Are you at Risk for Falls?

Are You at Risk for Falling?

          A quick assessment of your balance can let you be more informed about your risk of falling.  One-third of adults over the age of 65 years fall at least once each year.  These falls can cause serious problems including hospitalizations and need for placement into a long-term care facility.  Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries, and over 95% of hip fractures are caused by an individual falling down.  Research has shown an increased chance of an injury with falls if the individual can not stand on one foot for at least 5 seconds without assistance.  In fact, many studies have been performed to assess the average person’s balance while standing on one foot. 

                        Age 18-69:  30-45 seconds

                        Age 70-79:  16-21 seconds

                        Age 80-99:  8-13 seconds

            A physical therapist can help improve your balance and decrease your risk for falls.  Please consult your doctor if you are having trouble with your balance or have a history of falls and he can write you a script for physical therapy.

Resources:

Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, Vol. 20; 1:07

http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com

www.cdc.gov

What is SI Joint Dysfunction?

What is SI Joint Dysfunction?

SI Joint stands for Sacroiliac Joint.  This is a joint consisting of the sacrum (tailbone) and ilium (large pelvic bone).  This joint is not designed for much motion except to assist with walking and for shock absorption.  For women it is also involved in child birth.  The joint is held together with ligaments that allow 2-4 mm of motion on a regular basis and more when female hormones are released during the last trimester of pregnancy.

Many different things can cause pain to this area including arthritis, birth abnormalities, and direct injuries to the joint.

It is possible to have these joints shift out of normal alignment.  The ilium may shift up in relation to the other joint or it may rotate.  This may have been caused by a car accident, a fall, or pregnancy. 

A Physical Therapist can assess your SI Joint to check your pelvic alignment.  A trained therapist can help realign these joints through manual treatment.  This can generally be corrected within the first treatment.  Several factors such as core muscle strength, ligament laxity, and compliance to therapist’s instructions will determine if it will need re-adjusting in future treatments.  Some people are able to maintain their alignment after the first treatment.

After correcting this alignment, it is important that you avoid certain activities that would encourage it to shift back out of place.  The three main ones include jogging, stairs, and crossing your legs.  As the ligaments tighten back up and you strengthen your core muscles, you may return to these activities.

In the event that your SI Joint remains unstable, a sacroiliac belt may help provide external stabilization until your muscles can do this for you.

Correcting your SI Joint alignment may cause some initial soreness, but should significantly decrease your pain.

Winter Activity Safety Tips

Winter Activity Safety Tips

Are you planning a winter get-away?  Common injuries include: falls causing bumps and bruises, cuts, broken bones, head injuries and spinal injuries.  Here are some tips to help avoid injuries and frostbite.

*Protect yourself and family from cold and exposure by wearing boots, hats, and mittens or gloves.

*Layer clothing – it protects from cold and provides extra padding in case of falls.

*Wear water repellent outer clothing and check clothing periodically for dryness.

*Tuck in loose scarves and drawstrings so they do not get caught or snared on trees, branches, rocks, sleds, skis, etc…

Winter activities such as Ice Skating, Sledding, and Skiing precautions:

*Ensure activity is in appropriate designated areas.  They should be clear of debris and well lighted. 

*Don’t go alone, and let someone know where you will be and when to expect your return.

*Children 12 and under should wear protective head gear, and be supervised by a responsible adult.

*Limit time exposed to cold and wind.  The wind chill factor makes it feel much colder than the temperature really is. 

*If you get wet, get into dry clothes as soon as possible.

*Warm up indoors with a warm drink like hot chocolate.

Have fun and be safe!

Avoid Winter Blues and Bulge

Avoid Winter Blues and Bulge

 

          Can’t go outside?  Keep busy with exercise.  If you are unable to go to a gym, you can use your kids gaming system (Wii/Kinect) or home gym.

          Always start with a warm-up for 2 – 5 minutes.  Swing your arms and legs slowly to start the blood flowing is a good place to start.

          There are games for all levels of exercise from beginner to expert.  Wii: Just Dance, Carnival Games, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus, and many more.  Almost all Kinect games can be used for exercise because your body is your controller.

          Don’t have a home gym?  You don’t need one.  Set your kitchen timer for 30 minutes and grab a couple of 8 oz cans from the pantry and you have ½ lb free weights.  (16 oz = 1 lb) You can do tricep exercises by holding your arm behind you and bending and straightening your elbow.  Bicep curls are easy too.  Just hold your arm out in front of you and bend and straighten your elbow.  Bicep curls can be done three ways: palm up, palm down, and thumb up.

          Aerobic exercise is easy too.  Jumping jacks are excellent, or you can march or jog in one place while watching your favorite show.  You could also exercise during commercials. 

          Tired of standing?  Sit down and march while sitting, or alternate kicking your legs out.

          Don’t forget to stretch after exercise for 2 – 5 minutes to keep your muscles happy, and drink plenty of water.

          Try getting 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week.

 

Good Luck!

 

If you have never exercised before, be sure to check with your Doctor before beginning any exercise program.

 

 

 

Frazzled Feeding

Frazzled Feeding

How do meal times look at your house? Is it a pleasurable experience with your family sitting around the table, eating the delicious meal you made, and having a nice discussion about your day? Or Is it a little less pleasing with children screaming because they don’t want to eat the lasagna that just took you an hour to prepare, your little one vomits because he finally took a bite of lasagna and it made him gag, or do you spend your entire meal just trying to keep your little darling buckled and seated in their high chair or booster because they are continuously trying to leave mealtime? Well if this sounds like dinner time at your house your child may be experiencing some feeding difficulties.

Feeding Difficulties can be very challenging for parents, caregivers, siblings, and children. There can be various reasons for children to having difficulty with feeding. The three most common reasons include medical diagnoses (such as: chronic constipation, reflux/GERD, food allergies/intolerances), sensory processing problems, or decreased oral motor coordination/control. 

Feeding difficulties checklist: (if your child demonstrates any of these you may want to discuss these issues with your pediatrician and see if Occupational Therapy would be helpful).

• Spitting out food
• Not opening mouth during feeds
• Gagging/coughing/vomiting at meal times
• Not acting hungry
• Pocketing solid foods in their mouth (holding the foods in their cheeks when eating for extended periods of time)
• Pooling liquids (leaving liquids in their mouth for extended time before swallowing)
• Problems advancing to chunkier textures (moving from stage 1 or 2 baby foods to table foods for example)
• Refusal behaviors
• Crying during mealtimes
• Throwing food, bowls, spoons from the table or high chair to avoid eating
• Only taking liquids from a bottle past 18 months
• Refusal to sit in a high chair

These are just a few examples of common problems seen in children that are having difficulty with feeding. Please consult with your pediatrician if you feel that you child is experiencing any of these problems and they are negatively impacting you his/her development.

Finally, feeding is about control. Children will not participate in a feeding experience willingly unless they feel safe and comfortable. Allow children to explore new foods at times other than meal times so that they don’t feel pressured to eat that new food.

Weekend Warrior Syndrome

Weekend Warrior Syndrome

As the weather improves and the days get warmer, are you finding yourself doing as much as you can on your days off?  Then on Monday morning you find yourself unable to move because you hurt too bad?  You are a “weekend warrior”.

Exercising, gardening, swimming, or any strenuous activity that you only do once a week is probably going to lead to unnecessary injuries, major soreness and/or pain.  It can be avoided with a few easy steps.

Prepare ahead of time.  You usually know what you are going to do next weekend.  Take time (at least 10-15 min) to use the muscle groups that you are going to use.  Hiking? Walk during the week.  Gardening? Practice squats. Plan ahead to avoid injury. 

Start slowly.  Warm up your muscles for at least 5 minutes before doing intense activity.  Stretch with arm circles, arm swings, leg swings, lunges, etc… to get things going, and get your blood pumping.

Add Gradually.  Increase activity with a steady pace and building up as you go.  Don’t try to run 5 miles full out, especially if you didn’t warm up or don’t run regularly.

Take breaks.  Give yourself a chance to rest while drinking a big glass of water.  Muscles like water and oxygen.  Give them both to keep them from having spasms and causing you pain. 

When you are finished, take time to cool down for at least 5 minutes.  Stretch the muscles you used for at least 20 seconds each.

Do not take pain medicine before you work out.  It masks the pain, and you need to be able to listen to your body.  Try non-medical solutions like hot packs, cold packs, massage, and rest.

Have a great weekend! 

Pediatric Speech and Language Therapy: Servicing children from Birth - 21 years old

Pediatric Speech and Language Therapy provides the highest level of individualized speech, language and social communication services to children in need, including diagnostic and therapy services.

How can I encourage my child to use words?

    Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development:

·        *Talk to your child. Encourage your child to make vowel-like and consonant-like sounds. “ma”, “ba”, “da”

·        *Model what you want your child to say. “Ball”. “This is a ball”. Teach your baby to imitate your actions, including clapping hands, blowing kisses, and using finger-songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”

·       * Identify items and colors, count things around the home, use gestures like waving “bye, bye” to help learn meaning.

·        *Expand on what your child says. “Mama. Here is mama, I’m your mama.”

·        *Read to your child. Reading can be pointing to objects and pictures in books. Encourage naming and identifying familiar items.

How do i know if my child needs a Speech Therapist?

     Indicators That Your Child May Benefit From a Speech and Language Evaluation:

·        *Child is not expressing at least 50 words by the age of two years old.

·        *Child is using pointing and gesturing to request everything without vocalizations beyond the age of two years old.

·        *Child is not making eye contact when communicating with the parent or during play activities.

·        *Ask other parents or your child’s pediatrician if your child is comparable to other children his or her age.

**The younger your child is evaluated and diagnosed, the more positive outcome he or she will experience in speech and language development.