Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Hey guys! My name is Paige and I am the Kinesiologist at Tri City Physio. I am responsible for the patients who have experienced a cardiac event and are taking part in our cardiac rehabilitation program.

I provide each cardiac patient with an individualized exercise prescription, specific to their functional ability and their goals. When patients enroll in the cardiac rehab program, they will get one on one support and feedback from me to help them increase their fitness within healthy limits.

I also provide advice and education about eating a healthy diet, appropriate portion sizes and specific nutrient information that is important for cardiac patients, like watching how much sodium you are eating.

I co-ordinate YMCA referrals for the patients that have completed the cardiac rehab program and set up meetings with a dietician. It is my goal to make sure patients continue to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle to prevent secondary cardiac event.

I look forward to helping patients improve their lifestyle and overall health!

written by Paige Hall

Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapy

What are the benefits of Lymphatic Drainage Therapy for post surgery recovery?

The lymphatic system is usually compromised following the trauma of surgery, with fluids tending to accumulate, leading to swelling, mobility problems and general discomfort.’

For example, breast reduction or post mastectomy can result in excess lymph fluid accumulating in the body. Manual lymphatic drainage massage, or “lymphatic drainage” may be a very powerful and effective natural means to control common post-surgical lymphedema, a condition causes a visible swelling due to lymph fluid retention. Lymphatic drainage massage actually moves stagnant lymphatic fluid that builds around surgery and incision sites.

According to the National Lymphedema Network, if lymph nodes are removed, there is always a risk of developing lymphedema anywhere from hours after the surgery to 20 years later.

Lymphatic drainage can increase the volume of lymph flow by as much as 20 times, vastly increasing the system’s ability to remove toxins and infectious materials as well.

Moreover, lymphatic drainage massage can greatly aids in reducing bruising, speed up wound healing after surgery, and detoxify the body.

What is a Manual Lymphatic Drainage treatment like? Is it painful?

While some of post-op patients could be in extreme pain and can’t bear the thought of someone applying even the slightest bit of pressure to their wounds, in most cases they are pleasantly surprised by Manual Lymph Drainage. In fact, many times clients end up sleeping through most of the treatment.

Manual Lymph Drainage in reality feels incredibly gentle and relaxing. This is so because therapists use their fingers or hands in a light, feathery manner to help guide excess lymphatic fluid toward the nearest group of lymph nodes. Prior to that, therapists “open” the lymph nodes by gentle “pumping” them. The treatment is performed bare skin, with no oil.

In a case where lymph nodes have been removed, therapists can also re-direct lymph flow around a problem, bypassing those areas and taking fluid to the next set of available or desirable nodes along the system.

One of the ways a patient will know that Manual Lymph Drainage is working is the common side effect of getting a dry mouth or dry eyes (if you wear contact lenses they should be removed prior to the session).
After lymphatic drainage, some patients may experience fatigue, overwhelming thirst, and nausea or vomiting.

It is also common to have an increased need to urinate soon after a treatment and for several hours thereafter, as excess fluids that were moved from the tissues are now ready to be excreted as urine.

It is important for patients to drink plenty of water after a session is completed.

Those who are considering this procedure may want to consult with their physician in order to make sure that its risks do not outweigh the benefits.

This was written by Jasmina Paulis RMT

References:

1 Wittlinger, H. & G. Textbook of Dr Vodder’s Manual Lymph Drainage, Vol 1. Haug Publishing. Heidelberg. ISBN 3-7760-1732-5. 1998.
2 Kasseroller Renato. Compendium of Dr Vodder’s Manual Lymph Drainage. Haug Publishing. Heidelburg. ISBN 3-8304-0667-3. 1998.
3 Hurz Ingrid. Textbook of Dr Vodder’s Manual Lymph Drainage, Vol 2:Therapy. Haug Publishing. Heidelberg. ISBN 3-8304-0689-4. 1997.
4 Baumeister RGH et al. Post Traumatic Lymphoedema. In Weissleder Horst and Schuchhardt Christian eds. Lymphedema Diagnosis and Therapy. Viavartal Verlag, Koln. ISBN 3-934371-24-8. 2001.
5 Rettray F.S. and L.M. Ludwig. 2000. Edema. In “Clinical Massage Therapy” pp.217-241. Elora, ON: Talus Incorporated

Why does this strain just insist to remain?

Ever had something you thought was just a muscle strain that just never really went away?

Isn’t it time to figure out why this injury has stuck around and has not gotten better with the ever popular “wait and see” approach?

Well, one of the reasons it probably hasn’t just “gotten better on its own”, is because of an accumulation of scar tissue. After an injury such as a muscle pull or a strain, a mass of immature scar tissue is laid down to repair the damaged muscle. Initially this process helps repair the strained tissue but if it remains after the strain has healed, it can irritate and inflame the surrounding healthy tissue and cause unwanted pain and limitations in function. When a build up of scar tissue remains well after the initial injury, measures must be taken to break down this scar tissue so that it can mature and align properly with the healthy muscle fibres. If measures are not taken, this scar tissue remains immature, inflexible and extremely weak. With inflexibility and weakness comes an increased risk of reinjuring the area and causing an even greater build-up of scar tissue. This cycle of injury makes it even harder for the body to break down this scar tissue and this buildup can eventually become so great that even the easiest movements can become weak and cause pain. As an example, think about a muscle strain as being a bruise on the front of your thigh. As we know, when bruises occur they are quite tender to touch and we generally leave them alone until they turn yellow and go away. Now, say we poke these bruises just as they are about to fade away, wouldn’t it be that much easier to cause this bruise to return with the same intensity if not more than with the initial injury? Essentially this bruise is like scar tissue where the initial injury makes us more susceptible to a more serious future injury unless we take measures to avoid and help prevent sequential injuries from happening. And…… how can we help avoid and prevent further injury you ask? Let a physiotherapist HELP!

A physiotherapist combines in-depth knowledge of how the body works with specialized hands-on clinical skills to prescribe personalized therapeutic exercises, provide essential patient education, deliver targeted manual therapy techniques and help manage pain and increase healing with different modalities such as laser and acupuncture. So, if you’re tired of feeling an injury you thought would have healed by now, let a physiotherapist do what we do best: restore, maintain and maximize your strength, function, movement and overall well-being.

By Andrew Mensink BHSc(Hon), MSC(PT)
Registered Physiotherapist