By Dr. Eric Wiens, DC
For many, the arrival of Spring means getting back to team sports and other outdoor activities. 
Ottawa, being a haven for government and tech workers, many jobs revolve around a computer.
Picture this. You spend most of your day wrestling with a mouse, banging a keyboard while peering into a computer screen at your ergonomically (im)perfect workstation. Not a pretty picture.
Every day, you train your body to have a slumped forward posture putting pressure on your neck, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Maybe you get tension between your shoulder blades, base of your neck or even headaches. Maybe you even get “carpal tunnel” symptoms like cold, numb, tingly or even painful hands.
Your hip flexors are tight from sitting so much all the time, you get cramps in your calves at night and that weird feeling down the back of you leg is called sciatica, or something like that, when you look it up on Google!
To get better, common wisdom suggests you exercise. Maybe that's joining the local slow pitch league, soccer team, volleyball crew, ultimate squad, tennis club or even the die hard summer hockey league. Hockey rinks are a great place to hang out during the dog days of summer!
Okay, what's wrong with this picture? How can you enjoy the game you choose, the sport you love while you are in no kind of shape to be playing in the first place?
I'm not talking about your fantastic cardio or your incredibly flexible hamstrings, I'm referring to the health and level of function of your nervous system. You see, it normally takes a beating and tries to keep ticking for you, but how do you thank it? By trying to tune it up by running it harder and faster than ever before!
To be serious, your nervous system is the key to your health. Without your central computer being able to control all systems inside you, you wouldn't be able to breathe, heal, digest, speak, fight bugs or even walk on two feet or anything else we do all day every day of our lives, let alone do well playing sports.
Chiropractic is about making sure your nervous system is working at its best by relieving stress on your nervous system. What stress? Stress that has accumulated throughout your life that you don't even know is there!
Come in for an exam, and I will show you how this stress is holding you back. Bring your entire team, I'll go without lunch!
I will waive my usual $40 fee for the exam and review of the results until the end of June so you can at least find out how your nervous system is working. I have this really cool scanner that shows patterns of nerve blockage. If we need x-rays, I use a neighbouring clinic that will charge OHIP so there is no direct cost to you.
I want you to enjoy a healthy active summer. This means no more chronic injuries, new injuries or continuing to break your body down by what seems like a good thing.
