NEWSLETTERJune, 2018Featured in this issue:
Mosquito and Tick Season:From mosquitoes to ticks, May/June is the begining of bug season. These bugs can carry and spread viruses and diseases such as West Nile and Zika Virus, as well as Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Preventing these illness is often times much easier than treating them! Mosquitoes:In Maryland, mosquito breeding season generally begins around March and extends into October. Warm temperatures help mosquitoes proliferate and the deluge of rain from evening thunderstorms allows floodwater mosquito breeding in roadside ditches, containers, tree holes and lowlands. This results in swarms of mosquitoes. Here are some steps that you can take to limit the number of mosquitoes that hang around your property, even during peak mosquito season. Make your yard as unattractive as possible to mosquitoes. By limiting mosquitoes’ breeding habitat, you can prevent a new crop of these biting pests from hatching in your yard. Since adult mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water, in moist soil, or in leaf litter in moist areas, you can greatly reduce the number of mosquitoes in your yard by eliminating sources of standing water. Use effective mosquito repellants and barriers to limit your exposure these pests when you are outside enjoying your yard. Treat clothing, upholstered outdoor furnishings, sunshades, and screens with permethrin, which repels both ticks and mosquitoes. Citronella candles or coils and citronella plants also work well to repel nearby mosquitos. Always use an insect repellant containing at least 20% DEET when you are outdoors to protect yourself from mosquitos and other biting insects. Ticks:According to the CDC’s Kiersten Kugeler, “In the Northeast, most people catch Lyme around their homes,” she says. “People out gardening, people playing in their backyard, mowing the lawn, etc. are the most vulnerable." The idea that you only need to protect yourself or check the kids after hiking in the woods will cause people to miss a lot of ticks! Ticks can attach to any part of the human body, but are often found in hard-to-see areas such as the groin, armpits, and scalp. Employ a serious, involved and focused check for adults, kids, and pets whenever you come indoors, even from your own yard! Lyme disease is not usually transmitted within the first 36-48 hours hours of tick attachment. The likelihood of transmission is increased if the tick is engorged and/or has been attached for at least 72 hours. How To Avoid Tick Bites:
Removing Ticks Safely
Know the Symptoms of Lyme Disease:Classic target or bullseye lesion of Lyme
Late symptoms:
Whitney Carlsen, PTWhitney became interested in physical therapy after her uncle had a near fatal skiing accident the summer before she was to start Architecture school. Since she was off for the summer, she took him to outpatient therapy three days a week and became very fascinated with the field. Whitney earned her Physical Therapy degree at Stockton State College in 1993. Since then, she has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient orthopedics, home health care, acute care and skilled nursing care. She is IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization) certified, FMT (Functional Movement Techniques) Basic and Performance certified, and is Certified in Motor Learning. Whitney says her favorite part of being a therapist is when a patient is able to do something they haven’t been able to do for themselves or when something is no longer painful for them to do. When not treating patients, Whitney enjoys spending time with her family, gardening and hiking. When asked what she plans to do in retirement, Whitney says she plans to travel more frequently. She would also love to do some volunteer work in teaching reading as well as working with community or school based gardening projects. Please join us in congratulating Tara Hatfield, PT and her husband Pete on the birth of their new baby boy, Owen Mirko, born on 5/2/18 at 5:21am, weighing 7 lbs11 oz, and was 19.75” long. Everyone is doing fantastic!Please join us in welcoming our newest member of the Annapolis Family Physical Therapy team, Elizabeth (Liz) Harbeson, DPT! We are excited to have Liz onboard!The Importance of Performing Weight Bearing Exercise as we AgeWeight-bearing exercise is any type of exercise that utilizes the resistance of muscular contractions, making your muscles work to overcome a resistant force. While it is most commonly associated with weight lifting, there are many ways to get this kind of exercise. The Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) states: “The best exercise for your bones is the weight-bearing kind, which forces you to work against gravity. Some examples of weight-bearing exercises include weight training, walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis, and dancing. Exercises using your own body weight, such as crunches, push-ups, pull-ups and squats, are also included in this category. Another idea is using resistance tubes - bands which resist as they are stretched and can be used with many different muscle groups. The benefits of weight-bearing exercise for your bones are vast. Bone density naturally diminishes as we age, and strength training both encourages the formation of new bone cells and strengthens the bones overall. Loss of bone density over the long-term is the recipe for osteoporosis, so keeping your bones strong as you age is essential. As post-menopausal women are at the highest risk for osteoporosis, this type of exercise is essential in the prevention of this disorder. Weight-bearing exercise is also important to preserve muscle mass and muscle strength, which also tend to deteriorate as we age if not properly exercised. If muscle mass is allowed to diminish, body fat percentage naturally increases. Because of this, strength training is essential to maintaining a trim figure as we age, as increasing muscle mass means less body fat and also a faster metabolism. Other benefits of resistance training include promoting optimal joint function, boosting cardiovascular and lung health, raising your body’s levels of HDL “good” cholesterol, and helping to prevent the onset of diabetes. Additionally, it has been linked to improved memory and cognitive function in older women. Recovery time is also a key to healthy strength training. Resting each muscle group for a full day after working it out ensures that your cells have time to recover and strengthen. It is also important to avoiding injury. If you work your leg muscles one day, do your arms the next and so on. Start slow and go at your own pace – if you are experiencing pain above mild soreness, or your joints become swollen, you are doing too much too fast. Our physical therapists can help you develop a personalized weight bearing exercise program to fit your current and future needs. ATTN:MEN AND WOMENCarrying a bag, such as purses and messenger bags, on the shoulder (even if it is empty) requires constant isometric contraction of the elevators of the shoulder girdle, including the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and rhomboids. It's a Wrap!In support of our patients and community members who suffer with Arthritis, AFPT participated in the 2018 Walk to CureArthritis on Saturday May 19, 2018 at Quiet Waters Park. Despite the continual rain, our team walked the entire 5K and raised $700 for the Arthritis Foundation! Many thanks to our patients, friends and staff members who came out and walked with us and/or supported us with a donation. |