Winter Blues: Tips For Staying Active and Beating the Blues!

  • by glarehab
  • Jan 27, 2013
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Winter Blues: Tips For Staying Active and Beating the Blues!

Winter, especially winters like the one we are enduring this year, can be hard on all of us. In addition, after the excitement of the holiday season, January and February can seem pretty dull.  When it’s -30 degrees, it can be hard to feel motivated to do the things that we know will make us feel better.

Here are some tips for staying happy and healthy during the winter months:

Exercise indoors at a gym or community centre: It sounds obvious, but after the explosion of people at the gym in the first week or two of January, (who hasn’t made a New Year’s resolution to get fit?!) attendance at gyms is actually pretty low during the winter months. And if you think about it, that makes sense. It can seem like so much effort to put on your winter jacket, gloves, scarf, hat, mitts, boots and whatever else you are using to keep you from freezing in this cold weather. You may have to scrape ice off the car to drive to the gym or if you usually walk or use TTC, these options can seem especially daunting. But after all the effort of getting to the gym, it’s totally worth it. It’s warm inside. There is music and people wearing shorts and t-shirts. The environment might even remind you of summer.  After you work out you’ll feel energized and refreshed, and you’ll be proud of yourself for making the effort to go. Reward yourself by taking a long hot shower afterwards and maybe buy a nice cup of hot tea for the commute home.

Try hot yoga.  Hot yoga is exactly what it sounds like – yoga in an extra hot room. Participants will get the same benefits of yoga such as core strengthening, improved balance, and relaxation, but with the added bonus of spending an hour in summer-like temperatures. Bring a towel as you will definitely sweat! Check with your doctor before you start hot yoga to make sure it’s safe for you.

Go skating! There are several outdoor skating rinks in Toronto. Brave the cold, dress warm and lace up your skates! Nathan Phillips Square and the Harbourfront Centre offer free skating in the winter months, and if you don’t have your own skates you can rent a pair from both locations. Skating can make you feel invigorated. As an added bonus, as your blood gets moving, your body will warm up and you’ll feel less cold!

Embrace relaxation. Let’s face it. When it’s freezing cold and snowing outside, sometimes the thought of going out for dinner, going to the movies, socializing with friends – all the things that we usually enjoy – can seem less pleasurable. While it’s important to stay as active as possible during the winter months, sometimes it really is nice to cuddle up on the couch, drink a cup of hot chocolate and watch a movie. Wintery days are the perfect excuse to relax at home!

Take up an indoor hobby. Maybe you always wanted to start watercolour painting. Or maybe you’ve been meaning to sort through all those boxes in your basement. Winter is the perfect time to try new hobbies or get to things around the house. When summer comes and it’s hot and sunny, you’ll probably be outside more. Seize the opportunity to enjoy indoor activities.

Remember that summer is just around the corner. While it seems so far away now, before you know it summer will be back. Yes, it’s been a particularly harsh winter, but the good news is that it won’t last forever! Keep it all relative…this weather makes us appreciate summer so much more!

Like these tips? For more information about our services visit our website.

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Non-Pharmacological Management of Chronic Pain

  • by glarehab
  • Jan 27, 2013
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Non-Pharmacological Management of Chronic Pain

In the acute phase of an injury, pain ‘makes sense’ to most people. It’s logical that if you break your leg, you’ll have pain while the bone is healing. If you burn your hand, you’ll have pain while the skin recovers. This type of pain is usually referred to as acute pain.

In the ‘ideal’ recovery, once the physical injury has healed the associated pain will disappear. As the injury heals and the client regains strength in the muscles and range of motion in the joint, the hope is that the pain they once felt will lessen and eventually disappear.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes clients will continue to experience pain long after the physical injury has reached the maximum level of recovery. For other clients, their injuries may be such that a full recovery may take many months or even years, or may not be possible at all.

These clients are often described as having “chronic pain” and generally require a multi-disciplinary approach to managing pain.

Many clients who have chronic pain are prescribed medications to reduce the severity of their pain. But there are other strategies that can be used in addition to medications that can also help to manage pain.

Here are some non-pharmacological strategies to help manage pain that a rehabilitation professional might suggest:

  • Engage in meaningful activities: An important strategy suggested by pain specialists and rehab professionals is to return to normal daily activities as much as possible.  Our therapists help clients to find productive activities that are meaningful to them. By using the strategies listed below, therapists can assist clients to engage in daily routines with modifications as needed.
  • Acupuncture: With this type of treatment, a physiotherapist with additional training in acupuncture will insert tiny needles just below the surface of the skin. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, this regulates the flow of qi (energy) along pathways known as meridians.
  • Therapeutic exercise: When a client is in pain, it may seem counterintuitive to him or her to move the area that hurts. Often though, once the acute injury has healed, movement of sore and stiff joints can actually reduce pain in the long term. A physiotherapist can prescribe an exercise program that is tailored to each client’s needs and a rehab support worker can monitor the program and provide cuing and motivation to the client.
  • Deep breathing and relaxation: Generally speaking, the experience of chronic pain makes people feel stressed. Conversely, stress increases pain by causing muscle tension and other physiological changes in the body. Clients need one-to-one instruction and encouragement to learn specific breathing techniques and methods of relaxation to reduce stress.  Examples of relaxation strategies that are encouraged by rehabilitation professionals include progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery exercises.
  • Education around energy conservation: For some clients, chronic pain is just that – chronic. When pain is present over many weeks or months, it can become very tiring. Things that used to be easy may now seem overwhelming. This type of situation can be helped by learning strategies for conserving energy, such as pacing, taking breaks at strategic times and planning ahead.
  • Sleep hygiene strategies: When a client is coping with chronic pain, often his or her sleep schedule is interrupted. Clients may take naps during the day to cope with fatigue from pain, but then will have trouble falling asleep at night. Therapists can provide strategies to help the client maintain a regular sleep schedule and promote comfort and relaxation during sleep
  • Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: Pain is real when it is experienced by clients, but the way we conceptualize pain and the amount of power we give pain in our lives can impact how disruptive pain is. Occupational therapists and social workers trained in the principles of CBT will often provide clients with help in changing the way they think and feel about pain.

At GLA we take pain seriously. We understand how impactful pain is for our clients and are well equipped to work with physicians and specialists to provide additional strategies to manage pain and improve daily functioning. For more information about how we are helping clients to manage chronic pain, please feel free to contact us.

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PGAP and Vocational Rehabilitation

  • by glarehab
  • Jan 22, 2013
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PGAP and Vocational Rehabilitation

People naturally experience a change in lifestyle after losing their job or primary occupation.  The longer they spend without meaningful employment, the more this becomes a problem.  Occupation helps to define who we are.  Meaningful work is therapeutic. It is what gives us the motivation to get up in the morning and to tackle the challenges that come our way.

When people can no longer work because of a disability due to chronic pain, many aspects of their life suffer as a result that goes beyond just financial loss.  For example there may be a loss of familiar routine, loss of important social contacts, and family dynamics can change for the worse.  It may lead to a deterioration of self esteem and self confidence, which can make it very hard to re-enter the workplace.

“Fifteen of the 18 studies demonstrated a beneficial effect of RTW (Return to Work) on health, either showing a significant improvement in health after re-employment or a significant decline in health attributed to continued unemployment..” Institute for Work and Health

We can help to restore an injured worker’s meaningful activity and help them get back to work through a program called Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP) developed by Michael Sullivan, PhD and Ms. Heather Adams, BSW.

PGAP is an evidence-based program designed for individuals with difficulties returning to work due to pain, depression, cancer and other chronic conditions.  This 10-week disability treatment program is aimed at minimizing the impact of the person’s disability on their daily activity.  PGAP is cost-contained, time limited, and focuses primarily on function.  Psychosocial risk factors are also evaluated in the process.

“The primary objective of these interventions is to reduce psychosocial barriers to rehabilitation progress and facilitate return to work.”  Dr. M. Sullivan

Over 10 weeks, the client works with a PGAP-trained clinician who has the expertise to coach them through the program.  The client is assigned a workbook and weekly ‘homework’ to help develop skills and the habit of recording and planning his or her own activities.  Short- and long-term goals are formulated, meaningful life roles that were lost are examined, and there is a thought reaction record to help with stress and anxiety.

The program gets the client actively involved in a daily walking program and better sleep habits.  In addition, work simplification and pacing strategies are incorporated into learned pain coping techniques as the client begins to rebuild a repertoire of skills needed each day.

As a therapist helping injured workers dealing with chronic pain return to work, PGAP can be very helpful and an important component of the vocational rehabilitation process.

Written by Lisa Hung, OT and PGAP certified

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GLA Offers a Working Group for Spouses of Survivors with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

  • by glarehab
  • Jan 16, 2013
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GLA Offers a Working Group for Spouses of Survivors with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

We’ve all heard it…marriage is hard work! At the best of times, marriage takes compromise, understanding, good communication and a lot of love.  However, when you add the challenge of living with a spouse who has suffered a brain injury, things can often get really hard!

Galit Liffshiz & Associates understands the need for support and solutions for the partners of brain injury survivors in dealing with the many issues arising after an ABI.  Therefore, we will now be offering a support and work group for spouses of ABI survivors.

This group will provide spouses with a safe, supportive and educational environment that will not only allow them the opportunity to discuss their issues with individuals who share their experiences, but will also allow them to learn new tools and coping skills that they can apply in their day-to-day living.

Important issues will be covered, such as:

  • Cognitive-communication challenges:
  • Improving daily family function;
  • Rebuilding relationships after an accident;
  • The inability to see another point of view (perspective taking)

In addition, problem solving and making decisions together with effective communication as spouses and survivors work to maintain normal family routine will be addressed.

The group will be run by an Occupational Therapist, a Rehab Support Worker and a Speech and Language Pathologist, all of whom maintain extensive experience with the ABI population.

Each session will focus on a topic with a defined education and strategy section and opportunities will be given for support around specific issues.  Participants will complete homework tasks that will be based on functional ‘real-life’ scenarios. These tasks will be designed to help practice skills learned within the group.

The goal of the group is not just to serve as a support group for motivation and encouragement, but to also be educational and practical.  Participants will take home the confidence and ability to put the strategies learned from the group into practice in their daily life while also understanding the foundation for them.

For more information on the Working Group or other services, please contact Galit Liffshiz & Associates.

Written by: Kate Solomon – RSW

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