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Functional Movement Screen

You may never have heard of it before, but once you understand what it is, what it can detect and how it can vastly improve performance and help prevent injury, you'll understand why it's been widely adopted by some of the leading sports and athletic bodies in the world, including the NHL and NFL.


Put simply, the Functional Movement Screen is a ranking and grading system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function.

So, why's that important?

Because, by screening these patterns, the FMS identifies functional limitations and asymmetries. These are issues that can reduce the effects of functional training and physical conditioning and distort body awareness.

In other words, an athlete training for example, without correction to a specific functional movement limitation he or she may have, and may not even realize exists, isn't getting the maximum benefit from training and may even be at risk for injury.
  
The FMS generates the Functional Movement Screen Score, which is used to target problems and track progress. This scoring system is directly linked to the most beneficial corrective exercises to restore mechanically sound movement patterns.

Exercise professionals monitor the FMS score to track progress and to identify those exercises that will be most effective to restore proper movement and build strength in each individual.

It may sound complicated, but as you'll see by the video below, the 7 step FMS process is well defined and can easily detect imbalances and asymmetries for correction.

Ice Or Heat?

It's a question you hear asked all the time.

Someone suffers and injury or a strain and the inevitable question is posed, "Should I use heat or ice?" on the site of the injury.

Take a look at these tips to help answer that question.

Core Exercises

Strengthening your body's core muscles is key to preventing and resolving so many disorders and sources of pain.

Over the next few weeks and months, we'll be bringing you a number of key exercises you can easily follow in the comfort of your own home. They only take minutes but can go a long way to helping build core muscle stability and strength.

In this first video, below, Dr. Derek Vinge, LifeMark Chiropractor working out of our Victoria area clinics, demonstrates a simple to follow core exercise you can do daily.

For more video tips, click the video tab at the top of our blog or for textual information you can download, click on our resources tab.

Cool Treat Brings Warm Reception

 

When Centric Health CEO, David Cutler showed up at several BC clinics this week, he came armed with treats.

Clearly David recognizes that nothing warms a clinician's heart more than ice cream, and that's just what he served up, from a mobile ice cream truck no less!

Above, Chinatown Clinic Director, Wayne Tang looks cool receiving his ice cream treat. Hey, wait a minute Wayne is that one treat or two?

Now if we could just convince David to come back with a mobile poutine truck for Grey Cup Sunday, we'd have it made!

Brace Yourself!.. Football season's back!

A week from today The BC Lions will open their 2013 season in Calgary. Yes, football season is upon us once more.

Throughout the Lower Mainland, young athletes and future CFL hopefuls are already on fields, spiralling their way through minor football seasons.

Football is a sport that puts your knee joints through their paces. Constant changes in direction requiring continual twisting and jarring of the joints can often cause injuries.

For those who've suffered knee injuries, even if those injuries came from more passive pursuits than advancing a pigskin across a gridiron field against an army of padded warriors, knee braces are probably no stranger.

For those who've suffered a knee injury and are now wading through all the information out there there to try to determine how to select a knee brace, check out this great white paper we've put together on knee braces.

Summer's Coming - Hydrate!

According to Meteorologist Christ Scott, of The Weather Network, BC's in for a warmer than usual Summer! For those of us here in Vancouver, that could mean some serious mercury rising, come July.

Whether you're jogging the Seawall, shopping on Robson Street or just puttering around in the garden, one of the most important regimens you can observe to keep your body functioning at its best and avoid doing yourself harm, is proper hydration.

Our bodies rely on water and when it gets hot, even passive pursuits like gardening and browsing the shops on the main street can drain our body of much needed fluids.

Check out this great paper on how to properly hydrate, especially in preparation for exercise!

Welcome To Our New LifeMark Chinatown Blog!

We're excited to launch our new blog, keeping downtown Vancouver and neighbouring communities up to date with the latest news and information regarding physio care and our own Chinatown/Stadium LifeMark clinic.

In the weeks and months to come, we will add useful information, articles and reference material related to a broad range of subjects, all with one goal in mind; to help your body perform at its best while you experience life without pain!

As we update our blog, we'll keep our Facebook fans and Twitter followers updated as well. We invite you to keep up to date with us through Twitter and Facebook. It's a quick and easy way to keep up to date!

Thanks for checking in with us and stay tuned... more to come!