Spring Into Activity

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The groundhogs were clearly kidding this year, because there was no early spring. For the last six months, I feel like I’ve been dashing from home to the gym to the car to the office, with the spaces in between filled with punishing sub-zero temperatures. But rejoice! The weather is finally turning. Time to transition our lives, our clothes and our activities. Spring just begs you to get out there.

But even if you’ve been active throughout the winter months, remember that one activity doesn’t equal another. Different activities engage different muscle groups. In other words, all the shoveling and skiing you did won’t prevent aches and pains from creeping up after spending the day in the garden or on your bike.

If you've never been active before, the warm weather
is a perfect time to start.

This week’s video provides great know-how from Suzanne Denis, an Advanced Practice Physiotherapist on how to make the transition with maximum gain and minimal pain. Denis also gives sound advice on possible red flags for injury. While pain is relative, keep this litmus test in mind: muscles aches are pretty normal when starting a new activity; joint pain is a red flag for a bigger problem. If you’ve never been active and want to start, Denis also gives you some proven techniques to stay on track. No matter your level of functioning, Denis says there is always a way to participate in being active.

Here are two great links, for under 65 and over 65, to the current fitness guidelines to help you make sense of it all. Happy spring!

A few things about vitamins...

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It seems like a simple question: should we be taking vitamin and mineral supplements? There is, unfortunately, no simple answer.

After asking registered dietitian Daphna Steinberg this question, she explained that even trained professionals have a tough time navigating all the charts and data compiled by authoritative health organizations like the NIH. If it isn’t easy for the pros, no wonder so many of us are left guessing, or even doing the wrong thing.

I personally have been hot and cold with my use of multivitamins, but do try to supplement with vitamin D through the winter months based on recommendations that most Canadians need to do so. On occasion, I’ll take some omega-3 capsules, but not religiously. Overall, I feel somewhat overwhelmed in the vitamin aisle. Are most a money pit or missed health opportunity? I doubt that I’m alone in my confusion.

Most adults under 50 can get their essential vitamins and
minerals through a balanced diet, says Steinberg,
but there is no one-size-fits-all guideline.

Of course, the specific recommended guidelines for vitamin and mineral use depend on your age, gender, overall health status, lifestyle and use of other medications. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all guideline. But Daphna helped answer some longstanding questions, like do most people actually need a multivitamin? Can you overdose on vitamins and minerals? And what about the emerging variety of vitamin-infused drinks? Her insight was surprising at times but totally appreciated.

I hope the video helps you make a bit more sense of the whole issue as well.

Easy as ABC...

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There is something we all do several thousands times per day and rarely even think about: breathing. In and out. Simple. Who would have thought something so basic could actually be so powerful for some women with breast cancer?

Women with cancer on the left side, who also require radiation, are at higher risk for heart trouble down the road. The proximity of the heart to the breast makes it a target for complications. That’s why Sunnybrook is increasingly using a technique called Active Breathing Control, or ABC. Eligible patients simply hold their breath during treatment with the help of special equipment. Over time and with practice, it becomes easier for many women and gives them a powerful tool to protect their heart health while fighting cancer.

A comparison of two heart images:
without ABC (left) and with ABC (right).

Check out my video to hear from Patricia, a patient who is currently using ABC. She says she was initially nervous, but soon learned you don’t have to be an Olympic swimmer to make this work. With time, she says it’s become a piece of cake. Just like breathing.

Preparing for Surgery

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Working in a hospital, you often take for granted the sheer volume of procedures taking place all around you. While thousands take place every year, there are common threads that could help many people reduce complications and improve overall recovery.

This week’s video shares some easy tips that will hopefully help you or a loved one. In addition to what you can do as a patient, know that the techniques around administering anesthesia are better than ever. Ultrasounds are being used to provide roadmaps to guide needles, helping anesthesiologists hit their mark as precisely as possible. Surgeries are done for many reasons, and at various levels of urgency.

In this week's video, Dr. Colin McCartney explains
what patients can do before surgery to improve recovery. 

Patients are part of the health care team, so here’s hoping these small steps make a difference for you (beyond packing your favorite slippers…)

Burn Patient Saved By Tissue Donations

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In December 2006, Ralph Walker and some family members travelled up to his hunt camp in Manitoulin Island. After a good night’s rest, Ralph woke up at 6:30am on Saturday and went to light his propane lantern, looking forward to the day ahead. That’s when the unimaginable happened: Ralph became the ignition point for a propane explosion triggered by what may have been a leak in the heating system. Ralph suffered severe burns to 90% of his body.

As he waited for medical help to arrive, Ralph remembers cooling himself off in the snow. His military training helped focus him on staying alive, despite the desperate circumstances. When medical help arrived, Ralph was brought to Sunnybrook’s Ross Tilley Burn Centre, the only burn centre in Ontario with a donor skin bank, where the first of many surgeries took place.

Ralph Walker's life today is a testimonial to the
lifesaving powers of tissue donation.

For anyone reading this who has signed up to be an organ and tissue door, you’ll be glad you did. Ralph says he is only alive today thanks to the multiple skin grafts from donors that allowed his body the time it needed to heal. Watch my video to hear him tell his amazing story of survival and recovery.

While many people agree that organ and tissue donation is important, only 25% of Ontarians are registered. If you have two minutes, that’s all the time it takes to sign up to be a donor and make a lifetime of difference for someone like Ralph.

Check your donor consent status or register online.

A Hospital Love Story

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One of my favorite questions when I get to know a new couple is, how did you meet?

Once, on a flight to Prague, I spoke with a happily married couple who fell in love after he took a corner too quickly on his bicycle and literally landed on his future wife. What are the chances?

Whether you believe in fate or luck, the couple in my video this week inspires on both counts. Back in 1975, they met at Sunnybrook under separate, tragic circumstances. For him, it was love at first sight. For her, not at all. But his admiration and affection paid off with an eventual marriage proposal in the middle of a city street (she insists she only said ‘yes’ to get him off the road!)

Sandra and Melvin have been married for 35 years.

How great is it to find love in a place you least expect it? Hope your Valentine’s Day is full of wonderful surprises as well.

Keep It Pumping

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My family, like so many others, has a history of heart trouble, including heart attacks and high blood pressure. It’s all part of the genetic pot we have no control over. There’s not much you can do about your DNA, but luckily, many risk factors for heart disease are affected by lifestyle. Here are some of my approaches to (hopefully) hit the centenarian mark.

I avoid elevators whenever humanly possible. Unless my leg is broken, I’m in the final stages of labor or am lugging some insanely large and compromising thing behind me, stairs are king (even in heels, although that might cause other health problems down the road). Six days per week, I exercise for one hour. It could be running, spinning or weights, but consistency is key. Most mornings, I’m dragging myself out of bed to do it, but five minutes into the workout, I’m glad I’m there. My trick is to get up as soon as the alarm goes off to make the bed right away. I’m too lazy to make it twice.

Eat lots of fruits and veggies to increase your fibre intake.

I eat a lot of fish, egg whites and broccoli. My office mates hate my stinky lunches and mock me often. Luckily, I’m a horrible cook so these foods give me an excuse to eat smelly, boring food throughout the week (all for the benefit of my heart, of course). Writing this, I realize that my annual physical is overdue (my bad). Nobody is perfect, but it’s important to be conscious of the things you do. So far, high blood pressure hasn’t been an issue but I’m getting older so that’s no excuse for not getting it checked out. I also need to curb my salt intake. Going back to my boring food choices, canned veggies and microwavable turkey bacon (although low in fat), can tip the sodium scale. We all have things to improve on so those are two examples of many for me this year.

My video features a registered dietitian in Sunnybrook’s heart program. She has some amazing and easy tips that everyone can benefit from. Hope the video helps you love your heart this Valentine’s Day!