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PHYSICIANS PHYSICIAL THERAPY SERVICE
WWW.FREEDOMOFMOTION.COM
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Healthy Times Newsletter
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March 2010
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Dear Valued Subscriber,
Thanks once again for subscribing to our newsletter we hope you find our articles informative and useful.
We advocate a healthy and active lifestyle for everyone and our job is to make sure that you can enjoy that health living to the fullest without injury.
We are always here for you if you do have the misfortune of sustaining any type of injury that prevents you from enjoying life.
Sincerely,
Carlos M. Leiva
Physicians Physical Therapy Service
Director of Marketing
Email: cleiva@pptsonline.com
P 602-274-8500
F 602-230-9962
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Antidote to Sitting For Those With Arthritis..
Get moving to reverse the toll sitting takes on your joints, especially if you have arthritis.
Don't take arthritis sitting down - you body was built to
move. These exercises will stretch your muscles and strengthen your joints to
help counteract the effects of days at the computer or nights by the TV.
Active Kick-Backs (Standing Hip Extension)
Standing
with one foot about 12 inches in front of the other with you knee slightly
bent. (Hold on to table or chair for balance.) While
tightening abdomen, shift weight forward and straighten front knee. Raise
back leg slightly, keeping it straight. Return
to starting position. Repeat
10 times with each leg.
Marching in Place (Standing Hip Flexion)
March
in place, raising legs so the knee is just below the level of the hip. While
marching, twist slightly at the waist so the upper body moves toward the
raised leg. Continue
for about 2 minutes.
Standing Hip Flexor and Calf Stretch
Standing
with both feet together, take a big step forward with one foot. (Hold on
to a table or chair for balance.) Shift
weight to front leg, letting the front knee bend. Keep back leg straight,
heel on the floor.* Hold
for 20-30 seconds; return to standing position. Repeat
3 times with each leg.
*If you can't keep the heel of the back leg on the ground,
you've taken too big of a step; if you don't feel a stretch in the back leg,
you've taken too small of a step.
Overhead Stretch
Stand
up straight, feet shoulder-width apart, and tighten abdomen. Raise
arms overhead. Interlock fingers and turn palms toward ceiling. Take a
deep breathe in. As you
exhale, turn your trunk to the right. Return
to center; repeat on left side.
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Apple iTunes Releases Physical Therapy App
 Apple's iTunes recently released the My Therapy
Exercise application. Its developer, a physical therapist, claims it's the
world's only custom exercise video application for the iPhone and iTouch
designed specifically for physical therapy.
The app consists of 170 videos of
stretches, ROM (Range of Motion), and
strengthening exercises for the body, in addition to Swiss Ball, dumbbell, and
foam roller exercises. Each video presents performance of proper technique with
an audio voice-over instruction. A PT may identify a specific video for a
patient, or link several together to create a custom physical therapy routine
that can be named, saved, and even edited for future use.
For more information,
go to www.mytherapyexercise.com
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 Sidewalk Cycling Safety
Cycling is a great way to exercise and also a way many people get around these days. It is an extremely popular outdoor activity, especially in Arizona.
It is important to be safe when you are riding around in your bicycle. Laws regarding bicycle riding in cities differ, like laws regarding whether you can ride on the sidewalks especially when there is no bike lane on the road.
Avid expert cyclers seem to disagree on what is the best for their safety, but the majority seems to believe that riding in the roadway is safer than on the sidewalk. Most others chose to use sidewalks because of fear of automobiles. In fact, a large portion of accidents involving bicycles and automobiles happen when a bike rider is using the sidewalk instead of the roadway.
Some of the types of accidents that can occur are when automobile drivers are exiting private drives, parking lots and side streets. They often do not check traffic coming from the opposite direction of on-coming traffic.
If you choose to ride your bike on the sidewalk here are some helpful tips and guidelines to help everyone be safer and avoid injuries: -
Ride slow and yield to pedestrians - Sidewalks are built for pedestrians, not fast moving traffic, therefore there are a variety of obstacles for someone traveling at a faster speed.
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Be alert and watch carefully all points of entry to the roadway - Drivers generally pull all the way up to the road when getting ready to turn onto it and are not expecting fast moving vehicles coming down the sidewalk, so they're likely not to see you.
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Use Crosswalks - If you must cross the street, wait until you come to the crosswalk and make sure to walk your bike thru the crosswalk.
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Make eye contact with drivers - When you are crossing the street or a roadway entry point and a vehicle approaches, do not cross until you have made eye contact with the driver and you are sure they see you.
Ride with traffic not against it - Always ride in the same direction that traffic is flowing.
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