Personal Counselling, also known as ‘talking therapy’ provides an opportunity to talk about some personal issues or to explore a certain area of your personal life. Many a times we consult our family or friends or the physician about our worries to get some guidance. However, often the issues are too private and/or our resources may not have the time or inclination to listen to all we have to say. In such times, it may be much easier to approach a professional counsellor who is non-judgemental, empathetic, preferably speaks and understands your own language and culture.
Counselling is usually on a one-to-one individual basis, except when a couple are involved or a group counselling is called for or. Today we also have the facilities to conduct the sessions on-line through Skype and emails as well as telephonic consultancy. Irrespective of the way it is conducted, counselling can be very effective. Various researches on the outcome of counselling shows that counselling helps people to feel better and return to their routines earlier than if they didn’t use it.
It requires a lot of courage to accept your problems and limitations and seek professional help. Some people can identify their limitations and gather enough courage themselves to seek counselling, while some may not have the courage or knowledge of the available services and may need to be referred by some family members or close friend or the GP/Psychiatrist.
Although counsellors come from different backgrounds and training, with degrees from fields such as Social Work, Psychology, and Counselling, most of the professional counsellors are members of their accrediting bodies. Before deciding on your therapist, do not be afraid to ask questions or request further information about their qualifications, training, experiences and details of their accreditation.
A counsellor is trained to listen carefully to your problems and support you to sort your own solutions. She will ask you questions to help you to clarify your situation and identify the exact problem. She may then help you to set goals and decide on helpful courses of action. The relationship between the counsellor and the client is based on confidentiality and trust. The counsellor is your professional partner, yet at all times, you are in charge and you could decide either to quit or continue the sessions.
Some of the problems/issues that people seek counselling for are:- isolation, loneliness, anxiety, depression, anger, low self-esteem, relationships, phobias, stress, addictions, sexual dysfunction, physical-mental health and marital and parental difficulties. Counselling for children are dealt with separately and depending upon the age and maturity, a significant adult member or the primary carer is required to be present.
The total number of counselling sessions required is determined by the intensity of the problem and decided by the client’s personal need. The counsellor will discuss this at the first session and guide further. Most people choose to meet their counsellor once a week and have four to six sessions. Depending on the individual circumstances, the counsellor will be able to discuss and guide in order to ensure you get the most appropriate care and support. The counselling sessions are supposed to be highly confidential. The only exception is when there is a probability that either yourself or someone else might be at risk to any harm. For example, issues surrounding child safety, and suicidal or homicidal tendencies. But most of the time the counsellor will discuss this with you.
The fees for private counselling services depend upon the individual counsellor’s training and experience and of course the locality. It may range from $75/hour to $250/ hour. The costs are different for individual and family counselling, telephone and e-mail counselling. Many counsellors offer first 30 minutes free consultation. This gives you an opportunity to ask questions of their accreditation, training and experiences, structure of the sessions etc., and to decide if you feel comfortable enough to go ahead with employing the services of this particular counsellor.
Even if you are on anti depressants, you may seek out counselling to help cope with your day to day issues. Counselling can actually prove to be complementary therapy along with anti-depressants. It helps people to feel better. During your first session, discuss with your counsellor about any anti-depressants or medications you take regularly. It could help if you inform your Psychiatrist/GP about the counselling sessions you are taking, if you feel comfortable.
Often counselling is confused with psychiatry. Although counselling and psychiatry deal with emotional and mental processes, the psychiatrists are specially trained medical doctors, who make a diagnosis of mental illness and then prescribe a treatment with psychiatric medication and other therapies. And counsellors are generally non-medical personnel who work by talking, guiding and encouraging you to find your own solutions. They can nevertheless recognize the symptoms of severe mental distress, and may suggest you consider medical help if this is appropriate.
So if you or your family members or friends are suffering from isolation, loneliness, anxiety, depression or dealing with low self-esteem, or marital difficulties or any other psychological problems, do seek help at the earliest. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment should be the guiding principle. Yet, prevention will always be the best solution to any problem. So to develop and maintain healthy mental and physical health take up Yoga and meditation, keep ‘creatively’ busy, try to find happiness in small things and share this happiness around you. Eat balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, drink at least 7/8 glasses of water daily, give-up smoking and reduce alcohol intake and laugh a lot! If you still need help with psycho-social, physical or mental health issues, consult the appropriate professionals at the earliest signs of distress. Early diagnosis means good prognosis!
With summer drawing to a close and the fall about to set in, many people are starting to set intentions for a new school year or even just a new season. If you’re looking to make changes, sometimes the best place to look is at your habits. Have a bad habit you want to break? Want to get in the habit of making better choices? Whether it’s weight loss, smoking cessation, reducing screen time, improving relationships or finally running that 5km, here are some tips to make it happen:
- Learn more about how habits are set and changes are made. Try reading Atomic Habitsby James Clear or The Holy Sh!t Momentby James Fell. Learning more about the behaviour change process can help you implement changes more effectively. When you know how changes happen, it’s easier to make them happen.
- Get clear on your priorities. Changing all the things at once can make forming new habits difficult so figure out what is most important to you and go from there. It might not feel terribly ambitious, but it is more achievable than trying to revamp your whole life overnight. You don’t have to stop there – positive changes often yield more positive changes. There’s a snowball effect. You just have to start building it one handful at a time. Your confidence will grow with every success.
- Find your why. Changing habits can be challenging. It’s important to understand why the change is important to you. Spend time reflecting or even journaling about the why behind your change. It’s not enough to know something is important foryou to change, you have to understand why it’s important for youto change.
- Visualize the win. Think about what your life will be like when you’ve made this behavioural change. What will it feel like? What will your day look like? How will people see you? What will accomplishing your goal look like? A vision board might be helpful for inspiration.
- Talk about it. One of the best ways to put an intention out into the world is to speak it out loud. Talk over the change you want to make, why, and solicit advice on how to overcome roadblocks to your success. You can do this with a friend, a family member or a qualified counsellor from Wellin5. A counsellor can help you work through the psychological and emotional aspects to making a change and help you strategize how to overcome internal resistance to change.
The lifestyle you want is within your grasp and learning more, reflecting, prioritizing, visualizing, and talking it out are great steps towards achieving it. Wellin5 is on your team if you want to embark on a journey of self-improvement – after all, teamwork makes the dream work. Schedule an appointmentto discuss your goals today.
Repeated exposure to cold, whether that be wind and/or water may cause an abnormal growth of bone within the ear canal. This is called exostosis or bony exotosis.
The medical term for this bone growth is Exostosis, but more commonly is referred to as ‘surfer’s ear’. This name comes from the fact that the most common cause of Exostosis or surfer’s ear is frequent exposure to cold, be it wind and/or water, making this condition one that often affects surfers, those who surf in cold water. But it is not only surfers who may suffer from Exostosis/surfer’s ear. People who enjoy a variety of other activities in and around the cold water and wind can develop exotosis.
With ongoing exposure to cold wind and water, growth of the bone surrounding the ear canal occurs to protect the eardrum against the harsh elements. Exostosis/surfer’s ear, although not necessarily harmful in itself, however, the constriction of the ear canal can impede the draining of water and ear wax and other debris can get trapped within the ear canal, which may potentially lead to ear infections. Such ongoing infections could plausibly result in permanent hearing loss.
If Exostosis/surfer’s ear is not treated, the bone growth can evolve to a complete blockage of the ear canal.
Ototoxicity is the property of being toxic to the ear (oto-), sometimes as a drug side-effect.
The effects of ototoxicity, although possibly reversible and temporary, can be irreversible and permanent. Many ototoxic drugs are well known and used in clinical situations. These include those often prescribed for very serious health conditions, despite the risk of hearing disorders. Ototoxic drugs include antibiotics such as gentamicin, loop diuretics such as furosemide and platinum-based chemotherapy agents such as cisplatin. A number of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) have also been shown to be ototoxic.
This can result in sensorineural hearing loss, dysequilibrium, or both. Select environmental and occupational chemicals have also been shown to not only affect the auditory system and interact with noise and increase the negative effects of noise on one’s hearing.
Symptoms of ototoxicity include partial or profound hearing loss, vertigo, and tinnitus.
Ototoxic effects are also seen with quinine, pesticides, solvents, asphyxiants and heavy metals such as mercury and lead. When combining multiple ototoxins, the risk of hearing loss becomes greater.
Ototoxic chemicals in the environment (from contaminated air or water) or in the workplace interact with mechanical stresses on the hair cells of the cochlea in different ways. For organic solvents such as toluene, styrene or xylene, the combined exposure with noise increases the risk of hearing loss in a synergistic manner. Carbon monoxide, has been shown to increase the severity of the hearing loss from noise. Given the potential for enhanced risk of hearing loss, exposures and contact with products such as paint thinners, degreasers, white spirits, exhaust, should be kept to a minimum. Noise exposures should be kept below 85 decibels, and the chemical exposures should be below the recommended exposure limits given by regulatory agencies.
Drug exposures mixed with noise potentially lead to increased risk of ototoxic hearing loss. Noise exposure combined with the chemotherapeutic cisplatin puts individuals at increased risk of ototoxic hearing loss. Noise at 85 dB SPL or above added to the amount of hair cell death in the high frequency region of the cochlea In chinchillas. The American Academy of Audiology recommends people being treated with ototoxic chemotherapeutics avoid excessive noise levels during treatment and for several months following cessation of treatment. Opiates in combination with excessive noise levels may also have an additive affect on ototoxic hearing loss.
Other Medicinal Ototoxic drugs & agents include but are not limited to some varieties of Antibiotics, Loop Diuretics, Chemotherapeutic agents, Antiseptics and disinfectants. Even high doses of quinine, aspirin and other salicylates may also cause high-frequency tinnitus and hearing loss bilaterally, typically reversible upon discontinuation of the responsible drug. The erectile dysfunction medications Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis have also been reported to cause hearing loss.
Successful monitoring includes a baseline test before, or soon after, exposure to the ototoxin. Follow-up testing is completed in increments after the first exposure, throughout the cessation of treatment. Shifts in hearing status are monitored and relayed to the prescribing physician to make treatment decisions.
Make sure to ask your Pharmacist about ototoxic medicines and have your baseline hearing identified by the Viva Care Hears program.
To reduce your pain and accelerate your body’s natural healing ability
Shockwave therapy is a relatively new form of treatment in the fields of orthopedic and rehabilitation medicine.
The effect of true “shockwaves” was first documented during World War II when the lungs of castaways on merchant ships were noted to be damaged without any superficial evidence of trauma. It was discovered that the shockwaves created by deep-sea depth-charges were responsible for internal injuries. This created a great deal of interest and research into the biological effects of shockwaves on living tissue.
The first medical treatment developed from this research was lithotripsy. This allowed “Focused” shockwaves to specifically target and essentially dissolve kidney stones without surgical intervention. Today, over98% of all kidney stones are treated with this technology.
The use of modified “Radial” version of shockwaves to treat tendon related pain began in the early 1990s.
How is Radial Shockwave Therapy different than Focused Shockwave?
Focused shockwaves have an intentional, controlled destructive effect on a specific site or point of impact, radial shockwaves do not. A therapeutic, radial shockwave is nothing more than a controlled sonic pulse, much like an airplane breaking the sound barrier.
The primary effect of shockwave is a direct mechanical force as the wave’s energy passes through the tissue. These waves are believed to cause a controlled impact on the tissue being treated. This results in a biological reaction within the cells of that tissue (inflammation), which triggers the body to accelerate its natural healing response and increase blood flow to the injured site.
What can be treated with Radial Shockwave Therapy?
- Plantar Fasciitis, heel spurs
- Patellar tendinitis (jumper’s knee)
- Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow)
- Medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow)
- Thumb basal joint arthritis
- Chronic Inflammation
- Bursitis
- Shin Splints
- Morton’s Neuroma
- Osteoarthritis
How long does it take?
Typical treatments last 5 minutes per area that we are treating. In that time, we typically deliver about 2000 pulses. Most conditions require multiple treatments spaced several days apart to allow your body to do its natural healing in between sessions.
Treatments take as little as 5 minutes with immediate results
Is it effective, can it help me?
Yes. The evidence overwhelming supports Shockwave Therapy as a breakdown technology that is often the best choice for certain conditions that do not respond well to other forms of treatment.
Shockwave therapy works without the use of drugs to stimulate your body’s natural healing process. There is an immediate reduction of pain and improved ease of movement.
Shockwave therapy may even eliminate your need for surgery.
Is it Safe?
All studies show that shockwave therapy, when used for the appropriate conditions, has no negative health effects. However, there are certain conditions where it is not recommended. These include coagulation disorders, over cancer cells, children in growth stage and pregnancy. For this reason, we take special care to assess your individual condition and medical history.
More information and free discussion Please contact: –
SUNSHINE PHYSIOTHERAPY & SPORTS CLINIC
Located beside the VIVA CARE DELTA clinic
UNIT-121 6345 120 STREET DELTA BC V4E2A6
PHONE – 604-445-1100, 604-401-9000
Many of us have seen the standard sleep hygiene recommendations that have been around for decades. Although those recommendations continue to apply to the modern times, there are additional “Tips” that may be important to consider in order to improve your ability to sleep better.
- Turn off your gadgets – as blue light emitted from smartphone, TV and computer screens can suppress melatonin (a hormone helping you sleep) and increase your alertness
- Avoid drinking before bedtime – However enjoyable nightcaps may be, unfortunately, they could lead to more shallow sleep. A shallower sleep could lead to a negative cycle where you’re dependent on sedatives to sleep, and stimulants such as caffeine or sugary food to stay awake during the day.
- Get up early – If you’re having trouble sleeping, getting up earlier and exposing yourself to morning light could be the solution for you. It may seem brutal, but it can get results.
- Forget your worries – It’s important to let go of the worries that build up during the day as
they can affect both the initiation and maintenance of sleep. - Work Out – Whether you’re swimming, running, or practicing yoga, regular exercise can make
for a great night’s sleep. It’s best to work out around six hours before you go to bed as
your body stays overheated for several hours after vigorous exercise, causing wakefulness. - Have a hot drink – A hot (non-alcoholic) beverage before bed is a great way to relax and prepare
for sleep. Avoid coffee, chocolate and fizzy drinks at least six hours before you go to
bed. - Listen to music – Soothing sounds can be a good way to doze off, but anything louder might
have the opposite effect. - Only use medication as a last resort – While you may get results in the short term, it’s
important to be aware of unwanted effects and see your doctor if you’re having trouble
sleeping. - Keep it simple and you should be on your way to a good night’s sleep
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who meet the postgraduate training requirements of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (the College) may be eligible for a provisional licence to practise medicine in British Columbia.
Applicants must have a medical degree plus two years accredited and approved postgraduate training with a basic core of 44 weeks consisting of:
Rotations of eight weeks in:
- medicine
- surgery
- obstetrics/gynecology
- pediatrics
Plus rotations of four weeks each in:
- psychiatry
- emergency medicine (A&E)
- family/general practice.
Medical Council of Canada (MCC) examination – Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Exam (MCCEE) will be waived with reciprocity for those candidates with MRCGP, MICGP, ABFM, FRACGP, or FACRRM.
Read More: https://healthmatchbc.org/Physicians/Family-Physicians-GPs/Licensing.aspx
Recently a patient attended one of our Viva Hears program locations within Viva Care Medical clinics throughout the Lower Mainland of BC. The patient revealed some issues that can be associated with a disease called Meniere’s Disease. In this case the patient had already been assessed for Meniere’s and it was determined they were not suffering from this challenging disease. Although the symptoms of Tinnitus, Vertigo & fluctuating hearing loss can be indicative of Meniere’s they also can be of other maladies and disorders. Upon further assessment and treatment by other healthcare professionals the patient has been initially diagnosed to be living with Cogan syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by recurrent inflammation of the front of the eye (the cornea) and often fever, fatigue, and weight loss, episodes of vertigo (dizziness), tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and hearing loss. If left untreated it can lead to deafness or blindness. The classic form of the disease was first described by D.G. Cogan in 1945.
Cogan syndrome is a rare, rheumatic disease characterized by inflammation of the ears and eyes. This condition may also be associated with blood-vessel inflammation (called vasculitis) in other areas of the body that can cause major organ damage in 15% of those afflicted or, in a small number of cases, even death. It most commonly occurs in a person’s 20s or 30s. The cause is not known. However, one theory is that it is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks tissue in the eye and ear.
Currently, it is believed that Cogan syndrome is an autoimmune disease. The inflammation in the eye and ear are due to the patient’s own immune system producing antibodies that attack the inner ear and eye tissue. Autoantibodies can be demonstrated in the blood of some patients, and these antibodies have been shown to attack inner ear tissue, (laboratory studies). Infection with the bacteria Chlamydia pneumoniae has been demonstrated in some patients prior to the development of Cogan syndrome, leading some researchers to hypothesize that the autoimmune disease may be initiated by the infection. Chlamydia pneumoniae, a common cause of mild pneumonia, is not found to develop into Cogan syndrome in the vast majority of those infected with the C. pneumoniae bacteria.
Although hearing aids can generally help those with Sensorineural Hearing Loss, in those that the disease has damaged blood vessels in the ear, cochlear implantation may be used to restore some sense of hearing.
Studies have shown a medication mainly used to treat nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness, vertigo, Ménière’s disease, or Cogan syndrome, called Cinnarizine can produce significant improvement in hearing loss in some patients.
Our patient was recently fit with great devices from GN Resound that are able to interact via Bluetooth with their mobile phone, computer or vehicle, enabling them to adjust their settings, volume and even stream their phone calls or music!
We encourage everybody to understand their hearing abilities, especially when you feel your hearing is healthy! Establish a baseline and have that on your medical record, stored with your Family Physician!
Schedule your appointment now, 7788078482 hear@vivacare.ca or online at vivahears.janeapp.com
#amplifylife
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
Understanding what our bodies are telling us is a key way to remain in the best possible health, even into old age.
Our body tells us every little problem happened to it, by showing specific symptoms, from minor aches and sore spots to problems that may require remedy.
So maintaining a good and healthy life involves the understanding of the body and not ignoring any pains that may come up.
For example, in a fresh, mesmerizing morning you get up from your bed and as you take some steps it causes sharp, throbbing heel pain, it can be the sign of Plantar Fasciitis.
You must be thinking now that what is this Plantar Fasciitis, right?
When a person walks, the impact of hard ground on his every step is neutralized by his feet’s protective structures like bones, muscles, and ligaments.
When a normal healthy person stands, walks or runs his wonderfully flexible ligaments support this standing, walking and running.
But when any damage happens to the Plantar Fascia, one of the most important ligaments in feet, Plantar Fasciitis develops. So Plantar Fasciitis is a medical condition in which your sole hurts due to any damage to its covering.
Plantar fasciitis represents the most common cause of heel pain in adults, affecting 2 million persons annually in the United States.
The peak incidence occurs between ages 40 and 60 years, although it has been known to occur in runners who are younger.
Bilateral involvement, which occurs in approximately one-third of patients, should prompt consideration of inflammatory disease.
Other Names
Plantar Fasciitis also has many other names such as plantar fasciopathy, Jogger’s Heel or Runner’s Heel as it is common in Athletes and Runners.
Medical Definition
In medical literature Plantar refers to our foot and sole whereas the word fasciitis is a combination of two words Fascia and suffix –itis. Fascia refers to a collagenous sheath covering our sole and suffix –itis means inflammation.
So the literal meaning of Plantar Fasciitis is:
“The inflammation of sole’s fascia”
Plantar Fascia is present along the foot’s bottom. It is a fibrous tissue that begins from the heel area, like a strong elastic band, and then begins to fan out as it heads toward each of individual toe across the foot arch.
This ligament is a cushion to our feet that absorb the force of bounce and spring of normal daily activity, but in the case of Plantar Fasciitis, this fascia stretches and moves far more than its stretching capability, as a result, small tears appear in the tissue and these tears then cause inflammation.
Additionally, bone spurs may form on the heel bone, which is actually the calcium deposit.
These bony lumps are then pushed into the soft pad of your heel with each step you take, causing more pain.
It can understand now that it is a progressive condition. The combination of small tears, inflammation and those bone spurs can cause devastation if left untreated.
But there is no need to worry about it because this painful condition is, fortunately, curable and there are natural options for resolving the pain of this condition.
No inflammation in Plantar Fasciitis!
Many studies on Plantar Fasciitis have stated that there is actually not any inflammation involved in Plantar Fasciitis despite having the word “Fasciitis” in it.
Surprised? You are not alone. Confused? Don’t worry you won’t be for long.
“Plantar Fasciitis is believed to result primarily from repetitive microtrauma and excessive strain. Although it is considered to be an inflammatory condition based on historic descriptions, recent studies suggest that it is a non-inflammatory, degenerative process that may be more appropriately termed plantar fasciosis (Craig R.).”
There are several reasons for this misconception and one of the main reasons is the way people are typically diagnosed with it.
For example, most of the people thought that they have Plantar Fasciitis because they feel pain in the heel, especially in the morning when they take their first few steps or due to the area of pain such as the bottom of the foot or most often the heel area.
They also assume that they are suffering from Plantar Fasciitis because they see no other obvious cause such as broken bone or any other related disease.
We can see people don’t go for an X-ray or lab test that can confirm the Plantar Fasciitis.
Moreover, the things which are commonly used for the diagnosis are not perfect enough in their results to tell us that either inflammation present in the fascia or not.
Therefore people who are told that they have Plantar Fasciitis automatically assume that their fascia is full of inflammation.
Well if we approach this matter in medical terms then “inflammed” means we will find some specific evidence of inflammation.
Moreover, in the medical literature, there are two types of inflammation, acute and chronic.
Acute is referred to immediate so acute inflammation is an immediate response to an injury.
It is quick and lasts from minutes to hours and even for days depending on the severity of tissue injury.
In this type of inflammation, neutrophils (a type of white blood cells) are the main cells involved in it.
Whereas chronic inflammation “comes slow and goes slow” means it has a slow and prolonged duration in which all mechanism such as tissue destruction, tissue repairing, and active inflammation is going on at the same time.
In chronic inflammation macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells are mainly involved (Cells that are part of our immunity).
So from the knowledge of inflammation, we can now tell that if the plantar fascia is indeed inflamed the cells stated above should be present in plantar fascia since these are the cells directly involved in any type of inflammation.
Jarde and also Lemont (2003) took a piece of fascia from 88 patients of Plantar Fasciitis collectively and examined it under a microscope and what they found was cartilaginous metaplasia, fibromatosis, and microcalcification. (Jarde, Lemont 2003)
So from the above research, we can see that inflammation is not a compulsion in Plantar Fasciitis.
Although it can be present in patients of Plantar Fasciitis it is not a definitive diagnostic signal to confirm Plantar Fasciitis in a patient.
References
- Hicks JH. The mechanics of the foot. II. The plantar aponeurosis and the arch. J Anat 1954; 88: 25–30
- Lemont H, Ammirati KM, Usen N. Plantar fasciitis: a degenerative process (fasciosis) without inflammation. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 2003; 93: 234–237