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Focus In Golf

Having strong focus and concentration skills along with the ability to avoid distraction is crucial to optimal performance in any athletic endeavor.. A common characteristic to all elite level athletes is that they possess the ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand and are able to avoid external stimulus or distractions that can hinder performance. Many would argue golf is one of the more difficult sports to maintain focus and concentration due to the open environment the game is...

Knee Injuries and The Brain

Some joint function is often permanently lost after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, and re-injury is common even with intensive physical therapy, but it has been unclear as to why. The ACL injury risk has been reported to be higher in elite sports versus non-elite sports.. Female athletes are 3-6X more likely to sustain a sports-related noncontact ACL injury than male athletes in comparable high-risk sports.. The incidence of female to male knee injuries is 3.5X greater i...

Golf and Neurocognitive Performance

Incorporating neurocognitive tools into your training program will improve focus!. In particular, various studies show positive gains in various forms of attention thus providing the ability to keep your attention on your key objectives on the field, or in the case of golfers, while on the course. Sensory distractions are extremely important to avoid during a round of golf or in tournament play. By learning to hone your attention to one single item at a time, it can help you to ...

My Pelvic Health Journey

Pelvic Health. It’s been a long time since I did something for myself…as in 'self care'. Tuesday last week was the day!  I have been struggling (ok ignoring/avoiding) with pelvic floor issues for quite some time…about 9 years since the birth of my last son. Things have become progressively worse… leaking with coughing, laughing, and don’t ask me to do jumping jacks, skip or bounce on a trampoline without double clench leg cross lockdown, that or a pad to h...

BALANCE IS IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE

BALANCE IS IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE
Any ankle, knee and hip injury whether because of sport, poor posture or a fall, will affect balance.. A leg injury such as an ankle sprain or fracture, will decrease joint position sense or 'proprioception'. Proprioception is the sense though which we perceive the position and movement of our body, including our sense of equilibrium and balance, senses that depend on the notion of force (Jones, 2000). Decreased proprioception reduces your ability to balance, making it easier to tr...

Change

"Let’s face it, change is HARD.  The last few years is no exception.  I don’t know about you, but I realized that this “pause” or “reset” has afforded me the opportunity to slow down, be more kind to myself, take the time to do things I haven’t been able to do, or to try and to start the process of change. It first started over a year ago on my commute to work. Who knew that 40 minutes of uninterrupted, time spent in your vehicle could be so t...

3 things you can do at home to help you improve in the gym

No matter if people think they do or don’t people squat, deadlift, overhead press everyday – inside the gym or in everyday life.  It is important to have a great foundational basic from which they body can move. To get this the trunk / pelvis must act as stabilisers to allow your limbs to perform the movement effectively.. One way that the body automatically prepares for movement is to brace. In order to brace effectively one must breathe properly, have effective stabilisation...

Why Vision Training gives you an advantage over your competition!

Most athletes spend their time in the gym, on the ice or field improving their physical fitness and skill, some will work with sports psychologist or mental game coaches to help improve their mental skill. But a very small percent focus on improving their vision and cognitive performance. Many athletes think their poor performance is due to lack of physical fitness or lack of skill refinement, but in reality a lot of times it is poor vision and cognitive performance that lead to these failures....

Off-Season Tips for Cyclists of all Abilities

Off-Season Tips for Cyclists of all Abilities
Well, fall is here (and its pretty much winter, now!). The temperature is dropping, wet and cold weather loom outside, and suddenly we realize that the road cycling season is almost over. Still, some of you may squeeze a ride in here and there, enjoying the last of the fewer and fewer warm days we have left. Others may have already called the season over and may start looking into getting ready for next year. It doesn’t matter if you are a triathlete looking forward to competing next year ...

Do I need therapy after my concussion?

Do I need therapy after my concussion?
Current research shows that after a concussion most individuals recover in 2-3 weeks, with children often taking closer to 1 month for full recovery. We also know that females take a little longer to recover than males. Many times, I am asked whether there is a need for Therapy after a concussion. In many cases this recovery occurs on its own and very quickly. In the concussion world, the concern is for those that take longer than 1 month to recover, and this is the area that therapy with a p...

Baseball Players: Protect Your Eyes

Baseball Players: Protect Your Eyes
Protect your Eyes  See the Ball The macula and the collective accumulation of key antioxidants referred as macular pigment is a critical part of the eye function. In general life and in sports it has been strongly linked to visual performance in situations of low light, colour detection, contrast sensitivity. The macular pigment is composed of dietary carotinoids – luetin, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin. These antioxidants reduce haramful free radicals and and protect the eyes by...

Pregnancy + C-Section Recovery

Pregnancy + C-Section Recovery
Did you know? Osteopathic treatment is perfectly safe during all stages of pregnancy for both mother and baby! By using a drug-free and non-invasive approach which uses gentle massage, joint mobilisation and muscle energy and manipulation techniques. Osteopaths can boost mobility, help release areas of restriction, prescribe corrective exercises to support areas of hyper-mobility, improve tissue texture and reduce pain. At Honsberger Physio+ we our Osteopathic Manual Practitioner, Dan Hi...

Are Women at Higher Risk of Developing Dementia than Men?

Are Women at Higher Risk of Developing Dementia than Men?
Are Women at Higher Risk of Developing Dementia Than Men?. Studies looking into the prevalence and incidence of dementia in our population suggest that more women are diagnosed with dementia than men.  One in 5 women over the age of 45 are diagnosed with dementia vs 1 in 10 men. This pattern is seen worldwide and finds that women commonly also have more severe symptoms and holds true especially in middle and lower income areas. Dementia Dementia is defined as a group of symptoms that aff...

Hearing, Vision and your risk of Cognitive Decline

Hearing, Vision and your risk of Cognitive Decline
Visual and Hearing Impairments are Associated With Cognitive Decline. There is a long-established and widely recognized link between declines in sensory acuity – particularly hearing and vision – and cognition. Many studies over the years including data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), involving tens of thousands of participants across the country aged 45 to 85, backs this up. Hearing. Cognitive decline is associated with hearing loss, which affects about ...

Are you a cognitive super ager? If not, do you want to be?

Are you a cognitive super ager? If not, do you want to be?
Cognitive Ability. A cognitive super ager is defined as being over 80 years old with performance on memory tests comparable with people two to three decades younger. Some changes in our cognitive ability are considered a normal part of aging. We develop many mental abilities that peak around the age of 30 and then on average subtly decline with age. These age-related changes commonly include overall slowness in thinking and difficulties in sustaining attention, multitasking, holding informat...

A sedentary lifestyle and your brain

A sedentary lifestyle and your brain
Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle. Sedentary lifestyles increase all causes of mortality, double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, and increase the risks of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety. According to WHO, 60 to 85 higher risk of experiencing dementia. Sedentary behavior was associated with several chronic diseases that were also associated with cognitive impairment and risk of dementia. Previous data suggested th...

Risk Factors for Dementia

Risk Factors for Dementia
Risk Factors For Dementia. Dementia is a group of diseases that affect cognitive skills, causing a loss of memory, motor skills, reasoning and problem solving. Like most diseases, dementia has risk factors. Some risk factors such as age and family history are unavoidable. But there are contributing factors you can focus on to help reduce your risk for dementia. Here is a list of well-known risk factors.  How to Prevent Dementia. Age: The leading risk factor for dementia, although ...

If Tavares had a concussion why was he back skating so quickly?

If Tavares had a concussion why was he back skating so quickly?
As a physiotherapist I field many varied questions from clients, so it was no surprise when I heard "can I ask you a question about concussions?", which was quickly followed by "how could the Leafs let Tavares get back on the ice so quickly?".  After I explained the rationale (see below), my client then said "since most people don't know this, parents and athletes are going to make the wrong decisions, so the Leafs need to do better to educate people". So I am going to save the Leafs some...

Fatigability & Running

Fatigability & Running
Our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones adapt both positively and negatively to the level of stress we placed on them. Positive adaptation occurs when the applied stresses are repeated within the mechanical limits of a structure and adequate recovery time are provided between stress applications. On the other hand, negative adaptation (injuries) occurs when a stress is applied beyond the mechanical limits with insufficient recovery time between stress applications. The graph below shows the i...

Myths vs. Modern Science on Running

Myths vs. Modern Science on Running
Running is one of the most popular exercises with 50 million estimated participants around the World. This beloved exercise has easy accessibility and is highly addictive. It improves cardiovascular functions, mental health, bone health and muscle strengths. However, according statistics, 27 of recreational and competitive runners sustain at least one overuse running injury for one year period. 27 million runners will experience a running injury every year, and associated health care costs can r...

Cognitive Decline: the aging brain

Cognitive Decline: the aging brain
Do you struggle for words or forget why you came into a room? If so, your might be dealing with a condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Up to 10 of these individuals may develop Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Age related changes in the brain are normal. Many thinking abilities peak at the age of 30 then subtly decline as age increases.  Normal changes include a slowness in thinking, difficulty sustaining attention, difficulties with multitasking holding information i...

Concussion and Mental Health

Concussion and Mental Health
At this present time, Covid-19 has created a large worldwide impact on our overall health and the economy. This pandemic state which has put everyone in crisis mode can also have a large impact on our mental health. Thinking about this has led me to look a little further on the effects of concussion injuries on mental health. 1 in 5 may experience mental health symptoms up to six months after mild traumatic brain injury. 67Baf725a34-4383-4356-96b3-b9982a02d0c2%7D/experts-discuss-rare-link-betw...

StaminaPro Patches

StaminaPro Patches
What are they? StaminaPro patches are an adhesive patch that acts as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. StaminaPro was created from Energy Medicine Technology which uses signatures of over 200 different natural remedies known for their anti-inflammatory properties. These properties are carried by a resonant wave and put onto the patch. When the patch is adhered to the skin, the electrons are activated and initiates the body’s natural response to accelerate the healing process. What ...

Snapshot: Hamstring Strain

Snapshot: Hamstring Strain
Snapshot - Hamstring Strain. . Hamstring injuries are among the most common injuries in sports. Commonplace in those sports that require sprinting, kicking, quick bursts of acceleration and deceleration, and change of direction. Very commonly seen in team sports. Will cause missed playing or training time.  Notorious for high rates of re‐injury. This could be due to consistently treating and fixing the injury itself but not looking for the true cause.  Anatomy. The hamstrings ...