Tag Archive for: Avoid Back Pain

Calming the Storm in Your Brain: Migraines

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If you suspect you suffer from migraine headaches and you’re looking for an alternative drug-free solution to best manage your symptoms, this article is for you. Migraines occur in 10-15% of kids and adults and only half of people know they are having one. In this blog, you’ll learn about what causes migraine headaches, the criteria that doctors use for diagnosing migraines and easy tips to help you relax even though you’re suffering. My hope is you’ll get more clarity on migraines as well as on next steps to help you better manage migraine headaches with a safe and holistic approach.

What is a migraine headache?  

Doctors tell us it is an electrical storm in the brain. The brain cells or neurons are firing too much or too little creating temporary changes in the brain. This electrical imbalance in the brain causes head pain.

Doctors reassure us that head pain isn’t damaging the brain tissue and that 95% of headaches are safe.

Check out this educational video about migraines.

If you are a migraine sufferer, you’re not alone. Migraines account for more difficulty doing regular activity than any other neurological problem.

Unsure if Your Headaches are Migraines?

According to the International classification or headache disorders, the current agreed upon criteria for migraine diagnosis:

  1. At least 5 attacks, 1 fulfilling criteria B-D
  2. Migraine lasting 4-72 hours untreated or unsuccessfully treated
  3. Headache has at least 2 or the following characteristics:
  4. Unilateral location
  5. Pulsating quality
  6. Moderate or severe pain intensity
  7. Aggravation by or causing avoidance of routine physical activity
  8. During headache at least one of the following:
  9. Nausea and/or vomiting
  10. Photophobia and phonophobia

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, photophobia is the intolerance to light especially painful sensitiveness to strong light. Phonophobia is an intolerance of or hypersensitivity to sound.

If you’re reading this and you suspect you suffer from migraines, I suggest you make an appointment with your family doctor as he/she will perform a physical exam to confirm this diagnosis.

So, it is a Migraine…Now What?

Since here is no cure for migraines, once you have been diagnosed, there are many suggestions as to how best manage your symptoms.

Headache doctors and neurologist recommend:

  • Drinking water
  • Getting regular sleep
  • Relaxation techniques

At Apana Bodywork we specialize in not only relaxation but resetting the nervous system, often mitigating symptoms of migraines before they start.

Trame Vibrational Therapy has a great track record for helping migraine sufferers. During my initial training I had 9 volunteers receive one Trame session every 3 weeks for a total of 4 sessions each. In exchange they made observations about the effects they felt from the sessions mentally, physically, emotionally and energetically.

There were 4 of 9 case study participants that suffered regular (at least once a month) migraines and the intensity reported was debilitating enough to affect their daily activities. Of the migraine sufferers, none of them experienced a migraine during the 4 months study, that’s 100% effectiveness for this small sample group.

Screaming in Pain

It’s really tempting to get angry at the pain. We’re missing out on work, family and play. We might be hiding out in a dark room waiting for the pain to pass. When we’re suffering for hours or even days it can be very frustrating to wonder when you will feel better. If you’re tempted to scream out in pain let me reinforce what the doctors say; it only makes the situation worse.  Your brain is trying to find balance and adding more volatility in the form of anger only gives the body more work to do to calm the storm in your brain.

Solution: Laugh at the pain.

This may seem like a ridiculous suggestion but when you laugh at the pain or think of the pain less seriously, you diffuse it and take away it’s power over you. Is it difficult to do? Yes. Will it help immediately? No. But, over time you will get better at detaching yourself from the pain making it less debilitating.

Relaxation Tips for Migraines:

  1. Feel another part of your body that doesn’t hurt

When we pay attention to another part of our body that does not hurt, our reality shifts away from the pain and we experience less stress mentally and emotionally helping ease the pain we’re experiencing.

  1. Wiggle your toes until you fall asleep

When you’re lying in bed and the pain is stopping you from falling asleep, try slowly and gently wiggling your toes. Start with your left foot and feel your toes wiggle gently and then wiggle the toes of your right foot. Keep alternating from side to side making it your job to only you’re your toes and commit to keep doing it while staying easy about the exercise. You will eventually drift off to sleep just keep at it no matter how long it takes. Surrender to this movement and you will distract yourself from the pain and sleep more soundly.

  1. Using another sensation

Using another sensation such as light physical touch or temperature interrupts the pain signal. Simply stroking your forehead, light massage or placing an ice pack on your head.

Migraines can be a real pain and necessitate days off work, missed family time and opportunities.   Finding ways to prevent them, in my opinion, is a smart way to go. In the absence of that, finding the strategies that best help you to manage the pain and minimize the length and intensity of your migraines is the second priority because you have places to be and things to do!

If you’d like to come in and talk more about what you’re going through as well as solutions we offer, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact Apana Bodywork at 647-801-2424 or find us on Instagram @apana.bodywork.

Check out our Youtube video talking more about migraines or watch below:

 

Are You Showing Up as Your Truest Self?

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How Trame Vibrational Therapy Can Help You Heal Your Mind and Body

Vulnerability has been researched extensively by one of my favourite experts on all taboo topics – Brene Brown. Leading by example during her TED talk that became the Top 10 most viewed in the world, she put herself out there confessing that she didn’t agree with her research findings. She has studied vulnerability for the past twelve years and has empirically proven that vulnerability at its core requires courage and simply can’t exist otherwise.

I don’t know about you but for me vulnerability didn’t come easy and still takes a few deep breaths to conjure the strength to put myself “out there” in moments when I’d rather put a wall up or pretend otherwise.

We are all Imperfectly Perfect

The reason I believe this topic is so important is that we live in a culture where we are starved for real connections. We are all-tech-all-the-time and little face to face time. We are going a million miles a minute and crave human contact, but we can’t really connect if we’re faking it or holding back our true selves. It is important to get comfortable in our own imperfect skin so that we can show up more as who we are, in order to reap the social rewards.

We all have people in our lives that being completely ourselves comes naturally and then we have the relationships where we feel we have to put our best foot forward and strive toward perfection.

So how do we show up as our true selves when we are in front of people who expect us to be flawless? How do we shed all the layers of false beliefs that tell us we are not good enough and really show up as who we really are?

It’s entirely possible.

One Step at a Time

With a focus on personal development and the right tools, you’d be surprised at how quickly your internal world changes for the better.

I’ve seen clients in my practice that come in with laundry lists of issues like physical pain, depression/anxiety, difficulty communicating or relating to their kids or spouses, stress, difficulty getting motivated in their businesses, and so on.

Sounds like a lot to “fix” right?

It’s a lot simpler than drudging through all the issues and dissecting them at length. In my practice, it’s about recalibrating the individual so that their own innate intelligence takes care of the healing.

So how do we get this done? Trame Vibrational Technique.

Trame Vibrational Therapy

Trame is vibrational medicine. Just like a musical instrument that requires periodic tuning, so do you! We are very complex instruments that can play off key at times and this only means we need a tune up.

Signs you may need a vibrational tune up:

  • Lack of mental clarity
  • Re-living the past
  • Anxiety/depression
  • Lack of energy
  • Difficulty focusing
  • Issues with Sleep
  • Inability to settle
  • Pain in the body

And the list goes on!

As Albert Einstein once said, “the future of medicine will be the medicine of frequencies.” Trame Vibrational therapy is just that – a big step toward balance, harmony and re-setting the nervous system so that the body can heal itself.

Feeling empowered enough to be vulnerable no matter where you are or who you’re with is something that I’ve witnessed in my practice even when clients weren’t looking for it. They show up confidently with their children as well as at work, they become more resilient to very stressful situations, and they learn about themselves. But most importantly they are happier and feel more like themselves. Personal growth is why I do what I do. I know the pain of not showing up as myself fully and I want to share that gift with others.

Let’s Connect

If you’re looking to shed some layers that are holding you back from fully expressing who you are in the world, book your complimentary 30-minute consultation and learn how this is easier than you think.

I invite you to share your experience or ask questions in the comments. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and join our newsletter for health inspirations and tips. My YouTube Channel is also an amazing place to connect and learn.

To our health & wellbeing,

Madeleine

Bend With Your Knees, Not With Your Back

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Are you a mother who has to lift your child countless times per day? This can create a situation for your back that can get quite ugly – constant pain and virtual immobility. In this short post, I will share some tips for moms (and dads) on how to properly lift your child so that you do not put undue strain on your back and potentially find yourself in traction or a body cast.

It took some time but I eventually determined that I was committing “lifting fraud”. After many months and hundreds of bad lifts, I finally came to the realization that this was the cause of my back pain. It dawned on me that I should be lifting with my knees and not my back! And I am in the rehab/personal training field!

Then it occurred to me that, if I am forgetting to do this, how many others are forgetting it too?

If you want to know how to lift your child so that you prevent injury and do not become crippled by back pain, follow these few simple steps:

  1. Bend your knees, not at your waist
  2. Stick your pretty butt out (yes, I mean you!)
  3. Keep your abs tight
  4. Inhale as you lift up (this expands your ribcage and acts to inflate your back and give it more stability and strength)

So simple yet so easy to forget when you are taking care of the cutest bundle of joy and love – not to mention an endless number of matters to think about inside and outside your household.

When you are a mom, especially a new mom, things can get complicated (like having groceries in one arm and a baby in the other and being determined to only make one trip from the car to the house!).

Mothers, please take care of your backs; these steps are preventative – and free of charge, too!

Moms (and dads), remember to bend with your knees, not your back (and keep your abs tight!)