Cedar Hill Physical Therapy

Reflecting on my life, I owe a lot to my mom. She instilled in me values that over the years I have come to greatly appreciate.

Among these was a talk I think of as the “Plant the Seed” talk. When I was in elementary school, I was a good student, albeit not the most motivated of kids. We talked about a fellow student, a bright young man who excelled in his studies. Mom told me that if I applied myself, I could do just as well. She described my potential as a gift, a seed that needed to be planted and nurtured in order that it would grow.

Lifting and carrying a child, picking up toys off of the floor, and pushing a stroller are normal daily tasks for mothers and other child care providers.  Cedar Hill Physical Therapy, in conjunction with The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), offers these tips to help moms and other care-givers accomplish these daily feats without aches and pains.

Download: Posture Tips for Parents

Join Cedar Hill Physical Therapy at
NewBridge Bank Ballpark

The Greensboro Grasshoppers
vs
The Lakewood BlueClaws

April 24th, 2010 @ 7pm

To register for your chance to win  4 reserved seat tickets, email Angie at angie@cedarhillpt.com.  Put “ballpark” in the subject line.  Drawing will take place at noon on Monday, April 19th.

Come out and support your Hoppers!  Be sure to drop by our concourse table the night of April 24th and say hi!

Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a teenager who is an avid horseback rider. She was great to work with. It was evident that she took an active role in her rehabilitation. When I gave her something to work on, she would return for follow up demonstrating her proficiency and improved performance in what she had been shown. She simply is the type of person that a physical therapist loves to work with.

During her course of therapy she corrected the deficits she had demonstrated at her initial evaluation. With that, I encouraged her to resume activity as tolerated. Towards the end of her treatment she reported resuming horseback riding. So much so that the activity was limited more by the horse’s fatigue than her own! With that, I recommended to her physician a full return to horseback riding as tolerated, including participation in an upcoming horse show.

You may know that tissues can become inflamed due to irritation, injury or infection, but did you know the foods you eat can increase or decrease inflammation as well?

Inflammation is often accompanied by pain, swelling, redness, and often times loss of movement or function. Inflammation plays a huge roll in many common diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, strokes, cancer, and dementia.

Treatments for inflammation include rest, light exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and stretching. There are medications, including steroids and non-steroidal, designed to reduce inflammation and control pain. We’ve heard of the adverse side effects of steroids. Unfortunately, even the non-steroidal medications have side effects including stomach irritation, ulcers, and with prolonged use, possibly kidney problems.

“Following an anti-inflammatory diet can help counteract the chronic inflammation that is a root cause of many serious diseases, including those that become more frequent as people age. It is a way of selecting and preparing foods based on science that can help people achieve and maintain optimum health over their lifetime.”
- Andrew Weil, M.D.

The recipes that follow qualify as anti-inflammatory due to their ingredients and or method of preparation.  Check back each month for new dishes.  Enjoy!

Golden Turmeric Latkes with Applesauce

These crispy-on-the-outside-and-tender-on-the-inside latkes are delicious paired with a subtly spicy clove-scented applesauce.

6 servings, 2 latkes each | Active Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

Surgery and a cart full of drugs aren’t the only solutions for back pain.

Low back pain is the second most common reason that people see a physician.  (Colds and the flu are number one.)  In some cases back pain will resolve with time.  Unfortunately once someone has had an episode of low back pain, it tends to recur and can often become an ongoing problem.  In 2006, more than ten percent of North Carolinians reported chronic low back pain.

From 1997 through 2005, health care costs for low back and neck pain increased dramatically.  This would be okay if the increase in spending were met with an improvement in the condition, but such an improvement did not occur.

Find below a recent email from a patient of ours (posted with his permission).  A wonderful validation of our work and our belief that you don’t have to live with aches and pains just because you’re getting older.

Dear Paul and Angie,

Several months ago I visited an orthopedic surgeon and he told me “you have the knees of a seventy-year-old man,” “you should only run if you’re being chased,” and “you will probably need knee replacement surgery.”

After years of knee trouble, I was disappointed, but I wasn’t surprised.  So at 49, I became resolved to live with the chronic pain and physical limitation.

When Angie suggested I visit you folks, I doubted you could do much for me.  I was wrong.

On The Hill…

You’re Invited!

Come see what all the talk is about at the

Cedar Hill PT Open House

Thursday, February 25th
6:30pm until 8:30pm

There will be yummy food provided by Sustainable Health Choices, Fabulous Door Prizes, Music and Fun.

Celebrate with Paul and Angie! Meet new and interesting people. See old friends. Find out what CHPT has to offer.

RSVP by Feb. 21st

336.644.9661
angie@cedarhillpt.com
or comment below…

CHPT Wants To Know-  What do you do to keep your heart healthy?

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner when one’s mind may turn to flowers, romance, and other feelings of the heart.  We at Cedar Hill Physical Therapy invite you to think about your heart in another way this February 14th.  How do you LOVE YOUR HEART?  Have you made diet or lifestyle changes?  Do you use mind-body practices to lower stress and decrease pain?

Take a few minutes and let us know how you take care of your heart and you’ll be entered into our February drawing to win The Healthy Heart Kit which contains a workbook, audio CDs and health cards to help you achieve optimum heart health.