Celebrating Family Health and Fitness Day

Celebrating Family Health and Fitness Day

with advice from Josh McDonald, OTR/L, MS
and Mark Salandra, CSCS

Americans young and old have been gaining weight and slowing down. A report on physical activity and health from the U.S. Surgeon General’s office in the late 1990s found that “nearly half of young people aged 12-21 are not vigorously active on a regular basis” and that more than 60% of adults aren’t as active as they should be.

(A more recent study in 2010 didn’t show any improvement, finding that only 15% of high school students achieve the recommendations set by the CDC for physical activity.)

These findings led to the creation of Family Health and Fitness Day on September 28, a celebration marking its 17th year in 2013 that celebrates activity for the whole family.

Why is this something Americans should commemorate? “Staying healthy as a family provides motivation to all members, and it increases support for the members of the family that are not as motivated for physical activity,” says Mark Salandra, CSCS, the founder of StrengthCondition.com (one of Physiquality’s partner programs). He adds that daily physical activity should be as routine as brushing your teeth or any other healthy activity you do for your body every day.

Activity expert Josh McDonald reminds parents that every action is a lesson for children. “If we want our children to value healthy and active lifestyles, then we need to model those choices for them,” says Josh, an occupational therapist at Kid’s Place, a clinic for children run by Arizona Orthopedic Physical Therapy (a Physiquality network member with two locations in Arizona).

He encourages parents to make good choices for the entire family. By turning off the television and taking them out to play catch, by enrolling them in sports and camps, or by gathering everyone for a bike ride, parents are showing their children the value of health and wellness. As a parent, he notes, “When I initiate healthy decisions for myself, and I include my kids in those decisions, I establish lifelong patterns that they will carry with them into adulthood.”

The easiest way to be active with the family is to take a walk. The CDC recommends walking at least 10,000 steps a day, Mark notes. Why not strive for that goal with a daily walk after dinner? It’s a way to burn off some of the calories in your meal while continuing discussions started around the dinner table.

There are lots of ways to make healthy choices with your family, but Josh reminds parents that the responsibility for such healthy choices starts with them. “These decisions aren’t always easy,” he notes, “but the benefits are immense for both the parents and the children.”

IT Band Syndrome

IT Band Syndrome 

By: Brooke Smith, DPT

Do you have knee pain or hip pain that occurs with walking or increased activity?  It could be caused by a tight Iliotibial (IT) Band.  The IT band is a thick band of fibrous tissue that begins at your hip and runs down the outer part of the leg, crossing the knee, and attaching to the top portion of your shin bone (tibia, figure 1).

http://www.aidyourhamstring.com/
_img/iliotibial-band-syndrome.jpg

The IT band and the associated musculature act to stabilize and coordinate muscle function of the knee with running and walking.  It is a common overuse issue that occurs in “4.3-7.5% of long distance runners”.3   However, IT band syndrome can also occur in military recruits, cyclists, tennis players, adolescents undergoing rapid growth, weightlifting, people who perform a lot of squats, short distance or sprint-distance runners, rowing, and cross training.   IT band syndrome has been reported to occur equally in men and women and most frequently occurs between the ages of 15-50 years old.

Some common mechanisms of injury, creating pain, could be decreased strength, decreased flexibility, abnormal hip alignment (pelvic tilt), “bowlegs”, improper alignment or mechanics of the feet with walking/running, improper posture/mechanics with running or exercises, running on angled or uneven ground, leg length discrepancy, poor footwear, sudden increase in activity, returning from injury too soon, overuse, or over-training.   

Someone who has IT band syndrome will usually experience pain on the outside of the knee.  However, some people can present with pain over the hip joint (greater trochanter), or pain starting at the knee traveling up to the hip. Sometimes the pain can be described as stinging or needle-like pricks that can occur every time your heel strikes the ground with activities.  Pain will usually increase with activities such as running or cycling, especially when running hills, and with walking up/down stairs.  This is due to inflammation of the IT band causing it to snap over the hip bones (greater trochanter), leading to pain.  Other common symptoms may include repetitive popping sounds in the knee when performing activities, as well as tenderness with pressure over the outside of the leg just above the knee. Some tenderness might also be present at the hip joint (greater trochanter).  

However, there could be multiple reasons for pain at your hip or knee and these include: hamstring strains, MCL and LCL injuries, meniscus injuries, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, overuse injuries, patellofemoral syndrome, and trochanteric bursitis.  Therefore, it is critical to have a professional MD or physical therapist assess your individual problems to determine if it is truly IT band syndrome.

Physical therapists will help diagnose IT band syndrome by taking into account the patient’s history of the present condition, performing special tests specific to IT band syndrome, alternative tests to rule out any other pathology, and assess strength and joint motion/mobility.  Some common treatments provided by physical therapists include strengthening of weak musculature, stretching of tight muscles that are contributing to the pain, manual therapy, soft tissue mobilization, assisting in custom orthotics, modalities such as ultrasound, TENS, and ice, and providing home exercise program to maintain results.   All treatments are specific to each individual patient and their specific biomechanical faults are taken into consideration to fix the cause of IT band syndrome.

If you think you might have IT band syndrome here are some simple tips, exercises, and stretches you can try: rest, ice, appropriate use of ibuprofen/NSAIDs, IT band stretching, and use of a foam roller to release the IT band, use proper footwear, stretch prior to and after running, get adequate rest between workouts, and gradually increase your training or exercises.  If you continue to experience pain, you should seek the advice of a licensed physical therapist to assist in diagnosis and treatment.  If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to schedule an appointment contact AZOPT at (623)-242-6908.

References:

http://www.medicinenet.com/iliotibial_band_syndrome/article.htm

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/kneepainandinjuries/a/IT_Band_Pain.htm

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/307850-overview

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/iliotibial_band_syndrome/article_em.htm

http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prevention-recovery/treating-and-preventing-iliotibial-band-syndrome?page=1

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/sportsmedicine/a/itbs.htm

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/tc/iliotibial-band-syndrome-topic-overview

Who Wants Their Children to Sleep Better at Night?

Who Wants Their Children to Sleep Better at Night?

By Kelsie Noel, DPT

Kids Place Pediatric Physical Therapist

Try spending a night at the pool!

While at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA, I participated in a research project that studied the effects of aquatic exercise on sleep patterns in children with autism.  We hypothesized that children who actively participated in aquatic exercise would fall asleep faster, sleep for a longer duration, and wake up less frequently throughout the night.  The results of our study were remarkable!  In fact, the benefits of aquatic exercise can apply not only to children with autism, but all children!

In our research, it was found that when kids spend just an hour swimming, on average they fell asleep 17 minutes faster and slept an hour and a half longer. In a separate study, it was also found that when an individual exercises within four hours of bedtime, there is an increase in total time slept and decrease in wake time after sleep onset [1].  Other researchers conducted a study comparing high school athletes to a control group of students who were not physically active and found that athletes had higher scores for sleep quality, smaller number of awakenings, and quicker sleep onset [2].

Most kids enjoy any water-based activity rather than land, but the aquatic environment offers many additional benefits:

• Aquatic exercise is low impact - decreased risk of muscle soreness, stress fractures, and other injuries.

• Water provides resistance to movement in all directions - more muscles are being strengthened within each workout.  Additionally, the resistance is adjustable depending upon the speed of movement. 

• Hydrostatic pressure helps the heart circulate blood throughout the body - decreasing blood pressure and heart rate.  One can exercise longer in the water without an increase in effort.

• For children with autism, aquatic exercise provides constant somatosensory input - supplies even pressure to the entire body [3].

There are many aquatic activities for your kids to increase their heart rate, such as: walking, jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks, arm circuits including bicep curls and arm circles, leg circuits including wall kicks and marching in place, kick board relays, and games like “Keep away.”  Your child does not have to be able to swim to perform most of these!  In the study, the average increase in heart rate was found to be 64 percent of the maximum heart rate, which is equivalent to a moderate-intensity workout. Remember the goal is to increase your child’s heart rate, thus tiring them out so they will sleep better at night!

Carryover effects were not found for consecutive nights.  If your child swam on Monday night and slept better that night, it does not mean your child will also sleep better on Tuesday night without going back to the pool.  While most parents do not have an hour in their schedule every night of the week to swim, improving a child’s sleep at least 2 night of the week could result in an improved sleep schedule and bedtime routine - beneficial to enhancing sleep.

Future research is looking into the benefits as a whole for children receiving more sleep at night, beyond having an easier time in the morning waking up your child.  Some suggested benefits include improved behavior during the day and increased attention span during school hours.

If you do not have a pool at home or in your community, you can try signing your child up for swim lessons, giving you some more time to complete your to-do list!  Some suggested locations for swim lessons include:

http://www.aquatots-phoenix.com/swim-schools/northwest-phoenix/#swimclasses

http://valleyymca.org/branchClasses.cfm?place=15&core=04

https://www.lifetimefitness.com/en/clubs/palm-valley-az/your-lt.html

[1] Youngstedt, S.D. (2005).  Effects of exercise on sleep. Clinics in Sports Medicine, 24, 355-365.

[2] Brand, S., Gerber, M., Beck, J., Hatzinger, M., Pühse, U., & Holsboer-Trachsler, E. (2010).  High exercise levels are related to favorable sleep patterns and psychological functioning in adolescents: A comparison of athletes and controls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(2), 133-141.

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, March 03). Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).  Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html

Jump-Start Your Baby’s Language Learning with Baby Sign Language

Jump-Start Your Baby’s Language Learning with Baby Sign Language

By Lanni Reisinger, SLP-CFY

Kids Place Pediatric Speech Therapist

Teaching your baby a few basic signs can help jump-start their language learning at an early age.  By 6-months of age, a baby’s ability to understand language is more developed than their ability to speak.  They are great imitators of motor movements by this age, and typically will enjoy making signs and being able to make their intentions clear.  When exposed to signs at home, many babies are able to produce signs before they are able to verbalize true words.  

You can model simple signs for your baby as early as 3-months-old.  Begin by modeling the sign in familiar routines throughout the day until they are able to produce the signs on their own by 9-12 months old.  Choose signs that make sense for your family and will motivate your baby to learn.  

"MORE"

A good place to start is with the sign for MORE.  You make this sign by flattening your hands then bringing your thumbs underneath to make an “O” shape.  Bring your fingertips of both hands together and apart in front of you repeatedly.  Try modeling this sign during highly motivating activities such as mealtimes.

"EAT"

Another early sign you can try is the sign for EAT.  To make this sign, use the same flattened “O” hand shape as in the sign for MORE, but bring the sign close to your mouth (as if you are taking a bite!).  This is another sign to begin modeling during mealtimes.  

"ALL DONE"

A third, simple sign to try is the sign for ALL DONE.  Make this sign by beginning with both hands flattened and facing forward, palms facing up.  Rotate your palms inward while moving your hands apart until both hands are facing down.  You can begin modeling this sign at mealtimes or at the end of an activity (“We are ALL DONE bubbles/milk”).

If your baby appears to be motivated to use signs and is catching on, some other early signs to try include: HELP, PLEASE, MOMMY or DADDY.  Often, when babies do begin talking, the words they sign will be the first they verbalize.

The “Baby Sign Language” website is a great resource and online signing dictionary to explore more signs (http://www.babysignlanguage.com).