Massabesic Health Resources November 2018

Massabesic Health Resources November 2018

www.mhrpt.com • (207) 247-3216 NOVEMBER 2018 Massabesic Monthly

FROM THE DESKS OF Jim Stevenson & Hayes Sweeney

If you have hip and knee osteoarthritis, you might not be getting enough daily physical exercise and activity! A commentary published in the June 2018 issue of The Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy highlights the importance of learning about the benefits of physical activity and exercise for improving your pain and preventing other chronic health conditions that often develop in those diagnosed with hip or knee osteoarthritis.

The authors offer seven key recommendations:

1. Exercise and physical activity should be tailored to your needs and preferences.

Let’s face it: Maintaining your fitness this time of year is difficult. Even if you have kept up on your diet and workout habits during the spring and summer months, once the first leaf falls to the ground, even the idea of going to the gym seems strenuous. Why does this happen? All signs point to colder weather and bigger meals. In addition to the temperature drop that occurs during the fall and winter months, the number of daylight hours drops as well. You go from having up to 13 hours of daylight to only 9 by the end of November. This reduction leaves many avid runners with less time to get that jog in after work. In addition to this colder and darker weather, the emphasis on food this time of year also causes people to fall off the fitness wagon. Between scooping a third helping of Thanksgiving dinner and eating candy canes while decorating the Christmas tree, the choice to indulge during holiday meals leads many to toss aside portion control. While the holidays wreak havoc on many fitness routines, there are some workout trends that have maintained popularity throughout the year because they work for people of all fitness levels and lifestyles. The following three have withstood the test of the holiday season and may provide the incentive you need to keep your fitness up while putting the turkey legs down. 3 FITNESSTRENDSTHAT CAN WITHSTANDTHE HOLIDAY SEASON H ow to M aintain Y our F itness T his T ime of Y ear

2. Consider water exercises if it is too painful to exercise on land.

3. Supervised exercise therapy over a six-week period is often helpful to get you started.

4. Some people may need 12 weeks of supervised therapy to begin.

5. After you complete supervised therapy, you may need periodic “booster sessions” to help with long-term management of your osteoarthritis pain and overall health.

6. Home exercises should be performed to optimize your outcomes.

7. You should be sure that you understand how to manage flare-ups in pain and how to modify your exercises when pain increases. If you have arthritis pain, physical therapy may be just what you need to start and keep moving! -Jim and Hayes

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HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

classes at the YMCA. Besides the health benefits associated with group training, these classes tend to be far more inclusive in terms of sex and age — a great feature that will boost this trend’s longevity.

Since the mid-1990s, scores of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of interval conditioning for fat loss. High- intensity interval training (HIIT) involves cardiovascular exercise strategies where you alternate between short periods of anaerobic exercise and recovery periods. While there’s far more vigorous exercise in HIIT than traditional cardio, you don’t have to put in as much time to burn the same amount of calories. Simply put, HIIT is short but strenuous. One of the most popular fitness trends that incorporates elements of HIIT is CrossFit. In group training, an instructor leads a workout in a group of five or more people. These classes are designed to be motivational and effective for people of various fitness levels. Group training classes could be anything from HIIT classes and dance cardio classes to old-school step GROUP TRAINING

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY

Activity trackers, smart watches, and heart rate monitors are as popular as ever, but wearable tech is going beyond the Fitbits and Apple Watches. For example, Motiv recently released its titanium ring, a stylish and innovative product that tracks activity via your finger. Additionally, Wearable X just introduced the Nadi X yoga pants, which deliver vibrational feedback to the wearer to encourage good form and alignment. While there is a plethora of products to choose from, it’s safe to say that wearable technology won’t be going out of style any time soon.

More Isn’t Always More Taking a day off from your workout routine might feel like slacking, but scheduling recovery days into your regimen will actually make the time you spend in the gymmore effective. Active recovery days aren’t really days off; you just do less physical work and focus more on the other tasks necessary for reaching your goals. distance and speed by jogging a shorter route at a lower target heart Use Active Recovery Days to Boost Your Results

rate. Whatever your typical activity, shoot for about 50 percent effort or less on these days.

With the holiday craziness kicking into full swing, now is the perfect opportunity tomake sure you’re scheduling those active recovery days. You’ll have more time to focus on everything else you love and give your body what it needs to work off those extra Thanksgiving treats!

Active recovery days are also the perfect opportunity to prep food! Spend the afternoon cooking chicken breasts, boiling rice, soaking oats, and chopping veggies, then divide them into enough single-serving containers to last the rest of the week. Most importantly, take advantage of this time to catch up with the important people in your life and the hobbies you love. You can even kill two birds with one stone by playing basketball with friends or going for a walk with the kids. When done properly, active recovery days can recharge your body, your mind, and your life.

WHY SHOULD I BOTHER WITH ACTIVE RECOVERY? Heavy exercise“damages”your muscles, and they use this downtime to repair that damage, which causes the cells to enlarge and ultimately results inmuscle growth and increased strength. This hypertrophy process can’t happen—at least, not very successfully—unless your muscles have a chance to rest and recover.

running, CrossFit, or other athletic pursuits. Perfecting your formwill help you avoid injury, target the correct muscle groups, and work more efficiently. SO …WHAT SHOULD I DO ALL DAY? You won’t be going full-bore at the gym, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep your body moving. If you’re a CrossFitter, take a yoga class tomaintain flexibility. Weightlifters can swap out the heavy weights for bodyweight moves and light cardio. If you’re a runner, reduce your

Reducing your workout intensity also allows you to focus on proper form, whether that’s for lifting,

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A Historic Veterans Day Commemorating the 100 th Anniversary of the End of WorldWar I

This year, Veterans Day takes on particular historic significance: Nov. 11, 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First WorldWar. Countries around the world will commemorate the signing of this peace agreement with moments of silence, centennial ceremonies, and historical exhibits. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day is a celebration of life. It’s a day to honor the power of peace and the living veterans across the globe who have served their countries. This November, take a moment to remember the war that helped shape the international community’s dedication to peace and thank the individuals who served to defend it. THE GREAT WAR By 1914, a world war had been years in the making, but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by a Serbian nationalist provided the spark that would eventually burn down much of Europe. A chain reaction of land disputes, pre-emptive attacks, and strategic alliances brought over 30 countries into WorldWar I.

The Great War that ravaged Europe resulted in a devastating loss of life, but from those ashes rose a renewed appreciation for the importance of peace and a global effort to ensure its place in the future. THE RESTORATION OF PEACE In 1918, Germany surrendered unconditionally, and the armistice ended the fighting at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, though the war did not officially end until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles the following July. An estimated 16 million soldiers and civilians died in just four years, making it one of the deadliest conflicts in modern history. VETERANS DAY Originally called Armistice Day, Veterans Day was first observed on Nov. 11, 1919, to honor the one-year anniversary of the armistice, and it became a U.S. holiday in 1938. Today, Veterans Day celebrates veterans who served their country honorably. The U.K., France, Australia, and Canada also commemorate their veterans in November. If you know a veteran, thank them for their service this month.

Take a Break!

A Simple Brine

FOR SUCCULENT TURKEY

Ingredients

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3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt

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2 large sprigs thyme

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2 bay leaves

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3/4 cup sugar

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1 tablespoon black peppercorns

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1 carrot, peeled and diced

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1 large onion, peeled and diced

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1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)

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1/4 cup celery, diced

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Directions

1. In a large stock pot, bring salt, sugar, and 4 cups water to a boil. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved.

brine in the fridge, uncovered, until cold.

3. Add 6 quarts cold water to brine. Add turkey and

BLACK FRIDAY COLONIES FEAST FOOTBALL

GOBBLE GRATEFUL GRAVY POTATOES

THANKFUL THANKSGIVING TRADITION TURKEY

2. Turn off heat and add

submerge completely. Brine chilled for up to 72 hours.

remaining ingredients. Place

Inspired by Bon Appétit magazine

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desks of Jim Stevenson and Hayes Sweeney PAGE 1 3 Fitness Trends That CanWithstand the Holiday Season PAGE 1 Are You Scheduling Active Recovery Days? PAGE 2 A Historic Veterans Day PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 A Simple Brine for Succulent Turkey PAGE 3 A Closer Look at Your Cup of Joe PAGE 4 What’s the first thing you do in the morning? For most of us in the United States, it’s one crucial task: getting that morning cup of joe. Our obsession with coffee is nothing new. A paper entitled“The Consumption of Coffee in the United States,”published July 18, 1861, noted that“the people of the United States habitually consume more coffee than the inhabitants of any other country.”Its popularity has only increased with time; people in the U.S. consume an estimated 400 million cups of coffee a day. Of course, we weren’t the first to find out how great coffee is. Long before anyone in the Americas enjoyed the beverage, legend has it that an Ethiopian goat herder discovered the amazing effects of coffee beans —on his goats. He noticed that after eating“berries”from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic they didn’t want to sleep. News spread around the Arabian Peninsula, and cafes began to pop up, known as“Schools of theWise”for the intellectual conversations that happened there.

THAT MORNING CUP OF JOE Coffee and Its Relationship to Your Health

In addition to coffee’s long-standing popularity, science has found several reasons to give our morning habit the thumbs-up. In 2015, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines evaluated the effects of coffee and caffeine for the first time, concluding that coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle “along with other behaviors, such as refraining from smoking, consuming a nutritionally balanced diet, maintaining a healthy body weight, and being physically active.”The guidelines cite “strong and consistent evidence” that consuming coffee within the moderate range (3–5 cups per day, or up to 400 mg of caffeine per day) is not associated with an increased risk of major diseases. In fact, according to observational evidence, caffeine intake may be linked to reduced risk for certain diseases in healthy adults. Scientists think that antioxidants found in coffee, such as polyphenols, might contribute to its positive effects.

consumed in moderate amounts, the sugar and other additives that many of us like to put in it get a thumbs-down. The Dietary Guidelines also note that health alone isn’t a reason to start drinking caffeine. Folks with blood pressure concerns should be especially careful and should consult their doctor about how much coffee is okay to drink, as studies have shown evidence of increased blood pressure with caffeine consumption.

Everything in moderation, as the saying goes, at least when it comes to caffeine.

There’s one major caveat, however. While coffee shows potential benefits when

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