Community Health Network Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers

At this busy time of year, don’t neglect your health.  With extensive media coverage about the economy and stress around the holiday season you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed.  The trick to coping is to recognize the problems or things causing stress and address them.  But what happens when back pain or knee pain is thrown into the mix?  Physical pain can adversely affect your mood and your quality of life.  Studies have shown that people who “just live with” their pain are at a greater risk for depression and other mental illnesses.  If you are experiencing joint pain, back pain or neck pain, talk to your doctor about seeing a therapist to help resolve these issues.  By this time of year most people have met their insurance deductibles, and if you take care of a problem before it becomes chronic, it will cost you much less in the long run.   Enjoy this holiday season, even if you are on a tighter budget–take care of yourself and give yourself the gift of well-being!

The theme for National Physical Therapy Month this year is “Move Forward: Physical Therapy Brings Motion to Life”.  If you have ever experienced therapy as a patient, you can certainly appreciate this phrase.  Most people who receive physical therapy services are hindered by pain or immobility and seek the advice of a motion expert, a physical therapist, to regain their prior level of function.  People of all ages have benefitted from the guidance and care of physical therapists. From the infant with torticollis, to the elderly adult recovering from a stroke,  physical therapy professionals truly do bring motion back into the lives of their patients.

During this month when physical therapists, physical therapy assistants and physical therapy students are celebrating their profession be sure to recognize the importance of the freedom of motion in your daily life.  For more information on PT month, please visit http://www.moveforwardpt.com/ or www.ecommunity.com/rehab .

Junior Achievement of Central Indiana hosted its awards event for Indy’s Best and Brightest on September 23, 2009.  Finalists for the awards included 100 professionals, age 40 and younger.  Of the ten finalists in ten different categories, one of these professionals was recognized in each category as the Best and Brightest winner.  Nichole Wilson, DPT, Director of Rehab Services for Community Health Network was named the winner in the Health and Life Sciences category.  To view the list of current and past winners visit www.indysbestandbrightest.com.  Congratulations Nichole on being one of Central Indiana’s most recognized young leaders in the health care profession!

Ed Jones and Britney Combs

Community Health Network would like to congratulate our own Ed Jones, MSPT for being recognized  as the Clinical Educator of the Year by Indiana University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Services.  Ed was nominated by a former student, Britney Combs.  Valerie Strunk from Indiana University and Britney Combs, DPT presented Ed with this honor last week.  This award is given every year to an outstanding Clinical Instructor who excels in clinical instruction and the facilitation of relationships between universities and the clinical workplace. 

Ed has been with Community Health Network since 1997 when he began working as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist at Hook Rehab Center.   After graduating from the University of Indianapolis in 2003, Ed moved into the role of Physical Therapist with Community’s Rehab & Sports Medicine Centers.  Since 2003, Ed has also been involved with the University of Indianapolis as a Graduate Assistant in their Entry-Level DPT program and as Adjunct Faculty for the PTA program.  Ed currently serves as the Clinical Education Site Coordinator for Community Health Network.  In this role he facilitates clinical experiences for physical therapy students from a variety of universities in the United States and abroad.

We have all heard horror stories of kids involved in 3 or 4 activities that require numerous hours of after school practice time, meeting time or other time away from home.  Perhaps you are the parent who has a child (or children) in this situation.  A recent study at the University of Maryland at College Park took a closer look at this growing phenomenon among families and found some interesting results.  According to  Sandra L. Hofferth, director of the Maryland Population Research Center and author of a study named  “The ‘Hurried’ Child: Myth vs. Reality”,  the most emotionally sound children are the ones that are heavily involved in structured activity.  Of course there is a “balance” that has to occur within the family unit as parents and caregivers have to balance their own lives with the social calendar of their child or children.  Read the entire MSNBC article–from the Kids and parenting section–here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32573893/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

Physical Therapist, Beth Genday (left) was awarded the Community Health Network Hot Shot award in August 2009.  Kristi Leiter (right) nominated Beth for this recognition after noticing Beth going above and beyond for a patient in need that she ran into in the hall at Community Hospital South.  Additionally, Beth, who works as a PRN therapist,  regularly goes out of her way to satisfy patients and to help out her co-workers at Rehab & Sports Medicine-Library Park.  Most recently, Beth has been working many extra hours and has shown flexibility with her home life to help cover a co-worker’s maternity leave.  Congratulations Beth!

Concerned about your child’s development?

New parents and first-time parents have a natural habit of worrying about their children.  From sleep patterns to nutrition, there are many facets of a child’s daily routine to chart and review.  One of the things a pediatrician will do at well-care appointments is look at a child’s progress toward developmental milestones.  While most parents simply answer the questions asked of their health care provider, they may not know why certain questions are being asked or what concerns to share with their provider.  There are some basic physical, emotional and verbal actions that each child should begin to display by certain ages.  While every child will grow and develop at his own pace, parents should inform their health care provider if a child is not progressing toward basic milestones.

By three months of age, a baby should be lifting his head, trying to hold toys and flashing a smile every now and then.  Some babies will display these behaviors earlier than three months while other three-month olds will only be starting to engage in these actions.  At seven months of age, a baby will respond to his own name and be able to roll over.  This is the age when babies typically begin trying to sit up independently and start reaching for objects.  At one year, a child will begin to show “separation anxiety” when one of his parents leaves the room.  At about one year is also when recognizable words begin to develop—such as “mama” and “dada”.  These are only a few of the important milestones that each child will reach.  Always talk to your pediatrician or health care provider if you have concerns or questions as every child is unique.

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to find developmental milestones for children 3 months through 5 years:  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-3mo.html.

Babies and toddlers who are not reaching their developmental milestones are often referred to physical therapy, occupational therapy or to a speech-language pathologist to help address any deficits that may be present.

Andy Smith, PT

Andy Smith, PT at Rehab & Sports Medicine-Saxony, was interviewed on Fox 59 Morning News.  The topic of discussion was  ’high school sports injuries’ for this segment.   Many high school athletes can benefit from physical therapy intervention.  Early in the school year many athletes encounter aches, pains and injuries that could be symptomatic of something potentially serious.  Talk to your physician to see if your student athlete could benefit from physical therapy.

Watch Andy’s video on Fox 59 >>

Parents often wonder what the best ways are to prepare their child for school.  Children can learn in the simplest of ways.  A study published in Reading Research Quarterly suggested that one important way is through books, but not just by reading them.

 The study showed that storytelling is a more effective approach in teaching cognitive and language skills in developing preschoolers  than just reading the book.  Storytelling allows interaction with the child, talking about things not present in the here and now, and more child participation.  This activity promotes literacy, predictive and language skills.

So next time you read a book to a preschooler, have fun!  Tell the story, play “I wonder” (what will happen next), and act out the story together or with stuffed animals.

Has your child been injured at a sports camp or band camp this summer?  Many adolescents and teenagers get overuse injuries during camps like football camp or marching band camp during the late summer months.  Several weeks of relaxing followed by intense activity in the heat may leave your child prone to injury.  If your child is complaining of pain, over the counter medications and ice may help after activity.  But if this does not resolve the pain or it gets worse, see your physician.  School will be starting soon and with that comes the added stress of homework, afterschool activities and more.  Be sure to get those summer injuries taken care of to begin the school year right.