Stretch PT & Total Wellness - August 2019

Stretch PT & Total Wellness - August 2019

August 2019

513-874-8800 www.stretchphysicaltherapy.com Painless News

2 Locations:

9500 Kenwood Rd Blue Ash, Ohio 45242

4851WunnenbergWay West Chester, Ohio 45069

Finding My Family

Reagan Swings By to Say Hi!

Hi, everyone!

I’m so lucky that my family found me and that they were so patient with me. It took a few years for them to train me and teach me how to be a big dog, but I learned how to be a good boy. If I had to choose my favorite thing to do

My name is Reagan, and I’m a 5-year-old wheaten terrier. My mom, Kim, usually writes something here, but since it’s the “dog days of summer,” she asked me to take over! How fun is that? My mom is always thinking of cool ideas like that. In fact, when my mom and dad adopted me, Mom had this great idea to train me as a therapy dog. She could already tell that I loved everyone around me, and she wanted to be able to take me to work with her. I even passed my first class at puppy school! But my dad had different ideas. Mom likes to say that due to Dad’s sabotage and spoiling, I grew to be better suited as a house dog, but that’s okay with me. I’m just happy as long as I’m with people.

with my family, it would be to join them in the car. I will always stick my head out the window and smell the world around me. It’s such a fun time! (I highly recommend trying it. You humans don’t understand what you’re missing!)

I get worried about my family when they leave during the day, and I’m just so excited to see them

every evening that I sing as they walk through the door. I can never decide who my favorite is, so I usually end up laying between Mom and Dad, no matter where they are. If Mom is in the living room and Dad is down the hall, I will lay in the middle of them, not wanting to choose one or the other. If I had a choice, I’d herd them together, lay in between them, and take a nap. And, boy, do I love to snuggle with them! It’s one of my favorite things to do, but don’t tell them that. I like it when they come up and snuggle with me first. I don’t know what I would do without my parents, and I am so happy to be part of this family. Sometimes they take me on their trips and adventures, and other times, we all go for walks and play. I sure am one lucky pup.

Based on how Dad spoils me, you would never guess that he didn’t know if he was ready or had the time for a puppy until he met me! Mom tells me that he needed some convincing. Apparently, a few of my parent’s siblings and in-laws have wheaten terriers just like me, and Mom was looking to get one too. Dad wasn’t too sure, but eventually, Mom persuaded him into adopting me. Although, I like to think it was my cute face that won Dad over. I actually used to have a really dark coat, with thick black and brown fur. But now that I’m growing up, my fur has turned a light cream color.

(P.S. Meet a few of my other friends from Stretch Physical Therapy and Total Wellness on Page 2 of this newsletter!)

–Reagan

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A Summer Send-Off for Your Garden

3Ways to Prepare Your Garden for the Changing Season

Late summer is the perfect time to clean up your garden and prepare it for the coming winter. In the next couple of months, the temperature will start to drop, but by putting in work now, you can ensure your garden is healthy and ready to flourish next spring. You can even turn garden cleanup into

soil. Remember to use gloves, wear long pants and socks, and use caution around thorns or plants that can cause irritation.

For daffodils, tulips, crocuses, and any other bulbs that sprang up in the spring, you can now pull them up (if you haven’t already) and divide any bulblets you find into separate plants. This will help cut down on crowding even more come spring. Take Cover

a fun activity for the whole family. Here are three ways to get your garden ready for the next season, while sharing some valuable outdoor time with your loved ones. More Mulch, Please While most gardeners know the benefits of summer mulching, winter mulching can help lessen water loss, keep weeds out, and regulate soil temperatures during the colder months. It offers an added layer of protection for your plants’ roots, which can be sensitive to continuous freezing and thawing, by keeping the soil temperature more consistent. Out With the Old

Cover crops are plants that improve soil health, reduce erosion, and keep your garden healthy, and now is a great time to plant them! Hardy legumes, field peas, certain types of clovers, and warm- season grasses can all work as cover crops, so talk to your landscaper or local nursery to pick out the best choices for your region.

While you may not see the fruits of your labors until spring, you can still enjoy preparing your garden for a successful upcoming year and cherish the time you spend with your family outside.

If any of your plants didn’t fare so well, take some time to remove them and clear space for future plants. This removal should include any invasive plants or weeds that found their way into the

Dog Days of Summer

Meet Our Best Friends!

Sinatra: age 4, owned by Corinne

Quinn and Lizzie: ages 2 and 5, owned by LB.

Sinatra loves drinking from the bathtub faucet so much that if anyone mentions the words “bathroom” or “shower,” he sprints toward that room!

Quinn is a super weirdo but always knows how to get

the laughs. Her older sister, Lizzie, is a tough cookie! She has had four knee surgeries and loves to swim.

Jayda: age 2, owned by Clarissa

Jayda is a 65-pound lap dog who loves to sit on her mom’s lap!

Koda: age 9, owned by Alana

Koda LOVES to lick! Beds, feet, you name it — Koda loves to lick it.

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Getting Back to Health Keep Your Kids’ Spinal Health in Line With These Backpack Safety Tips

With books, laptops, calculators, markers, pencils, rulers, glue, and even lunch packs, children are carrying a lot of items to and from school every day. But according to researchers, carrying 10 pounds on your back adds 70 pounds of force onto your spine. Think about the strain this puts on your 10-year-old or your high schooler! Instead, researchers recommend students carry about 10% of their body weight on their backs. So, your 100-pound 10-year-old should have a backpack that weighs no more than 10 pounds.

Throughout the school year, monitor your child for symptoms of back pain or stress. If their shoulders are hunched or they complain about neck and shoulder pain, their backpack may be putting too much strain on their spine. You can also test this by asking them to stand with their head, shoulders, and buttocks touching the wall. If the space between their neck and lower back and the wall is more than two inches, they may have a posture issue. In addition to dropping the weight they carry on their back, a wellness expert can offer your child relief from this pain. At Stretch Physical Therapy and Total Wellness, we can examine the condition their spine and can offer guided exercises and regimens to strengthen your child’s back and shoulders. We can also teach your child safer ways to carry their backpack to avoid this pain from cropping up in the future. Don’t let your child slog through another school year with an overloaded backpack. Our experts can get your child back to feeling energized and pain-free! Learn more by calling 513-874-8800 or visit StretchPhysicalTherapy.com.

In addition, the backpack your child is using to lug around their books and supplies should be well- equipped to carry their items. Choose backpacks with two padded straps, and consider bags with waist straps to transfer some of the weight to their hips. Bags with many pockets can offer an even distribution of items, but it’s vital that the bag is the correct size for each child. A bag that is too large allows your child to stuff more junk in there and will only contribute to the higher weight issue.

HAVE A LAUGH! Chicken Shawarma

Shawarma is a Middle Eastern method of preparing meat. Normally made using massive rotisseries, this make-at-home version only requires an oven and some marinade.

Ingredients

• • • • • • •

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

• • • • •

2 tsp paprika

Juice of 2 lemons

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil

Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste 1 large red onion, peeled and quartered

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp fresh parsley, for garnish

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp cumin

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine lemon juice, 1/2 cup oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, and crushed red pepper. Whisk together, then marinate chicken in mixture and cover and refrigerate for 1–12 hours. 2. Heat oven to 425 F. Place onion in chicken marinade, tossing to coat. Spread onion and chicken on a baking sheet lined with the remaining olive oil. 3. Roast for 30–40 minutes. Remove from oven, let sit for 2 minutes, and slice chicken into bite- sized pieces. 4. Garnish with parsley and serve. 513-874-8800 Inspired by The New York Times

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Phone: 513-874-8800 www.stretchphysicaltherapy.com

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

West Chester Hours: M,W, Th 7-6 pm Tues, Fri 7-12 pm

Blue Ash Hours: Mon 2-6 pm Fri 8-12 pm

4851WunnenbergWay West Chester, Ohio 45069 Inside

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Meet Reagan theWheatenTerrier!

A Summer Send-Off for Your Garden

Our Patients Say It Best!

Proper Backpack Safety for Your Child’s Back

Chicken Shawarma

Not Your Average Vacation Lodgings

Our goal is to help you avoid medications, injections, and surgeries, specializing in lower back pain and sciatica, rotator cuff and shoulder injuries, arthritis, athletic and sports injuries, knee, foot and ankle conditions, and overall well-being.

This Ain’t Motel 6! America’ s Weirdest Airbnbs

When Airbnb was founded a little over a decade ago, the developers hoped to provide an alternative to traditional travel accommodations. Today, with annual revenue in the billions, the service is an industry unto itself. While most people use Airbnb to“live like a local”while traveling, you can find some truly wacky lodging options if you spend some

modern amenities likeWi-Fi and in-home laundry. It’s a truly unique living space surrounded by pristine nature and not far from the historic Taos Pueblo.

ManCave Apartment/Airplane Hangar Geneva, Florida

Airbnb super hosts Dan and Deborah have no shortage of quirky properties for rent — including yurts and treehouses —but their apartment fashioned out of an airplane hangar surely takes the cake. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was a theme restaurant featuring eclectic aviation. Memorabilia lines the walls with a bar front and center, and the bed is in a loft high above the ground.

time searching the platform. Here are just a few of the many contenders for the title of“Weirdest Airbnb in the U.S.”For ease of searching, the listings here have the same titles as they do on Airbnb.

Dog Bark Park Inn B&B Cottonwood, Idaho

Brand New Studio Earthship Taos, NewMexico

As you approach the Dog Bark Park Inn, you won’t have to guess if you’re in the right place. After all, howmany buildings are shaped like beagles?When describing the space on Airbnb, the hosts make no bones about who this rental is aimed for.“Stay in a giant dog!”they say. In addition to being inside a massive wooden dog, you’ll find canine-themed games, books, and more. Talk about ruffing it.

Earthships, houses run by clean energy and featuring reused materials, are a fixture of the Taos area. This one, which looks almost like a crashing wave with a living space in its undertow, combines the rustic charm of truly getting away from it all with

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