As of midnight tonight (July 30th) we will be moving to Green Phase in the fitness centre.
Masks will not be required when entering/leaving/moving around the facility. Although they are not required, you are more than welcome to continue to wear your mask if you wish to do so.
All exercise equipment previously cordoned off will be available for use.
Please continue to hand sanitize or wash with soap and water on your way into and out of the facility.
Please continue to wipe equipment with disinfectant wipes before and after use.
Markings will remain on the floor to indicate social distancing so please continue to respect member’s space as much as possible.
The water fountain will remain Out of Service indefinitely. Please continue to bring water or a container you can fill in the washroom.
Protocols in the Clinic will not be changing at this time (i.e. masks required at all times) and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to email sarah.hpcphysio@gmail.com. Check our facebook page or website often to stay up to date as the situation may change frequently.
With summer upon us and wanting to maximize our efforts in a shorter period of time, let’s discuss some tips and tricks to capitalize on your workout. First off, if you haven’t been exercising regularly then take caution when introducing higher intensity workouts. With higher intensity comes higher risk of possible injuries. As we increase speed, force and complexity of an exercise we also increase risk. If you have been exercising regularly and you are looking to up the intensity a bit here are some ideas.
1. Introduce compound movements that use multiple large muscle groups at the same time. Forget isolating one muscle with an exercise and instead complete a compound multi-joint exercise. For example, instead of a basic Biceps Curl, complete a Squat-Bicep Curl-Shoulder Press as one compound repetition. Selecting 4 – 6 exercises of this type can replace 12-14 other exercises you would normally perform when isolating muscle groups. This saves you time and increases the intensity greatly.
2. No rest for the wicked as they say. Build a circuit workout where to move from one exercise to next swiftly, limiting the amount of rest you take between each one. We often talk about resting 30-90 seconds between sets of the same exercise for one specific muscle group. Instead, pick two or three compound exercises that target different muscle groups and cycle through multiple sets with minimal rest. Caution: keep an eye on your breathing and heart rate and take adequate rest before moving to the next exercise. If this is a new style of workout for you then you may need 15-30 seconds or more before moving on. As you become more fit and more accustomed to this style of workout your need for rest will decrease.
3. Decrease the duration of your cardiovascular workouts as the compound exercise and circuit workouts build in a higher cardiovascular component. If you need to shave some time off of your weekly workout time, you may find this style of summer program can get you enough of a boost in your heart rate that you can lighten up the duration of or the total time you spend on your cardio workouts. Don’t give them up completely though, nothing beats a nice steady state elevated heart rate workout a couple times a week.
4. The compound exercises are some that you can fit into your day in bits and pieces if need be. Think of taking kids to the playground, while they run around, jump and play why spend your time on your phone or sipping coffee. Incorporate some pull ups, step ups, jump ups, push ups, leg lifts, squats, lunges and climbing into your supervising time. It may not have the same cardiovascular component as the circuit style workout, but you can certainly work on your compound movement strength training.
5. Take advantage of the resistance of water. If you will be spending time in the pool, lake, or river this summer add some exercises to your play time. There are a whole host of exercises that you can perform in the water that you may find difficult to complete when not in water. Water jogging is a great way to boost your cardio with little or no impact on joints. Add some arm and leg exercises and can bang out a full workout while keeping an eye on the kiddies (and stay warm in the water too).
Sarah Estabrooks, Kinesiologist
Sarah is a Kinesiologist and manages the Fitness Centre at the Human Performance Centre. You can contact her at 738-3554
Gardening season in New Brunswick is so short we want to get the most out of it. As a result, we amateur gardeners never fail to overdo the physical exertion. Here are some tips for those of you who have suffered enough with gardening and want to give your body some consideration this year.
Believe it or not, you should do warm-up exercises and stretches before you begin! Your body needs to get ready for the vigorous work ahead! A short walk followed by some gentle arm swings and reaching towards the sky is really all you need.
Plan ahead to reduce the amount of walking, pulling and pushing you do. Think about where you are going and how you are going to get yourself, your tools, plants and fertilizer to that spot the easiest way. A wheelbarrow, a wheeled light cart for heavier loads, a basket or gardening apron for your tools and seeds can make things easier.
Plan to work a little less the first day. After that take regular breaks. Change your position frequently. Alternate low, concentrated effort with activities that involve walking or standing. Stand up and stretch before you get tight!
Back Care
Use proper lifting technique -lift with your legs; carry close to your body, lift loads that are appropriate for your size and condition! Use wheels! Get help!
Be careful not to twist your back when handling tools- maintain the natural curve, and move your legs and body with the tool you are using. Keep your knees bent slightly with one foot ahead of the other for more comfortable hoeing.
If you cannot kneel, there are long-handled tools on the market. Use them to save your back. If you spend a lot of time bent forward it is often a good idea to stretch backward and accentuate the curve in your lower back.
Let’s hope this spring brings all the necessary mix of ingredients for a beautiful summer flowers and a bountiful fall harvest! Happy gardening!!
Earle Burrows, PT
Earle is a physiotherapist at the Human Performance Centre. You can contact him at 738- 8299
With the change in seasons, comes a change in habits. New Brunswickers ditch their heavy winter boots for flip flops, and Netflix for hikes along the beach. After a winters rest, walkers and hikers complain of sore feet. Commonly, summer time is the season of sore feet in the physiotherapy clinic; however, there are things you can do to limit these injuries.
If you’re returning to walking or hikes and you’re unsure of where to start, I recommend starting with a shorter walk. Like most injuries, foot pain can develop after doing “too much, too soon after doing too little, for too long.” You can gradually increase the duration of your walk once your feet have gotten used to walking. Generally speaking, you can increase the duration or difficulty of a walk up to 10% each week. We recommend that you do not progress the distance and difficulty of your walk in the same week. For example, if you’re adding in hills to your walking route, then you may not want to progress the distance that week.
If you’re used to winter boots with arch support, then we recommend transitioning to footwear with a similar arch support. You may find it difficult to transition to a flat sandal if you’re used to support. If you are hoping to return to flat sandals, you can gradually increase the time you’re in your less supportive footwear.
Lastly, if you have a sore foot, I recommend seeing a physiotherapist! You may need strengthening or mobility exercises and some advice on how to manage your symptoms while enjoying the summer.
Mairi Simonds , PT
Mairi is a physiotherapist at the Human Performance Centre. You can contact her at 738- 8299
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most common form of vertigo related to positional changes of the head. The prevalence of BPPV in the general population is low, increasing as we age and is more common in women than in men. BPPV is due to changes in the vestibular system (the inner ear) when a normally fixed crystal(s) becomes dislodged and moves beyond its normal location in the inner ear. The loose or ‘rogue’ crystal will give incorrect information to the brain about how the head is moving, creating the sense of spinning, abnormal eye movements and often nausea.
In the majority of cases there is no known cause for the crystals to become dislodged. Other sources of BPPV can be trauma to the head, minor or major, which can dislodge crystals with an immediate or delayed onset of vertigo (days to months). There is a higher incidence of BPPV in persons who experience migraines. There are also some dysfunctions of the inner ear system as well as ear surgery that can also create BPPV.
Physiotherapists trained in the assessment and treatment of balance problems will ask specific questions to the individual suffering from dizziness, in order to have a sense of what is the nature of the dizziness. Following, a comprehensive physical exam will be given starting with assessment of neck movements and flexibility and strength of the legs. Assessment of the brain and spinal cord control of balance, is performed by testing coordination of movements when sitting stationary, standing and when walking. This is followed by testing eye movement without and with neck movement. After which, the inner ears are tested by doing quick movements of the trunk when reclined, including flopping backwards and rolling, while assessing for abnormal eye movement and symptoms. This will test the 3 semi-circular canals, which are positioned at different angles within the inner ear, for the potential ‘rogue’ crystal(s).
Following the examination, an individualised home exercise program will be provided, with improvement often quickly achieved. Unfortunately, in order to be successful, the exercise must provoke the symptoms of spinning, which can be challenging to self-induce. Follow-up with the physiotherapist is crucial in order to maximize results. Many studies have found success rates of 80% in one treatment, while some people require multiple treatments and rarely the BPPV can be difficult to resolve. BPPV can resolve on its own, but may take a long time.
There are multiple potential sources for balance problems. A physiotherapist trained in Vestibular Rehabilitation will provide a comprehensive examination and guide you in the right direction.
Trish Sennett, PT
Trish is a physiotherapist at the Human Performance Centre who is pleased to help you with your balance problems. You can contact her at 738- 8299
We’re nearing a full year since COVID-19 restrictions were set in place. For many this meant a transition to working from home. For many this remains the case.
Early in lock-down we featured a blog post on tips for ergonomically setting up your home workstation. I hope many have found this useful, and if you haven’t had the chance to read this post you can Find it here
Over the past year, my practice has seen an increase in the amount of people with non-specific neck; upper and lower back pain with no known mechanism of injury. In cases such as this, with no trauma (trip, fall, or accident) we often look for changes to daily routine or leisure activities to help establish our clinical impression and guide our treatment plan.
There has been a common theme over the past 12 months, and it is that more people are working from home. For many, this has meant setting up a ‘temporary’ workstation at the kitchen or dining room table. Who would have thought that your ‘temporary’ workstation would still be where you go to work 12 months later?
For those of you who are able to make adjustments to your workstation, I hope you follow our recommendations and see benefit. For those who unfortunately are not, or those who are about to spend x-amount of $ on a new chair or desk, try this first:
Set yourself a recurring alarm on your phone, computer, watch, or kitchen timer for every 30-60 minutes. When the alarm goes off, it’s time to get up! Spend 1-2 minutes standing at your desk, getting a drink of water, walking around your chair or desk, or even doing some exercises like heel raises or squats up and down from your chair!
Truthfully – even those with “textbook” ergonomic setups should be making better habits of getting out of their chair more often throughout the day. We are built to move, and after all “motion is lotion”.
If you find yourself more uncomfortable, stiff, or experiencing new and/or old pains let us help. For many it may be implementing a simple set of exercises to help them get through the day. For others it may be about getting a better understanding of their discomfort.
Give us a call at 506 738-8299, we would be happy to help!
Trevor Watson, PT
Trevor is a physiotherapist at the Human Performance Centre. You can contact him at 738- 8299
Dear Fitness Centre Members, Due to the announcement by GNB we are moving to Level ORANGE on January 27 at 5 am. We can remain open at this time with some increased precautions.
When arriving at the fitness centre you MUST read the Screening Questions and answer NO to all. By swiping your key to enter, you are confirming that you have done so.
As usual, EVERY INDIVIDUAL MEMBER must scan their own key. You cannot bring anyone in who does not have a membership and their key with them.
It is MANDATORY that you wear your mask AT ALL TIMES in the facility.
The showers will be OUT OF SERVICE during the orange phase and the washrooms are for using the bathroom and handwashing only.
We ask that you arrive in your exercise attire to avoid using the change rooms unless for the toilet and for hand washing.
We ask that you be as prompt as possible with your workout and avoid any unnecessary time in the facility. We don’t want to set a time limit if we don’t have to.
You MUST thoroughly wipe down each piece of equipment as you finish using it.
If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to email sarah.estabrooks@humanperformancecentre.ca. Check our facebook page or website often to stay up to date as the situation may change frequently.
To say that the start of 2021 is unlike any other would be an understatement. January is when we would typically make our New Year Resolutions. We take stalk of what worked last year and what didn’t work so well. We revise our plan, our resolutions and get to work.
Often those resolutions involve our eating habits, sleep habits and our physical fitness. All of these things have been affected by Covid-19 but I’d like to talk mostly about the physical fitness aspect.
We are social creatures by nature and so we love to exercise with friends and in groups. Covid-19 has made that very difficult this year but not entirely impossible. We have to reframe our idea of fun workouts and exercise routines. Going to the gym has been challenging during this time but not impossible. Yes, we’ve had to close for a period of time. Yes, we’ve had to make some big changes to our protocols. Rest assured that it is safe and still fun to go to the gym. We are not able to gather in large groups and offer a large class but you can still arrange to work out with a friend or two. We continue to offer guidance with personal training. We’ve changed our routines a little to accommodate space and equipment restrictions but it doesn’t stop us from getting our workout in. We laugh and socialize as we always did. We might have to wear a mask but we can still tell stories and joke as we always did. We clean more than ever now in the gym, wiping equipment before and after use but it just adds to the workout. I have to say, we’ve had very few members out sick with the typical cold and flus we would usually see. I guess we take the good with the inconvenience of Covid-19.
If heading to a fitness centre to work on that New Year’s resolution just doesn’t sit well with you, there are so many other options available. Revisit the idea of outdoor activities like walking, skiing, snowshoeing, winter biking or skating. There is also an opportunity to set yourself up with some home exercise options (and if you need some guidance we can still offer in-home personal training or set you up with home exercises). Many of us are working from home and a home exercise routine may work great. Going to the gym may be just the break you need to get out of the house as well. The message I’m hoping to send is where there is a will there is a way. So find a mode of exercise that is fun, safe and effective and make the most of this crazy year ahead.
Sarah Estabrooks, Kinesiologist
Sarah Estabrooks is a Kinesiologist and manages the Fitness Centre at the Human Performance Centre. She can be contacted at 738-3554
It’s 7am, you can feel the swelling around your eyes, pressure in your cheeks, and as you inhale through your mouth and attempt to swallow, you feel the sticky dryness all the way into your throat. You close your eyes and realize how much you need to go brush the funk off your teeth because YOUR BREATH, well it’s rather distinctive.
All the lovely symptoms of congested sinuses. Our skull is remarkably strong yet lightweight, and if we didn’t have sinus cavities within our skull, we wouldn’t be able to lift our head off our pillow.
Our skull has eight major sinus cavities, these cavities give us the ability to turn, roll, look up and down. Our sinuses are open cavities in our head, but they are not bare bones.
Each sinus cavity has a lining that allows very slow ventilation in and out of the sinus. The slow ventilation allows the space in the sinus cavity to be filled with air, as its function is to trap the germs and moisturize the air before it moves into our throat and lungs. When our sinuses are congested, they lack their ability to perform their job protecting our airway, aka respiratory tract from germs.
FUN FACTS :
Even though our mouth provides us with a larger cavity to inhale, once we plug our nose, we feel remarkably uncomfortable when trying to breathe. (it’s because our nose is our # 1 passageway to our sinuses)
Did you know that nasal breathing is critical in newborns since they breathe through their nose almost all the time! It’s a unique feature related to the design of their throats. Nose breathing allows babies to breath and suckle at the same time without choking.
Did you know children & adults must stop breathing to swallow!
It’s important to understand that sinus congestion is usually caused by something. That is, there’s an underlying cause resulting in the congestion … common cold, flu, allergies etc….
Based on personal experience, no standalone massage treatment will ever provide permanent relief. BUT a proper massage regiment from a massage therapist will be able to provide you with temporary relief!
Did you know you cannot breathe through your nose when you’re smiling?Ahhhh made you smile!
Christina Randell RMT
Christina is a Registered Massage Therapist at the Human Performance Centre. You can contact her at 738-8299.
Dear Fitness Centre Members, We are moving back to Level Yellow!!!!
When arriving at the fitness centre you MUST read the Screening Questions and answer NO to all. By swiping your key to enter, you are confirming that you have done so.
As usual, EVERY INDIVIDUAL MEMBER must scan their own key. You cannot bring anyone in who does not have a membership and their key with them.
You must wear your mask everywhere except while exercising on a piece of equipment or at your station. Please wear your mask when moving around the fitness centre.
The showers and change rooms will be available for use if necessary. If you can avoid using them please do.
Continue to be prompt with your workout and avoid any unnecessary time in the facility. We don’t want to set a time limit if we don’t have to. We still have a maximum of 10 members and have reached that a few times lately. Mon – Friday, 9:30am – 11am is the busiest time of day.
If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to email sarah.estabrooks@humanperformancecentre.ca. Check our facebook page or website often to stay up to date as the situation may change frequently.
