Does The Weather Really Increase Joint Pain?

Photo: Dale McDonald, State Archives of Florida

Almost all my older patients report they feel more pain when the weather is cold and/or rainy. But is it really true? Here is an example of someone who told me: "I woke up with a lot of leg and back pain, and I think it is just because of the weather." So my goal was to show that her pain could be improved, regardless of the present weather conditions.

On a scale of 0-10, pain was 7/10 at the start of our session. Her first exercise was the same one she had been doing for homework: lie face down on the mat and press up onto her hands. Doing this for a few sets decreased her pain from 7/10 to 5/10 and made her leg feel better. With a few more exercises in the same direction of movement (backwards or back extension), her pain further decreased to 1/10 and was located in the center of her low back and not her leg. Objectively, her baseline movements improved and became less stiff and less painful.

So, how much of her pain was weather-related? Some of it may have been caused or aggravated by the climate change, but most of it was movement-related. So within one hour of treatment with the proper movements, her pain decreased from 7/10 to 1/10, and the weather was still cold and wet when she left.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

If you have young children, you may fear "Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease," so here are some facts about the virus:

1. A child only gets it once in his/her lifetime.
2. It is more common in the summertime.
3. It can look like chicken pox, with small, red bumps not only on the hands and feet but also on the arms and legs. They can become open sores and secrete clear fluid.
4. It is highly contagious and is most common among young children and babies.
5. It can be present with no bumps or sores on the hands/feet.
6. It causes sores in the mouth that are terribly painful and limit the child's desire to eat/drink. The sores can cause excessive drooling.
7. The first symptom is often a fever of 100 to 103 degrees, which lasts for a few days.
8. The disease usually lasts 7-10 days or less.
9. Prescription medication is typically not needed.
10. Treatment is Tylenol and/or Motrin for pain/fever, drinking fluids for hydration, rest, and frequent hand washing.
11. I would recommend you keep the child in long pants, socks, and long-sleeved shirts. For prevention, do the same for your other children.

Additional info on Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease:
http://www.cdc.gov/features/handfootmouthdisease/

Turkey Avocado Cobb Salad at Schlotzky's

http://www.schlotzskys.com/menu/salads/turkey-avocado-cobb/

The Turkey Avocado Cobb salad at Schlotzky's is one of the best salads I have tried lately. It has a ton of fresh ingredients, such as avocado, corn, just-cooked bacon, goat cheese, and black beans. As the name states, it is topped with turkey deli meat. And, of course, it has croutons, eggs and tomatoes. The serving size of this salad bowl is larger than expected, and it has fresh garlic bread on the side. My dressing choice was Raspberry Vinaigrette, but the salad was tasty enough that I only used dressing toward the bottom of the bowl. How can you say no to a salad so full of protein and good fats? You will almost forget it's a salad.

Does Pilates Cause Or Treat Back Pain?

Photo: State Archives of Florida

Yes, Pilates can cause back pain. And yes, it can treat back pain.

Pilates and Core Strengthening

Pilates has many great benefits, including core strengthening. Core strengthening is beneficial, as it incorporates deep muscles of the abdominals and back that often are weak, especially among individuals with back pain. Having a strong core is one piece of preventing back pain, but other components include postures, body mechanics and proper treatment of present back pain.

Pilates vs. Physical Therapy

Pilates and core strengthening alone will likely not eliminate present back pain. It may play a role in preventing future episodes of back pain, but alone it is not the solution to low back or mid-back pain. If Pilates could treat back pain, I would not have a job as a Physical Therapist. Clearly, there is more to your back pain than weak core muscles, so proper treatment/prevention is urgent. If your back pain comes and goes, get it treated now, and you can learn why it happens and how to decrease the pain and prevent future episodes.  

Pilates Exercises to Avoid

There are some Pilates exercises that can actually produce or aggravate back problems, and these should generally be avoided. Any Pilates exercise that puts your back into a forward-bent (AKA flexed or rounded) position is not ideal for most individuals and can be harmful if you have back problems. Which forward-bending exercises are safe? Cat/camel (on your hands and knees and you arch your back up and down) and abdominal crunches are fairly safe for most people. 

Preferred Pilates Exercises

The Pilates exercises that bend your spine backwards (AKA extended, as in the photo above) are safe and highly recommended for most healthy people. This includes positions such as lying face-down and pressing up onto your hands or lying on your back and lifting your hips. Likely there are many extension exercises incorporated into your Pilates class, so these are generally beneficial and less likely to be harmful.

If either direction of spine movement aggravates your back pain, stop Pilates workouts, and get medical attention.

Why You Should Get Physical Therapy For Your Back Pain

I recently treated a patient with leg pain that radiates from his back. It goes into his thighs and even down below his knees. This pain began 3-4 months ago, and he is unsure how it started. Before his session, I knew his walking had been problematic because when he stood up in the lobby, he significantly stooped over and could barely get his balance. He was using furniture and walls to hold onto. So my initial goal was to find an exercise that would immediately improve his ability to stand up and walk. 

I treated him for 10 minutes with one or two exercises lying on the mat. Then he stood up tall and walked easily back to his chair. He could not believe he was walking that well because since his symptoms began, he has the most pain and difficulty with initially getting out of a chair to walk.

So if you have back pain, you could possibly be only a few minutes away from pain relief. Schedule your Physical Therapy today!

Changing Crib Sheets Without Pain

There are a few baby-related tasks that can be near-impossible without straining your back, so here is what I do for changing crib sheets.

Photo: National Media Museum

1. Buy at least 3-4 crib sheets and 3-4 waterproof pads. I promise that the price of these is far less than a back injury.

2. Take the mattress out of the crib to change the sheets.

3. Layer your waterproof pads and crib sheets over each other so that when the top layer gets wet, you simply remove it and your clean, dry one is already there.

4. As soon as possible, remove the bumper pads. For safety reasons, they are not even recommended anymore. Changing the crib sheet is much easier when there are no bumper pads in the way.

5. Consider using a sheet saver. It is a sheet that actually attaches to the bars of the crib, so it is fairly easy to snap on or off (each sheet has at least 12-15 snaps). There are some safety concerns with this because it does not fit as tightly as a fitted sheet. To get it on or off, it still takes several minutes, and you have to be able to reach all four sides of the crib.

6. For crib sheet selection, buy the T-shirt material ones that stretch a little.

7. Change the sheets for a toddler bed the same way--by taking the mattress out first.

Chick-fil-A Cobb Salad: A Healthy Review

The Cobb Salad at Chick-Fil-A is a delicious and healthy alternative to your usual fast food meal. I have enjoyed it so much that my husband now eats it as well. The cobb salad is made with Romaine and greens, not iceberg lettuce. It's additional veggies are cherry tomatoes, corn, cabbage, and carrots, which are a nice variety. The extra yummy toppings are cheese, bacon, and fried bell peppers. Another healthy addition is hard boiled eggs. And it comes with crispy chicken unless you prefer grilled. With this alone, I love it even without salad dressing. But if you need dressing, I most recommend the Avocado Lime Ranch. This salad is filling, tangy, textured, and colorful!

Because I enjoy the taste of salads, I usually try them wherever I dine. Some other good, fast salads are at Which Wich, McAlister's Deli, Moe's, and Zaxby's. But the fact that my husband eats this one at Chick-fil-A means that it is likeable even for meat-and-potato fans. Lastly, I like it too much to even try their other salads.

Reference: www.Chick-fil-A.com