with shoulder issues who have been into the new West Vancouver clinic, you have likely worked with one of us on shoulder packing.  This concept centres around training the shoulder blade to be retracted (pulled back) and depressed (pulled down) your back in order to pack the arm bone (humeral head) perfectly in the glenoid cavity (shoulder socket) creating a healthy ball and socket shoulder joint while protecting the surrounding structures.

These videos demonstrate how crucial healthy shoulder mechanics are.  Whether you are a surfer, volleyball player, rock climber, parent, weight lifter or someone who uses their arms a lot in their activities of daily living, dialling perfect muscle contraction patterns, stabilizing the scapulae and improving thoracic spine mobility are essential.

Here is a video showing us how shoulder packing protects the shoulder joints (gleno-humeral [GH] & acromio-clavicular [AC]).  Watch how space is preserved and structures aren’t jamming into each other when the subject raises their arm for a overhead press using fluoroscopy imaging.

In this video, when the shoulder is not packed, even with an untrained eye, you will be able to identify how much jamming is taking place.  *(Note – this is a typo in the YouTube title as this shoulder is not retracted)

For those of you who have suffered from supraspinatus impingement, secondary shoulder impingements, degenerative labral tears or arthritic changes, this will hopefully resonate with you.  If you haven’t already done rehabiliation focused on stabilizing your shoulder blades correctly while dealing with the mid-back and shoulder joint itself, its time to start now.

Learn more about some of the functional assessments we use at our new West Vancouver clinic here and some of our movement based corrective strategies here and here.

As the scopes of physiotherapy, chiropractic and strength & conditioning continue to overlap, more peer-reviewed evidence is being brought forward for the management, treatment and support of the following:

• Cancer Care – Post-Mastectomy Scar Tissue Management

• Elbow Conditions – Golfer’s & Tennis Elbow

• Female Health – Pre- & Post-Natal, MSK-Related Pelvic Pain

• Foot & Ankle Disorders – Nerve Entrapments, Metatarsalgia, Plantar Fasciosis

• Hand Disorders – CTS & Other Peripheral Nerve Entrapments, Dupuytren’s Contracture, Trigger Finger

• Headaches – Tension, Migraine, TMJ Dysfunction

• Hip, Knee & Leg Disorders – ITBS, Patellar Tracking Dysfunction, Non-Acute Compartment Syndromes

• MSK-Related Breathing Pattern Dysfunctions – Chest Breathing, Paradoxical Breathing

• Muscle, Ligament &Tendon Disorders – Tendinopathies, Contusions, Ligamentous Sprains, Muscular Injuries

• Neck & Back Pain – Sciatica, Facet Irritation, WAD, Scoliosis, TOS, Costo-Vertebral Dysfunction, Disc Bulge & Post-Herniation Rehabilitative Care

• Neurological Conditions – Peripheral Nerve Entrapments

• Pediatrics – Colic

• Post-Surgical Care – Scar Tissue Management

• Preventative Care

• Shoulder Injuries – Adhesive Capsulitis, Impingement Conditions, Rotator Cuff Injuries

• Sport / Performance Care

• TMJ Dysfunction – Muscle Tension/Strain, Joint Dysfunction, Tracking Problems, Disc Locks

If you have questions, feel free to email carla@baselinehealth.ca to learn more.

• Asthma – COPD, Emphysema

• Auto-immune Rheumatic Disorders – Raynaud’s, SLE

• Cancer Care – Post-Mastectomy Care, Lymphodema

• Elbow & Shoulder – Adhesive Capsulitis, Golfer’s & Tennis Elbow

• Female Health – Pre- & Post-Natal, MSK-Related Pelvic Pain

• Foot & Ankle Disorders – Nerve Entrapments, Metatarsalgia, Plantar Fasciosis

• Hand Disorders – CTS, Dupuytren’s Contracture

• Headaches – Tension, Migraine, TMJ Dysfunction

• Hip, Knee & Leg Disorders – ITBS, Patellar Tracking Dysfunction, Non-Acute Compartment Syndromes

• Joint Disorders – RA, OA

• Muscle & Tendon Disorders – Fibromyalgia, Muscle Cramps, Tendinopathies, Contusions, Muscular Injuries

• Neck & Back Pain – Sciatica, DDD, Facet Irritation, WAD, Scoliosis, TOS

• Neurological Disorders – MS, Stroke, Parkinson’s

• Pediatrics – Colic

• Preventative Care

• Pyschological Disorders – Anxiety, Depression, PTSD

• Sport / Performance Care

If you have any questions about registered massage therapy, feel free to email Janelle at janelle@baselinehealth.ca.