Summer Self Care Series

Learn how to maintain your own physical health with practical lessons on self care. Methods taught at any of our workshops are designed to be replicated by you with ease.

Restoring your appreciation for how your own body works, moves, copes and mends is the way to maintain physical health with healthy long term patterns and habits. Once you learn why or how something happens you can dismantle the confusion around a symptom or pain. Build confidence by first learning how your body functions, understanding it's structure, alignment and current state by testing, assessing and practicing forms of muscle release and gentle restorative exercise.

Self care is resilience. Reach your long term health care goals with our Reset Wellness Summer Self Care Series.

For online registration visit our Classes page.

Fitness That Feels Good

Our bodies are amazing

They adapt to the needs of our environment. We are dynamic and always changing. Our old cells dying and the new forming every second. Because of our ever changing selves we can never be perfect. That's okay. Our imperfections are what challenge us and make us great. With the help of knowing a little fitness training, manual therapies and proper assessment, we can learn, build and improve on our body. This is important for everyone, to have the knowledge of how to live and maintain a life in their body.

Fitness training is good for us and to understand why we have to know the primary components of fitness we're trying to improve on. Cardiorespiratory capacity (lungs); muscular capacity (endurance, strength, and power); flexibility and body composition.

How are the choices of people in your life and yours being reflected in the way your body expresses motion and emotion? Our choices and environment influence and, in some cases, define us. Its health and ours become an expression in our body. How we choose to participate is our character. Unfortunately--with most goals--there are no shortcuts. The good news: whenever you decide to move your muscles--from small movements to large, you are hitting all the components of fitness simultaneously. Reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, normalizing blood pressure, increasing muscle strength, strengthening your bones, increasing metabolisms, improving your mood, reducing stress levels and making yourself look good all at the same time. It really is amazing how much our health gives us. If we give our bodies a little daily attention they will give us much in return.

As independent as many of us like to seem, the truth is we all need other people. Everybody needs support from time to time. Everybody needs help, including our bodies. The natural healing process of inflammation can be manipulated in our favor using massage and other manual therapies. It can mobilize tissues to increase blood flow to the muscles that need it most, aiding in tissue repair. It can even create stability where there was once instability. Let's say, you rolled your ankle: a massage therapist can stimulate a targeted inflammatory response, encouraging the body to then lay down additional connective tissue fibers, reinforcing the damaged or torn ligament. It can 'unstick' unwanted adhesions from your bones that reduce your range of motion, thereby encouraging fluidity of joint movement. Adhesions 'stick' to healthy tissues and drag when you fire up your muscles, causing them to work harder. So, wider range of motion means wider steps, which means faster, more fluid movement, energy efficient, no pain and overall just better.

A question I could ask all of you is, what is your work out routine, and why? Do you know why you work out the muscles you do and in the way you choose to? Do you sometimes increase you weight, or change your routine in some way and random little aches and pains pop up? Do you ever brush it off as your body isn't used to it, or you're just getting old, or getting over a cold? Maybe it's actually none of those things. Maybe, you're doing something you shouldn't be doing. Maybe you're doing something incorrectly. This is why a proper assessment from a professional is key before and during fitness training.

How do we get you moving in the most pain free and efficient way possible. In order to meet your goals both you and your team of health care team need to uncover what needs more attention, what needs less, and a professional can make recommendations to you during your journey for an easier and efficient approach. This can create faster results and avoid injury by being careful not to over exert certain muscles. For example, a desk jockey might be trying to make a small positive change in their routine by taking the stairs. They have a hard time activating their glutes since the gluteus maximus has a tendency not to activate until other muscles are becoming fatigued and they need to. The gluteus maximus can be lazy that way. This will then cause the quads to take over in a compensating action, possibly pulling the pelvis forward and down. This could create low back pain, or knee pain, and how would the desk jockey know what he's doing wrong? He's trying to take the stairs to be healthy.

            There is so much information out there, and we as health professionals want to help you sift through all of it to find what works for you, what doesn't, and for you to eventually know what it feels like to feel better than you ever thought you could. I used to be so afraid of the gym, and which work outs to choose from, which stretches - I was so overwhelmed. But if I've learned anything from choosing this path, it's that it's better to do something than nothing. The journey to a healthy lifestyle doesn't start the same for anyone. Try one minute of plank a day, or three minutes of jumping jacks, stomp in a rain puddle, pick literally anything. Just pick health. All that matters, is you try, in any way you can. Trust me, your body will.

Written by Miranda Horvath of Reset Wellness, Deep Tissue and Fitness Specialist, RMT.

 

SWAP for YESS Fundraiser

//MEN's & WOMEN's Clothing SWAP

Bring your 10 BEST for a SWAP
Entry by donation - proceeds go to YESS
Bring items that didn't make the cut for direct donation to YESS
Men's and Women's Clothing, accessories and shoes accepted

// JUNE 17, 7pm /// RESET Wellness /// 10324 - 82 ave NW, B02 //

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YESS is short on MEN's Clothing usually - we hope to change that! Help us create the change and get involved, men!

Eventbrite registration is your entry for door prizes! Reserve your ticket here.

FIND OUT what YESS needs for their youth.
https://yess.org/ways-to-give/donate/

A special request for good samaritans -- DONATE new socks and new underwear at our event!

What's Causing Your Leg Pain, Burning and Numbness?

Aching calves, burning legs, numbness in the feet — pain and discomfort in the lower extremities is a common complaint that sends many of us to our doctors seeking relief.

But unless the cause is something obvious, like a fall, pinpointing the source may require some medical detective work. Trying to tough it out, though, will not get you any closer to the answers.

“Leg pain that comes on acutely with a bang, is severe and doesn’t resolve within minutes probably needs to be seen right away,” as it could be a sign of a more serious condition, says Dr. Benjamin Wedro, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin and an emergency physician at Gundersen Medical Center in Lacrosse, Wis. “There’s no trophy for suffering.”

Here are some of the potential causes of leg and foot pain:

Blood Vessel Distress

Pain that occurs when walking or exercising may be the result of claudication or decreased blood supply to the legs. This condition is most often a symptom of peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, a narrowing of the arteries that deliver blood to your limbs, typically caused by the buildup of plaque or fatty deposits. Smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity are major risk factors for PAD.

“The leg pain from PAD tends to occur when you’re active,” says John Fesperman, a family nurse practitioner at Duke Primary Care in North Carolina. “When you’re active, muscles need more blood. The lack of adequate blood triggers pain, which is known as intermittent claudication. Once you stop moving, the pain usually disappears.”

Deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, a blood clot in a deep vein that develops after extended periods of inactivity, can also cause major leg pain. Long flights or car rides make it difficult for the leg to return blood back to the heart. If that blood return slows or stops, it can create a clot within the vein. And if part of a clot breaks off and travels to the lungs, it can cause a pulmonary embolism, a serious and potentially fatal blockage of blood flow to the lungs.

DVT usually occurs in only one leg, Wedro says, causing it to swell and turn a bluish hue. “The onset of pain is gradual and tends to occur over a course of hours,” he says.

Peripheral Neuropathy

In some people, leg and foot (and sometimes arm and hand) pain can be the result of neuropathy, a disorder of the peripheral motor, sensory and autonomic nerves that connect the spinal cord to our muscles, skin and internal organs. Neuropathy can cause numbness, tingling and a heavy sensation. “It usually starts in the feet and may cause a burning sensation in the legs,” Fesperman says. In some cases, people may lose their ability to feel sensation in their legs, which can put them at risk for injury and infection.

Neuropathy can be brought on by many factors, including infection, toxins and the effects of alcoholism, but diabetes is the most common cause. According to the Neuropathy Association, approximately 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes will at some point develop peripheral neuropathy. It can also affect people who have pre-diabetes and may not be experiencing any other diabetic symptoms.

Electrolyte Imbalance

Healthy muscle function depends on nerves being supported by a well-balanced mix of electrolytes — minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium that have an electric charge. Electrolytes transmit signals that support nerve, heart and muscle function, and affect the amount of water in your body as well.

But certain medications; dehydration; and conditions like diarrhea and kidney disease can alter your electrolyte balance. When electrolyte levels become too low, it can cause leg pain. For example, when sodium, which attracts water to cells, is depleted, cells straining to compensate for the lack of fluid can bring on painful cramps.

Diuretics prescribed to control blood pressure are the most common culprits, Fesperman says, because they can deplete electrolytes in the blood. “Potassium and calcium mediate muscle contraction,” he says. “An imbalance in either or both can cause muscle cramping.”

By reducing blood flow, dehydration can cause electrolyte imbalance, and cramps, as well. Likewise, if you drink too much water, you can flush out too many electrolytes.

Back Problems

Conditions that affect your back often lead to pain in the legs as well. Spinal stenosis, in which the spinal canal gradually narrows, pressuring the nerves, usually affects people over 50 and can be caused by arthritis, scoliosis or spinal injury. The pressure can impinge on nerve roots as they leave the spinal cord to form the sciatic nerve, the body’s largest. The irritated nerves can cause significant pain.

Sciatica, a painful inflammation of the sciatic nerve, is typically experienced on one side of the body, and can travel from your lower back down your leg to your feet or even toes. Sciatica is difficult to diagnose and sometimes goes away on its own. It can be brought on by spinal stenosis.

“Sciatic and spinal conditions may come on gradually over time but may also have an acute onset,” Wedro says. “Over time, what had been tolerable becomes an acute issue. Sciatic nerve inflammation caused by changes in the back, such as arthritis, muscle spasm or injury, may radiate into the buttocks and down the leg.”

If the leg pain is accompanied by the loss of bladder or bowel control or numbness near the anus or vagina, seek emergency care immediately. You may have cauda equina syndrome, a rare disorder affecting the nerve roots at the lower end of the spine. Without immediate treatment, the spinal cord can shut down and you may develop permanent paralysis.

Arthritis

There are many types of arthritis. Osteoarthritis, the most common form, breaks down the cartilage in your joints, causing a buildup of painful bone spurs, cartilage loss, inflammation or soreness. Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease, attacks the lining of the joints, also causing inflammation and pain.

Although arthritis is a joint disease, the pain it causes can be felt in the surrounding leg and foot muscles. “Any joint under stress can cause pain,” Wedro says. “The pain is within the joints. But the muscles around it try to protect it and you can go into spasms and get secondary muscle pain.”

Getting Treatment for Leg Pain

The appropriate treatment for leg pain depends on the underlying cause. Diabetics may need to improve their blood glucose control to prevent diabetic neuropathy, while arthritis sufferers may need medication or surgery.

“All treatments aim for long-term control of symptoms,” Wedro says. “There may not be one cocktail that works for everybody. It all depends on what has caused the leg pain. It will be trial and error for you and your doctor to find the treatment that works.”

The bottom line? Take all leg and foot discomfort seriously. “Pain means part of the body isn’t working right,” Wedro says. “The problem might be a disaster that is life- or limb-threatening, or it may be an inconvenience that might resolve with a little time and care. But if you have pain, see your doctor. Never dismiss it.”

This article originally appeared on nextavenue.com and was written by Winnie Yu.