Physical Therapy Services of Tennessee - October 2021

OCTOBER 2021

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EastTennessee Physical Therapy News

FROM THE DESK OF DANNY D. SMITH, PT, DHSC

The fall of the year not only brings cooler temperatures and beautiful colors as the leaves change, but children are also back in school and looking forward to Halloween. Fall is also a good time to think of falls of another kind: those falls that happen at home and around the house that all to frequently result in injuries.

THE TRUTH ABOUT BLOATING — IS IT REALLY NORMAL?

Falls happen when our center of gravity is suddenly outside our base of support. This could be due to a trip, dizziness, or slipping on a rug. About 1 out of 3 adults over the age of 65 will fall each year, and 20%–30% of these falls result in serious injury. Falls are the No. 1 cause of nursing home admissions each year. To prevent falls, get regular exercise, walk, review your medications with your physician. Make homes safer by reducing trip hazards, removing throw rugs, adding grab bars outside the tub and shower, and using a handrail when on stairs (along with common sense).

Have you ever looked at your stomach before and after a big meal, specifically to check out the size difference? As crazy as it sounds, this is a new trend on social media. Influencers everywhere are grabbing their cellphones to take photos and videos of their bodies throughout the day — not to show off their best angles, but to revel in their bloat. There’s even a trendy hashtag: #bloatingisnormal.

BLOATING GONE VIRAL

Reading about this piqued my curiosity, and I had to dig into the story behind it. After a quick Google search, I traced the idea back to two TikTok influencers: Clara Guillem (@claraandherself) and Bree Lenehan (@breeelenehan). Guillem made BuzzFeed for posting a series of photos called “outfits before and after eating,” and Lenehan popped up for a viral TikTok video of how her body changed over a 24-hour day. The more I found out, the more interested I was. Why had these influencers decided to become champions of bloating? According to Lenehan, her campaign was rooted in body positivity and fighting back against disordered eating. “No one talked about how much their body changed and tummy expanded throughout the day, so I thought the way mine did was abnormal and something to be ashamed of. Turns out, it happens to most of us; we just don’t talk about it

Should you have questions regarding falls and fall prevention, feel free to contact one of our therapists. We will be happy to assist. –Danny

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bowel syndrome (IBS), food intolerances, giardiasis (intestinal parasites), eating disorders, or celiac disease. It can even be a sign of ovarian cancer, liver disease, or a punctured GI tract!

openly and know how to ‘hide’ it. So, I wanted to show just how real those changes are and that it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she told BuzzFeed. I love that Lenehan wants to make her followers less self-conscious and boost their self-esteem, but reading her words made me wonder — how normal is bloating, really?

IS IT REALLY NORMAL?

As you probably realized in the last section, bloating is both normal and abnormal. On the one hand, it could be a sign that you ate a meal too fast, which all of us have done and shouldn’t be ashamed about! On the other hand, influencers like Clara Guillem and Bree Lenehan might be telling kids their

WHAT IS BLOATING?

Bloating is abdominal swelling that happens when your gastrointestinal tract fills up with air or gas. It can make your stomach feel full or tight, cause you pain, and make you burp or pass gas more often. Bloating can also cause gurgling in your stomach. If you get it, you’ll probably want to spend the next few hours on the couch.

stomach pain is normal when they have real issues, like celiac or IBS, that should be checked out by a doctor. Personally, my big takeaway from this TikTok tale was that we could all benefit from eating a bit slower and chewing a bit less gum. If Guillem and Lenehan make you feel more confident, that’s great, but if you’re experiencing painful bloating all

WHAT CAUSES IT?

According to Healthline, you can bloat up from eating or drinking too fast, chewing gum, smoking, or wearing loose dentures. However, you can also get it from more serious medical conditions, like irritable

the time, it’s time to book a visit with your doctor or dietician. Confidence is important, but good health is even more so!

Corn Mazes Date Back to Ancient Greece?

A HISTORICAL LOOK AT THIS WACKY FALL TRADITION

Minotaur and find his way home with the help of a string that he unspooled as he walked. This story isn’t the first recorded example of a maze or labyrinth — according to the World History encyclopedia, “[L]abyrinths and labyrinthine symbols have been dated to the Neolithic Age in regions as diverse as modern-day Turkey, Ireland, Greece, and India, among others” — but it’s perhaps the most famous ancient tale. If you’ve ever navigated a Halloween corn maze staffed by ghouls and ghosts, you can see the parallels! Garden Art to Get Lost In Mazes formed from bushes began popping up European gardens in the 17th century. They were a popular artistic feature of upper- class gardens in England, more for looking at than solving. One famous example is the half-mile-long Hampton Maze, which was planted in 1690 and still stands today. The Corn Maze: An American Invention Garden mazes eventually hopped the pond to America but didn’t become interactive puzzles until Don Frantz, Creative Director of the American Maze Company, came on the scene. In 1993, Frantz created the “first ever cornfield maze for private and public entertainment” to attract college kids in Pennsylvania. Today, every small-town corn maze is a descendant of his “Amazing Maize Maze.” To learn more about that wacky history, visit AmericanMaze.com.

Exploring a corn maze is a great way to get outside and enjoy the fall season with friends and family — but who came up with the idea of wandering around a corn field for fun? As it turns out, outdoor mazes are an ancient tradition, and the American corn maze of the ‘90s sprouted from the mazes of 17th-century European gardens. Don’t believe it? Here’s a quick tour of corn maze history. The Minotaur and the Maze Have you heard of Theseus and the Minotaur? This ancient Greek legend tells the story of the hero Theseus, who ventured into an elaborate maze to kill the half-man, half-bull imprisoned there. The monstrous Minotaur was known to eat heroes, and the labyrinth was known to trap them, but Theseus managed to slay the

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meant to support veins, prevent blood from pooling in them, decrease swelling, and reduce orthostatic hypertension. Compression socks can come in a variety of types, lengths, and compression levels. The three basic types of compression socks are: • Graduated compression stockings compress more strongly toward the ankle than at the top of the sock. These are designed for people who plan to be up and moving about. • Anti-embolism stockings are designed specifically for nonmobile people to help them fight against DVT. • Nonmedical support stockings are available without a prescription. They help alleviate aches and pains caused by poor circulation in the legs. Each type of compression sock may vary in the level of pressure they apply to your legs. Mild pressure, which is anything less than 15 mmHg, will help you combat aches and pains just fine; 15–20 mmHg can help people with minor swelling or who have concerns about DVT. Anything 20–40 mmHg is considered medical grade and is only necessary if you have severe swelling or you’re recovering from surgery. Typically, the only negative side effect that might result from wearing compression socks is some irritation and redness, but if you wear them correctly, they should fit flush against your skin and feel snug but not painful. If you think that compression socks could help you, try on a pair of nonprescription socks or check with a health care professional to see what option would be best for you. And How Can They Help You With Aches and Pains? WHAT ARE COMPRESSION SOCKS?

At the very best, poor blood circulation in the body can lead to various annoying aches and pains. At worst, it can cause serious health conditions, such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), where a blood clot forms in the deep veins and makes its way to a main artery, potentially causing a fatal pulmonary embolism. Whatever the case, one tool you might not know much about could be the solution to your aches and pains: compression socks. Compression socks are a type of sock that tightly compresses your leg as you wear them, reducing the diameter of major veins and increasing blood flow to the heart rather than downward to your feet or laterally into superficial veins. Among several other benefits, compression socks are

Take a Break!

HALLOWEEN COOKIE PIZZA Inspired by Pillsbury.com Image sourced from Pillsbury.com/recipes/halloween-cookie-pizza/ 67172821-ddfb-49ce-b658-ddc4ef4b5cf3

INGREDIENTS

• 1 roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter • 1 cup candy corn

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips • 1/4 cup vanilla frosting (store- bought or homemade)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Grease a round, 12-inch pan and line with cookie dough, ensuring the dough covers all but the outer 1/2 inch. 3. Bake for 16–20 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely. 4. Spread the peanut butter over the cooled cookie dough, then sprinkle on the candy corn and chocolate chips. 5. In a small bowl, microwave the frosting for 15 seconds or until liquified. 6. Drizzle the frosting over the “pizza,” slice, and serve!

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1975 West Elk Ave. Elizabethton, TN 37643 423-543-0073

1500 West Elk Ave. #104 Elizabethton TN 37643 423-543-2215

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

P hysical T herapy S ervices , P.A.

Inside This Issue From the Desk of Dr. Smith PAGE 1 The Truth About Bloating — Is It Really Normal? PAGE 1 Corn Mazes Date Back to Ancient Greece? PAGE 2 All About Compression Socks PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Halloween Cookie Pizza PAGE 3 Tips for Protecting Your Brain in a Fall PAGE 4

Feel Yourself Taking a Tumble? Try These Tricks to Protect Your Brain! Taking a fall is one of the most common causes of a deadly traumatic brain injury (TBI). This is a pretty scary statistic, considering 1 in 10 adults fall at least once a year, and we all live in a world filled with tripping hazards! Not every fall is deadly, but about 1 in 5 can cause a serious injury. Fortunately, you can do a few things to protect your brain if you feel yourself starting to tumble. The insurance company Lawley recommends these: • Tucking your chin and lowering your head • Turning your head to the side if you’re falling face first • Protecting your head with your arms while keeping your arms and legs bent to spread out the impact (Don’t fall on only your arms or hands — you could break them!) • Trying to land on your side

over 800,000 patients are hospitalized because of fall

injuries — almost always for TBIs or hip fractures — every single year. To prevent those, try to make sure your floors at home are clutter-free and be careful on ice during winter.

Of course, these techniques are a last resort. Ideally, you should prevent falls long before you feel yourself teetering: Strengthen the muscles that help you balance on your feet, like your core, lower back, and legs with simple home exercises. You can visit NHS.uk/Live-Well/Exercise/ Balance-Exercises for an easy visual guide or turn to a physical therapist for help. If you’re young and athletic, you may not need a PT, but physical therapy can be a great option for older adults already experiencing balance problems or people recovering from an illness or injury. In these cases, it’s best to work with a professional to ensure you don’t hurt yourself in your quest for better balance! They’ll create a customized treatment plan for you, which will protect you from overdoing it.

• Relaxing your body • Rolling after impact

In addition to TBIs, many falls also cause hip fractures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports

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