Dr Sasha Zevenhuizen DC
117 Kearney Lake Rd Suite 11 Halifax, NS, Canada

As athletes we often forget that rest is important. Especially those of us that use exercise as a method to discharge stress and are doing high intensity or endurance exercise several days a week. Sound familiar? It does to me! Our body also likes us to change it up, be it alternating weights with running/swimming/yoga/biking/hiking, etc and needs slow days to recover, rest and regenerate. I personally like to alternate my run days with walks/hikes/yoga and I like to vary my... runs by taking them to the trails to challenge myself on different terrain and surfaces to keep my body guessing. There are two additional areas that I would stress in addition to adequate rest. Those are good sleep habits and adequate nutrition. If you eat foods that are mostly processed, are not eating enough nutrient dense foods (with adequate protein/vitamins/minerals/fats) and are are consistently getting under 7hrs of sleep per night, you may be wondering why you are always injured or have nagging areas of persistent irritation. Nutrition and sleep play a role here! I love helping athletes with their injuries and training strategies to prevent further injury and have many other professionals that I refer to to help achieve better nutrition, better sleep, better stress management, which results in better recovery! How can I help you?

This was certainly true in my mind when I first entered into the clinical practice world. I had a lot of complex exercises to try and describe for a lot of different types of low back pain. Low back pain? Is related to a Disc herniation, SI joint, piriformis muscle, weak glutes/hip flexors, facet irritation? These were common singular contributors that I wanted to use to make a specific diagnosis. I still find that these are my most commonly discussed areas but most often in... conjunctions with other areas of the body and multiple lifestyle factors. Rarely is it as specific (or as simple) as we want it to be. Turns out the longer I am in practice the more my experience (and research) has shown me that back pain is SO complex. That’s also why there is such a high rate of re-occurrence as it has many influencing factors. No your back pain is not as simple as a we all want to believe. There are so many factors that contribute like workplace, lifestyle, health conditions, type/amount of activity, hobbies, stress, digestion, hormonal factors, etc. That’s just to name a few. People always wonder why I ask so many questions... I’m not just nosey These are helpful to me to get into those other factors that affect how we heal! The ultimate movement goal as we age (in my opinion) has 3 crucial elements. They are 1) to be always able to squat to pick something up from the ground 2) carry an object over a desired distance AND 3) to be able to get off the floor with ease. These are seemingly simple tasks that we can have a lot of difficultly doing when we have a lot of low back pain. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away and complex exercises do work for some but are very difficult to do properly at home. This why I provide SIMPLE exercises that are EASY to remember as foundations for exercise to my patients. Chair squats? Breath work? TIY? Hip hinge? Scapular control work? Deep neck flex strength? Walking? Journaling? Diet changes? Work station modifications? Better sleep routines? These are just some examples. Easy to do at home. Easy to describe. Little to no equipment required. Let’s get back to basics. How can I help you?

Haha I’m somewhere between the crawler and the falling log. What about you?

I don't typically share my doTerra business on this page but their recent additions to their product line up has made incorporating essential oils into our lifestyles so much EASIER and CONVENIENT! When creating and recommending chiropractic treatment plans there are a few areas we want effective and reliable products for. My top components are immediate pain relief, reducing inflammation and strategies for stress/mind/mood management. These are huge components of overall recovery from discomfort and a better lifestyle overall. These kits really help simplify home care and supplement recommendations! Want to know more? Send me a message :)

We've been on vacation a few times this summer and this for me means being a bit more flexible on naptime if we want to get our full enjoyment out of the day. How many parents use carriers for walks/hikes? I use mine frequently as it allows for much greater flexibility than a stroller and it means I get my workout rolled into wherever we hike! Nothing quite like an extra 40lbs on your back to make the quads burn Now here's one thing I often get as a complaint from the carr...Continue reading