Preparing to Celebrate the Olympics

The Healthy View

In just a few weeks, we’ll be able to watch the greatest athletes in the world compete at the Tokyo 2020ne Olympic Games. For some, it’s just an opportunity to enjoy amazing athletic achievements, for others, it’s a chance to see what is possible and to inspire the next generation to train harder so they too can reach the pinnacle of their sport. We’ve got special reasons to be excited for these Games, with some of our team members playing an important role for Team Canada.

Heading to the Olympics…

The Adelaide Health Clinic is proud to announce that Dr. Nader Abdelkader, our sports specialist chiropractor, will be representing Canada at the upcoming Olympic Games! In July, Dr. Nader is traveling with the national fencing team to Tokyo and Nimazu for the Tokyo 2020ne Olympic Games.

This year, Canada will be sending the biggest fencing team in the history of Olympic Games, with a total of 11 fencers. The fencing team along with their medical team has been extensively preparing over the last 4 years and competing on the world circuit. Despite the COVID lockdowns, the team have continued to train, ensuring they’re in the best shape possible heading into the Games.

We look forward to cheering on the team and Dr. Nader next month!

Dr. Nader Abdelkader

Chiropractor
   Adelaide Health Clinic
   416-367-5200
   Email him

Should youth strength train?

The short answer is…YES! This is a topic that I am quite familiar with, being a secondary school teacher, a strength and conditioning specialist, as well as a chiropractor. Strength is not only associated with muscle bulk and lifting weights but is the foundation for almost all performance benchmarks in sports and in life. The best time to develop strength training habits and baselines is in the middle/high school years. Strong kids grow up to be strong adults, both physically and mentally.

Even before the pandemic, society had become increasingly inactive. Imagine how bad it’s gotten over the last year and a half. Decreases in physical activity among children under the age of 18 have been linked to conditions like childhood obesity and diabetes. While health is always something that can be improved, doing so when the body is actively maturing and developing allows you to capitalize on the physical and mental benefits of strength training. These habits, when formed during youth, transfer to adulthood and decrease many health risks.

Strength training is a component of physical activity that is often neglected in school-aged youth despite positive associations to cognitive and psychological health. Aside from other immediate effects, such as injury prevention, proper resistance training in the younger years leads to more resilient/capable adults. Conditions like sarcopenia and osteoporosis are prevalent in the aging population, and both can be effectively slowed down or reversed through strength training earlier in life. Research has also shown that risk factors leading to cardiovascular disease can develop in adolescence, but can be mitigated through strength training.

In saying all that, I’m not suggesting that you send your children to the gym every day to simply throw weights around. Proper guidance is essential not only for correct form, but to motivate effectively using appropriate education and goal-setting. Professionals with experience in working with this population will be more successful by applying knowledge of specific developmental models to safely incorporate strength training at these ages. While previously thought to be unsafe, this type of training is well accepted in the literature to be a safe addition for physical activity in youth.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I’d be happy to further discuss the topic or provide additional information/reference material.

Dr. Paul Glancey

Chiropractor
   Sport Medicine Clinic
   416-865-0903
   Email him

Ladies! Got Fibroids?

Fibroids, which are non-cancerous growths found in the uterus, can cause a variety of symptoms in women which can be uncomfortable and painful. These fibroids come in different sizes, ranging from the size of a small seed to a large mass.

What causes fibroids?

There are a number of causes of fibroids, but some of the most common are:

Genetics
Hormones (estrogen dominance)
Vitamin D deficiency
Unhealthy liver (unable to detoxify estrogen)
Diet

What are some of the most common symptoms?

Again, each woman may experience different symptoms but some of the more commonly occurring symptoms are:

Heavy/painful menses
Bleeding/spotting between your menstrual cycle
Constipation
Infertility
Miscarriages
Pressure or pain in the pelvic region

What can you do if you’re struggling with fibroids?

There are a number of lifestyle and diet modifications you can make, as well as herbals and supplements you could take, that may help to lessen your symptoms.

Lifestyle & Diet Modifications:

Healing emotions associated with fibroids manifestations, such as nursing a hurt from a partner (Louise Hay Books)
Reduce xenoestrogens from plastics, cosmetics, household products, and personal body care/skin care products
Acupuncture
Avoid sugar, caffeine, processed foods (gluten free), and dairy
Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables (lots of broccoli and Brussel sprouts as they help to breakdown cancer causing estrogens)
Increase fibre (clears estrogen)
Drink more green tea
Exercise
Eliminate alcohol

Herbals:

Vitex berries (balances hormones)
Dandelion root (detoxes liver)
Burdock root (cleans liver and blood)
Sprouted broccoli (clears excess estrogen and supports liver, high sulfur content)