Tale of The Tape

Kinesiology Tape... It's become as common a visual in athletics as wristbands and running shoes.

Whether you're watching a downhill skier working out at Whistler or an Olympic sprinter on TV, chances are, you'll see some athlete showing off their colourful 'tape art'.

But what are all these wild and outrageously coloured tape mosaics we see plastered all over our favourite athletes and what are they there for?

Well, with all the advances in sport medicine for addressing sports related injuries and strains in recent years, kinesiology tape has become a recognized practice at all levels of athletics, for providing extra relief and treatment of sore, tender areas of the body in need of repair.

But don't be fooled by the unusual application patterns. No, it's not a case of kinesiologists' inner Picassos gone wild. There's real, scientific method to the seemingly random madness of these unique and sometimes complex applications.

Applied correctly, stretchy kinesiology tape lifts the skin around an injury, allowing for greater blood circulation, speeding and improve healing.

Check out this video, featuring LifeMark Richmond Oval Clinic Director, Melina Kurtakis, demonstrating the application of Rock Tape kinesiology tape to treat an injured knee.

Preventing Injury Raking Leaves

Fall is near at hand and that means raking, which can also lead to back pain and other strains and injuries.

For us in BC, we're fortunate to live in a Province abundant with trees and foliage. In Fall, however, all our leafy friends wind up leaving us with BIG cleanups as piles of leaves blanket our yards and flower beds.

Over the next few weeks, people throughout Whistler, and elsewhere around the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast, will take to their yards, rakes in hand and begin the tiresome, painstaking task of 'sweeping' away endless piles of leaves and other yard waste in preparation for Winter.

And as inevitable as the leaves falling are the back strains, shoulder pains and wrist soreness that often follow.

Before you head out to the yard and rake this year, check out our white paper on leaf raking to help you properly prepare with the right technique an the right tools to prevent injury and and make leaf raking a breeze!

Office Ergonomics - Avoid Carpal Tunnel

A new school year means a universal return to work. 

Whether you're a student, or you hold down an office job, simple things like seating posture or how you use your keyboard can have an enormous impact on preventing potential strains and injuries to your body.

In some cases, the strain placed on the body from poor office ergonomics can result in chronic complications that can wind up requiring medical attention, even surgery.

 In the video below, LifeMark Vancouver Clinic Director, Wayne Tang explains a common complaint of office workers, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Wayne demonstrates how a simple keyboard adjustment can significantly reduce the risk of developing Carpal Tunnel.

Click the link if you'd like more information on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Pool Therapy Making Waves

There's no denying the fact that while sometimes gravity can be our friend, at other times, gravity can be an obstacle that limits our ability to function at optimum efficiency.

For example, after suffering an injury, rehabilitation can be tough enough without gravity getting in the way and making the road to recovery even harder.

Here at our LifeMark Whistler clinics, we treat all kinds of injuries and ailments. Guiding a patient through recovery requires an ongoing regimen of treatment, including exercise.

On dry land, exercises like a simple squat can be an almost overwhelming endeavour for a patient rehabbing from something like hip surgery. Even walking without the aid of a cane or other stabilizing device, can be a real challenge.

But there is a way to beat gravity and help patients recover more easily, without fear and with a lot less pain... pool therapy!

Without the same degree of gravity pulling on our body, a patient's ability to gradually extend range of motion and perform walking and other exercises is greatly increased. And without the same resistance, patients suffer less pain and no longer fear losing balance and falling.

Our partners at LifeMark Esquimalt have produced this short video, featuring LifeMark Kinesiologist Jen Spaans illustrating how pool therapy with a patient recovering from a serious hip injury.