Are you struggling with sciatica pain and not sure what’s really causing it? In this episode of Health-Full, we break down true sciatica vs. pseudo-sciatica, helping you understand the real causes of sciatic nerve pain and why some conditions get misdiagnosed.

We’ll cover:

- What is true sciatica? (Pinched sciatic nerve, herniated discs, spinal stenosis)

 - What is pseudo-sciatica? (Piriformis syndrome, SI joint dysfunction, trigger points)

 - How to tell the difference between nerve pain vs. muscle pain

-  The best sciatica treatment options—from manual therapy to at-home rehab

 - When to seek medical help and what to avoid

If you’ve been dealing with lower back pain, hip pain, or leg pain and wondering if it’s sciatica or something else, this episode is a must-listen. Whether you’re a patient looking for answers or a health professional wanting to expand your knowledge, tune in for expert insights!

#Sciatica #SciaticaRelief #SciaticaPain #BackPain #LowerBackPain #NervePain #PiriformisSyndrome #PainManagement #SpinalHealth #PhysicalTherapy #ManualTherapy #Prolotherapy #TriggerPointTherapy

In this Health-FULL episode, Forrest and Monica discuss vulnerable situations that have happened in their personal experiences through their clinical practices. 

They speak about taboo subjects such as therapists passing gas in the treatment room,  comparing themselves to other practitioners, dealing with uncomfortable patient-practitioner dynamics, and much more. 

We hope you enjoy this fun filled and tender episode! 

In this episode, Monica and Forrest discuss their own personal stories related to grief, bereavement, sadness - and navigating life amidst these difficult feelings. 

They discuss their own journeys in showing up for clinic while mourning loss, and strategies they've learned to support others through the grief process. 

Transference and countertransference are explained and how they pertain to social interactions while grieving, specifically in a clinic environment. 

The stages of grief are elaborated on, and real life examples are used to normalize the cycles of grief. 

What is helpful/ not helpful to say to someone after the loss of a family member or friend?  What are some constructive ideas to support someone in their grief?  How does a person show up for work and other daily life activities amidst healing from loss?  These are just a few questions that are discussed in this vulnerable episode. 

To honour the life of Kerry Greenley, who was incredibly generous and thoughtful, please consider signing up to be an organ donor. It only takes a minute, and many lives may be saved because of it! 

Childbearing. childbirth, labor, and delivery, are all pivotal stages in a female's life experience. 

Whether you are expecting a child yourself, or, helping a loved one through the process of birthing - this episode is for you!

We are thrilled to  host special guest Patti Blomme on this show: a maternal nurse,  perinatal educator, private care doula, & postnatal private care consumer advocator. 

Podcast notes:
- Intros
- Discussion of quote: "The position of a woman in any civilization is an index of the advancement of that civilization. The position of women is gauged best by the care given her at birth of her child. Accordingly, the advances and regressions of civilization are nowhere seen more clearly than in the story of childbirth."
- How birthing is a continuum and related to our sexuality
- The climax of birth
- Primal instinct and birth without fear
- Creating a safe environment for the labor process
- How to achieve alignment in the birthing process
- How a mother's past traumas affect her birthing
- Red flags during a home birth
- Benefits of not cutting the chord immediately after delivery 
- Myconium and gut biology in newborns
- How to navigate a change in the atmosphere during your labor
- Oxytocin and the blood-brain barrier 
- The challenges of a quick labour
- "What got the baby in, gets the baby out"
- The responsibilities of someone attending a birth
- Harmful affects of labor on a time schedule
- Comparing traditional birthing tactics to recent strategies
- Conclusion

Thanks for listening!

In this Health-FULL podcast, we discuss biomechanical chronic pain holding patterns in the body.  This is part 2 in the series of Biomechanics, so if you haven't checked out part 1 - we highly recommend it. 

In this episode, we dive into common compensatory patterns that lead to chronic neck and back pain.  We hope you enjoy the episode!

For more info about Monica, you can find her at:
www.acunelson.com
Instagram: @acu.osteo.nelson

For more info about Forrest, you can find him at:
www.rebalancing.ca
Instagram: @ rebalance_mte

In this Health-FULL episode, Forrest and Monica discuss aspects of alignment/body mechanics, and how it leads to chronic pain.  Gait is also a prominent topic as it greatly pertains to overall body structure and alignment. Forrest chimes in with some great insight about orthotics, since he has added orthotic design to his list of talents clinically.   Thanks for tuning into this episode, and look for Part 2 of this series - which will be released in the next week!

For more information about Forrest, check out www.rebalancing,ca 
IG: rebalance_mte

For more information about Monica, check out www.acunelson.com 
IG: acu_osteo_nelson

In this Health-FULL episode, we discuss the differences between Sympathy, Empathy & Compassion. What is a healthy state to deliver care in?  Is it good for mental health to be in a constant state of empathy? 

Being in a position of balanced mental health and wellness is extremely important to avoid the jaws of stress and anxiety.  Taking on emotional patterns of others by unknowingly being too empathetic, can be damaging in the long-term. 

We discuss real life scenarios with our patients that have shaped us into the practitioners we are today.  This is a vulnerable episode.  We discuss patient mortality, and the first time we had a patient pass away - while they were under our care umbrella. We elaborate on our grief and chat about the amazing relationships that are formed with patients over the course of many years, 

We love this Health-FULL topic and hope you enjoy the show. 

Yours in health, Monica & Forrest

Episode Summary

- Intros
- Where should we sit in the Empathy, Sympathy, and Compassion scale as therapists?
- How being empathetic is a blessing and a curse
- Monica delivers a story about the death of her first patient
- Forrest shares about the death of his first patient
- Being triggered by our patient's emotions and how to approach that in a healthy compassionate way 
- We can choose compassion and to protect ourselves
-  4 pillars of compassion and how to achieve compassion toward others
- personal ethics vs. professional ethics
- "Do no harm"  through compassion 
- Sharing personal experiences with patients - is it ok?  If so, in what context?
- Redirecting conversation back to our patients always
-  The "You're not alone, I've been there too" approach
- Authenticity and being genuine, in the face of compassion
- Patient autonomy and being respectful of that
- Creating boundaries around our emotions 
- Using hand signals :)  Helping patients feel safe and like they have an "out" if a topic is not safe for them
- "I statements" vs. "You statements"
- Having a heart and caring is a GOOD thing
- Conclusion 

Is your mental health stressed and overloaded?  Are you always in a position of helping others, to the point where it is affecting your health - while causing stress, anxiety, and even depression? Do you feel fatigued, overwhelmed, or, on the verge of burnout? Are you looking for strategies on how to care for yourself, while caring for others?  

In this Health-FULL episode: "Self Care Strategies to Relieve Stress", we uncover ways to build up your mental health amongst the stresses of day to day life. 

Perhaps you are a health practitioner, therapist, or, the caregiver of a loved one.  The exhausting weight of constantly being in a caregiving position can surely chip away at one's health.  Unless, strategies are learned to properly resource ourselves and move into a position of power, strength, and resiliency. 

In this episode, we hold nothing back as we share 30 years worth of caregiving advice. We ask Julie Pouliot, Registered Massage Therapist, for her expertise and advice on this topic. Thank you for watching, and we hope listening brings you improved mental health and hope for the future. 


- Introduction
- What is Somatic?
- Relationship with ourselves and others
- Safety and Presence and the effect on our nervous system
- Self care for Practitioners and Caregivers
- Know Thyself
- Know your needs
- Be kind to yourself
- Know your capacity and understand that it will change day to day 
- Running on low emotional capacity
- Self-regulation
- Balancing work life with home life
- Tips for caregivers of family members or friends with illness
- Take pauses throughout your day to recharge
- Placing our problems on the shelf, with the promise to come back at the end of the day
- Building resiliency
- The wounded healer 
- Trauma discharge
- Herring's law of cure
- How do you create a safe space for someone when you don't know the ins and outs of their personal needs?
- Validation
- Empathy and compassion
- Burnout and nervous system overload
- Building resilience by doing difficult things
- Mind over matter
- Making acts of service fulfilling to yourself
- Curiosity instead of judgement
- Conclusion

To learn more about Julie, you can find her on Instagram: @symbioticallyfluid

To learn more about Monica, you can find her on Instagram: @acu_osteo_nelson

To learn more about Forrest, you can find him on Instagram: @rebalance_mte

Deep Tissue Massage is all the rage.  "No pain, no gain" has become a term that echoes through the offices of therapists everywhere.  When we are talking about acute or chronic pain, are painful treatments the only way we can attain muscle, tendon, and ligament release?

In this episode, we discuss our anecdotal and scientific psychology perspectives around deep tissue massage.  Why is it so popular?  What is a "release"? Can deep tissue massage injure a patient? Is there an emotional component to the amount of pressure a person is able to receive? 


Podcast Summary Notes

- Intro
- Forrest discusses how the concept of personal space may inhibit us from actually getting as deep into muscle tissue as we think we are
- What is deep tissue massage?  Because as Forrest points out, it's not taught in RMT schools in BC
- Forrest shares a clinical story
- Working the correct muscle group
-  Fascia release - what are we actually doing?
- The Psychology of deep tissue massage
- What is a "release"?
- Nourishment of tissues from a Chinese Medicine perspective
- Tendons and ligament release
- Injury from deep tissue massage with story
- How to communicate with patients regarding pressure during massage
- How do we educate patients about the risk vs. reward with deep tissue massage
- Patients may feel pain in one area, but it's caused from a remote area of the body
- What does it mean when a joint is "out"?
- Can massage address alignment issues?
- Conclusion

Thank you so much for tuning in. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Health-FULL!

To learn more about Monica, visit her website at www.acunelson.com
Instagram: @acu_osteo_nelson

To learn more about Forrest, visit his website at: www.rebalancing.ca
Instagram: @rebalance_mte

Pain and injuries are terrible and stressful.  Whether it's your brain, muscles, ligaments, tendons or bones - our bodies need movement, circulation, and range of motion - in order to heal.  Making the decision between resting, or, movement - can massively affect your healing trajectory.
 
In this guest episode, we have scouted out industry professional Josh Lehman - an experienced concussion and vestibular physiotherapist.  He gives us answers why the “R” in the RICE protocol (REST), is outdated.  We discuss our anecdotal ideas, plus scientific research, to get to the bottom of preconceived ideas about resting, and how thought processes around healing from an injury and acute/chronic pain are  changing. 


EPISODE NOTES

- Introductions 
- Resting Protocols After an Injury - Is the "RICE" protocol outdated?
- Can going about our normal daily activities and sports help us heal faster after an injury, as opposed to resting?
- Forrest tells a personal story about how is acute neck pain was cured by playing an intense soccer game. 
- Is pain a bad thing? Is it really all in the brain?  Do the feel good hormones of doing the activities we love actually help us heal?
-  How do we prevent our brain from catastrophizing our pain after an injury?
- Practicing graded exposure and progressive overload after an injury 
- Josh shares a personal story about injuring his ribs and returning to hockey after one week
- Discussion about "hurt verses harm"; what's the worst that can happen if I do this activity?
- Does overdoing it after an injury cause the body to lay down more scar tissue?
- The P in Price - how "protect" is really important after an injury 
- Is icing helpful?
- An explanation of benefits of contrast therapy (hot and cold)
- Chinese Medicine explanation of icing, 
-  Vasoconstriction and vasodilation as a pump 
- New acronyms to replace PRICE - "MEAT, PEACE, and LOVE"  (you'll have to listen to understand this)
- Is pushing to a thresh hold after a head injury advised?  Can it cause long term damage?
- Josh explains how cardio can help greatly after a brain injury 
- Comparisons to animals and how they do not have society telling them pain is a threat.  How does societal beliefs affect healing and our own catatrophizing?
- The importance of people receiving validation after an injury 
- Using ACL as an example of mobilization 
- Professionalism chat: what is professional?
- NSAIDS vs. Analgesics 
- Pain described as a stop light
- Why "perfect" in the body is not attainable
- Conclusions 

Thanks so much for tuning in! We hope you enjoy this episode. 

To learn more about Josh Lehman, and his clinic Nelson Physio AKA "TheLab", visit his website at www.nelsonphysio.com
Instagram: @nelsonphysio & @physio.brothers

To learn more about Monica Ander, visit www.acunelson.com
Instagram: @acu_osteo_nelson

To learn more about Forrest Mac Ivor, visit rebalancing.ca
Instagram: rebalance_mte