Altius Health & Performance
808 Nelson Street, Unit 710 V6Z 2H2 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Thomas Edison was a smart man. Not just in what he invented, but how he approached his life. He didn't focus on the failures, he strived to succeed against all odds. One thing we must do we if want to grow and learn is to challenge current beliefs and systems, as they are not perfect. Most of the time, they are the best "guess" to what we feel is the truth. In actuality, many seeming truths in the past are now deemed utterly false. Don't accept everything that you hear. Read, test it out, challenge the norms... This is how we grow personally and professionally.

It's not ok being in pain while moving or doing day to day activities. As many as 20% of Canadians are in chronic pain and the tough part is finding out why, and what to do about it. Movement screening is a highly debated topic, but it can provide some a basic biomechanical screen to help understand why the pain or dysfunction is there. It's not the entire picture, but it checks off one box of the pain experience of the person. It should be used as one tool and one piece of evidence to help determine not only the right course of action for the person, but also, looking at the big picture, if you're the right person at the right time for them to achieve their goals. It takes a lot of confidence to admit you need help, which everyone professional at some point does.

Being strong fixes a lot of problems @thebarbellphysio Good training shouldn’t hurt you, but can it be good enough to prevent you from getting hurt? Post by @thestrengthcontinuum .. The short answer is no, it can’t. There are way too many things that go into getting injured - both acutely and chronically.... .. The long answer, however, is that while it cannot necessarily prevent you from getting injured, it can likely minimize the potential or risk for you to get injured. .. So, what exactly is good training when you are looking to decrease injury risk? .. This meta-analysis from 2014 took a look at a variety of studies looking at different training programs and how they related to decreasing injury risk. .. The findings are pretty clear in showing that the narrative of stretching pre and/or post activity is needed to not get hurt aren’t really supported in the slightest. .. Call us a broken record, but strength training does a whole lot more for you than make you ‘big and bulky’. .. Stay tuned for later when we dive into more research on strength training to minimize injury risk. .. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/11/871.long See more

CLINICAL ANATOMY: The talus is an "L" shaped bone that sits right under tibia and plays a large part in the function of our foot, ankle and lower extremity. It has many important functions, such as the receiving and distribution of the weight of the body, inversion/eversion of the ankle joint and passage of lines of force from vertical to horizontal. Probably the most important function is the ability for the ankle to dorsiflex and planterflex, which you need for sagittal pl...ane motion, such as running and walking. Due to the fact that the talus and ZERO muscular attachments, it can be a significant influencer to chronic issues of the entire lower extremity. There are quick screens and manual assessments that can let you know if the talocrural and subtalar joints are functioning the way they were designed to. If you have chronic lower body issues, get this checked out!

Do you feel like you are foam rolling constantly, stretching the same stuff and still not getting the movement you want? You're leaving out a major component on mobility: THE JOINT! If you have a joint that cannot access the range of motion you want, you can stretch and foam rolling your 9-5 job and you wont get the desired outcome you want. It's like if you want to put a screw in the wall, you need a screwdriver, NOT a hammer. You the right tool for the right job. How do you know what tool you need? Get a proper assessment by a practitioner who has many tools to know what the problem is and what is needed to get it better.

How many times have you looked at someone in the gym or someone working with a trainer and think, "What in the world are they doing?" If it looks like it doesn't make sense, it probably doesn't. Every person should have plan, every session should have a goal and every exercises done should have a purpose. It doesn't matter if it's an olympic athlete, older adult or someone getting ready for beach season; same rules always apply. We tend to get caught up in the latest trends, equipment or social media star and what they are doing. Keep it simple, stick to the basics and use your brain.

CLINICAL ANATOMY: Always feel you have "tight" hip flexors that constant mobilization? The next few posts are for you. These structures that are attached to the hip flexors may be the reason you aren't making any progress. Next up, the kidneys. Anatomically, these guys "sit" right on the psoas muscles, coming in direct contact with them. In addition, kidney are the most mobile of the organs and viscera, so any impairment of the their motion will "lock down" structures around it, including the psoas! This is only one of MANY ways hip flexors have a tough time extending. How do you know what the problem is? Get an assessment and test, get and intervention and then retest. Is there a measurable difference? Did it last? All important to making a difference.

One of my favourite quotes I put in most of my presentations. Dr. Selye coined the term "stress" so he knows a thing or two about it. As long as we have the capabilities to recover from the stress we are exposed to, it makes us stronger. If we cannot, our health and performance suffer. All stress can have benefits, even if can be perceived as harmful (think vaccinations) and some stresses thought to be good can be detrimental to our health (too much exercise has significant negative health corrections such as heart disease and injuries). Eat well, exercise enough, get your rest and do something for yourself everyday. How do you know you are on the right track? Measure, measure, measure.

CLINICAL ANATOMY: Always feel you have "tight" hip flexors that constant mobilization? The next few posts are for you. These structures that are attached to the hip flexors may be the reason you aren't making any progress. First up, connection of the diaphram. The arcuate ligament of the diaphram arches over the psoas around the first lumbar vertebrae, all the way to the tip of the 12th rib. So if your diaphram's a problem, your hip flexors are a problem. Not only that, thi...s will lock down the transition of your lumbar to thoracic vertebrae, the T-L junction, limiting rotation which could cause lower back discomfort. This is only one of MANY ways hip flexors have a tough time extending. How do you know what the problem is? Get an assessment and test, get and intervention and then retest. Is there a measurable difference? Did it last? All important to making a difference.

Shouldn't this be alarming? With it being such an epidemic, shouldn't we be closer to figuring it out? Or having more discussions about it? Where most people go wrong is that if the pain is in an area, they look for stretches or exercises for that part. Truth is, the area is usually the "victim", where we need to be looking for the "criminal". How do we find the criminal? Assess, assess and assess some more. Not only physically, but chemically and emotionally as well. Pain can come from anywhere, so don't have your blinders on!

Thomas Edison was a smart man. Not just in what he invented, but how he approached his life. He didn't focus on the failures, he strived to succeed against all odds. One thing we must do we if want to grow and learn is to challenge current beliefs and systems, as they are not perfect. Most of the time, they are the best "guess" to what we feel is the truth. In actuality, many seeming truths in the past are now deemed utterly false. Don't accept everything that you hear. Read, test it out, challenge the norms... This is how we grow personally and professionally.

It's not ok being in pain while moving or doing day to day activities. As many as 20% of Canadians are in chronic pain and the tough part is finding out why, and what to do about it. Movement screening is a highly debated topic, but it can provide some a basic biomechanical screen to help understand why the pain or dysfunction is there. It's not the entire picture, but it checks off one box of the pain experience of the person. It should be used as one tool and one piece of evidence to help determine not only the right course of action for the person, but also, looking at the big picture, if you're the right person at the right time for them to achieve their goals. It takes a lot of confidence to admit you need help, which everyone professional at some point does.

Being strong fixes a lot of problems @thebarbellphysio Good training shouldn’t hurt you, but can it be good enough to prevent you from getting hurt? Post by @thestrengthcontinuum .. The short answer is no, it can’t. There are way too many things that go into getting injured - both acutely and chronically.... .. The long answer, however, is that while it cannot necessarily prevent you from getting injured, it can likely minimize the potential or risk for you to get injured. .. So, what exactly is good training when you are looking to decrease injury risk? .. This meta-analysis from 2014 took a look at a variety of studies looking at different training programs and how they related to decreasing injury risk. .. The findings are pretty clear in showing that the narrative of stretching pre and/or post activity is needed to not get hurt aren’t really supported in the slightest. .. Call us a broken record, but strength training does a whole lot more for you than make you ‘big and bulky’. .. Stay tuned for later when we dive into more research on strength training to minimize injury risk. .. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/11/871.long See more

CLINICAL ANATOMY: The talus is an "L" shaped bone that sits right under tibia and plays a large part in the function of our foot, ankle and lower extremity. It has many important functions, such as the receiving and distribution of the weight of the body, inversion/eversion of the ankle joint and passage of lines of force from vertical to horizontal. Probably the most important function is the ability for the ankle to dorsiflex and planterflex, which you need for sagittal pl...ane motion, such as running and walking. Due to the fact that the talus and ZERO muscular attachments, it can be a significant influencer to chronic issues of the entire lower extremity. There are quick screens and manual assessments that can let you know if the talocrural and subtalar joints are functioning the way they were designed to. If you have chronic lower body issues, get this checked out!

Do you feel like you are foam rolling constantly, stretching the same stuff and still not getting the movement you want? You're leaving out a major component on mobility: THE JOINT! If you have a joint that cannot access the range of motion you want, you can stretch and foam rolling your 9-5 job and you wont get the desired outcome you want. It's like if you want to put a screw in the wall, you need a screwdriver, NOT a hammer. You the right tool for the right job. How do you know what tool you need? Get a proper assessment by a practitioner who has many tools to know what the problem is and what is needed to get it better.