PT 360° April 2019

PT 360° April 2019

Getting you back to the life you want to live.

360

A pril 2019

In Touch

C elebrate the S mall T hings

Shelly Coffman

Think of the many ways we celebrate each other, from big events to small acknowledgements; all are important. Fun fact: The third Thursday in April is National High Five Day. This caught my attention in my current “knock out goals”mode for 2019. I am often my own primary goal checker, making it typically a solitary acknowledgement. This year, however, I made a point to tell people about my goals to increase my focus and garner some additional accountability. No one knows you fail if you don’t tell them. But I hadn’t as much appreciated the “high five” effect. I have continued to work on my 2019 “one thing”with my daughter (which somehow involves A LOT of ice cream). To keep up with my ever-energetic kiddo, I have also kept working on my fitness to increase my muscle mass and endurance and lose even more weight. I told anyone who would listen. Why? So I would have more people to answer to than just myself. The amount of support, information, and helpful tips I received was inspiring and kept me on task when I was stressed, overtired, or even able to stay on task with a little ice cream.

Celebrations are important. Happiness is earned in our lives and as such, holds extra value. Marking those occasions with small or large exclamation points counts. Joy is not a constant but comes in moments — fantastic moments — that we prefer to share. A high five, “atta boy or girl,” or “way to go!” goes a long way for each of us in building community, cementing positive memories, and steering our path. I like to think of it like the game we all played as kids with a balloon. One little push will keep that balloon floating in the air, and the game can go on a long time with a little external effort to keep the balloon afloat and from hitting the ground. Acknowledging someone’s persistence, commitment, hard work, bravery, or values in whatever they achieved feeds both the celebrated and the celebrant. Celebration, big or small, keeps the joy afloat. Think of what celebrations you have coming up: things you’re proud of for yourself, your children, your partner, your spouse, your friends, your family, or your work colleagues. If you take a moment to relax and let your mind wander, I bet you’ll feel a high five coming for you.

–-Shelly Coffman

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R unning : A L ove S tory U se C ues to C reate a R unning H abit

Since the ‘70s, devotees have referred to the elusive rush of euphoria they feel during and right after a run as a “runner’s high.”Your friend who claims to “love” running despite how exhausted she looks at the finish line of her 10K might be experiencing the effects of this phenomenon. This post-workout boost has long been linked to a rush of endorphins entering the brain, but a recent study from researchers in Germany suggests that a more likely cause is an increased production of serotonin and other feel- good neurotransmitters. Because of these physiological effects, running may help to improve your body’s ability to stand up to stress while also making you feel good. For seasoned runners, that sweet call of serotonin might be enough to lace up their sneakers week after week, but the rest of us might need a little more convincing. Research into the psychology of habit formation, which has allowed companies like Procter & Gamble to make millions, has

found that habits are often linked to a specific cue. Calling on the insight of psychologists, marketing campaigns have used this tactic to sell products like Febreze, and you can use some of the same techniques to adopt a running habit.

Most cues fall into one of four categories: temporal (linked to a specific location or time of day), action-based (one of a series of actions), emotional (linked to a mood or emotion), or social (linked to a particular group of people). So if you want to create a running habit, develop prompts that will cue you to engage in it. For example, you can use temporal cues to make a habit of running every day after work, or you can make it a necessary step in your routine: Wake up, brush teeth, coffee, run, shower. Documenting how you feel after a run will help your mind link the good feelings

it gives you to the action, which will then cue the habit. Next time your drinking buddies suggest happy hour, suggest a run instead. Maybe they’ll even pick up the habit.

Go on now. Let running sweep you off your feet!

I s I t O kay to S kip B reakfast ? T he T ruth A bout the F irst M eal of the D ay

Sometimes you skip breakfast simply because you don’t have time to eat. Other times, you skip breakfast because nothing really appeals to you. This is a common occurrence for many people across the country. But when you skip breakfast, you may find that you feel just fine. It begs the question: Is breakfast really that important? Do you need to eat breakfast?

“most important meal of the day.”This phrase was used to market breakfast cereal in the last century. In reality, it doesn’t mean anything. The most important meal of the day is whichever meal you get the most out of, whether it’s nutritional value, enjoyment, or both. Having a healthy, protein-rich breakfast does come with benefits, though. It gives you energy for the day and helps you avoid scrambling to find something to eat a couple hours later when hunger sets in. All too often, skipping breakfast (or having a carb-heavy breakfast) leads people to raid the vending machine or make unhealthy food choices they wouldn’t ordinarily make. Along these same lines, skipping breakfast may encourage you to eat more later in the day at lunch or dinner. You may think you’re saving calories, but over the course of a day, you can end up consuming more calories than if you had simply eaten breakfast. With so much research on the subject of breakfast, one thing is clear: You should eat when you feel hungry. You don’t have to live by the conventional wisdom of “three squares a day.”When you listen to your body, you’ll feel better for it!

It depends. Most people can skip breakfast and be totally fine. They’ll make it to lunch without skipping a beat. It all comes down to

how you feel. Some people need breakfast or they’ll have to deal with mood swings —often referred to as being“hangry” — caused by low blood

sugar. A healthy breakfast can stabilize your mood, helping you feel more positive, energized, and focused throughout the morning.

We can, however, bust the notion that breakfast is the

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H ow the P lacebo E ffect W orks

Lastly, you need to believe that when you take the placebo pill, it will do what you think it’s supposed to do. Belief is a powerful tool, and when you believe it’s going to help, the placebo will be most effective.

The placebo effect works. Study after study has confirmed it. The question is how. Numerous studies have shown placebos are most effective for aches and pains, as well as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and depression. The placebo effect even works if you’re aware you’re taking a placebo. With that in mind, a person can’t just start taking placebos (or sugar pills) and expect a placebo effect. There is a strong psychological component. This may mean seeing a doctor or participating in a drug study to get the ball rolling. There are three challenges a person needs to overcome for a placebo to be most effective: conditioning , expectation , and belief . First, you need to be conditioned to accept the placebo as the real deal. For example, the placebo has to look like the medication it is meant to emulate. You might start treatment with the real medication and eventually transition to the look-alike. Then, you must expect it to work. There must be an indication that the placebo is “real.”This might be a doctor telling you it’s real and effective, or it might be previous experience taking a certain medication. In your mind, if the real drug worked, so will the look-alike.

In pain studies, for example, some people experienced the same

reduction in pain as they would have experienced had they taken typical, over-the-counter pain medication. Keep in mind, however, that the placebo effect affects each person differently.

R oasted R adishes W ith R adish G reens

Radishes start showing up in droves during the spring and

summer months, but all too often we only eat the bulbs raw on salads and discard the greens. This recipes bucks both of those trends, with the radishes being roasted alongside their green tops.

Ingredients

T ake A B reak !

• 3 bunches radishes with greens attached • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • Salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 500 F. While heating, trim radishes and wash greens. Pat both dry using a paper towel. 2. In a large ovenproof

skillet to oven rack and roast for 15 minutes.

3. Once removed from

oven, return skillet to stove. Over medium heat, stir in butter and add greens. Cook until they are wilted, about 2 minutes. juice and additional salt if desired. Serve immediately.

skillet, heat oil over high heat until shimmering. Season radishes with salt and pepper, add to skillet, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer entire

4. Finish with lemon

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I nside T his I ssue

Celebrate the Small Things Page 1

Use Cues to Create a Running Habit

Should You Skip Breakfast? Page 2 Have You Ever Wondered About the Placebo Effect?

Roasted Radishes With Radish Greens Page 3

PT Helps Curb Opioid Abuse Page 4

A mid an E pidemic , PT H elps C urb O pioid A buse W hy E xercise T herapy S hould B e the F irst S tep in R ecovery

Today, a startling number of Americans suffer from opioid addiction. According to a report published in the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, more than 4 percent of U.S. adults misused prescription opioids in 2018. Prescription drugs can lead to enough tragic overdoses on their own, but as the physical aspects of addiction set in and prescriptions dry out, addicts desperately turn to more serious drugs like heroin and fentanyl. Opioid addiction is indiscriminate; it can strike anyone of any social class, race, gender, or economic standing. This is one reason the overprescription of opioids over the last two decades, coupled with a more recent flood of street opioids, led to more than 70,000 deaths in 2017. In an effort to stem the tide of opioid-related deaths, the CDC issued a set of new recommendations to doctors in 2016. They questioned the effectiveness of opioids for the management of chronic pain and encouraged physicians to instead focus on physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other nonopioid pharmacologic options for long- term intervention. Studies show that physical therapy may have the potential to dramatically reduce opioid reliance, abuse, and overdose. In one 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, researchers discovered that, in cases where doctors referred patients suffering from

low back pain to a PT as a first-line treatment, the odds that the patient ended up needing an opioid prescription decreased significantly. Other studies have also reinforced the same trend for treatment post-surgery: When physical therapy is the first recommendation, patients tend to use fewer opioids and actually spend less on treatment in the long run. The evidence seems clear: If patients follow the recommendations of the CDC and consider physical therapy before taking pills, they substantially lower their risk of dependence on and abuse of prescription drugs. Of course, you should always follow the advice of your doctor, but consider requesting a referral to PT first — it’s just a safer, more consistent, and less expensive option. And who knows? It might just save your life!

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