Ann Crocker, West Gardiner, Maine What to eat? Nearly every day we may hear or read about the benefits or risks of certain foods or specific elements in foods. Sometimes, we may be tempted to try some hard-to-believe, miraculous food or food product, which later may turn out to be of little value. With so many daunting warnings about what …
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Every Body Benefits from Massage
Leslie Drawdy, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, Tucson, Arizona Massage is known to have many general health benefits, including decreased stress and anxiety, increased blood flow, decreased blood pressure, decreased pain and stiffness. Certain techniques can also result in decreased edema and hypersensitivity. Many people with post-polio syndrome (PPS) suffer from pain, cold intolerance and hypersensitivity. Most research and books on PPS …
Canes – Pick the Right Stick
A cane may be adequate if you need minimal support. First determine the correct length of the cane. If it is too long and your elbow stays bent when you lean on the cane, the triceps muscle at the back of the elbow has to stay contracted. This can lead to muscle fatigue and pain in your shoulder. To prevent …
How to Use Crutches on Stairs
Approach the stairs and have your therapist stand by for safety until confident of abilities. Keep crutches down on lower level and do not place upward on the steps. Push down hard on the crutches with your arms. This lifts the body upward. Then, step up first with your strong leg to the first step! Bring up your weak leg …
Of Crutches and Canes
Have you thought about using a cane or crutch but dismissed the idea because you’d be self-conscious? Think you’ll look “disabled”? Figure that you’ve gotten along okay without walking aids so far, so why start now? Good question.I know that feeling well and talked about it in “Facing Reality.” But ask yourself if you are really getting along okay. Do …
Walkers
If you’re at risk of falling or have some balancing problems you might want to consider using a walker. It is imperative that your walker is properly fitted with comfortable handgrips and that it is the correct height for you. To determine the correct height, stand inside the walker, let your arms rest at your sides and match the crease …
Roll Models: Scooters and Wheelchairs
Many of us who had polio used canes, wheelchairs and bracing on our path to recovery and gradually were able to relinquish them. Others of us have developed different chronic conditions that have managed just fine until now without mobility equipment. But as we get older our bodies change, our symptoms escalate and daily activities use so much more energy …
Winter
BABY, IT IS COLD OUTSIDE! William G. Stothers Snow and bone-chilling cold are making this a brutal winter across North America. And Phil the groundhog says it will go on for another six weeks. Bad news for people stuck in this kind of weather, especially polio survivors. We know the snow-choked wheelchair wheels, snow-banked sidewalks and curb cuts, melting messes indoors, …
Relationships: An Overview
Every relationship is built upon unique experiences and qualities. For a relationship to succeed, both individuals will need to cope with any disability. This requires a realistic acceptance of the disability with an emphasis on what one can do, rather than on what one cannot do. The following are brief general suggestions on how to maintain personal relationships when facing …
Communication
Communication is a two-way street. Participants in any relationship must have a mutual respect for the values, experiences, and skills that each brings to the encounter. Everyone is responsible for his/her own feelings, and experts recommend that feelings be expressed in the first person. Acknowledge them but do not place responsibility for them on someone else. For example, saying, “When …