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| Physical Therapy and Pregnancy Symptoms |
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The Columbia clinic (Supreme Sports Club location) now has a Physical Therapist with extensive experience working with pregnant women. Physical Therapy has a tremendous positive impact on several pregancy-related symptoms such as low back pain, sacroiliac (SI)/pelvic instability and generalized weakness. Physical Therapy treatment is also effective for some of the lesser known pregancy-related conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger. Not only do our pregnant patients report feeling relief of their symptoms, the physical therapy also makes them stronger in preparation for the delivery of their little bundle of joy! Let us know at CPAT how we can help in you or your loved ones pregnancy-related conditions. |
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Greetings!
These April showers better bring May flowers! If not, you can be sure to enjoy the month of May by supporting our Charity Event! Please read on for new event details as well as an informational article on Bariatric Surgical Weight Loss Procedures and how we can help at CPAT! |
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Bariatric Surgical Weight Loss Procedures and Physical Therapy |
Spring is finally here and many of us are thinking about the dreaded swimsuit season. To get into that bathing suit and wanting to look good in it will take a lot of effort; for some more than others. This article is directed for those of us who need to lose a lot of weight, not just those last stubborn 10 lbs. Obesity is at an all time epidemic proportion in the United States. Fast food and lack of exercise drive the problem. Medical professionals in all disciplines are fighting this epidemic, some with better results than others. This article will focus on morbid obesity, which by definition is being 100 lbs or more overweight, and having a body mass index level (your height to weight ratio) of over 40.
Individuals that fit this description of being morbidly obese will tell you that they have been on every diet imaginable. They've tried it all, from Weight Watchers, Adkins, Phen-Fen and Jenny Craig, to crazy fad diets like the watermelon diet or the cabbage soup diet. These people all lose weight; however, their difficulty is in losing enough to really see results, and then keeping the weight off forever. This article will focus on bariatric surgical weight loss procedures, how physical therapy can help the process along, and how a physical therapist can help the person keep the weight off for good.
There are two bariatric surgeries that are popular in the United States at this time: Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RNY) and the Lap-Band technique. The first, RNY is currently the most common bariatric surgery performed. The surgery is usually done laproscopically and it is the most successful in terms of overall weight loss and maintaining the weight loss in the long term. The surgery consists of dividing the stomach into two compartments; the pouch, which is the upper compartment. The second compartment is the lower portion of the stomach, which is stapled off but it still excretes gastric liquids into the small intestine to help with digestion. The pouch normally will only hold about one ounce of food after the surgery, but it will stretch a little over time. The pouch is reconnected approximately 18-40 inches or so further down the small intestine, thereby "bypassing" the beginning of the digestive process. This creates a two-fold weight loss effect: eating much smaller portions and absorbing fewer calories.
The Lap-Band technique is the second most popular bariatric surgery. It is less invasive and it takes less time to perform (30-45 minutes vs. 1 1/2 hours for the RNY procedure). However, the weight loss is much slower than RNY and the amount of weight loss overall is less. Past studies have shown that RNY patients lost approximately 80% of their goal weight, whereas lap-band patients only lost 50-60% of their goal weight. In lap-band surgery, a small silicone ring is attached to encircle the top of your stomach. The stomach is slowly tightened by expanding the silicone ring. This expansion happens when saline is injected through a tube that is attached to the ring. The tube is placed just below the skin in your upper abdomen. The lap-band surgery makes your stomach smaller, so you feel fuller, faster. There is no malabsorption like the RNY, therefore it takes longer to lose weight, but the lap-band procedure is considered safer by some doctors, and it is reversible, unlike the RNY.
When you decide it's time to get serious about losing weight and keeping it off, you will need a team of professionals to help you. The bariatric surgeon will help you by making your stomach smaller to give you a tool that will help you lose weight. A dietician will help you by giving you a food plan that will keep you healthy while you lose the weight. Finally, a physical therapist (PT) will help you devise a fitness program to help you lose weight, which will also address all the physical health issues that have resulted from the obesity.
Additionally, a PT will address issues such as joint pain caused by arthritis. He or she will give you gentle stretches and exercises to perform that will protect your joints, but also burn calories and build muscle. They will evaluate and address your cardiovascular with either a walking program or perhaps an exercise workout in an aquatic environment that will also protect your joints. Last, but not least, core stabilization exercises will be part of your fitness program to address those nagging back problems that you've had for years from carrying around all that extra weight!
Every step of the way, a PT will be there to progress your plan of care so that your exercise routine won't become stagnant and boring. A PT will balance your program so that the plateaus in your weight loss journey will be far and few in between. The PT will be there to guide you and encourage you through what can be a very long, sometimes stressful and challenging process.
The physical therapist is uniquely qualified to address all aspects of your physical wellbeing while on the road to permanent weight loss. We at Chesapeake Physical & Aquatic Therapy look forward to helping you start (and finish!) that road to a thinner, healthier you. Swimsuit season is right around the corner. Are you ready?
(If you are interested in more detailed information about bariatric surgery, a great resource is "Weight Loss Surgery, A Lighter Look...At a Heavy Subject", written by Terry Simpson, M.D. The book is available on the web at Amazon.com). |
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Wishing for a Lifetime Charity Event |
CPAT's Annual Charity event to benefit UMDF (United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and the Kennedy Krieger Institute is a Bull and Shrimp Roast!
Date: Sunday May 31st, 2009
Time: 4pm - 8pm
Location: Ten Oaks Ballroom
5005 Signal Bell Lane
Clarksville MD 21029
Joe Ehrman (Former Baltimore Colt) will be present as our guest inspirational speaker. Joe and his wife Paula are the co-founders of Building Men And Women For Others, Inc (BMWO). To read more about Joe Ehrman and BMWO, check out BMWO's website.
Tickets are $55.00 per person or $500 per table (a table seats 10 people). We will have a silent aution with many special items to win. Additionally, we will have a raffle ($5 per ticket) in which one lucky person wins $1,000! (Please note, you do not need to be present at the event in order to win the raffle!) For more information and to purchase event tickets and/or raffle tickets, please call us at the Columbia Supreme Sports Club location at 410-381-7000.
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We hope this newsletter has been informational to you all. Thanks for reading and have a good month! We'll see you in May!
Sincerely,
Doug Rosener
Chesapeake Physical and Aquatic Therapy |
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