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Exercise is always better with friends, which is why we are excited to formally offer individual and small group workout sessions guided by Physio Sayaka!

Strength is a key component of any good rehab program, and is invaluable for staying healthy, regardless of if you are an athlete or not. Plus, we all know there are many ways to go wrong when trying to implement it, so why not get work with a regulated health practitioner to make sure you are doing things the right way!


These one-hour exercise sessions are tailored to your group’s needs, such as:

  • prehab for your sport or everyday activities
  • prenatal/postpartum rehab and strengthening
  • peri/post-menopausal strengthening
  • maintaining fitness in a safe environment with consideration for your previous injuries

Sessions are scheduled in advance to reserve the same time every week. We’re flexible on the duration, but 4 weeks minimum is usually a good place to start.

COST: 
Cost will be scaled to the size of the group:

  • 4 people: $65 per person/session
  • 3 people: $75 per person/session
  • 2 people: $90 per person/session
  • Flying solo? The cost for a 1-on-1 session will be $120.

Covered under your physiotherapy benefits!

Note: Anyone looking to claim this under their PT benefits will need to come in for a short assessment to ensure we are delivering appropriate care for your PT goals. 

Reach out today if you’re interested! sayaka.physio@gmail.com

We’re excited at the clinic that we’ve decided to take on the Run Waterloo Grandway 5K as a team!

Completing 5Ks isn’t just about racing to your limit- conquering it in any capacity can do wonders for your health. Here at the clinic we all have all different goals for this event depending on factors like family, work schedule and our fitness starting point. Here is how everybody hopes to do and how they are going to prepare!

Dr. Sean

GOAL: Something that’s less than 2 minutes slower than my personal best- anything faster than 17:30.

TRAINING GOAL: I hope to run 50-60K/week most weeks with 1 interval workout and one longer run most weeks.

Chiro Intern Taylor

GOAL: Finish without walking! Anything under 40 would be great.

TRAINING GOAL: 1 run/week (3-5 km), 1 distance walk/week (3-5km), carrying around my 10-month old all the time otherwise!

Physio Sayaka

GOAL: To come in around 22:30 give or take 10 seconds. 

TRAINING GOAL: Run 3x/week and nail the weekly H+P interval workout. 

Karen Kennedy

GOAL: Why is Sean making me do this?

TRAINING GOAL: Walking 3x/week.

Jackie Hergott

GOAL: To complete the race with a brisk walk, and not be worn out when done.

TRAINING GOAL: Walking 2-5x/week, 3-5K total!

Lance Dawson

GOAL: Under 25minutes, enjoy the race.

TRAINING GOAL: A mix of cardio and weights every week. Playing in my band and drinking teas with 4-7 sugars.

Are you pregnant or postpartum, and feel your body is not ‘normal’? Being uncomfortable during pregnancy, and after, is COMMON but NOT NECESSARY. Taking care of your body is imperative.

Taylor Huehn is a kinesiologist, 4th year chiropractic intern and new mom who is offering free evaluations for new or expecting moms to help them feel their best.

BOOK YOUR FREE ASSESSMENT HERE

Common Conditions:

Some common things Taylor is able to diagnose and treat include:

  • Low Back pain  (80% of pregnant women experience back pain, and 75% experience it up to a year after pregnancy!)
  • Diastasis Recti
  • Pelvic Girdle pain
  • Carpal Tunnel syndrome

…and so much more!

If you want to move and feel better during and after pregnancy – book an appointment so we can get started!

What does the assessment include?

  • Health history 
  • Biomechanical analysis 
  • Treatment
  • Custom exercise plan specific to your diagnosis

If you require further treatments, they are $48 covered under most extended health plans, but there is no obligation after your initial visit.

More about Taylor:

Taylor is a first time mom to a beautiful little girl, who has taught her the importance of taking care of herself to show up as the best mom she can be. 

Some of her past experiences include:

  • Kinesiology undergraduate degree from WLU
  • 4th year chiropractic intern at CMCC, now working with Dr. Delanghe for her final clinical rotation
  • Experience in pregnancy rehabilitation as a kinesiologist in a multidisciplinary clinic
  • Stroller fit instructor and CSEP Personal Trainer
  • Special interests in: neurological conditions (experience working with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease)
  • Learn more about her HERE.

If you have any questions, contact us at info@drdelanghe.com OR (519) 885-4930.

Welcome Taylor Huehn!

We are very excited to announce that starting in the New Year, chiropractic intern Taylor Huehn will be joining the team!

After her 4 year B.Kin degree from WLU, she is now 3.5 years into her 4 year Doctor of Chiropractic program at CMCC. As such, Taylor is now certified to provide direct care to patients under Dr. Delanghe’s guidance as she finishes the final 6 months of her training.

You can read more about her background and book with her online HERE.

How will she help at the clinic?

Other than a number of tasks behind the scenes including research and various learning objectives, Taylor will be helping as follows:

Same day appointments

No existing patients will be required to see her. However, if there is a day where you need to get in and Dr. Delanghe is unable to accommodate, rather than wait you will have the option to get in the day you call with Taylor.

Free initial assessments

As part of her training, Taylor will be providing free initial visits to all patients new to the clinic.

These visits will consist of a 1 hour, highly in-depth history and physical exam followed by a communication of a diagnosis, plan of management and initial treatment. In addition to this, all of these visits will be completed with consultation with Dr. Delanghe.

It is important to note that there will be no requirements for additional visits if you do not wish to pursue more treatment.

Subsequent visits

Subsequent visits will be the same price as seeing Dr. Delanghe. As such, Dr. Delanghe will be either directly or indirectly overseeing all treatments. He will also offer any help in completing procedures if needed.

Insurance coverage

Yes, your insurance will still cover it!

Observation

As part of her training, Taylor will be observing Dr. Delanghe during certain treatments at the clinic. As the patient, you are always welcome to decline having her in your treatment room with no questions asked.

That’s it for now! We also have some exciting things in the New Year planned including things for new mothers and those who suffer from osteoarthritis.

If you have any questions, feel free to let us know, and make sure to welcome Taylor if you see her around the clinic!

By: SAYAKA TIESSEN, HONS. BKIN, MSCPT

Book here

Ankle sprains, AKA rolled ankles, have got to be one of the most common injuries out there. They can happen in the most innocuous situations, like stepping on an uneven surface, or during sports that require cutting and landing. The words “walk it off” are synonymous with ankle sprains. Get up. It’s nothing serious. Back to business.

I get the sense that most people that sustain an ankle sprain do not seek any guidance from a physiotherapist. It might swell up nicely for a day or two, but then you limp around and manage to get on with your life. What you might not appreciate though, is that ankle sprains have a high recurrence rate due to the residual effects of the initial injury. Things like ligament laxity and damage to the neural and musculotendinous tissue around the ankle can inhibit complete recovery. This can present as weakness, poor balance, and slower muscle response to load. You might not notice these deficits when you are walking around, but they do make you susceptible to re-injuring the area. This is why I always advocate for getting any old rolled ankle assessed by a physiotherapist.

I often prescribe a blend of resistance and balance training for my ankle sprain patients. But if you are super crunched for time, is there one that is more efficient than the other?According to a 2021 study, although resistance training and balance training on their own improves strength, hopping (explosiveness and control), and dynamic balance, if you had to pick one, balance training takes the edge. This is likely due to the high training load used in the study (20-30 second holds, 10-20x, 3-5 sets over multiple exercises), and the fact that you need to be strong and coordinated to balance well, and strictly strengthening will not challenge your proprioception (balance-ability). Time to get your Karate Kid on.

Want to know what kind of exercises are appropriate for you? Or have you sprained your ankle before and feel things are not quite right? You can book an appointment with me here!

Welcome back to my series on strength training and endurance sports. My last article looked at strength work and cycling economy- which was way back in June. I have a good excuse though: the birth of my daughter, Adeline Delanghe!

I would like to say “now that her sleep is normalizing blah blah,” but that simply is not the case. Instead, I’m just getting better at squeezing stuff in, which hopefully will result in more science of training articles for you all!

In any case, if you haven’t already, please review the first three articles in this series. The idea is not to give you a cookie-cutter, magical answer on how endurance athletes should utilize strength training. Instead, this is meant to introduce you to some of the nuances in the science, and how to decide if, when, and how much resistance training you should do.

Strength training 101: Impact on V02Max
Strength training 102: Impact on Running economy
Strength training 103: The impact of cycling economy

To add to the above, today’s article will take a look at another parameter of endurance performance- lactate threshold.

Strength Training and your Lactate Threshold (LT)

What is your LT? This is essentially the exercise intensity at which lactate accumulates in the blood faster than it can be removed. This is the “breaking point” so to speak between low and high-intensity work.

While V02max is important, having a high lactate threshold is crucial in endurance performance. The higher the lactate threshold is as a % of your V02max, the harder the effort you will be able to sustain for long periods of time. We don’t race at our V02max, but we do spend lots of time in and around our lactate threshold!

While V02max is a popular thing to measure and be proud of, as we have noted before, somebody with the highest V02max doesn’t always win the race, especially in running. As we discussed, this is in large part due to exercise economy. However, this is also seen when somebody has more effectively trained their lactate threshold despite not having the same max oxygen-consuming ability. In other words, having a slightly lower V02max that’s good enough, and a very highly trained LT can allow you to beat a competitor with a higher V02max.

V02max is the ceiling, and we want to max it out, and then get our LT as close to it as possible to be at our best!

CLICK HERE to read the rest on the Run Waterloo Blog.

Wanted: Physiotherapist Associate 

We are looking for the right physiotherapist to join our growing team.

Hours: 10-20 hours/week or more if desired.  Flexible in terms of days and times. 

We are hoping to find an evidence-based therapist with strong work ethic, who works well independently, is motivated, possesses good people skills, and has a keen interest in the science of injury management with a focus on active care.  Acupuncture is an asset. 

We are also hoping to find somebody who values patient care above all else, and is easy to get along with and contributes to our positive work environment.  We want a great teammate! 

Learn more about our clinic and club we are associated with: www.drdelanghe.com www.health-performance.ca

Included:

  • Jane practice software
  • Full time reception during regular office hours
  • Access to office after hours 
  • Your own treatment room 
  • Access to gym space for 1-on-1 sessions 
  • TENs and acupuncture needles 
  • Payment: Percentage split with ceiling 

Send Resumes to: info@drdelanghe.com

Dear Patients,

It’s time for an update.  As many of you already know, our staff is contributing to Canada’s dwindling population growth!

We’re excited to let you know that Dr. Sean and his wife are expecting their first child in early August, while physio Sayaka and her husband are expecting their first in September.

That being said, we want to make sure you all are taken care of during this busy time. 

What this means for office hours:
(1) Dr. Sean along with reception will take the first week of August off with reduced hours in August.  

  • If the baby comes as expected, no changes will be made.  
  • If the baby comes at a different time your appointment will have to be moved accordingly- we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause! 
  • During the time Dr. Sean is off, physio and RMT will still be available at the clinic if you are in pain and cannot wait.
  • We will also have an emergency chiro available- details TBA. 

(2) Physio Sayaka will be taking about a year off closer to September.

  • We have high standards! If the right person comes along to cover her mat leave, we will bring them on board.
  • Otherwise, full time hours with Dr. Sean, RMT and occasional hours with physio Kayla will be available to keep you in one piece in the meantime. 


As always, you can book online, call (519) 885-4930 or reply to this e-mail if you you need to reach us. 


Yours in good health,


Dr. Sean Delanghe 


By: Waterloo Physiotherapist Sayaka Tiessen

No, I’m not talking about this season’s hottest Balenciagas, and I’m not even going to get into the carbon plated shoe thing. (Side note: a lot of interesting studies about their efficiency have come out, as have some important discussions about equity in sport.)

We are going to just have a straight talk about your running shoes – what to look for when buying, how to screen for lemons, and injury considerations. Get ready to nerd out!

What to look for when buying

  1. What is the purpose of the shoe you are looking for?
    • A trail shoe for grip and stability? A plush road runner for pounding the pavement? A racing flat or track spike to break the speed of sound? Know what you are looking for to help narrow your search.
    • Stability shoe or neutral? Or dare I say, minimal? This is a complicated question and one where I would look at your previous shoe history and maybe stay within it, unless a change is recommended by your health professional. For example, I know people with pancake flat feet who were put into a stability shoe and it caused more problems for them, so having flat feet DOES NOT mean you need a “motion control” shoe. If you have orthotics, you should go with a neutral shoe 100% of the time so that it can function the way it should. Perhaps get your feet checked out by your health provider if you are in doubt.
  2. Shop when your feet are the largest, and bring anything you typically would have on your feet when you run
    • Your feet tend to get a smidge larger as the day goes on, so plan your trip to your local running shop for the afternoon or later in the day if you can.
    • BYOS – bring your own socks, specifically the types of socks you would wear while running. This will give you a much more accurate feel for the shoe and fit. If you wear orthotics, an ankle brace, or special heel lift in your runners, bring them!
  3. Brand loyalty is ok to a point, but keep an open mind (unless you are sponsored, which I am not).
    • Most companies will tweak their models with each new iteration – new foam! a different upper! a whole new last! There is no guarantee that a shoe will be the same from year to year, meaning it might not provide the same type of ride.
PXL_20210519_135101285.jpg
4. COMFORT IS KING- No matter how much you try to convince yourself, the shoe will not become more comfortable over time. Don’t ignore hot spots, rubbing, and sliding. These will become your nemesis. See how your foot sits on the insert. This is a fun trick I learned from listening to Chris Johnson, a PT legend in the running field. Just take the insert out and place your foot on it. What do you see? If your foot oozes way beyond the borders of the insert, it might be too narrow. In this photo, you can see that my foot is a bit wide relative to the insert, meaning my toes are going to scrunched together once in the confines of the shoe. I have wide feet and finding a shoe that fits is a tough quest, but some brands do fit wider than others (Altra, New Balance to name two).

How to screen for lemons

Sometimes life gives you lemons, and that’s ok if you know how to screen for them to avoid being saddled with a pair of defective shoes. You might get some odd looks if you try these in the store, so bring the shoes home, and in a reasonable, non-Hulk manner, put them through their paces.

The video posted below is a sequence of tests developed by physiotherapist Bruce Wilk. Some of my favorites are:

  1. The Break Test: This is to see if the shoe breaks at the level of the toes and not in a weird place like the mid foot. It shouldn’t be overly stiff either. This does not apply to minimalist shoes as they will fold up like a piece of origami.
  2. The Twist Test: Mostly looking for symmetry here
  3. The Rock Test: This is to see if the shoe is sitting evenly on the surface. Press straight down and apply a bit of a rock left and right. Does one shoe start tilting a lot?

WATCH MORE HERE.

What if I’m injured?

There are some footwear considerations when it comes to dealing with injury. I will mostly be talking about drop, which is the height difference between the heel and the toes. Most shoes will describe the drop in mm. Below are a few considerations about heel-toe drop and how it might play into injuries. These are generalizations, so take it with a grain of salt!

Zero Drop (aka a flat bottom, not necessarily no cushioning. Remember, we are talking about the difference in height between the heel and toes)

  • Places more stress on feet, ankles, and the Achilles, so if you have any issues in these areas, it might be best to avoid this type of shoe.
  • Good if you are dealing with knee issues, or have a stiff first toe because the shoe won’t bias you into slight extension.
  • If you are new to zero drop shoes, it is important to gradually introduce them into the shoe rotation because you will probably get tight calves when you start using them.

Regular Runner with a Drop (the vast majority of shoes)

  • Places more stress at the knee, so if you have cranky knees, consider avoiding this type of shoe.
  • Good if you are dealing with an Achilles injury, or plantar fascia pain because it will put your posterior chain on some slack.

Cushioning or Barefoot/Minimal?

  • Cushioning is best if you are: recovering from an injury (notably any bone stress injury, plantar foot pain), have osteopenia or osteoporosis, are new to running, or are planning on doing the vast majority of your runs on pavement*.
  • Barefoot is something you can work towards if that is what you are interested in. I know people that love the tactile sensation that going more minimal gives them. *you can run in barefoot/minimalist shoes on pavement, but you must give your body time to adapt to the stress.

THE TAKEAWAY?

The most recent studies suggest the best shoe for you if the shoe that FITS, meaning you won’t subconsciously change your gait to avoid that nasty blister on your toe. I know you love that hot new colourway from (insert whatever brand here), but if it has a weird break pattern, or it feels uncomfortable in the shop, it is highly unlikely to EVER be comfortable. Take it from me – I have made that mistake a few times in my career.

Give this post a share with anyone you know who is eyeing up a new pair of kicks. Live in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, dealing with a running injury and want to get a plan in place? Book your appointment here.

How long until we officially race again?  I would say probably at least a few weeks, wouldn’t you?  While I’m sure many of you miss toeing the line, there are some positives.  For instance, one of the best ways to take advantage of this extended offseason is to work on weaknesses that are normally tough to address.

Constantly acting in A-race mode, followed by tapering, followed by recovering can definitely result in short term spikes in performance. But often the long term, gradual development is sacrificed.

A great way to take a swing at improving your baseline ability to perform is a full strength program. However, it is not as logical to include when in close proximity to an A-race.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve thought of introducing more strength work throughout the pandemic.  If you’re not like me, you’ve actually done it- good for you, you jerk!

The questions that I get from the team on this topic are endless.  I have written about the topic in short before such as here.  However, I thought it was finally time to take a deep dive into strength training for endurance athletes.

CLICK HERE to read the rest in the Run Waterloo Magazine. 

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