February 8, 2010
This Week's Health-Related DVD Releases (February 16, 2010)
Being winter, you would think that more health and exercise-related DVDs would be released. With the cold weather and short days, many of us are much more likely to work out in our homes instead of trekking to the gym or running/walking outside.
This week only a handful of new health-related DVDs are on store shelves, but they offer fitness regimens for the heart and mind, for the young and old, even for men and women.
Brain Fitness Frontiers is a fascinating PBS special about cognitive training and other therapies that are challenging the previously thought limits of brain plasticity. If you are interested in neuroscience at all, you will be fascinated by this program.
Another neuroscience DVD, The New Science of Learning: Brain Fitness for Kids, examines recent breakthroughs in neuroscience and educational research regarding the brains of children.
One of the biggest risks for heart attack for men is a big belly (visceral fat), and Men's Health: The Belly Off! Workout aims to reduce that risk by slimming down that area through exercise with The Body Weight Routine and The Strength Training Routine.
Shapely Girl: Walking Fit and Fabulous! offers a workout regimen for plus-sized women.
A lifetime of good health starts at an early age, and KidYogi and TeenYogi offer yoga sessions specifically designed for children.
What new health-related releases are you picking up or adding to your Netflix queue this week?
This week's health-related DVD releases:
Brain Fitness Frontiers
Da Vinci Body Series: Volume 3: Cardio Workout
KidYogi
Men's Health: The Belly Off! Workout - The Body Weight Routine
Men's Health: The Belly Off! Workout - The Strength Training Routine
The New Science of Learning: Brain Fitness for Kids
Shapely Girl: Walking Fit and Fabulous!
TeenYogi
also at Fingertips:
other health-related DVD release lists
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February 5, 2010
One Banana, Two Banana
My husband found a nifty little tool called Wolfram/Alpha that helps you track the nutrients in food. For example, I typed in 1 banana and it gave me a nutritional fact box like what you find on prepared foods. It also breaks the food down into daily values and compares the food's nutritional value (fructose, glucose, vitamin C) to other foods. It goes on to break food down into calories, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals. Food geeks may even find nirvana here!
While I'm talking about food, Michael Pollan had published another short tome based upon the information he has shared about food in his previous books called Food Rules: An Eater's Manual.
Simple, sensible, and easy to use, Food Rules is a set of memorable rules for eating wisely, many drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions.
New York Time food writer Jane E. Brody reviews the book and adds comments about concept of eating that she has been purporting for years. An example she discusses is the "Western diet" containing lots of meat, sugar and processed foods -- the consumption of which increases our risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. She also states that people who stick to traditional diets such as the Asian and Mediterranean foods tend to have less of the "Western diseases." And she goes on to mention the impact to the economy and the planet:
Our economy cannot afford to continue to patch up the millions of people who each year develop a diet-related ailment, and our planetary resources simply cannot sustain our eating style and continue to support its ever-growing population.
Three things I have always done (and advised others who cared to ask) is to cook for yourself using fresh ingredients (ideally locally grown from the farmer's market), shop the perimeter of the grocery store, and limit sweets and starchy foods (which turn to sugar quickly). Those tips are all in Pollan's latest book. And better news: the book is only five bucks! What better investment can be made to improve the health of yourself and your family starting today?
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February 3, 2010
Retraction: Vaccines and Autism
The British medical journal, The Lancet, dropped a bombshell when it retracted a 1998 paper which claimed a link between vaccines and autism.
The retraction by The Lancet is part of a reassessment that has lasted for years of the scientific methods and financial conflicts of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who contended that his research showed that the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine may be unsafe.
Apparently, Dr Wakefield recommended separating the vaccines out in order to spread them out over a long period of time. He had also developed a single measles vaccine, which, if his suggestion had been followed, he would have likely profited from. Also, scientific research was found to be funded by lawyers of parents seeking to sue for vaccine damages.
The results from his study have had ramifications. In the US, anti-vaccine groups have blamed the mercury-containing preservative, thermasol, for the mental regressions observed in Wakefield's patients in the study. In 2001, vaccine makers eliminated thermasol from their vaccines, but childhood autism rates have not gone down as a result.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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February 2, 2010
Take Care Of It, It Will Take Care Of You
Well, the truck is in the shop. We own one vehicle, a older model, light duty truck -- old enough to still have a carburetor. When you own one vehicle, the logistics of getting it to the mechanic when it won't start requires some planning. So I spent the better part of my day running around taking care of things. This is how I relax on my week between classes and the start of my internship.
Besides needing a muffler, which we were planning to bring the truck to the mechanic for anyway, it turns out our battery became accidentally disconnected. There may be some wisdom in popping the hood and staring blankly into the engine when things don't go right, after all!
Actually, we have found that where our vehicle is concerned, we have led a charmed life. It just goes to show that if you take care of something, do the maintenance that is required, it will last. That's actually a good analogy for the body, as well.
Just as running your car regularly keeps the battery from dying and the oil from turning to sludge in the engine, exercise keeps the mind sharper and helps reduce the build up of plaque in the arteries. Bringing the car in for winterizing can be likened to your annual physical.
My father used to liken the body to an old car. Replace one part and it puts stress on the other systems that are also wearing out. Where ever there is a weakness in the system is where the next problem will occur.
What's different about the body is that it is designed to be used. Disuse actually causes the body to break down. If everything is aligned correctly in the body (joints), the more it is used, the stronger the body becomes. If you find you need motivation to move your body, watch a little TV -- specifically, the educational shows about bariatric hospitals.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 28, 2010
The Silver Lining To The Aging Brain
Ha ha ha. This may explain why I'm so distracted by everything while I'm trying to study for my final exam. Luckily, there may be an advantage to this lack of focus (other than I'm tired of studying for two straight years). According to Lynn Hasher of the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, "Older adults with reduced attentional regulation seem to display greater knowledge of seemingly extraneous co-occurrences in the environment than younger adults."
Some how, the older more experienced brains pick up this extraneous information, and make an association with what they're trying to learn, an extraneous fact that may come in handy later. It reminds me of Depression era seniors who save everything because "you never know when you're going need that."
That may not be such a bad strategy after all. It might explain half the stuff in my junk drawer in the kitchen or the contents of the closet in the spare room. I have heard that listening to music while you study can enhance retention of facts. But does that work if you are not allowed to listen to that same music while you take the test? Maybe since I'm thinking of my drawers and closets, I can use those items to help me on my test tomorrow. Now if I could just remember what I put in them . . . .
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 27, 2010
Today's Practical Exam
Since it's on my mind, I thought I would talk about today's practical exam. I'm not allowed to give any details about the case or my answer because some of my classmates have not taken the exam yet. But the focus of the exam was to evaluate a patient by video who has an upper motor neuron lesions (an injury to the brain or spinal cord). Strokes, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, etc. all qualify as conditions that we could be tested on.
Restoring motor function in this population depends on an assessment of function. Lower functioning patients may have to be retrained to do the basics, such as rolling over in bed, propping on their elbows, moving onto their hands and knees (quadruped), or bridging. Higher functioning patients may need help with stability while sitting, kneeling, half kneeling, propped standing (plantigrade), independent standing, stepping, or walking.
Lower functioning patients need help with mobility, that is initiating movement or moving from one position to another safely. People who have had a stroke may have difficulty with rolling to one side in bed because they are weak.
The next level of motor function involves stability or static postural control. This involves the ability to keep your center of mass over your base of support while the body is at rest. This description reminds me of the process a child must go through while learning to walk. As we move further away from the ground, sitting to kneeling to standing, maintaining stability becomes more challenging.
Next we develop controlled mobility, or dynamic postural control. This is the ability to stay stable while moving the limbs. This category of function can look like sitting unsupported while doing something with your hands, or it can involve shifting weight to one side in order to reach for something (static/dynamic control).
Function can be progressed even further into the category of skill. Skill involves the ability to perform coordinated movement for the purpose of investigating or interacting with the environment. Motor skill can be broken into three categories: discrete, continuous, or serial. A discrete movement can be as simple as kicking a ball -- there is a start and an end to the movement sequence. Walking would be a continuous movement -- having no recognizable beginning and end. A pianist performs serial movements when they perform a piece of music -- it a series of discrete actions strung together.
When you consider injuries to the brain, whether from trauma or stroke, cognition can be a factor in teaching functional skill. Patients may be confused and only able to follow very simple commands. Depending upon where they are in recovery, they could be agitated and combative, or cooperative, but automatic in their actions, only moving when cued to do so. It is important for the therapist to recognize when they have worked the patient to the level of fatigue. This usually results in reversion of cognitive status, such a irritability, seemingly uncooperative behavior, a delay in initiating movement, or just poor performance.
While functional performance can be described in general, every patient will behave differently. This can be for many reasons including level of function and skill before the injury, to where the injury is located in the brain, and how severe the injury is. A patient may not be able to roll over in bed, but stand them up and they may be able to walk across the room! Walking may be an automatic movement for this patient whereas rolling over in bed is a sequence of movements they have to plan to accomplish. Never doubt that the mind is an amazing thing and the potential for recovery may be unlimited.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 26, 2010
Where Do You Find a Physical Therapist?
Most states in the US have consumer choice (aka. direct access) with regard to finding a physical therapist. A good place to start is through word of mouth or the American Physical Therapy Association in order to find a therapist in your area. If your doctor refers to to a PT for therapy, they will often recommend someone who they trust to work with their patients.
Physical therapists can be found in many settings, some of which may surprise you. Some of the more common settings for PTs are in hospitals, immediately post-surgery or accident to get patients up and walking again. Many therapists can also be found in out-patient orthopedic clinics, often working with sports injuries and for care after a patient has been released to go home.
Home health care companies often out-source physical therapists for patients who are safely released to their home following a surgery, but are unable to tolerate being brought into an outpatient clinic.
Some out-patient clinics focus solely on the needs of children. Pediatric physical therapy is a subspecialty that focuses on children with congenital disorders (since birth) or long-term problems acquired after birth, such as accidents which result in spinal cord injury or brain damage. Pediatric physical therapists may also specialize in working with children while they are at school. They help the child move around in the school environment, create physical activities for the whole class that the disabled child can participate in. They may also suggest adaptations to the school environment in order to accommodate the child's disability.
Physical therapists can work in industry to help design workplace environments to prevent worker injury, instruct in safe work practices, assess whether a new employee is strong enough to perform a particular job or to strengthen them for a new task or return to work following an injury. And don't forget the ones who help manufacture orthotic devices and residual limbs for amputees and people with walking problems.
Physical therapists are present in a teaching capacity. Half of University Hospital's physical therapists teach in some capacity at our university. They also teach each other, doing in-service training on a variety of topics right in the clinic. PTs also teach other health care professionals, such as nurses and aides how to accomplish safe lifting techniques in order to prevent injuries to themselves and their patients. Like massage therapists, physical therapists are required by law to take continuing education courses, many of which are expert PTs in specialized fields.
Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities have in-house physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathologist employed to help residents transition from the high level of care in a hospital to a lower level of care at home.
Sports teams often hire physical therapists. Your local highschool football team may have a physical therapist on retainer for the care of their athletes. Your athletic gym, community recreation center, or wellness center may be owned by or employ a physical therapist.
One of the reasons I decided to transition from massage therapy to physical therapy was in order to expand my options for the places that I could work and the people that I could treat.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 25, 2010
Roles Of Physical Therapy
The words "physical therapy" cause most people to think about rehabilitation, such as when a person has been injured by a sport or had an accident. This type of rehabilitation mostly focuses on orthopedics, but physical therapy can do so much more.
For instance, a child with a medical condition, such as spina bifida or cerebral palsy will get physical therapy to enhance development or train for optimal function.
A person hospitalized because of pneumonia may get physical therapy for improving lung function that may involve positional changes in bed, percussion techniques (more aggressive than percussion in massage therapy), and breathing exercises.
Person's who have experienced a heart attack often go to physical therapy in order to restore as much heart function, aerobic capacity, etc. as possible.
Physical therapy can also help with inner ear problems. A person who has experienced a blow to the head may find themselves dizzy. Physical therapy can retrain the vestibular system to stabilize equilibrium and help recover balance.
Along with post-surgical rehabilitation, physical therapy can be utilized by patients to plan for surgery. Strengthening muscles surrounding joints that need to be replaced will help improve surgical outcomes and reduce rehabilitation time.
Using the services of physical therapy to promote health and wellness serves to prevent the decrease in strength and function that is typical with normal aging.
These are just a few of the roles that physical therapy takes. Some of them are unexpected, some of them are obvious. Tomorrow, I will discuss some of the places that you will find physical therapists. Some places might surprise you.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 21, 2010
I Wish I Was These Guys
I have to admit that I'm somewhat of an oddball. Everybody in my class is a football or a baseball fan, especially southern conference college football. Me, I like hockey. There is a woman from Canada in my class, but she likes soccer.
So, I felt envious when I found an article about this physiotherapist and his coworker, a massage therapist, who are coaching an NHL alumni team for a special event. They sponsor the game which will raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.
While I was in massage school in Salt Lake City, my husband introduced me to hockey. My favorite NHL team naturally became the Colorado Avalanche because it's who we saw regularly on TV. SLC also has minor league hockey team and we used to go see the Grizzlies games. I thought that it would be a great job to work with the team, but someone already got there before me -- the Rub Club.
After we came back down south, we went to several NHL games in Nashville for the Predators. Their team had physical therapists from Baptist Hospital working on them. I was shut out again. Now that I'm in PT school, my area of interest is not working with athletes. However, if the opportunity presented itself to work with my favorite hockey players, I'd be hard pressed to pass up the opportunity.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 20, 2010
Being Sedentary Shortens Lives
Beware: If you watch 4 or more hours of television per day, you're likely to increase your chances of dying earlier. The culprit is cardiovascular disease and it doesn't seem to matter if you're a healthy weight. The study to back this up appeared in Circulation: the journal of the American Heart Association.
Although the study was conducted in Australia, Dunstan said the findings are certainly applicable to Americans. Average daily television watching is approximately three hours in Australia and the United Kingdom, and up to eight hours in the United States, where two-thirds of all adults are either overweight or obese.
This is a frightening finding for my lifestyle as a student. I spend a good portion of my day sitting in a classroom. I come home and park myself in front of the computer or read at a table for several hours. If I finish all my homework, I relax in front of the TV in order to unwind before I go to bed.
As a massage therapists, at least I was on my feet all day. And a good massage was like a mild to moderate workout. Rarely was it so strenuous that I could not talk (unfortunate for my clients). I can only hope that a comparative amount of physical activity is in store for me as a physical therapist.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 18, 2010
Skiing Easier On Achondroplasic Legs?
We were watching Little People, Big World today, and the Roloff's were skiing. Matt, the father who has achondroplasic dwarfism, was saying that skiing was easier on his legs than simply standing for a half hour. This was surprising to me.
Upon discussion, the amount of rest in proportion to skiing reflected a disproportionate amount of seated resting time. Standing, on the other hand, requires constant downward force from gravity on the joints of the lower extremities. And in Matt Roloff's case, he has had extensive surgeries since childhood to address problems with his legs.
But this conversation made me think about the problem of standing from the perspective of my physical therapy education. I don't know what structural changes are typical of achondroplasia, but I do know what muscle activation is necessary for standing and for skiing.
When we ski, the lower leg position is held in a squat which increases the workload for the quadriceps muscle group. Upright standing posture requires strength and length in the extensor muscles of the lower extremities, such as the hamstrings. Since Roloff ambulates with crutches in a bent knee position, it is conceivable that his hamstrings are likely short and possibly weaker because of his condition, surgeries, and/or functional usage pattern.
Also, given the compact nature of his musculature, he may also have an advantage in his quaduceps muscles for short, powerful burst of energy needed for skiing. So, I believe it is true, what he says about skiing compared to just simply standing. I also would not be surprised if he has chronic low back pain because of a muscle imbalance. I don't know if Mr. Roloff is currently engaging in physical therapy or a maintenance program, but I suspect focusing on his hamstrings would be beneficial for him. I would start by recommending core strengthening, stretching to lengthen the hamstrings, and squats with a focus on controlled leg extension to increase function while stair climbing and walking.
I have to admit that I like Matt Roloff. His indomitable spirit is engaging. To see someone who has been through so much hop on skis while relying on crutches to walk is inspirational. We could all learn a lesson about living life as large as he does.
tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health
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January 14, 2010
Offering Support Can Yeild a Niche Market
A stroke support groups in Reading, UK is meeting for the first time. They will exchange coping strategies, tips and tricks for managing their symptoms. It really helps people to realize they are not alone on the road to recovery.
10 year stroke survivor, Chris Goodall, offers the following encouragement:
I am still suffering some of the effects but month by month I do something that is a little achievement, like buttoning with my left hand because my right hand is dead. I still get out quite a bit and I would say to anyone who has had a stroke to try and do some exercise because it really helps.
The initial meeting will offer mini-Tai Chi and seated exercise routines, Indian head massage, and mini beauty and physiotherapy massages.
If you're looking to develop a niche practice, this a great way to target a population of people who could really use your help.It doesn't have to be stroke survivors, it could be any group of people who are dealing with a condition or situation that is stressful. Make it a cause close to your heart, such as something you have seen a family member experience or something you have some knowledge about or are interested in gaining knowledge about. People are always looking for "experts" to help address their situation.
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