School and Back Packs!!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everyone

It is back to school already!!

Are you signing ” this is the most wonderful time of year” or will you be sad on your kids first day of school let me know!

My kids start Thursday and we have been in full preparation mode! It means lots of shopping and writing names all over their school books! With one in 5th grade and the others in 2nd grade, I have many beginnings and I actually look forward to a routine again! So I would answer mixed feelings, happy and sad because they are one year older !

It is appropriate to talk about school bags and back packs.  Many children will experience back pain, neck pain and upper back pain from their back packs. Either the actual back pack is not appropriate or the way it is filled with the books.

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Vacation Time!!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everybody!

The topic today is VACATION. Some of you may have been on vacation already and I sure hope  you had a super time!  If not you should really think about taking time off. Everybody needs time to relax and breathe! Your body will be the first one to thank you! We lead such crazy life! We are under pressure and stressed out most of the time! Even if you tell me you are managing your stress, your adrenaline is in constant demand!

On vacation you give that adrenaline a chance to come down. In the long run, it will benefit your overall health. You can take this time to reflect on the next part of the year, reading a book and sleeping in! Let your kids explore on their own! These days kids are so programmed. On vacation it is fun not to have an agenda! Even for a type A person like myself, I can manage to do that once a year! You will soon realize that your kids too are changing pace and discovering  to relax and play.

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Thank you!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everyone

So summer is really busy with the family and outside activities. I came in today on wednesday for a few hours in the afternoon. I had a new patient on my schedule. One very important question is to ask how did the patient find me. I do it for stats at the end of the year to help me with my marketing and assess what works and what does not work. Is it an MD referring? friends? yellow pages ? internet?. I have to be honest and say that obviously there is nothing more exciting for me when I ask that question to get the answer “from a patient”. Today my new patient was a referral from a patient. WOW that makes me feel good!!!
I am not sure if you realize that this is the biggest gift you can give to your chiropractor. This is a sign of confidence, satisfaction in your care and trust. I feel very honoured that you trust me in the care of your friends or family.

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One more reason why I love being a chiropractor!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everybody!

So obviously there are many reasons why I love being a chiropractor! Love helping people, meeting patients, the freedom of being my own boss, could go on and on. Yesterday, I had one of these great moments in my practice and I wanted to share it with you.
In my practice, I treat a lot of children and babies as you must know but I also get some referrals from an MD for work related injuries. These cases are quite challenging, as they are complex most of the time. The patients usually have tried many therapies before they give chiropractic a try.

Postpartum Depression!! not to be ignored!

Posted on by Valerie Lavigne

Hi everyone

This week I had the pleasure of attending the Grande Conference of the Association of Lactation of Quebec. Going to conferences is always so stimulating and fun. You not only get to meet colleagues but you get to listen to great speakers!!
The first day monday was on postpartum depression and the new paradigm. We had the pleasure of listening to an amazing speaker, Kathleen-Kendall Tackett. I learned so much on the subject. I thought it would be interesting to share with you some of the key elements.
Post-partum depression is sometimes not always talked about because of the stigma attached to it. Many mothers go untreated just because they do not get the appropriate help and first of all diagnoses. Breastfeeding also gets blamed easily with postpartum depression. Certain cultures say that 10-20% of mothers get postpartum depression but some people think that the numbers can actually be as high as 40-50%.