Gaston Rehab Associates, Inc. Physical Therapy and Sports Performance

Metabolic Testing Day at Gaston Rehab Associates Tuesday January 24th, 2012

Have you ever wondered how many calories your body actually needs?

Are you looking to lose weight and just can't seem to do it?

Are you in decent shape, but want to make changes and don't know how to start?

If this sounds like you, we have the perfect solution. Total Nutrition Technology will be performing Metabolic Testing inside the office of Gaston Rehab Associates on Tuesday January 24th, 2012. The last time we offered this, it did sell out so please call today to reserve your spot. This safe, easy, and efficient way to measure your resting metabolic rate will help you get on the right track to better health.

Sessions take 30 minutes and every person who signs up will receive a coupon for a FREE Health Assessment Session from Total Nutrition Technology worth $100. To schedule your appointment with us on the 24th, please call (704) 864-4424 or send an e-mail to gastoninc@bellsouth.net.

Martha Rivers Park Walking Trails Gastonia, NC

The Walking Trails Map is finally complete for Martha Rivers Park in Gastonia, NC.

Cardiovascular activity has been proven to reduce the risk of certain diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. Exercise can be performed up to 7 days a week for people who have a family history of these conditions.

 

Transparency in Healthcare: Should I care?

As a full time health care professional working in and owning a private practice, it has been my mission from day one to provide my clients and patients an evidence based product that meets their needs and provides them a resource for monitoring their health throughout their life span. If you call our office, I will be happy to tell you what our costs are for an initial evaluation, for any follow up visits, and can even tell you how much each procedure code will cost you! If you do not have insurance I will also be happy to provide you a discounted rate for cash in hand today in order to keep your bill current.

But why do others in healthcare find it so hard to do this? Is it because they do not want you to know? Or is because they don't think you have the right to know since your insurance is paying?  Go to a restaurant, their menu has prices, or at least they will tell you if you ask. That way you know not to order the lobster at "Market Price" even if you are hungry for lobster (a mistake I have made once before and have never lived down). If people started asking questions I am sure we would see that healthcare, is now like any other business.

Administrators who want to run their practice or hospital system like a business need to start owning up to the idea that their patients are like any other customers and should not be left in the dark about what it costs to receive their care. For instance if most people knew going into the hospital system that their procedure would result in a "facility fee" and a "physician fee" and often times a third fee for "anesthesiology" to put you under, many would shop around at a few different facilities to see how much it was going to cost them out of pocket. Unfortunately all too often it is not until the bill is presented after the services are rendered that you are now  "at the mercy" of the very people who said they were going to "take care of you" in the first place. All too often patients believe that if the provider is in network with their insurance that all providers recieve the same rate of payment. That is not correct and often times it is the private practices and independent offices who receive less payment and provide much more personalized care. My payment from an insurance company is about 2/3 of what our local hospitals get paid to provide the same  service. And I use same very loosely since similar would be more descriptive since we do not use assistants or aides to provide treatment.

In healthcare, today more than ever, buyer beware and ask how much it will cost you prior to getting any treatment. Feel free to call around and if a facility can not tell you how much it will cost you, keep calling until you find one who can!

Take Back Your Life Sessions, Physical Therapy Gastonia, NC

Have you been told you need to diet or exercise to improve your health?

Do you suffer from low back pain with daily activities?

Are you looking for a solution to get the expert advice that you need?

Take Back Your Life is a small group educational session taught by Brian Boyle, PT, DPT Doctor of Physical Therapy at Gaston Rehab Associates in Gastonia, NC with a practical mixture of:

• diet/nutrition
  • Do you know how many calories are equal to a pound?
  • How many calories do you need to take out of your diet each day to meet your goals?
• body mechanics instruction
  • Are you still vacuuming the way your mother showed you?
  • What do Golfer's know about lifting that you may not?
• exercise instruction
  • What exercises are best for strengthening the pelvis/hips?
  • How can you strengthen your back while lying flat?
• and a hands on flexibility and strength training session

This 1 hour class will be offered on multiple dates and at varying times so don't worry if you can't make the class on November 16 in Gastonia.

Date: Tuesday November 16, 2010 10 AM to 11 AM

Repeated Again:

Thursday December 9, 2010 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Wednesday January 12, 2011 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Thursday January 27, 2011 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Tuesday February 8, 2011  12 PM to 1 PM

Monday February 21, 2011  5:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Cost: Only $10 (includes: diet and workout log, Healthy Back Tips book)

Where: 1385 East Garrison Blvd Gastonia, NC 28054

To register for this class call (704) 864-4424 today!

A Physical Therapists Guide to Shoe Recommendations for the Older Adult

Dr. Michael Gross PT, PhD, FAPTA , Professor at UNC Chapel Hill, recently gave a presentation to a group of Alumni on Shoe Recommendations for the Older Adult based on some soon to be published research he had conducted.

I intend to highlight what I felt were the most important clinical pearls here:

Poor Balance:

**A heel lift of 1.3 in resulted in increased postural sway for older women. This was shown to decrease forward reach and decrease gait velocity. Take home: An older adult who demonstrates a slow gait pattern already would be even slower with higher heels. May not be functional to get across a street.

**Don't throw the heels out just yet; a person with tightness in the triceps surae would benefit from a heel lift to decrease the risk of backward falls

**Height of heel collar: Greater height shown to increase stability in gait, increase standing stability and reduce postural sway.

**Rocker Bottom or Not? The shoe that even Joe Montana gets his "work out" in, provides a limited base of support in both the anterior and posterior directions. Not what an older adult needs. Take Home: not all rocker bottoms are bad and some like the Etonic Minado (R) only have an anterior portion of the rocker bottom configuration which may be desirable for certain foot conditions

Slipping:

**Avoid very hard sole materials

**Wear shoes with wider and deeper tread surfaces

**Take shorter step lengths (reduces slip force and increases friction)

Risk for Falling:

**More likely to fall indoors if barefoot or in socks or slippers compared to when wearing athletic shoes specifically

**Increase surface area of sole material associated with decreased falls risk

Shock Absorption:

**Shock absorbing shoe is effective and inexpensive method for protection of total joint components

**Want a mid-range stiffness in the shoe (Thicker the sole the longer to deform it, but law of diminishing returns does apply)

**Older adults should select athletic shoes with thicker sole materials, with moderate stiffness, and should replace their shoes following prolonged use

How to tell when you need a new pair of shoes: Does the ground feel harder to you? Stop by a store and try on a new pair of the same shoe. If any different, time to get a new pair.

Knee Osteoarthritis:

Varus Knee (Medial Compartment OA): Load is reduced with lateral wedged insoles and very flexible shoes (basically get as flimsy a shoe as possible and have laces tied very loose)

Valgus Knee (Lateral Compartment OA): Medially wedged insoles and supportive shoes will reduce load

Heel Lift: Increased height of heel lift will increase plantarflexion forces and in turn will increase anterior load on knee

Thank you Dr. Gross for the useful information!

Women's Fitness at The Physical Performance Center, Gastonia, NC

Here are some of the wonderful ladies who are working their butts off, literally! The Women's Fitness classes are held Monday through Friday and are designed to help boost your metabolism and get you the results you want.

Using a mix of cardio and strength training the classes are changed daily and intensity can be adjusted to challenge every ability level.

For more information or to come in for your free trial session, call (704) 864-4424 today!

Leadership for Healthy Communities

There is a new resource out from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation called Leadership for Healthy Communities. I am confident that if the beloved city of Philadelphia can pass city legislation requiring chain restaurants to post nutrition labels just about any city in the U.S. can do so.

This is a great resource for all community leaders looking to do something about the obesity epidemic in their communities.

Workplace Wellness Resources

Employers in Charlotte, Gastonia, Statesville and surrounding areas in North Carolina may be interested to know about the new LEAN works web resource put together by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

This step by step guide can assist businesses of all sizes in putting together a preventative program to help reduce obesity among their employees. A helpful Obesity Cost Calculator can show employers just how much they may be spending on their employees annually for direct and indirect costs because of their employees obesity.

Want to put together a program, but are afraid you would not know how to start, even with guidance? Relax, Gaston Rehab Associates works with companies of all sizes implementing preventative programs that are cost effective, evidence based, and in the end put money back in the bottom line of the organization. With an ROI of as high as 3:1 you can have your organization on the way to a healthier, more productive workplace. Please be advised, results do not happen over night. Employee buy in is the best approach for programs such as this. Regardless of what you may read otherwise, a top down approach having management buy-in first, to a healthy workplace only goes so far. The people at greatest risk must buy-in before your program will be successful.

If you would like more information or would like to see if a FREE pilot program  (where we take a small sample of your existing employees and have them join our program to show you whether or not your group will likely benefit from this type of investment) is right for your organization, please contact Dr. Brian Boyle, DPT, Doctor of Physical Therapy at 704-864-4424 or by E-mail at bboyle@gastonrehabassociates.com

Nutrition Website

If you are like most people, managing your weight is a constant struggle. If you think about it, if you never put weight on you don't have to take it off. This is easy to say, but much harder to practice.

Fortunately Nutrimirror has a free web site which allows you to log in and keep track of your daily eating and physical activity. Of special interest is the calorie counter which you can look up many of your favorite chain restaurants to see exactly what is in your favorite meal. I can tell you this, I probably won't be eating two slices of Sbarro's pepperoni pizza anymore at a whopping 700 calories a slice and with 2000mg of sodium. No wonder that bottle of water doesn't seem to quench my thirst.

Another interesting area of the web site is the RMR (resting metabolic rate) calculator. This allows you to plug in some information about yourself to get a rough idea of what your body's caloric needs are based on your height and weight, age and body fat percentage if you know it. This is a nice tool if you do not have access to a RMR respirometer.

I suggest you play around on the web site and join for the free service they provide. This may just be the type of eye opening experience we all need to make better choices with the food we eat.

Council on Aging offers Older Adult Registry in Charlotte

The following was listed in the Senior Living Guide November 2008 Edition Scoop Magazine:

 

During a disaster or emergency, frail, homebound and special needs older citizens may need assistance.   Working with other agencies and organizations in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Council on Aging has created the Senior Disaster Registry- a free, voluntary, secure and confidential database to collect information from older adults, people with disabilities and those who may need assistance in the event of a disaster.  The Senior Disaster Registry is a way of alerting emergency responders to a registrant's location and gives vital information needed to best provide assistance. 

 

People aged 60 years and older, those who are frail and/or home-bound, and people needing transportation assistance in the event of emergencies are encouraged to register for the Senior Disaster Registry.  This Registry is not intended for those served in or by long-term care facilities.  

 

Registration can take place by contacting Council on Aging:

• Phone:  704-391-5216
• Fax: 704-391-5217
• E-mail:  SeniorRegistry@charmeckcoa.org