tommcchesney.com Blog
Weekly round up of good health articles

Jun
07

If you are a clinician or a patient, I think you will both find this article really informative, I certainly did.  It was published in the Globe and Mail and challenged some people’s views on MRI’s, surgery and conservative care.  Let me know your thoughts!!

Here it is

Spine Surgeon Backlog

May
30

Athletes don’t wear flip flops

With the weather getting nicer, people are dusting off their flip flops. This video shows how flip flops put a different strain on the lower body and can lead to some issues not only in the foot but higher up the kinetic chain as well. Let me know your thoughts!

May
29

This NY Times article makes you think critically about 2 things:  How effective is my work-out and what is my job doing to my health.  This article is going to challenge some of the notions you have about both!!

Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?

Jan
07

I have a lot of people as me “how important are abs for the back”?  There is a lot more to “abs” for back health but anybody in the field of managing musculoskeletal conditions will tell you that “THE CORE” is a huge component of a healthy back as well as most musculoskeletal issues.  There are some really good strength and conditioning coaches, chiropractors and physical therapists that have assembled some awesome articles about the core and how it relates to back health and performance.  Enjoy!!

Tom

The following 8 articles are written by Mike Robertson who is one of the leading functional conditioning experts in the U.S

Understanding your Abs Part I

Understanding your Abs Part II

Spinal Stupidity

7 keys of balloon core theory

21st Century Core Training

Improving Core Stabilization Patterns

Core Training for Smart Folks

Core Training

This article is written by a Canadian strength and conditioning coach, his name is Dean Somerset and I highly recommend staying current with his blog because he has some excellent content every week.  His article “spinal stability series” is a great read

Spinal Stability Series

This next article is more for the performance athlete looking to learn more about how rotary training can help them with performance and injury prevention.

Rotary training for Bad A$$es

Dec
02

Hey, it’s 4:10 a.m and I was finally able to get my daughter back to sleep, guess who’s wide awake now!  Perfect time to update the blog. 

Pain:  If you only read one article from this post, read this one.  This is a great article explaining how chronic pain may develop and how it may not be “mechanical insult” to the tissues that is causing your pain, CLICK HERE to check it out.

Pain:  This is another great article about how the science of pain research is progressing.  It is a little bit more clinical and some of the language may be a bit difficult but still a really informative read.  It’s titled “Reconceptualising Pain According to Modern Pain Science”

Nutrition:  With winter upon us and ultimately less sun-light, you may want to examine how much vitamin D you are getting right now.  Check out this article by the great public broadcaster, CBC, on “The Sunshine Vitamin”

Fitness:  Check out these two great posts by Eric Cressey about posture.  Part 1 and Part 2

Books: I’m not completely finished but so far Painful Yarns has been a great read and is an excellent resource for anyone experiencing “persistent pain”

I’m also navigating my way through the “Muscle Imbalances Revealed 2.0” DVD’s which have been awesome so far and great for clinicians with an interest in corrective exercise

Websites: This is a web-site filled with answers to just about any question you may have regarding painful syndromes.  Check out save yourself.ca

Motivation:  Not sure how motivating this is but it’s worth the 50 seconds!!!

Nov
13

Hey!  I hope you enjoyed the first post, this is post has more resources to help you with you get ahead with health!

Pain:  This is a great video explaining how pain is actually perceived in the brain

Nutrition:  This is an article from my good friend and colleague Dr Chris Stapien from New Jersey.  Chris is a nutrition, health and fitness enthusiast and check out this article about the benefits of eating organic on his blog “The Humble Observer”

Back Pain:  This is article by Dr Alex Reinhart who has a passion for Wellness and is a great resource for anyone looking to get a little healthier.  Check out his article on “cubicle wellness”

Fitness:  Looking to get a little faster???  read this article “Can speed be trained” .  It is written by the leading spinal rehab expert in North America Craig Liebenson.

Books:  This is a powerful new book written by an editor of the NY times, that is a great resource for people managing chronic pain.  Here is a a review

Motivation:  You cannot watch enough Balboa,

Nov
08

Hey, thanks for checking out my Blog.  I’ve created this blog as a resource for patients and friends.  It consists of articles that are applicable to everyone!!!! It’s all about health, more specifically Fitness, Nutrition, Chiropractic, Books, Back Pain, Manual Therapy and Lifestyle.  I am constantly reading various web-sites and blogs that I feel will benefit me as a health care provider.  I figured this is a great opportunity to share some of the good stuff that I find. 

Nutrition:  This is a great overview of “THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET” by one of the leading health advisors in North America Dr Andrew Weil M.D.  I encourage all patients to learn about how you can modify your diet to control the duration and severity of many painful syndromes. 

Chronic Pain

Fitness:  I would encourage everyone interested in fitness to keep up with Eric Cressey’s Blog.  He is one of the leading fitness professionals in the U.S and knows his stuff inside out. 

Books:  This is a really informative, simple and funny book on stress and how to manage it.

 

While were on this topic of stress, the Globe and mail is doing an eye-opening series on Canadians and Stress

Back Pain:  This is a series of exceptional articles about the prevention of back pain, Click this link to T-Nation to have a read.

Web-site of the weekMobility WOD – this a an amazing resource for everyone looking to learn about how they can move better.

Motivation: