A Healthy Back

6 Comments February 4, 2014 drworobec

“A Healthy Back: for Crossfit and for LIFE”….. this is the presentation I’m doing at Crossfit Altitude on Thursday evening, (February 6th at 7:00pm). It’s going to be a hands-on, active-participation, lots-of-questions-and-answers event and I’ve capped the registration at 20 people so that we can have some great learning opportunities and hopefully some ‘a-ha’ moments.

The reason that I wanted to host this talk is that I’ve seen an increase in the number of lower back injuries in my practice as of late. “But you’re a chiropractor” you say, “don’t you always see lower back injuries?” The answer is yes, but my practice is centred around athletes and active people, so I see a whole host of other injuries as well; from ankle sprains and elbow pain to migraine headaches and knee problems. Unfortunately, back injuries seem to have claimed the top spot for the past few months. So the point of this event is education……. leading to prevention.

What’s the plan, you say?

We’re going to talk about anatomy. If you don’t understand the components of your lower back, how can you understand how to keep it healthy?
We’re going to talk about the three most common back injuries that I see in my practice, and how they relate to Crossfit specifically.
We’re going to move; we’re going to stretch, and strengthen, and talk about tips and suggestions that you can implement into your everyday life.
We’re going to have lots of time to chat; I want participants to go home with all of their back pain/injury/health questions answered.

One of my very first blog posts, that you can view here, was surrounding the misconception that Crossfit causes injuries. I argue that injuries are simply a part of sport, and that the benefits of an active lifestyle far outweigh the risks. I feel very passionate and definitive about this statement.

This event is currently full, but if the interest is there, I would be happy to host another one. Or to come and talk to your group about injury prevalence and prevention, specific to your situation.

As long as we are using our bodies, we need to take care of them!

See you on Thursday.

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Here’s the associated blurb:

Crossfit does not cause lower back injuries, but poor form and weak mechanics do! Do you want to learn how to PREVENT and FIX common lower back injuries? Do you want to avoid that nagging post-deadlift ache? That chronic prolonged-sitting pain? That constant I’m-sore-until-I-warmup discomfort? Then come and join Dr. Ashley Worobec as she talks about common lower back injuries, how to prevent them, and how to fix them! This will be a hands-on active-participation seminar, so come dressed for movement! You will go home with a new appreciation of your lower back and some tips and tricks to keep it healthy and strong so that you can continue to Crossfit (and live) pain-free.

Oh, Gisele.

Leave a comment January 28, 2014 drworobec

***This was originally written as a Guest Blog post for Momstown.ca.***

Did you see this photo floating around the internet a couple of months ago?

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http://instagram.com/giseleofficial

People seemingly went crazy when Gisele Bundchen (who’s Gisele, you say? Oh, um, she’s the highest-paid supermodel in the world) posted this photo of her feeding her one-year-old daughter while getting ready for a photo shoot. She hashtagged it #multi-tasking, which to me, sums up motherhood perfectly.

But Social Media went crazy. I mean crazy crazy. And the sad part is, it was mostly the women. Mostly the mothers. It was the mothers who skipped past the critics that attacked her for tweeting a breastfeeding photo in the first place. It was the mothers who skipped past the critics that attacked her for nursing a one-year-old. It was the mothers who skipped right to the heart of the matter. It was the mothers who said “she’s not really multi-tasking. How hard is it to have someone do your hair and your nails while you feed your child?” Huh?

You see this beautiful photo of a mother nursing her baby and you choose to argue over semantics? The thing is, hair and nails are a part of her job. Just like phonecalls and meetings or customers and a cash register are a part of your job. Would you have criticized her if she was sitting behind a desk #multi-tasking? Or inside a cubicle? Or in her home office? I doubt it. The green of envy is not a flattering hue.

I see this picture and I see a beautiful example of motherhood. I see a toddler bonding with her mama. I see a chance to further breast-feeding activism. I see glitz and glamour and probably a little tongue-in-cheek. But mostly, I see a mom doing the best she can, #multi-tasking, within her set of circumstances.

I’m off to do the best I can, within mine.

Oh, Gisele.

Tomorrow, you are five.

6 Comments January 21, 2014 drworobec

Today, you are still four. But today is the last day for that. When you wake up tomorrow, my sweet boy, you will be five. A new half-decade, a whole hand, a next stage.

Five. Five is school-aged, five is way beyond toddler, five is full-on kid. Five is skinned knees and dirty socks and dump trucks and hockey. Five is opinions and conversations and growth.

The other day, you snuggled up to me and told me that I was “the best mom in the world”. Those words made me happier than I can explain. When you’re a parent yourself, you’ll understand. When you’re a teenager, I will remember this. Your “I-love-you”s, your “please-sing-me-a-song”s, your snuggles and cuddles and kisses, they will dwindle. Your independence will grow and our relationship will evolve. But for now, I’ll cherish my sweet, sensitive, cuddly little boy.

You are one half of my greatest accomplishment, my biggest treasure, my deepest emotion. My everyday-moment-joy doubles when you smile and raises tenfold when you laugh. I hurt when you hurt, and when you cry on the outside I cry on the inside. Before we had you, I wasn’t even sure I wanted children, or had a maternal instinct inside of me. You changed that, my love. You showed me a side of myself that I didn’t know even existed, and a side of myself that now seems so intuitive, so fateful, so clear, so this-is-what-I-was-meant-to-do obvious.

I am appreciating each day, each moment, each milestone with you. I’m learning to be a parent as you’re learning to be a kid. We’re in this together. It’s our journey. Here we go.