Brain Health Awareness Month 2023

Transcript

Transcript

Minister Duclos:

Hello, everyone. I am this morning in the company of Dr. Frémont who is a sports physician and a professor in the physiotherapy program of the Department of Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Medicine of Université Laval, where I had the pleasure and a chance of working for almost 25 years a few years ago. We are here today to talk about Brain Health Awareness Month.

That's because the brain is a most critical organ. Dr. Frémont what in your view, are the best ways to protect our brain?

Dr. Pierre Frémont:

Well, two of the best ways to protect our brain are to prevent injuries to the brain and to properly recognize those injuries when they occur. For example, wearing a helmet when engaging in activities that are at higher risk of such injuries can prevent some of them and certainly reduce the severity of the injuries when they occur. Also, it's important to understand that brain injuries do not only occur in sports such as the concussion in hockey, but also in other circumstances where the brain may have suffered an injury.

Let's think, for example, of an elderly person who falls. We may focus on the bruise or the broken bone, but we need to think that the brain might have been injured, too.

Minister Duclos:

We also know that being physically active and you are one of the big proponents of physical activity that helps - has a very positive effect on our physical health in general. What can you tell us more about this, Dr. Frémont?

A physical activity not only has a positive effect on physical and mental health, but also on the function of our brains that we call cognitive functions. And research has clearly shown that in every age group; children, adolescents, adults, older adults, a physically active lifestyle contributes to maintaining better cognitive function through life.

Minister Duclos:

Dr. Frémont Thank you and all the best.

Dr. Pierre Frémont:

Thank you for having me.