Managing Your Healthcare In A Post COVID-19 World
by: Matt Banks, RMT, dip SIT CHEK L1
In March 2020, Covid19 began to change our world. During these last few years, many of us lost. We lost loved ones to this disease. We lost some freedoms and comforts, even if just temporarily. Many lost their financial security. We lost access to healthcare for many conditions that simply needed immediate care and couldn’t gain access due to the fallout of Covid19. Relationships were strained as stress levels rose to new heights. Friends grew apart as differences in opinion created more space than social distancing ever could.
We did, however, learn some things through all of this. We learned that our healthcare system has vulnerabilities and simply cannot take a sudden influx of need, especially from communicable disease. We learned just how many people are hesitant to take medicine into their bodies. We learned just how far some will go to advocate for their health, informed or not. We learned that health disorders such as heart disease, respiratory disease, and obesity were treatable and in some cases preventable conditions that increased risk of negative Covid19 outcomes. We learned the importance of health as a vital need in our lives, not just something to take for granted. We learned the power and importance of advocacy.
We have to learn to live with Covid19, so where do we go from here? We, as individuals, are in charge of our own future, yet we are in this together. Society never was, nor will be, simple so let’s simplify by viewing this issue on an individual level. Given all that we have learned, one big take- away is that our individual health is vitally important. Another is that we need to advocate for our own healthcare. Some worthwhile questions to ask ones’ self may be:Â
Where do I rank the importance of my health compared to other parts of my life such as finances, relationships, recreation? What does health mean to me? How do I go about taking care of my own health? How do I minimize Covid19 outcomes I contract this disease?
When answering these questions, we give ourselves an opportunity to begin prioritizing our lives and our health in an actionable way so that we can begin BEING the health advocate that we as individuals clearly need to be. Below I cover some of the ways and reasoning behind my own approach to my health.
I have severe asthma. It is not going away. So I rank my health very high on the list as my life has almost ended several times due to my condition. I won’t let this hold me back – in fact, this is a strong motivator for me. I have learned what things I can do to minimize harm from my asthma and what I can do to improve my immune health. As it happens, the things I do to help my asthma are also largely relevant to many other conditions.
First, I looked at what medicine(s) I NEED to take for my condition. Over half of Canadian adults are on at least one medication, a quarter of us are on three or more (1). While there are some people on medicines that aren’t vital, many people are only alive because of the medicines that they take. I am one of those people. This is the part of your healthcare you and your medical doctor should be working on together to ensure a long and healthy life.
Second, we have all heard about how an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (metrically 28.35 grams is worth .454 kilograms of cure). One BIG thing that falls into the prevention category is diet. A healthy diet is a MUST for a healthy life. There is no way around this one. Diet has become a dirty word for some, but diet simply refers to what you consume. Many people are not well informed as to what they should be consuming in their diet. I’ve worked in the health industry for 23 years. In that time, THREE people have openly admitted to me that they don’t eat well. Most thought they were eating well until they learned a bit more about what healthy nutrition looks like. This is not an area your medical doctor needs to be involved with. They usually get between three and five hours of nutrition training during their time in medical school. Seeing a Naturopath, Registered Dietician or Nutritionist may be a better place to look for professional direction on maximizing healthy diet and supplementation needs. If you are putting a high priority on your health, creating healthy dietary habits is a vital step.
Third, regular exercise is a MUST. I simply don’t breathe nearly as well if I don’t exercise often. Beyond that, regular exercise is a vital contributor to overall health. For example, heart disease is the number two killer of Canadians (2), high blood pressure being a leading risk factor for heart disease and dementia (3). That means it is not just the heart, but the brain as well that is negatively affected. An analysis of twenty four clinical trials showed that people with high blood pressure, when they engaged in aerobic exercise for at least six weeks, experienced reduction in systolic blood pressure (the higher number) of -8 to -12 mmHg and -5 to -6 mmHg in diastolic (lower number) blood pressure (4). This is a drug level effect that comes from regular exercise! How about resistance training? Resistance training can help us lower disability as we age. Moreover, an analysis of 10 different studies showed that getting sixty minutes per week of resistance training is linked to a 27% reduction in all-cause mortality (death)! (5) I don’t know about you, but avoiding death sounds like a good idea to me! You don’t have to lift heavy, rather put in the effort to become deeply fatigued. Lunges, for example, are an anaerobic exercise that are highly functional in life and yet do not require lots of extra weight to deeply fatigue even very fit people. A key factor in being physically able to exercise is taking care of your orthopaedic health. Seeing a registered massage therapist, physiotherapist, or chiropractor for an orthopaedic assessment may help prevent injury due to exercise and can certainly keep you moving on your way to a healthier lifestyle.
Fourth, sleep is vitally important for our health. For example, in elementary school children with less than nine hours of sleep per night, one study showed a reduction in brain volume in areas that affect memory, attention, and impulse control. This is associated with mental health problems and problems in cognition. This effect lasted for over two years, illustrating long term effects from not getting enough sleep (6). Children are also more negatively affected by blue light than adults (7). Blue light blocking glasses or avoiding screen time in the hours before bed can be a big help. Adults aren’t immune to sleep related risks. Poor sleep quality or lack of sleep is associated with increased risk of cancer (8), the number one killer of Canadians (9). Also lack of sleep is associated with lowered immune system function (10).
Some good sleep hygiene tips include:
- Early light exposure in the morning helps set your circadian rhythm allowing your body to feel tired and ready to sleep in the evening.
- Dim the lights in the evening and keep it dark in the bedroom
- Avoid reading in bed or watching TV before bed
- Additionally, not getting enough protein, green vegetables, magnesium, and zinc are also linked with poor sleep quality.
The last two years have illustrated that we need to make health a priority now. At Choice Health Centre, we have an amazing team of health care practitioners to help guide you toward a healthier, happier life. Our services include Massage Therapy, Sports Injury Therapy, Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Occupational Therapy, Kinesiology, Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Podiatry, Personal Training, Yoga classes, Chi Gong classes, and Kinstretch classes. Not to mention various modalities such as Active Release Technique, Laser Therapy, and Shockwave Therapy.
It’s okay to be overwhelmed. Life is a lot sometimes. We get it. We are here to help with four locations in the HRM. Call us at 902-404-3668 and we can guide you to the services and location that best suits your needs. We look forward to hearing from you.
References
- Statistics Canada- Prescription medication use among Canadian adults
- Statistics Canada- Leading causes of death, total population, by age group
- Alzheimers.org.uk – High blood pressure and dementia
- Effects of Aerobic Training Progression on Blood Pressure in Individuals With Hypertension: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression
- Resistance Training and Mortality Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Effects of sleep duration on neurocognitive development in early adolescents in the USA: a propensity score matched, longitudinal, observational study
- High sensitivity of melatonin suppression response to evening light in preschool-aged children
- Fragmented sleep accelerates tumor growth progression through recruitment of tumor-associated macrophages and TLR4 signaling
- Statistics Canada- Leading causes of death, total population, by age group
- MDPI – Sleep Deprivation, Immune Suppression and SARS-CoV-2 Infection