Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Research Shows: Vibration Training Has Numerous Health Benefits

Whole body vibration training (WBV), is something most people haven’t heard of. WBV is a form of physical training, that allows you to exercise while on a vibration platform.  Recent research shows that the benefits of WBV are numerous for all ages (*denotes important benefits to seniors):

  1. *Improve cardiorespiratory fitness. 1,6
  2. *Improve muscle strength. 1,2,5
  3. *Increase muscle mass. 2
  4. May help reduce falls. 3
  5. May help reduce fractures. 3
  6. *Is more effective than walking to improve hip bone mineral density (BMD). 4
  7. *Is more effective than walking to improve balance. 4
  8. Increase metabolic response (higher rate of energy/calorie burning). 7
  9. Increases muscular power. 8
  10. Increases muscle activity. 8

In our clinic we use whole body vibration to speed the healing of our patients, and to reduce some of the risks associated with seniors becoming frail.

We are proud to offer cutting edge technology to the Greater Hickory and Western North Carolina area.

If you are suffering with pain, our treatment may be able to help you.  Dr. Shook is available for complimentary phone consultations to see if you could benefit from our care.  If you would like to schedule an appointment or if you have any questions, just give us a call at (828) 324-0800, or email Dr. Shook at drshook@alliancechiropracticcenter.com.

  1. Bogaerts AC, Delecluse C, Claessens AL, Troosters T, Boonen S, Verschueren SM. Effects of whole body vibration training on cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength in older individuals (a 1-year randomised controlled trial). Age Ageing. 2009 Jul;38(4):448-54.
  2. Bogaerts A, Delecluse C, Claessens AL, Coudyzer W, Boonen S, Verschueren SM.  Impact of whole-body vibration training versus fitness training on muscle strength and muscle mass in older men: a 1-year randomized controlled trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007 Jun;62(6):630-5
  3. Verschueren SM, Roelants M, Delecluse C, Swinnen S, Vanderschueren D, Boonen S.  Effect of 6-month whole body vibration training on hip density, muscle strength, and postural control in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled pilot study. J Bone Miner Res. 2004 Mar;19(3):352-9. Epub 2003 Dec 22.
  4. Gusi N, Raimundo A, Leal A.  Low-frequency vibratory exercise reduces the risk of bone fracture more than walking: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2006 Nov 30;7:92.
  5. Delecluse C, Roelants M, Verschueren S. Strength increase after whole-body vibration compared with resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Jun;35(6):1033-41.
  6. Cochrane DJ, Sartor F, Winwood K, Stannard SR, Narici MV, Rittweger J. A comparison of the physiologic effects of acute whole-body vibration exercise in young and older people. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008 May;89(5):815-21.
  7. Maikala RV, King S, Bhambhani YN.  Acute physiological responses in healthy men during whole-body vibration.Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2006 Feb;79(2):103-14.
  8. Rittweger J, Ehrig J, Just K, Mutschelknauss M, Kirsch KA, Felsenberg D.  Oxygen uptake in whole-body vibration exercise: influence of vibration frequency, amplitude, and external load.  Int J Sports Med. 2002 Aug;23(6):428-32.

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Who, Really, Defines An Illness?

12/25/09

We are on a much awaited for vacation in Aruba. I traveled with about 25 different medications in my wash kit. Some of whom I don’t remember why they were prescribed to me but I keep them as if they were a talisman.  I am taking the same medications here for my Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an auto immune disease, and a variety of other symptoms, fibromyalgia, a torn ligament, excruciating back spasms from having to wear the dreaded but classic “black boot”of the podiatric and orthopedic world for many months.

Back home, lying in my bed, day after day, I was always tired, achey and filled with pain.  I admit that the plane ride itself was exceedingly painful but I am off that plane now; and I feel ever so fine.

My Dr. a guru in NYC was considering prescribing me (self ) injectable medication, at a much higher dosage than the pill form I still take.   I had been considering it. I had been pondering how much is too much? Wondering if  I was at the half way point for feeling good, by HIS standards, if that wasn’t good enough.  But, what about MY standards? What about my level of pain and misery and feeling , always, like a patient and feeling good enough.

What about the mind/body experience? What happened after I dragged my worn out body, aching foot and excruciating back pain and came here?  I was minus the snow and ice, minus the bedroom I had been living in for almost two years and feeling very sorry for myself. I was determined that this vacation, “if we should be so blessed” would be the start of a new beginning for me. Despite the cane that came crashing on my head during the flight and injuring my eye, this was starting anew.

It was. It is.  So, who really defines what an illness is, a Dr. or the patient?  On the journal I keep for my Dr. at home, 1 being in really bad shape and 10 being something “I can never achieve” at home I am a solid 5, maybe 4.  The same symptoms and diagnosis in a beautiful new environment for a few sun-filled days and I am an 8 if not 9.  Do we look at things differently if we are in a different environment, or do we look at ourselves differently? If there is something beautiful to see does that help beautify the mind and body?  I feel good here, I feel warm here, I feel  something that I haven’t felt in over 2 years; I feel alive. And hopeful.

dedicated to Phylor who makes me think, and wonder.

[Via http://hibernationnow.wordpress.com]

Friday, December 18, 2009

The Year of the Perfect Christmas

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (II Corinthians 9:15 NIV)

I have always loved the children’s book The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston. It is the true story of a mother and her daughter, Ruthie, trying to survive in Appalachia while the father fought in WWI.

They were responsible for providing the Christmas tree for their church that year, and Ruthie was to be the angel in the Christmas play. There seemed no way to provide a tree, a costume, and presents, yet the mother persevered and sacrificed.

The summer before, Ruthie and her father had chosen the perfect tree to be used for the church Christmas program. With the father gone to war, Ruthie and her mother took their sled out late at night. They chopped down the tree and brought it back to the church. Into the early morning hours, the mother cut up her wedding dress to make a Christmas doll and angel costume for Ruthie. A happy ending came when the father returned home for Christmas.

I find some similarities between this story and my life. Holidays are very difficult when dealing with chronic pain and illness. I don’t see how I can possibly do everything, and of course I can’t. I don’t have the abilities I had before, but God shows me ways to be creative with what I possess. Perhaps I cannot buy all the gifts or do all the cooking that I would like, but whatever I give are offerings of love. If I do what I can with a thankful attitude, how much more enjoyable it will be.

Just as the father came home in the story, so on Christmas Eve we celebrate the coming of our Lord to earth for us – the real meaning of Christmas. By God’s grace, this year can be our year of the perfect Christmas – perhaps not perfect by our old standards, but perfect by His, if we keep focused on what is truly important.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to make the most of what You’ve given me this season, not dwelling on my limitations. Remind me that Your birth makes my Christmas perfect. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bronlynn Spindler is a wife and mother of three grown daughters and lives in Fredericksburg, VA. God’s grace and strength give her the ability to deal with chronic back pain, depression, headaches, and fibromyalgia. You may view her blog of devotionals at http://www.aplaceofsprings57.blogspot.com and contact her at spindler@….

[Via http://chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com]

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Ashley's Journey to Wellness: Entry #3 - Being a "Patient" Patient - It's a Full-Time Job! - Ashley Boynes, Community Development Director, WPA Chapter

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009:

So, it’s been almost 2 weeks since my first set of Remicade infusions, and about 3 weeks since starting Methotrexate. I know that the Methotrexate is slow-acting, but from the way people talked, I thought that Remicade would give me some signs of improvement rather quickly. It hasn’t.

In fact, yesterday I had one of my “bad” days. Both my RA *and* Celiac symptoms were a-flarin’ away. Today I’m feeling slightly better, and to me any improvement is good. But, I’m finding myself actually looking forward to Monday’s Remicade treatments. (Is this what my life has come to? Haha.)

I guess patience IS a virtue as I’d mentioned in my previous Journey to Wellness entry. If you live with chronic illness, you almost have to develop patience, for there is often no other option.

Being chronically ill really IS a full-time job in and of itself!

For example, today I had an 11:10 appointment to get bloodwork done. I sat in the waiting room for almost an hour before getting taken. While I was waiting, I pondered how much of my life had been spent in doctor’s offices, hospitals, or waiting rooms, particularly in the past year. It made my brain hurt to think about it! It also was rather depressing!

I’ve now found ways to occupy myself in waiting rooms. Books, magazines, and sometimes even my laptop. The best thing I’ve purchased for myself in the last year or so has been my BlackBerry. Thanks to that little handy-dandy device, I can text, tweet, email, and even get work done while sitting in the dreaded waiting rooms!

That is, when my hands and fingers are cooperation. Yesterday, I actually had to call off work because I couldn’t type. My hands were in such pain, and so stiff, that I just couldn’t bear it. No typing, no texting, no Twittering, or Facebooking….let’s just say that my day consisted of napping and watching deliciously bad television! I was bummed out because I also had wanted to write out Christmas cards last night but obviously could not do that, either! Oh, well.

I suppose I can’t say that the meds aren’t helping yet at all. First of all, the Methotrexate and Remicade are pretty new, still! And while I’ve seen no noticeable improvement from the daily Prednisone I’ve been on for about 7 months, I have been having 2 or 3 “good” or at least “OK” days per week, which, in my mind, is good. This past weekend, I had a few good days in a row – yay! Unfortunately, I think yesterday was my “crash” day that I’d talked about in Entry #2.  It seems that these crash days are unavoidable and the more that I talk to others with autoimmune illness, it seems that I am not alone!

So it’s all a waiting game. I’m on the waiting list to be seen at the Mayo Clinic. I’m waiting for my meds to work, waiting to feel better. Waiting until after the holidays to try a new (almost-vegan!) diet.

Oh, and possibly waiting for a full KNEE replacement?!? Yes, you read that correctly. I’m 26 years old but saw Dr. Ortho last week, and it seems that my options for my right knee problems are: keep on getting steroid shots in the knee (which is a “band aid” of sorts and will not correct the structural/mechanical problems of my knee) or, get a full replacement, which, he doesn’t want to do but is the only other option. He claims that the disease in my knee is far too progressed to do a “simple” arthroscopic surgery and that no orthopedic surgeon would do one on my knee. A synovectomy may be an option but there are so many issues going on in my knee that it might not fix the main problems which are locking and pain. I got a Cortisone shot on Thursday but it left me in extreme pain the entire night and into the next day. Saturday, it was back to its old tricks and locked up 4 times in one day! So, we’ll see. I’m going to seek out a second opinion after the holidays (I guess he’ll be named Dr. Ortho the Second) and take – you guessed it – a “wait and see” approach to that, too!

Sometimes I feel like I’m walking (limping?) in place, on a treadmill that is neverending but never really going anywhere. My calendar fills up with doctors appointments and has lessened in social engagements. This morning, I got blood tests and labwork done; tomorrow I get a field vision test to look at a bull’s eye effect that I have on my macula and to again rule out multiple sclerosis. (The macular halo effect that I have is called bull’s eye maculopathy and is probably from past arthritis meds such as Prednisone. However, my rheumatologist is puzzled that it has never reversed itself or improved since being taken off this medication 5 years ago.) Next week I go for Remicade infusions and rheumatologist appointment. I see my gastroautoimmune doctor and naturopathic in January, and, hopefully, Dr. Ortho II.

When will all of this time and effort (not to mention money!) put into feeling better actually make me feel better?

Who knows! The important thing, I think, is that I’m trying  to stay positive, I’m trying everything from the most expensive high-end drugs to the most simple natural and homeopathic remedies, and am exhausting every avenue. I’m always super on-top of my health, and always have been. My primary care doctor, (we’ll call him Dr. PCP, I guess, to be nice) basically told me in so many words during the summer of 2008 that I was a hypochondriac. Well, wasn’t he taken aback when I told him during the next visit that I had Celiac Disease, and a couple visits after that, that the Celiac (that he would have never caught on his own, since I took it upon myself to go to an endocrinologist who diagnosed me initially) led to other complications and was not responding to the gluten-free diet and that I possibly had fibromyalgia AND my rheumatoid arthritis still never went into remission? My point here is that it’s all worth the effort. Stay on top of your own health and wellness, for when it comes to health, I think you can never be too careful. Sometimes, you just know things that doctors may not be able to see. So stay proactive and positive, and keep the faith! Try, try again – it’s the only way anything can ever get accomplished!

So I wanted to leave you all with another (short) story before I end Entry #3 in my Journey to Wellness. I sit here  at work with my hands shaking from meds, back and hips in pain, legs feeling like they are on fire, head hurting, and nauseous, but still with a SMILE on my face as I share this story with you! This past Saturday was our Jingle Bell Run/Walk 5K in Pittsburgh. After the race was a Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Session & Family Day holiday party at the Carnegie Science Center. My lovely coworker Allison who organized the event asked me to speak at the parents’ awareness session to share my story of growing up with JRA and to intro the doctor who was the main speaker. I happily obliged.

I was strangely nervous beforehand but I got up on that stage and shared my story. I talked about the social struggles of being a young person with chronic disease, how my physical ailments cut my softball and cheerleading careers short, but how it allowed me to open up to my love of writing. I spoke about the importance of taking care of yourself and having a great support system to lean on, etc. After the event, I was approached by a mother and daughter. The girl was 17 and recently diagnosed with Myositis, a rheumatic disease much like Rheumatoid Arthritis. She was struggling with insecurities from facial puffiness due to Prednisone, hair thinning from Methotrexate, and feeling like an outcast during her senior year of high school. I could relate on many levels. Her mother thanked me with tears in her eyes as we swapped stories. I had 3 others sets of parents stop me after the event to thank me for speaking. One man called me a “hero” and an “inspiration” and one other gentleman said my speech made him want to become an advocate here at the Arthritis Foundation for his daughter’s sake. I went home that day in the best mood I’ve been in, in a long time! It was truly so very rewarding that by sharing my experiences – both positive and negative – could encourage/help/touch others so very much. It made me feel better, and it gave me some strange sense of security and hope. Maybe I learned the same message I was sending them, which was that when dealing with arthritis and other autoimmune illnesses that “you are not alone!”

It was one step on my “Journey to Wellness” that I will never forget!

With that, I’ll say goodbye and leave you all with a quote that I’m going to try to begin to live by: “Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities.” ♥

Thanks for reading and for joining me on my Journey to Wellness. I will surely keep you all posted and will continue updating my progress! I wish you all the best of luck in YOUR own personal journeys, too! Please share YOUR thoughts and feedback! Any thoughts on total joint replacement for young adults? How long did it take YOU for your meds to start working? Anyone else get tremors/shakiness from their medications? Do you ever find it hard to be a “patient” patient? Any advice to others who are struggling to write out holiday cards this season? I’d love to hear all of your thoughts and feedback! Please, share your stories! Comments welcomed & encouraged – post on here or drop me an email!



Take Care & Be Well,

me-Ashley Boynes

Community Development Director

Western Pennsylvania Chapter

voted, “Best Blogger in Pittsburgh!”

Click here for Entry # 1 in Ashley’s Journey to Wellness

Click here for Entry #2 in Ashley’s Journey to Wellness

And don’t forget to read/comment on our other recent Rheum for Wellness blog posts on mind-body healing & positivity, how to give to the AFWPA this holiday season, and more!

[Via http://arthritisfoundationwpa.wordpress.com]

Friday, December 11, 2009

Highs and Lows of the Holidays....

I hate to say this but I will anyway…. it seems like I paid dearly for that good day on Thanksgiving…lol… I was still very worn out and then the rain set in and I didn’t think it was ever going to stop! But what’s new huh? This is the way life goes when you have a chronic illness like Fibromyalgia. Only now with the rush of the holidays here it seems much worse. I thought I had it all worked out at least in my own mind. No I’m not going to put up any Christmas “stuff”  when it is such a major pain and my kids are grown pretty much…… my youngest will be heading to basics at Fort Jackson SC in Jan…..and I’ll be doing Christmas dinner the same way we did Thanksgiving. I’m not doing the all out gift giving and shopping…… not that I could go out in that mess anyway….but not even doing that much online….. money is just too tight right now. I wasn’t even feeling bad about this…… until talking with a few not too close “friends” who stop by to “check in on me” to see how I’m doing and if I need anything and before ya know it I was starting to rethink or defend my stand. I keep telling myself not to listen to people who don’t understand what it is like to live my life. Comments like …. “It must be nice to sit back and have everyone else handle everything for you and not cook for your family anymore.” { Thanksgiving dinner was bought at Piccadilly Restaurant… turkey and all the trimmings and not expensive!} ”Wow that must be very expensive. I don’t know how you can afford something like that or is someone else taking care of that for your too?” Followed by a nice smile. “Don’t you feel bad about not making your house more of a welcoming festive holiday home for your family?” Oh and a real good one that has a way of getting to me is “You know honey when I am feeling my worst is when I know I MUST make myself get up and try even harder and then I know I’ll be showing just how much I care about everyone more than myself and that’s important. A good mom never puts herself and her own wants and needs over her families!” and the “Come on and just try harder…. you just have to push yourself and you will then be proud of yourself.”  At that point I just start to hope and pray one of them doesn’t  get started on “Oh, have you tried that new drug? They say it will cure you or at least make it so you can do everything like new again. Isn’t that great? Have you started taking it yet…. you need to call your doctor and tell him about it…. It’s on the TV all the time.” …… Lord knows if I could get a good enough grip with my hands and could move fast enough I would strangle them!……sick slightly evil giggles…..yes I think I could see that picture….oh yeah…Oh sorry…lol…my fibro fog makes it very easy to wonder down some dark roads……. grin…..Needless to say I was feeling pretty good and after this took a nose dive into a dark and depressed mood…. I would have thought by now these people would have had a better understanding of my health but no seems not….. will they ever? Who knows what is then being said  about me. Slowly I start talking to myself….. and yes this is a GOOD thing…lol…since what I am saying is those people are wrong and I’m doing the best I can and the people who really count aren’t complaining….. and my mood lefts and now I have started playing Christmas music and look around and see not one thing Christmas like….. and start to rethink not putting up Christmas stuff….. but darn it I hurt! So I asked my youngest about it and he said why not just put a few things over the fire-place {it is right across from my bed!} and a string of lights over my patio doors that are next to my bed?  Not too hard and since it’s mostly just me and Christmas dinner will be on and around my bed like at Thanksgiving that should be just right. OK that will work and now to just keep thinking the right way. The holidays can be a very stressful time filled with highs and lows and it can be so easy to fall into that trap of feeling pressured by everyone else that is stressing out and they want you to stress out too and if not then you are lazy or weak and aren’t a good person. I hope I can keep my head up and not down ……. and when those “friends” stop by that what to start down that road I can tune them out ….. even if it is only by putting my fingers in my ears and saying “nanananananana…..I can’t hear you….nanananana”…. of course doing this in my head and not out loud…… well not unless they get really rude….. then maybe I will try it out loud!….lol…..if ya need a good laugh during the holidays just stop and picture doing that out loud…… giggle…. and peace be with you until our paths cross again…… Lila

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU ARE READING THIS POST AND YOU ARE NOT ON THE WEB SITE “LILA LOST IN THE FIBRO FOG…..” THEN WHAT YOU ARE READING HAS BEEN  STOLEN AND IS BEING USED WITHOUT MY AUTHORITY AND I HOPE YOU WILL COME TO MY WEB SITE BLOG AT WORDPRESS  http://www.lilabyrdakabirdladybyday.wordpress.com

[Via http://lilabyrdakabirdladybyday.wordpress.com]

Friday, December 4, 2009

PASS THE SPUDS PLEASE

I have this memory as a young girl sitting between two of my uncles and I began to sneeze as I inhaled the large amounts of pepper they both sprinkled onto their pile of mashed potatoes that covered at least one third of their plates and stacked quite high.  Whether we were dining with the relatives or dining as a family, most nights Mom peeled and boiled a large pot of potatoes.  I never really thought about how many potatoes my aunts and my Mom cooked almost every day.  We just took for granted that the  pile high potatoes in a very large serving bowl was a basic staple that accompanied our roast beef or roast chicken.  I do recall hearing the story of how Mom and Dad had to monitor how many potatoes my older sister ate when she was little since all of the starch was causing her to sweat too much!  But it wasn’t until my future brother-in-law had dinner with us and he was stunned by how many potatoes were in the bowl and even more stunned by how many potatoes we consumed that I realized that not everyone enjoyed their potatoes as much as us!

Sadly, my  childhood memories of eating  mashed potatoes that are fluffy with lots of milk and butter and asking for more with the comment, “Pass the spuds please” has increased my outrage that this vegetable is now being tampered with by pesticides.

The Environmental Working Group is only one research study that confirms that potatoes are one of the Top Ten vegetables that have the most number of pesticides.  This Group says that 81% of the potatoes sampled had detectable pesticides and most of them had at least 18.  Other studies even go further and believe that outside of coffee, potatoes have even more pesticides than that!

Recently, I sent an e-mail to the provincial potatoes grower’s association asking them if Alberta uses as many pesticides as the United States since so much of the research comes from there.

Below is his response:

The PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency), a division of Health Canada legislates what crop protection products can be used on all crops in Canada. Health Canada dictates what the acceptable residue levels are in every crop to ensure the safety of the consumer.  Potatoes are regularly tested for residue levels to ensure that they are within the acceptable levels.  Health Canada would not allow one crop to have higher residue level tolerance than another. This does not mean that one cannot be higher than the other but still be within acceptable safe levels.

I cannot comment on whether potatoes have the highest residue levels of any food however I can tell you that residues, if there are any at all, are well within Health Canada limits for safe food.  I can tell you that Alberta potatoes have the lowest pesticide use of anywhere else in North America which would translate to lower residue levels.  It should also be noted that not all crop protection products result in residues in the food component of the crop.

The Potato Industry in North America is highly regulated and monitored.  The CanadaGAP on-farm-food-safety program has a component specific to potatoes to ensure their safe production and handling.  The consumer should not have any concerns as to the safety of the potatoes they buy from reputable sources.

I hope this alleviates your concerns.

I felt some reassurance that Alberta uses less pesticides, but I also felt that I was being reassured without any real facts except that whatever pesticides are being used are being supported by the government!  That government sanctioning is  to make me feel better?  It is interesting that the government has deemed that this amount of pesticides is perfectly acceptable without telling us how much is not acceptable.  In other words, how many potatoes can we eat before they do become dangerous?  Or when I combine this vegetable with other vegetables that are high in pesticides, at what point does that become dangerous?

My concerns continued to increase after my husband spoke to someone who does business with a local potato grower and shared that the “worst” pesticide is the one that is sprayed over the tops.  Apparently, consumers don’t want to purchase potatoes too large and by killing the green tops, the growth of the potatoes slow down and yet are still able to remain in the ground.

I am annoyed that I have to spend so much money on a small bag of organic potatoes to help my body to heal.  I am even more annoyed that other people whom I love very much cannot even consider purchasing organic potatoes due to the higher cost. I am outraged that the sweet memories of sharing a meal that included a staple we assumed was not only tasty but nutritious has now been corrupted with pesticides. No sir, my concerns have NOT been alleviated!

[Via http://gaylejervis.wordpress.com]