These are stressful times

These are stressful times

Fit to Farm: Dealing with stress can cause many people to regularly experience anxiety and pain

We live in a stressful world. It’s no surprise that many of us are dealing with high levels of anxiety, stress and pain on a regular basis. Often we are unaware of how much just our “normal” days affect our primal nervous systems — to the point where we consider the side-effects of our lifestyles […] Read more

Wondering if your pain could be related to stress? Try the steps below for seven days.

Can stress cause pain?

Fit to Farm: Whether it’s the stress of everyday living or an unexpected stressor there is usually an effect

I cannot count how many times a client has walked in my door telling me that they have aches and pains, and they’re SURE that it’s related to stress elsewhere in their lives. Often they say this in somewhat of a dismissive tone, acknowledging that stress is (sometimes) an unavoidable factor in life and that […] Read more


Farmers have a culture of pushing through pain, but pain is generally not a beneficial thing to push through in terms of longevity in our health and performance.

Don’t just carry on if you’re experiencing pain

Fit to Farm: This can lead to burnout, injuries, illness, and lower stress tolerance

I see all sorts of complaints in the clinic, ranging from sore backs, tense shoulders, headaches, and acute injuries. When we’re going through a busy time, it’s important to keep in mind some simple tools to help prevent, and alleviate, the symptoms of busyness. Farmers have a culture of pushing through pain, but pain is […] Read more

One way to exercise mindfulness is to dedicate small periods of time to breathing.

How breathing can help encourage mindfulness

Fit to Farm: Incorporating this into the day could help with health, mental and physical performance

The word “mindfulness” has been floating around a lot in recent years, but I still come across many individuals who have yet to be introduced to the basics of mindfulness. Being mindful isn’t necessarily an exercise you can do three sets of 10 a day and expect immediate change — but similar to how I […] Read more


The T-Twist.

Exercises to help prevent shoulder tension

Pain between the shoulder blades is a common complaint from farmers


Farmers often come to me complaining of pain and fatigue between the shoulder blades. This is an especially important area for humans as the shoulders are the core of our arms, in a sense. It’s not surprising that they are a common area of complaint, just as the low back is a common area of complaint when our […] Read more

While many would expect that a certain level of fatigue and tension would accompany the busy seasons, there’s more to it than that.

Here’s some tips to help prevent muscle tension

Fit to Farm: Farming includes long hours spent on equipment but pain and discomfort shouldn’t be a normal side-effect

Farming is an industry where scheduling is ruled by the seeds we sow, the animals we raise, and the people we feed. While many would expect that a certain level of fatigue and tension would accompany the busy seasons, there’s more to it than that. Tension that causes discomfort or pain and fatigue are signs […] Read more


Pain that lasts a long time sometimes stops feeling like pain, and becomes a part of who we are, sometimes appearing as other health conditions.

Do you suffer from constant pain?

Pain is the body’s way of saying something is wrong. Don’t just stifle it

A client messaged me today — a local farmer who had started seeing me as a personal trainer. Routinely complaining about his shoulder pain during sessions, I suggested we focus on rehabbing his pain first, but was met with resistance as he had already “tried more than six therapists and nothing had worked.” I left […] Read more

Are you dealing with sciatica pain?

Fit to Farm: Combined with soft tissue massage these movement practices could help provide some relief

Sciatica is a common complaint, but it is often overdiagnosed. It seems to now be a catch-all for physicians to diagnose sciatica when there is any complaint of pain in the hip and leg, without giving solutions outside of pain masking. Sciatica symptoms include shooting pain or numbness/tingling down the leg stemming from deep in […] Read more


legs older person, Knee Pain, elder osteoarthritis

What’s knee pain all about?

Usually the problem is actually coming from the hips or feet


After seeing an older woman in the clinic a few weeks into her post-knee replacement rehabilitation, her daughter approached me saying she knew she was headed in the same direction as her mom as she was already having knee and hip pain. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do to prevent […] Read more