About Us
Meet Dr.Michael Lee
Dr. Michael Lee is a Chiropractor and an Active Release Provider that is very effective in musculoskeletal injuries, soft tissue injuries and injury prevention. By applying customized manual based therapy including myofascial work to care for the entire body, Dr. Lee identifies and corrects faulty movement patterns, bridging the gap between physical rehab and return to sports, work and every day life activities.
Dr. Lee graduated in 1998 from the National University of Health Sciences in Illionois, U.S.A.
He has been helping our Unionville / GTA community since 1998, serving patients of all ages.
Dr. Michael Lee strives to keep up with the most up to date techniques used in professional sports for soft tissue injuries such as Active Release Technique, Graston Technique , Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization, Mobilizations & Chiropractic Adjustments, Rehabilitation Exercise, Therapeutic Cupping, Percussion Therapy using HYPERVOLT+ and Compression Therapy with NORMATEC (both HYPERVOLT + and NORMATEC are official recovery tools for the NBA and UFC) to help his patients with soft tissue injuries, muscle aches and pain as well as SPORTS RECOVERY.
If it’s good enough for the professional athletes , it's good enough for you as well.
Dr. Michael Lee was Medical Staff for :
2015 TORONTO PAN AM GAMES
2017 JR. PAN AM Badminton Championships
our mission
What We Do
OUR MISSION
The mission of Back In Action is to be the place to go for your soft tissue injuries. We are Dedicated to our Patients and Promise to Deliver the Highest Quality of Care using the Latest Advances in Research and Technology. Our goal is not only to treat your injury, but also educate you in the process. We want you to understand your treatment whether it is using a specific technique or recovery instrument. And we want you to have all the knowledge necessary to prevent your injury from returning.
Our mission is to fix your injury from the source.
Soft tissue injuries are generally poorly understood, misdiagnosed and mistreated. Soft tissue involves the muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves. Soft tissue injuries lead to headaches, back pain, tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, iliotibial band syndrome, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis, just to name a few.
Understanding the Injury Cycle
Pain is not necessarily a bad thing, it is a way for your body to communicate with your brain that something is wrong.
The human body has many mechanisms that prevent injury, and biological processes that promote healing and repair.
Overuse, repetitive motions, and overexertion can push the body to its limits, and it then sends pain as a signal that the movement is beyond what it can handle.
A Repetitive Strain Injury causes scar tissue to form in muscles and soft tissues by actions such as:
- Repetitive tasks with many small, rapid movements
- Insufficient rest time between the repetitive tasks
- Working in awkward or fixed postures for extended periods of time
- Excessive and forceful movements, used repetitively, to move loads, or to execute accelerated actions such as lifting, running, hitting or throwing
UNDERSTANDING THE INJURY CYCLE
1) It all starts with a tear or a crush to the muscle, tendon, ligament, arterioles, veins or nerves. ( all of these are known as soft tissue ). We all have injuries where we are in a lot pain and we cannot move without causing more pain. When we touch something hot or sharp with our fingers , our hand will jerk back quickly to avoid the harm. Similarly, when a muscle senses harm, it becomes stiff and painful because our body is trying to protect itself from further harm. Pain is our body communicating that there is harm. The muscle will spasm, shorten, and cause more pain to prevent you from causing further damage and go into protect mode.
When muscles are injured, they tighten up, and swelling/inflammation occurs such as during a sprain / strain injury, restricting the oxygen supply to the muscles and connective tissues. Scar tissue formation occurs, similar to glue, bridging the injury. Think of it like when you fall off a bike and you scrape your knee or elbow. It will initially bleed, then scab over, but shortly after, you get the yellow fluid on the surface that dries and crystalizes on top. At this stage, it forms Adhesion Fibrosis (Scar Tissue), Contracture occurs.
2) Without the nutrient-rich blood being delivered to the muscles, muscles cannot initiate the normal healing process. Left unaddressed, inflammation and scar tissue dries up, hardens, and the normal sliding of muscle tissue over one another is impeded. As a result, range of motion can be compromised, and the mechanics or movement of your body part is altered.
This is when you start noticing problems such as pain and stiffness.
3) So this Injury Cycle will repeat itself over and over. This is because the more stiff and tight the muscle gets , the more Internal Friction Pressure and Tension occurs. As this cycle repeats itself over and over, the injury goes into the Chronic Cycle. At this stage, the scar tissue gets so thick and tight that the blood which carries nutrients and repair mechanisms can’t get in to help the muscle or soft tissue heal. The injured muscle will be in a state of Hypoxia with very little oxygenated blood supply. Note that oxygen is like fuel for the muscle. More scar tissue is formed and the cycle repeats itself , where pain and discomfort will be constant and gradually worsens.
When problems are untreated, other issues can develop. For example, a shoulder complaint progresses into upper back pain, arm pain, and elbow pain that are all related to the original shoulder dysfunction. Often, this is due to compensation for the injured body part.
HOW CAN BACK IN ACTION HELP?
Within the INJURY CYLCLE, the cycle can be broken and the injury will start to repair and restore normal function: BY BREAKING UP THE SCAR TISSUE/ ADHESION FIBROSIS CONTRACTURE.
WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT YOUR BODY WILL GET BLOOD FLOW BACK INTO THE THE MUSCLE/SOFT TISSUE. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE BLOOD CARRIES THE NUTRIENTS AND REPAIR MECHANISMS TO HELP THE INJURED AREA HEAL.
THIS IS WHERE BACK IN ACTION AND DR. LEE COMES IN. WE WILL USE ALL VARIOUS MODERN TECHNIQUES, MODALTIES AND INSTRUMENTS TO BREAK DOWN THE SCAR TISSUE.
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Active Release Techniques® Breaks The Injury Cycle
ART is a new safe, quick and effective way to treat almost all types of muscle injuries, aches and pains. This is a “hands-on”, non-invasive technique that has completely changed the way muscle injuries are treated.
This type of therapy was developed by Dr. Michael Leahy, from Colorado, U.S.A., which he trademarked as ART in 1988, and it soon became popular with Olympic and professional athletes and is the treatment of choice for the Ironman.
(For more information, go to www.activerelease.com).
About Active Release Techniques (ART)®
What is ART® (Active Release Technique) and what are the benefits?ART® (Active Release Technique) is a highly successful approach to the diagnosis and treatment of soft tissues including muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and fascia. It is effective for many musculoskeletal injuries including sciatica, low back pain, neck pain/whiplash, tennis and golfer’s elbow, rotator cuff issues, knee pain, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, jaw pain, and headaches, to name a few. Professional athletes have been using ART® for years to improve athletic performance, treat existing injuries, and prevent future injuries. However, this therapy is useful for everyone from the office worker to the stay-at-home mom, as almost most people experience repetitive use or micro traumatic injuries sustained from life’s day to day activities.
How does it work? When a muscle, tendon, or ligament is injured, the body forms scar tissue (sometimes also called adhesions). Scar tissue is how the body connects and binds injured tissue. Unfortunately, that same scar tissue often sticks to surrounding structures like “glue.” If a nerve runs through a muscle in the spot where there is scar tissue, the nerve can be pinched or pulled by that adhesion, causing it to fire pain signals-leading to numbness, tingling, and painful loss of mobility. The resulting limited motion causes the body to compensate by overworking other healthy tissue, also leading to pain. Although the body can sometimes adapt to, and tolerate a certain amount of scar tissue, it will not function optimally and can cause further injury. This scar tissue requires treatment because the body has no mechanism to reduce scar tissue naturally. ART® practitioners are highly skilled at finding the exact location of scar within each tissue and have over 500 specific treatment protocols that they can apply depending on the condition.
What can I expect? The practice of ART® has been a change in the basic understanding and approach to treating soft tissue injury. Unlike other treatment methods, the patient is frequently an active participant in ART® by moving the affected area through a full range of motion while the doctor applies manual force along the scar tissue. Every ART® session is a combination of examination and treatment. Examination involves the identification of the soft tissue that has been injured and where scar tissue has formed due to direct injury or from overuse. Treatment then involves guided movement of the patient, increasing tension and breaking up the painful scar tissue. ART® can be combined with other types of treatment, including chiropractic manipulation and rehabilitative exercises, to achieve optimal function and improve overall performance. In many cases the problem is fixed, or significant improvement is seen, in four to five treatments. If we have not seen a change by this time, further investigation may be advised.
We Can Help
Your first visit will consist of a detailed review of medical history and reason for seeking chiropractic care. The initial assessment is a chance for you to outline your needs and concerns, goals and expectations. By understanding your current lifestyle and habits, Dr. Lee will gain a more comprehensive view on the best plan of care for you as an individual. After the consultation, if he believes he can help you with your condition, he will proceed with treatment. Treatments consist of a variety of modalities and techniques, all focused on the principle of breaking down scar tissue and promoting blood flow to the injured area. Once blood flow is restored, the body's repair crew can bring nourishment to the area and engage in its healing processes.
Different treatment protocols are used to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is an extremely individualized approach, targeting the specific muscle groups involved in the injury.
Each course of therapy is individually designed to resolve the patient’s problems without surgery, and allows patients to return to their normal activities. Whether you are an office worker, student, recreational athlete or a world-class athlete, the preventative and restorative benefits of ART can help you perform at your best.
stretches/exercise
Once a problem is fixed, you will need to follow a program of stretching and strength building. If your problem is associated with an injury that occurred long ago, you probably have some weakness and inflexibility in the surrounding muscles.
OTHER SERVICES PROVIDED
- Custom-Made Foot Orthotics
- Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Rehabilitation
- Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Rehabilitation
OUR UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO CO-OP INTERN PROGRAM
At Back In Action, we have been part of the University of Waterloo Co-Op program for many years. We believe in giving back to the profession and we have been very fortunate to apprentice the many bright and very talented Kinesiology Students from the University of Waterloo. Our interns are trained and supervised by Dr. Michael Lee to give our patients quality thorough care.
COVID-19 UPDATE FOR BACK IN ACTION
WE ARE OPEN
MINISTRY OF HEALTH DEEMED US ESSENTIAL SERVICES. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME CHANGES:
PLEASE READ OUR COVID-UPDATE, CALL OUR CLINIC TO SETUP APPOINTMENT THEN COMPLETE FORMS/PAPERWORK AND EMAIL THEM BACK TO US, THANK YOU!